Blessing

Once again, Cain found himself escorted into a new room. This time, however, Instructor Thorne and the other Instructors did not linger. They quietly closed the door behind them after guiding the Inductee's into the room. This room was a lot different from the ones he had previously been in. While the room was large enough to accommodate the company, it had low ceilings and dim lighting. A long line of candles on thin wooden stands lay adjacent to the walls of the room. They cast an eerie orange glow on the room, the light diffusing into the darkness hiding near the roof. The Inductees sat on the stone floor, each given a simple leather pad to sit on. Their shadow's danced on the floor to the rhythm of the flames. To one end of the room, a man sat. It was hard for Cain to make out his features in the subdued light.

The sitting man was silent, back turned to them and legs crossed. He was bald just like Instructor Thorne. A myriad of scars covered his scalp. He was also missing an ear. Instead of the training uniforms Instructors wore, he had on a simple black garb. It flowed graciously around his seated figure, accentuating his wide back. He faced a shrine to Fa. Elevated on wooden stand, a small stone icon to Fa was surrounded by more candles sitting on a white cloth. The icon showed what seemed to be a one-eyed man with four arms. It was intricately detailed. The muscles on its arm, the flowing robe similar to what the sitting man was wearing, its hammer in it's hand. It almost seemed alive.

The Inductees sat in silence with the seated man. They all seemed afraid to break the serene silence that filled the room. The man looked incredibly peaceful. Until he turned around.

Under the illumination of the candles, the man looked like something plucked right out of a mushroom abuser's fever dream. He had no eyebrows. His face was covered in scars just like his scalp. The tip of his nose was sliced clean off. The left side of his face drooped, the remnants of an incredible burn. Yet his eyes radiated a deep kindness. Cain almost jumped off his pad. It was as if the room collectively held their breaths. The man gave them a lopsided smile and spoke.

"Good evening Inductees. I hope you have all enjoyed your lessons so far. My name is Head Instructor James el Haggerty. But call me Brother Haggerty. I will be the one that teaches you all about the Blessing."

Head Instructor Haggerty - Brother Haggerty - had a soothing baritone voice. A kind of voice that would sing at the local tavern and be showered with love and coin. It was definitely something Cain did not expect coming from a person that looked like that.

"I am sure you have all noticed my appearance. Do excuse it. They are scars from the past. I have long since set down my sword. Now, I exist to teach the young the ways of the Blessing and to bring us all closer to Fa. Hopefully this way, none of you will have to experience what I have."

The Inductees seemed to relax a bit with Brother Haggerty's reassurance. There was no denying the man's holiness. He exuded it from his very pores. It was something Cain was used to. Although, no brother or sister of the orphanage he knew had looked like him.

"There is a lot to teach about the Blessing. But I am sure many of you are already familiar with it. Especially vir Bellona and vir Fabii. However, I will still give you the simple explanation."

Brother Haggerty raised the left hand which had been sitting in his lap. He made the Prayer to Fa, crossing his index and middle fingers. Slowly, a soft glow emerged from his fingers. It was fluid, slowly enveloping his entire hand. The soft glow looked incredibly warm. Cain looked upon it with awe. Never before had he seen the Blessing in person.

"This is a visual representation of the Blessing. It is a power bestowed upon us by Fa. Only by completing your rituals may you possess such power. As you know, Fa is the deity of the earth, grass, trees, rock, and metal. But most importantly, he is the deity of protection. With Fa's blessing, he grants us the power to protect ourselves when we need it the most."

Slowly, the soft glow disappeared and Brother Haggerty lowered his hand back onto his lap.

"You may or may not have caught it, but I called great Fa a deity. That is because he is not a god. A god is all knowing, omniscient and omnipotent. But he is far from that. There is only one god, at that is the Great Bard. This is something not generally preached by other temples of Fa. That is because they simply do not know deities' history. At heart, I am a religious scholar. I have studied Fa and the other deities my entire life.

"There are currently three major deities. Fa is worshiped in the bastion cities and neighboring lands. In the central continent, Hela - the deity of wind, clouds, levity, and alacrity - is worshiped. In the south, it is Corintha: the deity of light, sound, color, and acuity. The three deities form the triumvirate. Each deity provides it's followers with different Blessings, each deity requiring to perform different rituals. The secrets of these rituals are not given to many. Actually, it is only the ritual of Fa which is shared publicly. Of course, this is due to the nature of the Institutes. The rituals of Hela is kept at close guard by the nobles in the central continent. The city states do similarly with the rituals of Corintha. The Great Bard, however, is almost unknown in nature. The Bard's teachings simply do not exist. There are mentions of the god here are there on ancient murals in the ruins of old temples and settlements. They depict him to be a being of incredible power and holiness. Otherwise, we simply do not know of his relations with the deities. And if the Great Bard had any, his rituals are long lost in the annals of time. Unfortunately, people are incredible selfish. Without a potential Blessing, The Bard almost has no followers."

All the Inductees listened with rapt attention, unwilling to let any spec of inform unheard. Cain knew how important Blessings were. While it was his first time hearing of the Great Bard, he had heard of his caretaker's stories of the Line. They had all once been Blessed by Fa. But apparently then had all lost their Blessings soon after being discharged. Why, he had no clue. All he knew was that Blessings gave their wielders powers beyond any normal human. That was something that definitely piqued his interest.

"Fa's Blessing in particular does one thing. It protects its wielder. The glow you had seen earlier was simply me willing it to be detectable to the physical eye. The size and strength of the Blessing is purely determined by the follower. Not every follower received the same boom from Fa. It is not known why Fa blesses some more than others. But it is not our duty to understand Fa's intention. Simply deliver it."

Brother Haggerty gave them a warm smile.

"I believe Fa's Blessing to be the most beautiful. Because it directly represents his love for his followers. His desire is to protect those who believe in him. To protect the lives of his people."

Brother Haggerty seemed to take a slight pause. Cain couldn't hold in his curiosity anymore.

"Brother Haggerty! I apologize for interrupting your lesson, but I am very curious about what the other Blessings do! And don't all citizens of the bastion cities go through the Institute? Why is it that they don't have access to the Blessings once they discharge?"

The other Inductees around him seemed to nod in agreement. They were all curious about the same two points. Brother Haggerty seemed unperturbed by the sudden interruption.

"Good questions Inductee. First off, the matter of the other deities' Blessings. As the deity of wind, Hela's Blessing provides its wielder with incredible alacrity. Watered down, the follower's speed is increased. They also have the ability to make the items on their body lighter. Corintha's Blessing is slightly less straightforward. As the deity of acuity, she provides her followers with incredible senses and vision. Sped up reactions, being able to process more sensory information, and more. But then again, not much is known about any aspect of life and religion in the city states. For your second question, it is not completely known. There are two major theories however. One is that Fa only blesses those who are in need of his Blessing. The consensus for this school of thought is that Blessings disappear because his power is spread thin across the incredible amount of followers that he has in the bastion cities and beyond. Therefore he only blesses those who truly need it. Another theory is that many of those who are discharged after their service cannot properly perform their rituals. It has been observed that not performing Fa's rituals consistently leads to a decrease in the vigor of his Blessing. Although, a counter to this theory is that there are many who perform his rituals after discharge but are still unable to wield his Blessing. Personally, I believe that the correct answer is a little bit of both. Fa's rituals must be performed daily to show your faith to earn his Blessing. Another is that Fa can only bless so many people. But he also personally chooses to bless those who carry out his will. And that is why I am still blessed. I have the duty of passing on my knowledge and teaching of Fa to the many young that pass through these halls."

The Inductees seemed satisfied with his answer. Cain still had one more question, but Jorn beat him to the chase.

"Then, would it be possible to have multiple Blessings?"

Eleni leaned forwards. So did Cain. There was a dangerous sparkle in Jorn's eyes. Horrow looked indifferent. Surprisingly, Brother Haggerty let out a hearty laugh.

"I always seem to get the same question. Is it possible? Perhaps. I do not know. There is nothing saying you could not. The deities are greatly interconnected when it comes to the religious texts. The nature of earning and wielding their Blessings are also really similar. Many have tried to do so. Followers of Hela have traveled from the central continent with overflowing purses to attempt to commune with Fa. Many had completely failed! And those who succeeded communing with Fa happened to lose Hela's Blessing! The deities are a lot more fickle than we think. When I was younger and more hot-headed, I personally attempted a pilgrimage to the capital and met with a noble who's family was incredible debt. With the power of coin, I managed to convince them to teach me the rituals of Hela. I attempted communing with Hela to no avail."

Brother Haggerty nodded his head as if chastising his past self. A small smile sprouted from his face.

"While it may be possible, I have yet to hear of it happening. And if it did, it would makes waves in religious circles and the universities to the west. Perhaps it would be much wiser to hide such powers. Greed is an incredible motivator. Even I am not completely immune to the throes of avarice. But now, while I would love to answer all your questions, I would have to ask you to refrain asking for now. We still have something very important left for the day. It is time to begin teaching you Fa's ritual."