Chapter 22: Gifts and Preparations

As Laurence woke he could still hear the ringing in his ears. He could not stop it without giving them the Book, but because he had collapsed, Manas had moved him into a quiet room.

He sat up and rubbed his temples. The ringing had not stopped but it was quiet again, just waiting to spring out and knock him down. Noticing that someone had taken him out of his uncomfortable leathers, he clamped the blankets around his neck to keep his body heat in.

“I never took you as someone who was... who is I guess... afraid of crowds,” Manas said, noticing that Laurence had woken up from the left side of the room. His wife was resting on his shoulder and Cleo was curled up in a ball on a pile of cushions in the far corner of the room.

“I'm not usually,” Laurence replied. “It was kind of overwhelming though. I have to be honest with you, Manas. I have been holding out on you for the last week. Not by choice, but apparently the room I collapsed in was what I was waiting for.”

“Err what? What do you mean?”

“Here,” Laurence said, pulling two books out of thin air and throwing them at Manas’ feet. The red leather bound books had a single war-hammer emblazoned on the front and nothing else signifying their importance. Manas looked at them before picking them up and slowly opening the cover. He got halfway through the opening of the book when he stopped and began shaking. His face paled and he started to make a shocked gagging squeak that woke up the woman resting next to him.

“Is this... Is... Is...?” Manas looked up at Laurence and then down at the book before letting it fall open. On the first page was a map of the area surrounding them with dots and names representing the people in the area. He stared at it for a while, tracing the names written in the slightly wonky, childish cursive before turning the page and immediately stopping breathing.

“Yes. And the other copy is for your wife. You two will be some of the first members of my revival. You're going to be part of the new Hephaistians”.

“The new... This is a little bit much to take in?” Manas stopped and looked at the book before closing it shut. “Can I show this to others or do I have to keep it secret?” He was worried, Laurence could see that obviously, and he could understand why. It was a lot to believe, that the Book he had yearned for for his entire life was in his hands, and yet there was a non zero chance that it might all disappear if he showed it to the wrong person.

“Nothing like that. I would just like you to send every single person in the base to meet me over the next couple of days. One at a time please. I have a lot more Books to give out”.

“You mean...?” He looked at the Book, then at the door and then at Laurence. “How many people?”

“I know at least a hundred. No idea above that. I'll know when I'm done though. The Book will tell me”.

Manas stared agape at Laurence as he spoke. “The Book of Creation... it... it speaks to you?”

“Not really. I just have this incessant ringing in my ears that should go away once I give out all the books I need to. The only reason I collapsed was because the sensation overwhelmed me. It was pretty rough. Anyway order the people up here, one at a time, and I will begin doing my job”. Laurence smiled and pulled the blankets off himself, revealing his completely nude form. Manas averted his eyes and began pouring over the book, but Laurence could not help but see his reaction. “You didn’t undress me?”

“Not at all, your female friend in the corner did, before staying up for the twenty odd hours you were asleep for. She fell asleep about an hour before you woke up”.

Laurence blushed and moved quickly to cover himself up. As he began pulling his breeches on he stopped. How odd... he thought. He was not usually self conscious of anyone, so he could not help but wonder what had caused his sudden hot flush and wish to cover up. He was in no way ashamed of his body, he never had been. It was ineffable to him, but it was not a bad sensation, just unexpected.

He sat back down on the bed and asked Manas to begin organising everyone coming to meet him, before opening his own Book and looking through it idly. Manas and his wife left the room, and Cleo woke around twenty minutes later, just before the first person came into the room. She smiled with bleary eyes at Laurence, which made him flush red again. This is concerning. If I can’t control my emotions when she is around, I might snap around her and what is within me might wake up... And yet... It doesn’t feel like it will from this. I don’t understand.

He continued to mull over what was happening to him even after the first person was walked into the room. He looked at the person and immediately waved him away before delving into the Myriad Manifestations in order to not think about his odd reaction to Cleo. His focus was on the forty-fourth Manifestation, the one that Yun was now obsessed with. As the next person came through into the room, Laurence looked up, pulled another red leather bound book and gave it to the man before ushering him out. The man looked confused but all Laurence said was “This is the Book of Creation, ask Manas about it,” before returning back to the Manifestation. He knew the Manifestation itself required immaculate planning, as well as an insane level of perseverance, but each time he saw the description and process of taking the Manifestation step he was blown away by the necessary materials alone. Tons of all the elemental stones, A lake’s worth of Avernum water for purification of all the separation gems, and the wood of an entire Saint tier living tree.

The process of actually making the Manifestation was simple. All that was required was a ring of stone and a single living plant in the highest earthen area within the ringed region, however the more of an area that is contained within the ring of stones and the plant, the more demanding the quality and purity of the materials becomes. To get to the stage that it would take for Yun to make the forty-fourth Manifestation, it would require a massive area within the boundaries and an incredibly pure and powerful set of materials, to the point where none of them were below Saint rank. Luckily it was possible for Yun and Laurence to refine all the materials as long as they persevered. The swamps of Biqiril were filled with water that seemed to show the properties of Avernum water, so that he knew Yun would not be short of that, however they would still need to spend months of work to build the other items needed for Manifestation, and then months setting the Manifestation up itself. This was all for Yun just to step into the league of Heaven rankers.

Laurence sighed. There was so much to prepare, but preparation was necessary. If Yun broke through unprepared it would be way too dangerous and there was a chance he could die. Unlike Sainthood, which was a burst of strength from the manifestation of your mana reservoir, Heaven, by all accounts Laurence had read, was a fundamental rebuilding of your person from the inside out. It was a true physical rebirth that allowed one to truly appreciate and learn another path to add to your foundation. It was not something he was willing to let his brother fail, so as soon as he could safely walk out of his room he would begin the process of aiding Yun.


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