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The Gift

Edward's Storyline, Chapter 6.3

copyright comidacomida 2018

The Ancient One, suddenly covered in rainbow scales and feathered wings coiled up on the floor and Ch'upikaq reached out his head to lay it down on the coffee table right in front of my leg. "Edward... I still have much to show you... to provide you clarity in understanding not only this Spirit that gives you such concern, but Spirits in general."

Red withdrew his head from the table, rising up off the ground as he wiggled effortless through the air, seemingly denying gravity's hold on him. "But I can show you more. You understand with your head... not with your heart."

Surprisingly, Green spoke up as well, though he didn't bother taking possession of the body. His voice came out of Red's mouth, but it sounded tired, bored, and just a little distracted. "I know more of her than the rest here-- I was there when she came into being."

That statement got a lot of attention from the Spirits gathered together. I looked at all of them, then changed my focus to The Ancient One, who had once again lowered to the ground as Red seemed more inclined to draw less attention after such an unexpected statement. In the silence that followed, I shook my head. "No. I said I wanted to hear from everyone, and if that means three different points of view from The Ancient One then I'll hear three. Let's go."

Unlike with the other three Spirits, The Ancient One didn't have any lengthy story to tell. I fact, aside from a simple "Then we shall begin." Red said nothing, and simply arched his back sideways, sending a loop of his noodle-body closer to me. One of his short legs reached out to me and his hand-like talon came to a rest on my knee. The world around me dissolved and I'm still not sure if I was dreaming, hallucinating, or just plain tripping balls... but what happened next blew my mind.

I floated in a sea of rainbow light of various levels of brightness. The entire 'ocean' moved and wavered based on that light; the colors and the illumination swirled and flowed like a tide that I could see as much as feel. Everything was warm, and got warmer when the light got brighter. What was really amazing was that all of the 'water' around me was bright and it flashed even brighter in time with my heartbeat, which was so loud that it was practically thunder.

Only then did I realize that everything else was practically silent with only the faintest little hum in the background. That silence was disrupted by the sound of Red speaking, but when he spoke it was only in my mind. "You now see the world as a Spirit."

Although I spoke I didn't actually hear my voice-- I felt it. "What IS all this?"

Even the act of asking the question caused the area around me to brighten; it was the strangest thing to experience. Red provided a simple and to-the-point answer. "You are seeing Spirit Energy. If you focus, you will be able to see the entirety of your apartment. That is Medved. Over there is Treboada. You will notice Tom between them."

I squinted my eyes or, rather, I tried to but, then again, I didn't have eyes. Still, even meaning to do it seemed to have an effect and it brought everything into better focus. It was all still a blur, but, when I concentrated, it started to make just a little more sense. The three Spirits were exactly where Red said they'd be, even though he wasn't actually pointing to anything or helping in any way other than to say that they were somewhere. Still, as I focused, I could make out three distinct forms. What surprised me though was that I could identify them by the absence of something. "They... look like shower drains."

It wasn't a good comparison but it was the first thing that entered my mind. Staring, I watched as the flow of Spirit Energy swirled around them before disappearing into a slightly darker center. I realized what I was seeing even before Red explained. "Spirits are entropy to the world of Energy. We consume what it is you provide and so we are identified by the measure of our hunger."

Although I didn't exactly have a head to rotate I was able to look around as if I did, but there was one strange consistent issue. "Where are you, Red? I can't see you."

His voice was still all around me, but he responded in a way that let me know he was to my right. "Here. You may only see the world this way if we are in contact."

I turned in that direction and almost jumped in surprise; I'm no astrophysicist or whatever but I could have sworn I was staring at a black hole. "What the shit?"

The energy of the world faded away from my view and everything became blurry; I blinked several times before my vision returned to normal and when I opened my eyes again my view was filled by Red's head and snout. He pulled away slowly. "You are distressed?'

Fuck yes I was 'distressed'. "You looked like-- I mean... you were a big black hole."

His head bobbed up and down in the air just a little faster than the rest of his body. "Some Spirits take in more Spirit Energy than others-- whether by affecting the physical world, or up-keeping powerful Spirit Charms, the amount of energy used or, their hunger, I suppose you could say, is visible based on how little light they reflect."

Medved leaned forward slightly. "The older a Spirit the more energy they take."

Treboada ran a paw through his chest fur and scratched at his abdomen absently as he spoke. "Aye... an' yeh also fin' Spirits like Th' Ancient One'll be usin' a lot t' hold 'emselves t'getheh."

Red nodded. "This is true. Such is the reason older Spirits are either incredibly powerful or cease to be."

I finally started to think I understood the point Red was trying to make, but he failed to explain something important. "So... what does this have to do with that girl?"

The furry Dragon slowly came in for a landing next to the coffee table. "I would have thought that obvious, Edward... she is ancient and, as such, her hunger is nigh-unquenchible. If she is to continue existing without consuming Humans directly she must cultivate a greater amount of Spirit Energy to maintain the status quo."

I 'hmphed'. "Figures that'd be easy for a Spirit that feeds off of war. There's always some kind of something going on these days."

When The Ancient One's head rose back up, I noticed that it was that of Ch'upikaq. The rainbow Serpent slithered closer until his head hovered over my lap. "Red increased your understanding of Spirit Energy as a resource, but I will show you something else... if I may."

I held my hand out, palm up and Ch'upikaq slowly lowered his head until it was resting atop it. I watched the Serpent slowly close his eyes, which was strange considering I didn't think snakes had eyelids but, as he did, my own vision grew dark. The next thing I knew I was transported again-- not into the strange sea of color and light that Red brought me to; this was something entirely new but strangely familiar. Believe it or not, I was looking at the Earth... from space.

The view practically required I ask "So... Spirits can be in space too?"

Ch'upikaq provided me an answer, but it wasn't exactly direct. "Among the Aztec, the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl was the boundary-maker between earth and sky, and one of the few great beings who could travel between both. When mankind first took to space they embodied an aspect of that god and, in that instant, the collective conscience of the world empowered the Spirit worshipped as a god, the one also known as Kulkulkan, and Q'uq'umatz, and Gukumatz... and Ch'upikaq."

Out of all of the strange names, the final one was the only one I really knew. "You? You're a god?"

His response was quick and certain. "No, Edward... I am a Spirit. In ancient times Humans would sometimes worship us as gods. It was one of the strongest and most certain ways for us to gain their adoration and receive Spirit Energy. Whether it was wrong to masquerade as a divine being or not had no bearing on whether or not Humans would worship us and, in many cases, the more we tried to avoid being seen or involving ourselves directly in the affairs of Humans the more they worshipped us. In time, most of us found an equilibrium."

Although I didn't know if his presentation directly related to the discussion, I tried to bring it back into focus. "So... what does that mean for a Spirit who loses all of his followers or whatever?"

Ch'upikaq pulled away and the world came back into focus-- the world of my living room rather than the Earth laid out beneath me. The serpent laid his head back down on the coffee table. "As Spirits grow stronger they require more Spirit Energy... it is easier for a strong spirit to starve than a weak one because it takes more to keep us going."

Red's voice spoke next out of the rainbow Serpent. "After the fall of the Mesoamerican empires Green and I were able to find Ch'upikaq and, together, we continue to exist as none of us could without the other. We are all ancient, and we were all, at one point very powerful... which, due to the entropic balance of the world, also engineers our downfall."

The furry Dragon brought up a good point, and it helped me make sense of everything. "So... this War spirit chick... she's not just looking to become more powerful, she's paying a huge amount of upkeep for her power."

Tom spoke fatalistically from his place in the corner. "Yes... and to do otherwise means she would risk oblivion. While she may overlook us involving ourselves in her affairs this time, we had best not make a habit of it."

I glanced from The Ancient One to Tom, then back again. "Okay... and what about Green? Green said he had something to share too."

The green Dragon's deep, bass voice rumbled out of Ch'upikaq's muzzle. "Yes I do... but it is for you alone."

He never wanted to make anything easy. Rubbing my forehead, I--