“Thousands of worlds with their spirits stripped, and we are no closer to the cause. We shall vote to entreat a new Envoy, and if karma allows, they become divine. ” Seat of the Beyond to the Court.
Hugh was roused by a couple of voices that were somewhat familiar, “I’m his distant uncle and we had never tested him. That’s why he came to Kippur. But he was taken and sold as a slave. I got in trouble looking for him and that’s how I found Hugh here.”
A commanding voice that didn’t hide its condescension followed, “I don’t care about that. Why is the boy unresponsive?”
Hugh placed them in his mind as Heron now, “Since you were able to test his talent, I gave him the method we had been saving in the event that one of our family was blessed with the talent. It was on an inscription stone and he passed out after viewing it.”
The other voice seemed to speak to itself in a quiet tone, “His mental ability is so weak?”
Hugh opened his eyes as he looked around to see the purple-robed man standing over Heron and the guard from earlier next to himself facing away.
Falk seemed to notice as he turned to look at Hugh and said, “Ah. It looks like the boy is awake. Good.”
The guard turned to him as Falk started walking to the cell door saying, “Bring him along so we can get this over with.”
The guard placed his hand on Hugh’s shoulder saying, “Up boy. Follow me.”
Hugh felt a surge of warmth from the guard’s touch push into his body as he felt some of his exhaustion fade away. Even his blistered feet from the trip the prior week healed up and the dull ache that he had long accustomed to in his legs vanished.
Amazed by that, Hugh didn’t rise until he felt the grasping hand on his shoulder clamp down gripping his shoulder and yanking him up, “Let’s go. Appraiser Falk does not like to wait.”
Forced up to his feet, Hugh knew he didn’t have a say in the matter so he nodded as he took his first step toward the cell door once the guard’s grip was released.
Hugh had his own idea of what was happening but he wasn’t sure as he turned his head to look at the others in the cell before he walked out of view. As he did so, Heron said with his trademark smile, “Don’t forget about your uncle once you’re out.”
Hugh gave a meek smile back as he carried on following appraiser Falk who was waiting in the room at the end of the hall.
After leaving the building they were in, Hugh found himself being taken to a large building he remembered seeing before off in the distance. It was notable and he wanted to check it out once he got a job here.
Slowing his approach, Hugh looked up to see the massive walls he knew towering over the gate to enter Kippur. Buildings so large were amazing to him as he took a moment to stare.
That was short-lived. Hugh felt a push from behind and he heard the guard speak, “Stop gawking kid and follow appraiser Falk.”
Hugh caught himself before he stumbled too far forward and carried on into the building, but not before reading the sign a bit away above another entrance that others were almost flying through, entering and exiting, The Glittering Gallery.
After Falk had spoken to some people, Hugh was taken into what seemed like a small bedroom. Aside from the bed, there was a table, chair, and a sliding door he found a toilet behind, but not much else. Atop the table was food of some sort and what he assumed was water in a cup.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Hugh ate the bread and strange meat only having to pause to gulp down some water from eating too fast. Relaxing on the bed, he lost himself in thought. A while later he even tried to open the door to find it locked.
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The days went on like this as somebody would open the door to bring him food and water every so often and the only thing Hugh could fill his time with was trying to meditate and draw in the energy around him.
Hugh had no idea how things were going to go from here. He did recognize that despite his situation, he was fed well and could sleep in a nice bed. It was reminiscent of the soft bedding from his fourth life so he really didn’t mind too much. However, the worry about his future still nagged the back of his mind.
The next day when Hugh awoke, he finally set his mind straight to focus on what he could do. Ignoring the fact that he was confined to only this room, he sat cross-legged atop his bed and attempted to get a feel for the energy in the air.
It was hard to place since the air just felt a little different than the village he grew up in, but there wasn’t anything clear about it at all. Thus, Hugh sat there bringing his mind to focus on what he could feel.
He felt the shirt on his skin, the pants on his legs, the air entering his lungs. Hugh began to focus on the only thing he did know that his mother had told him, “Those that do practice mastering the energy all start by focusing on their breathing and the energy within the air as it enters their lungs.”
Hugh shifted to slowly focus on the air moving in and out. The sensation it created as it went in, and then out. He had been doing this almost constantly for over a week now when he could find the time, it was nothing new.
This time though, as he turned more and more towards that sensation, something seemed different. Something felt different.
It was hard for Hugh to place but to describe a subtle warmth, a distant fire on a brisk cold night. Ever so slightly, a vague sense that his lungs were the cave of escape from a torrent of rain held at bay outside.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
What seemed like a few short moments spanned into a few hours as Hugh lost track of any notion of time. Every breath pulled in just a bit more of that new sensation and any thought otherwise.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The employee brought food to the door only to leave with it, seeing that Hugh had not yet eaten the breakfast left behind. Hugh, for the first time, was lost in the trance of deep meditation.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Each breath was now steady and measured, smooth and long. Subtly flowing with the rhythm of the energy as it shifted around his body. A slow intake, cutting off a part of the whole. A bit of power from a steady breath. A state that those could not normally enter without years of training. Gifted by a seed.
Hugh’s eyes fluttered open, only to look around confused. He felt tired and full.
Thinking upon the feeling, he changed his mind. Not full, but his body felt satisfied. It was definitely a new feeling that he could only compare to being full.
A few moments later, he noticed the breakfast left just inside the door so he shifted to get off the bed and grab it to eat.
No matter how full the rest of his body felt, his stomach was yelling out for nourishment. As soon as Hugh shifted, he realized how stiff and sore he felt like he had been sitting like that for hours.
How could he?
Breakfast was still sitting right there. Was it that long?
A little confused, not much could hinder him at his young age as he hopped off the bed to snag the plate of food. As soon as he bit into the normally warm meal of oats, he found it cold.
It was no matter though with how hungry he was, quickly consuming what was there. Only, he was still hungry once he was finished. Leaving the now empty bowl back near the door, Hugh returned to sitting on the bed, pondering on the new sensation.
Luckily, only about ten minutes later, the door opened again. The person replaced the empty bowl with a plate of bread and a few vegetables and water set to the side in its own cup.
Hugh got up as soon as they left and snagged those too, until it was gone and he placed them back.
Laying back on the bed, Hugh felt good, better than he had before as tiredness overtook him and he passed out.
The next days went much the same, except every day, Hugh would awaken from the trance state earlier and earlier. On the seventh day, he had only spent under two hours in what he now referred to as meditation until he felt like he could not progress any further.
Day in and day out, Hugh repeated this. On the ninth day, he felt that it was good enough. How it was good enough, he wasn’t sure. What to do about it, he did not know either. He just had a vague feeling that he could do, something, and he would move on.
Unfortunately, Hugh had no idea of what he needed to do, and each new day, his meditation sessions were so short that he was once again sitting bored most of the day. That was until the 17th day, Hugh hit a wall. When he finished his meditation which lasted only a couple of minutes, he felt like that was it. There was no more that would happen. The sensation of needing something was all that was left and the next day he only took in a single focused breath before hitting the same feeling once again.
It was that day that something happened not long after.
