Chapter 14: Life, the universe, and pancakes
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I apologize for the bit of a delay in releasing this chapter. It ended up a bit longer than I intended. But, it should fill in some of the world building I've meant to do. If it's too much, lemme know and I'll find a way to space it out better.

The two men struggled to drag the chiseled heap. Phil was taller than both of them. His feet scuffed behind them and even his knees nearly scraped the ground. 

"So, what was he even doing at the temple?" Bob grunted with exertion.

"That's what I'd like to know. It seemed like he was making quite the scene." Ted managed to gasp between each breath. 

"Well, he grabbed my attention and started telling everyone that his healer was the greatest. I've um… I've never quite seen anyone like him." Bob's cheeks flushed a bit and he looked away. "He was very passionate."

"Huh. He's never really been like that though?" 

"Oh. What's he like normally?

"A bit like an overprotective mother. He never really praised me for anything. And, he's always pushing for me to do more. And to do better and…", Ted began to mumble under his breath. "Well, maybe he was right. And, maybe I am just a useless bard"

"Well… I don't know much, but if it helps, it sounds like he cares about you."

"Nah, I think I'm just a burden to them. I nearly… well…", Ted swallowed his feelings of guilt back down and sighed. "I'm pouring this out on you and we just met."

"Ah. It's fine."

"No… I'd actually rather not talk about it."

They walked for the rest of the distance in silence.

"Oh, thank god, we're finally back. I'm not sure I could've carried him any further." Ted thought to himself as they approached the tavern. "And, it's so awkward with Bob around."

Zephyra came running out of the front door.

"What happened?" She called out as she rushed over. Her quick pace stopped for a moment as she noticed the man dressed in white. Then, she approached them a bit more cautiously.

"Hey, Zephyra. He collapsed outside of the temple." Ted quickly replied. 

"Oh, so this must be the healer he was praising earlier." Bob thought to himself.

"They didn't hurt him, or anything, did they?", She quickly pressed a couple of fingers against his throat and eyed his physical condition. "He doesn't seem harmed though. Um, I think, just unconscious."

"He um… collapsed near the temple." Ted answered a bit slowly. He wasn't sure why he didn't want to tell Zephyra everything, but felt that it would be better to leave it as simple as possible.

"He started talking about-" Bob started to explain, but he noticed that Ted had shot him a pointed look. And, decided that it may be best to not say anything else as well. "Well, it didn't make much sense. Then, he wore himself out and fell over."

Zephyra nodded curtly and addressed Bob. "I-i see. Thank you for your help. I think we can get him inside from here. You can leave."

"Uh… alright. If you're sure?" Bob asked. "He's pretty heavy though and it wouldn't be any more trouble to bring him inside."

"I-i'm sure." Zephyra stuttered, she grasped the cuffs of her shirt and her knuckles turned white. "Ted and I can get him from here."

"Alright. Um, I'll leave you to it", Bob removed himself from underneath one of Phil's arms. " It was nice to meet you, Ted."

"Thank you for your assistance." Ted replied with a weary smile. "I'll make sure to buy you a drink sometime. And, I'm sure Phil will want to thank you as well."

"Well…" Bob awkwardly rubbed his arm. "I'm not supposed to… drink. But, I'd feel a lot better to know that he's alright. Would it be acceptable if I came back later tonight?"

"N-" Zephyra started to refuse him. But, Ted was louder and answered more quickly than she did.

"Of course! We'd be happy to have you join us. We can all eat together. Maybe you'll be able to meet Karen as well… if she wakes up."

"Oh, Karen woke up earlier. But, she shouldn't have any other visitors than us, right now." Zephyra quietly informed him.

"She is? Really?" An odd mixture of relief and weight lifted and fell on him. "I'm so glad that she's alive."

"You can see her after we get Phil laid down to rest as well." Zephyra smiled softly. 

"Oh, thank the gods", Ted breathed out through his mouth. "We'll see you later Bob. Thank you again for your help."

"No problem. I'll pray that your friends get better." Bob waved and smiled before he walked back to the temple. 

Zephyra placed herself underneath Phil's empty arm. He felt a lot lighter than she had expected. Ted's mouth fell open. It was way easier to lift Phil with Zephyra than it was with Bob.

"Is Bob really weak? Or is Zephyra way stronger than she looks? I'm a little scared... and a lot impressed though."

They made their way inside the tavern and began to drag Phil up the stairs to their rooms.

"Um, Ted?", Zephyra spoke hesitantly. "I… I'd really appreciate it if you didn't meet with Bob."

"Well", Ted grunted. "He helped me drag Phil all the way back. I want to thank him somehow."

"I know… it's just that… well, he's a part of the church."

"Ah. I won't say anything about you, you know?" Ted flashed a grin. It was a bit strained  from the physical exertion. "I meant it when I said that you're important to our group. Especially after saving Karen…"

"The church wouldn't care that I healed her. If anything I'd just be… hated more."

"Why is that? I mean, I know that necromancers are dangerous and that they're outlawed amongst the kingdoms, hunted by the church, and generally disliked." He paused to take a deep breath. They had reached the top of the stairs. "But, I never really understood exactly why they were hated and feared. It just seems like any other branch of magic to me."

"Well… How much do you know about magic?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. I know that there are different aspects to it, such as the elemental aspects, or the life and death aspects. Karen and I are unaspected in our magical abilities."

Zephyra let out a deep sigh, "I guess that they really have kept a lot of knowledge out of the public then."

They reached the door to the room and wrangled Phil into the bed.

"Well", she dug around in her satchel for her glasses and continued. "Um, I guess I should explain the primary function of the church first."

"Ah, I know that one, it's to commune with the gods and to enforce and impart their will, right?"

"Um. Kinda?", Zephyra grabbed a cloth and dipped it into some water and began to clean Phil and to bring down his temperature. "The gods and, by extension, the church exist to serve Terras."

Ted blinked, that wasn't what he was taught. "They serve the realm? I thought that the gods ruled over the realm."

"No, um, well, yes? Terras is the realm, but she is also the creator goddess of the realm. And, she granted dominion to the gods over certain aspects of her creation."

"So… she granted Skalgnos the dominion over fire?..." He thought for a moment and shook his head. "That's not what the church of Skalgnos teaches though. They've always taught that he is the sun and the embodiment of fire itself." 

"He only has dominion over them because Terras created him and appointed him as a god over fire within her plane." Zephyra corrected. 

"Wait. Wait. Her plane? What's that?"

Zephyra sighed again. "Um, well I guess you wouldn't have any reason to know as an unaspected arcane caster."

"Ouch, no offense taken." Ted rolled his eyes.

"Uh, well there are many different planes of existence stacked onto and next to other places of existence. Kinda like a giant stack of pancakes. Except that these pancakes stretch out into the endless void."

"... I think my head is starting to ache." His stomach rumbles. "And, I'm starting to get hungry, pancakes sound great."

"We can go ask if they can make some?" Zephyra suggested. "Phil will probably need to eat something when he wakes up."

Ted shrugged, "I don't see why not."

They clomped back down the stairs and placed their order. They waited in a corner booth away from prying ears.

"So, we are living on a giant pancake amidst an unending stack of pancakes." Ted continued while nursing a glass of milk. 

"Exactly! And, among all of those pancakes, there are magic pancakes."

"Magic… pancakes…", he mulled over the thought for a moment before he collapsed onto the table with a groan. "Alright, I'm lost again."

"Well, the magic planes exist on the edges closest to the unending void. And, they all radiate aspected mana." 

"Alright. Magic planes. Aspected mana."

"And, all aspected mages can siphon mana from that plane to cast their magic."

"So… a water aspected mage would draw mana from a soggy magic pancake?" Ted asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Exactly! Um, that doesn't sound very delicious though."

"No, it doesn't. So, where does that place an unaspected caster?"

"Oh, so that means that you and Karen gather mana from the environment to cast magic. All of the planes are suffused with magic from each other with a few exceptions. It's kinda like syrup spilling onto the other pancakes in a stack."

"Ah, yes, the glorious syrup duo. I can see it now." Ted cracked a joke and chuckled to himself. "No wonder we got ourselves into a sticky situation."

Zephyra giggled a bit. "I think we may have taken the pancake thing a bit too far."

At that moment, the waitress came and placed their order onto the table. She gave them a bit of an odd look after they wouldn't stop laughing.

Ted wiped a tear from his eye. "So, where does that leave necromancers, then?"

"Ah, so they're aspected with necrotic energies and therefore draw their mana from the plane of death."

"So… how is that a problem compared to an aspected fire mage?"

"Well… it's the most destructive and entropic energy of creation. And… well, necromancers tend to open the gate between realms more frequently than other aspected mages."

"The gate between realms?"

"Oh, just think of it like poking a fork through multiple pancakes. It's something that summoners do all the time to call on their familiars. They poke a hole through the realms and pull their contracted creature through it."

"Ah. The church isn't very fond of summoners either…"

"They're barely tolerated under strict supervision. And, that's because the gods and the church are charged with protecting this realm from extraplanar threats to Terras."

"Huh. So necromancers are bad because…?"

"We can call out the most dangerous threat. And, most of the creatures from the plane of death are ravenous and want to kill everything."

"Ah… that doesn't sound good."

"It's not. But… we're not all bad people, you know?" Zephyra glanced out the window and ate a few more bites of her pancakes. "Magic and mana is a part of all of us. And, we don't always get to choose our aspect."

"Why doesn't anyone know about all of this?"

"A lot of people know. It isn't common knowledge though. It's mostly something that academics would learn. So, you'd have to be rich, a noble, or loved by the church or the guilds to know much about it."

"I had no idea. But… I can only imagine that it would help a lot people understand their own magical capabilities."

"And, that's the problem from the eyes of the church. If people understood more about magic and it's origins, they'd be able to pierce the gate and cause a planar invasion."

"Ah, so they're probably right to keep it from us then."

Zephyra's mouth hung open in shock. She slammed the table and yelled, "No! They're not right!"

"Woah, woah. Hey, I'm sorry, alright?" He motioned for her to sit back down and to be a bit more quiet.

They attracted a fair amount of attention. Although, the tavern wasn't that busy in the middle of the afternoon.

"Let's bring the rest of these upstairs for Karen and Phil." Ted suggested. 

They walked back to their room in silence. 

Ted only dared to speak again after they were behind closed doors.

"So… I get that the church is oppressive and everything toward necromancers. But, I don't know, it seems like you really hate them."

"I do hate them! They're awful! They're the worst! They've killed and tortured so many people. And they've claimed to be innocent and righteous the entire time!"

"Zephyra…"

A few tears fell down her cheek. "Th-they even killed my daddy!"

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