[Smite Happens] 4 - I Guess I'm a Saint Now

I chewed my tongue while staring at the dancing flames of Wonderwerk’s beard. My stupid death kept replaying in my head. I did slip on something; that was my last memory. Obviously, I wouldn’t remember anything past that because I was already dead.

This didn’t feel like a dream. None of that floaty, out-of-focus sensation that I was familiar with. I was starting to believe this was all real… Shit.

“From my deepest heart,” said Wonderwerk, closing his golden eyes, “I express my condolences for your untimely death. Alas, fate works in mysterious ways.”

“Receiving condolences for my own death? That’s unexpected. Was that my punishment for not giving ice cream to the little girl?” I chuckled at the thought. It was hard to explain, but I wasn’t that bothered about being dead. Not sure what I was supposed to feel. I really hadn’t considered the prospect of dying, like, ever.

“It is a fact hard to accept,” Wonderwerk said. “However, the end comes for us all. Yes, even for me, what you may think of as a god. An immortal being does have an end, as all do. It is unfortunate that you met yours so early.”

I raised a brow. “But this isn’t really my end, right? I’m here, in this weird place. What did you call it? The Middle of Here and There? Some kind of purgatory? Point is, I’m still around.”

“Yes, you could say that your end isn’t settled. We are in between worlds. Your world. Mine. Many others. I carried your soul here before it could rejoin the lifestream of your world. For not letting you rest in peace, I sincerely apologize.”

“It’s all good because I don’t want to rest. I would’ve rejoined, uh, whatever that was you said. I don’t know what it means, though it does sound like an actual end. I suppose I have to thank you for it. But… I’m not going to.” I pointed at the giant while narrowing my eyes. “I sense you’re going to ask something of me.”

Wonderwerk stared at me. His eyeballs seemed to have molten gold inside them that endlessly sloshed about. “You are calm, little one. Exceedingly calm about what is transpiring.”

“Too calm for someone who had just died, you mean?” I shrugged. “There’s nothing I could do about that. At least, I managed to kill someone—one item ticked off my nonexistent bucket list. There’s no point crying over spilled milk. Spilled ice cream, in my case. What’s important is the now. That’s always how I’ve operated.”

“You are very different from my saint…”

“What do you want from me? Spill it.”

Wonderwerk let out majestic laughter that made this purgatory-like dimension quake. Even my heart shook, as if I was standing next to colossal speakers at a rock concert. “It would appear I have chosen well. Listen, little one. I come from a world known by many names, though I call it the ‘Splintered Reach’. You’ll know more once you explore it.”

Explore it? This big guy was going to send me to freaking Narnia! I had read those books as a kid. There was a forest there with many ponds that led to many worlds, one of which was Narnia. The existence of other worlds wasn’t a mind-shattering concept to me. After dying to ice cream, anything goes now.

“Suffice to say that the Splintered Reach was formerly one plane,” continued Wonderwerk, “that has now become seven. Humans inhabit two of these planes. For now, they thrive. But a dire future awaits them. I cannot idly stand by and—”

“Are you the god of humans?” I asked. “The humans in that Splintered Reach dimension? I certainly haven’t heard of you in my world.”  

“Once, I was worshipped.” Wonderwerk gazed up at nothing. “No longer. It was a long time ago when humans befriended fire, and fire made them human. That was when I gained consciousness.”

“A fire god. Fire made humans? I guess that human civilization couldn’t have grown if we hadn’t discovered fire. Like cooking, and so on? Our ancestors on Earth used to worship fire, too. Maybe some still do.”

“Humans may have forgotten about me,” said Wonderwerk, “but I have not forgotten about them, no matter the passage of time. I want to save the humans of the Splintered Reach from impending doom.”

I tilted my head. “Which is… what?”

“I do not know. It was foretold by someone who could see the future. Someone who I believe in.”

“Eh? That vague?” This all felt like a joke. But ‘vague’ and ‘prophecies’ do go together in fantasy stories. The book that Harriet lent me had a prophecy about a legendary weapon. Narnia also had one about the kids from Earth ending the White Witch’s rule. Was I the chosen one in this story? “So… what’s my part in this? And why me, specifically? I don’t know anything about heroics or saving people.”

Wonderwerk bent lower. His flaming beard spread further. I didn’t step back because the fire didn’t hurt me. The giant was trying to level his eyes with my height, but he was too big for that to happen. “On the Splinter called by its inhabitants as Vidwarane, there lived Emily Pyrebraid.”

“Lived, huh? Past tense. So, she’s your saint or something, your chosen one who’ll save humanity?” I didn’t mention that the other Emery was pathetic. Not savior material at all. The death of her parents could’ve hardened her into a warrior—many books I’ve read have that backstory for the hero—but she died with them.

“Yes. I have bestowed little Emery with my gift. With it, she could’ve spread my name, empowered herself as worshippers grew in number, united humanity, and fought back the devouring darkness that would descend upon the Splinters in the future. That is no longer possible with her death. And so, I come to you to—”

“Wait, wait, wait.” I held up my hands. Being the chosen one sounded like lots of fun—I get to fight lots of people and be justified in doing it. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I shouldn’t readily trust this Wonderwerk fellow. I’d try to find what was wrong with his story. “Why not choose someone else? Probably much easier to pick another person from Vidwarane, or what was that place called, than to drag my beautiful soul across dimensions?”

“Ah!” Wonderwerk held up a finger that was taller than me. “But it is not easier, little one. You may have heard the Vidwarane humans talk about gods gifting people. That isn’t accurate, for the gods reside in a different Splinter. What they have are echoes of the gods before the Splintering, cultivated into a level of consciousness by the humans. These god fragments are…”

Blah, blah, blah…

He’s drowning me with this nonsense, I thought as Wonderwerk droned on and on with his explanation. I didn’t trust people who gave too much information; it felt like they were hiding something. Or was I just being paranoid? I had the right to be given the myriad of unknowns with my situation.

Myriad. I liked that word.

The gist of Wonderwerk’s story was that he didn’t have any god fragments on the Vidwarane Splinter. The most he could do was direct his energies in a kingdom he thought fitting for his saint and hope for the best. He didn’t exactly choose the Pyrebraid girl. This was supposedly his one and only try, but the other Emery ended up dead.

This really didn’t convince me. Or… I could be just being my usual self, suspicious of others. I may not know much about gods and dimensions and stuff, but any other alternative seemed to be easier than reaching across worlds for another soul. Quite convenient that I died at the same time, too.

But I didn’t voice my doubts. Wouldn’t want to antagonize the guy controlling the fate of my soul.

“I’ve traded favors with other gods, entities that have no names,” Wonderwerk went on. “I used every drop of my power to bring you to—”  

I waved my hands. “Okay, okay! I get it,” I said, even though I didn’t. “I’m guessing that only my soul is compatible with this Emery Pyrebraid? Interdimensional doppelganger.” Wonderwerk opened his mouth to explain. I hurriedly said, “No, no! It’s fine. I don’t need to understand that. What I need you to understand is that I’m not going to be your saint or champion or whatever, just because.”

Wonderwerk’s thick brows of whirling flames met as his forehead creased. “Pray tell, why not, Emery of Earth. Your fellow humans need your help. They may be of another world, but they are humans just the same.”

“I just… don’t want to,” I replied. “I’m not the gal for the job.”

In truth, I wanted to go to this new world. I’d find the freedom not available to me on Earth. Freedom to be… myself. But the land where the other Emery lived was dangerous. Having the power given by Wonderwerk would be necessary so I could have fun.

The question was how much freedom I would really get if I became his saint. By rejecting Wonderwerk, I was testing if he’d threaten to throw me back to Earth to permanently rest in peace. Was he really a good guy as he presented himself, or something more sinister? I wouldn’t be paranoid if my tingling senses turned out to be correct that something more was going on beneath the surface.

“I understand that it is a burden too weighty to bear,” said Wonderwerk, straightening himself. “Being a hero… even little Emery of Veylois would’ve encountered towering obstacles. But consider this, Emery of Earth—this is your chance to continue treading the path of life.”

There it was. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly threatening to make me rest in peace forever. Sort of close to it.

“Your soul does not inhabit a body,” Wonderwerk added. “It cannot persist for long in this state. A second life, I give. I implore you to accept it, for your own sake and the sake of the humans of the Splintered Reach.”

“Is it really living if it’s a path I don’t want?” I asked. “Might as well be dead if I’m just a slave.”

“You will not be my slave, little one. Being a saint does not preclude living your own life. I’d even say that you can live a fuller life on the Splintered Reach. A life that you truly want. A life that you couldn’t have on Earth. Being my champion will facilitate it.”

“What are you on about?” Was this guy reading my mind? He was too prepared to convince me to replace the Pyrebraid girl.

“I’ve seen how you dispose of the man who brandished a knife at you,” said Wonderwerk. “You have a warrior’s fire inside you.”

“Warrior’s fire?” That wasn’t how I’d put my… quirks. A quirky girl, that was me.

“You yearn for battle and blood. Yet, battle eludes you in your peaceful life on your world. Becoming my saint, my champion, and tread the path of a fighter. Spread my worship with the fires of words and war. It is inevitable. Explore Vidwarane and the rest of the Splintered Reach! You will find your true self. Let your warrior’s fire blaze high in this second life.”

“And risk dying for the second time, too? You make it sound like I should be thankful for this chance to fight, but it also means there’s plenty of chances for me to die.” Just playing hard to get. I was a hundred percent game to let loose in a fantasy world. “Oh, and I’m not very good with preaching and stuff like that.”

“My power, I will give you,” Wonderwerk said. “With it, you will survive battles and inspire others to worship my name.”

“Power that you’ve given the other Emery, you mean? I’m just taking over her dead body.”

Wonderwerk somberly nodded. “I’ve bestowed upon Emery Pyrebraid the Boon of a durable body unlike any other. For every five ranks of her Aspects, the rank of her Constitution increases by one.”

“That’s the stuff that the priest’s orb displayed.” I didn’t really understand the implications of Wonderwerk’s gift, but I assumed it was strong. The priest dude was excited about it. I was going to ask Wonderwerk about it later. He wasn’t done explaining his gift.

“Furthermore, as the number of those faithful to my name increases,” said Wonderwork, “your life force, called Vitality Magic by those of Vidwarane, will strengthen. Become unparalleled in Vitality Magic as you lead thousands, tens of thousands of followers!”

“That sounds… I’m not sure yet. But I don’t have any other choice but to accept.” Inside my mind, I was cheering. I loved interacting with people! And I was supposed to start a cult? My customer service training would surely come in handy. That, and my generally pleasing personality and… extensive people manipulation skills.

Dying was a bummer and all, but I was going to heaven! My definition of heaven.

“However, I must impose a… limitation… upon you, little Emery of Earth.” Wonderwerk brought his face down again. “A limitation to hold back the warrior’s fire within you from growing uncontrollable. The same as a wildfire consuming the forest, you might cause more harm than necessary for our cause.”

“Uh, what?” The hell was this about? This guy probably knew the true nature of my ‘quirk’. “What kind of limitation?”

“Any pain that you impart on others, you will likewise endure.”

(Author’s Notes: This will be explained more in the next chapter, but essentially, it’ll be as if all of Emery’s targets have reflect/return damage. She can counter this by building herself to be tanky. Emery would want to be strong on the offense and become a warmonger menace. This limitation will make her think about the tanking aspect, too, which is the highlight of the story. In some ways, this will stop her from turning into a murderhobo, and also present an interesting puzzle to solve. I’m going with this instead of the ‘can only attack if attacked’ limitation.)