Ariel Rolls: 82
Game Move:
GM: Here we go! Jophiel is going to activate Ariel’s ecstatic gland!
Jophiel stands before Ariel in the field of tall grasses and she lifts a hand that becomes charged with light blue energy that eventually forms into a ball of light blue that rests in her palm.
“What is that?” Ariel asks with wonder in her voice.
“It is my concentrated essence,” Jophiel explained. “The creator of Endla, the Archangels, and the Aerphim is Lêgba, Vodun of the Fonlands. He made all of it using the Essence that is generated there.”
“What are the Fonlands?”
“A glorious realm unlike anything found on your Earth. It defies the imagination of Earthers who cannot conceive of the awesome power and the beings that dwell there. Endla is the inspiration for the Earther concept of heaven, so the Fonlands is like the heaven of your heaven.”
Ariel’s mind reels. Everything she has witnessed on Endla confirms what Jophiel says. The vast grassland that they dwell has bounds and beyond them are billowing clouds of light blue that resemble the heaven Ariel had been taught to believe in. She even caught sight of winged people walking on top of or flying over the light blue clouds in the distance.
“As a daughter of Pultine, you are descendant from Earther and Fonlander commingling long ago, and you have been blessed with the rarest of gifts, a Third Heart. My essence,” Jophiel says and tilts her head toward the glowing ball in her hand, “is gathered from Endla. The clouds that make this world are all infused with the Divine Essence generated at its core. I used the essence to generate the portal that brought us here, and I use it to summon my flaming sword. I am able to use the essence because of my ecstatic gland, the very thing I will activate in you. Cut off from the essence, I am without those extraordinary powers. Your Third Heart allows you to generate this essence in your own body. Upon activation of your ecstatic gland, you will be capable of generating essence with your Third Heart, meaning you will always be capable of accessing your extraordinary power.”
“Are there a lot of people like me?” Ariel asked. “How many people from earth are descendants of Fonlanders?”
“Not many, and even among that population, only a small number are born with the physiology of Fonlanders, and that number gets smaller as the dilution of Fonlander blood lessens with each subsequent generation. You are truly special, Ariel, Pristine Black of Earth. Take this essence and absorb it into yourself to manifest your true form.”
Jophiel offers the ball of light to Ariel who stares at it reverentially.
“Go on, take it into your hand.”
“Will this hurt?” Ariel asks.
“Not at all,” Jophiel says with a smile. “In fact, it will be the opposite. Extend your open hand and call the essence to you.”
Ariel lifts an open hand and shakes her head.
“How do I call it…” she says before the ball begins to move and then rest in her palm. She feels warmth on her palm, like slipping into heat after being cold for too long, and she feels a charge like static electricity popping randomly over the surface of her palm. The charge is not unpleasant and she smiles at Jophiel as the charged warmth begins to sink into her hand, and then seemingly ride the blood vessels up her arm, to her heart where she feels an uncomfortable jolt that os quickly replaced by tingling goodness that spreads throughout her body as her heat pumps regularly. Soon she feels something completely unfamiliar at the base of her neck and in her diaphragm, like two separate things have come to life inside of her.
“You are glowing,” Jophiel says proudly. “Your essence is lovely. The aspect around you is a thick blue smoke, unlike anything I have seen on Endla.”
Ariel feels the thick, neon blue smoke issuing from her pores and the sight of it is frightening.
“How do I make this stop?”
“Why would you want to?” Jophiel asks with curiosity on her face. “Doesn’t it feel amazing.”
It does feel good, Ariel thinks, but the sight of the smoke is bizarre and makes her panic, fears of spontaneous combustion creeping into her mind.
Jophiel sees the panic in Ariel’s eyes and focuses her attention.
“You are in control of your body. You can stop your aspect by willing it to stop.”
“Stop!” Ariel yells at her arms and her aspect stops generating immediately, though the smoke she has already generated still dissipates around her.
“You will get used to it,” Jophiel assures her. “Your wings are incredible. Should we go for a tour of Endla so just you can test them out? With your essence generation, you can probably fly all around the planet and not tire.”
“What wings?” Ariel asks, and then she feels them. The new feelings in her body and the sight of her aspect had been so jarring that she hadn’t paid attention to the gentle ripping of the skin of her back, and the feeling of growing two new limbs that were large, but took little effort to wield.
“Pristine Black,” Jophiel says as Ariel moves her wings and inspects them.
“I have wing!” Ariel yells happily and she flaps them hard to lift off the ground. “I can fly!”
Jophiel meets her in the air and takes her hand. They fly over the prairie below, there are beautifully constructed cottages the size of mansions dotted throughout the landscape, as well as lakes where she can see people swimming, and eventually they fly through the bounds of the prairie scene and out to the billowing, light blue clouds.
“This is the outermost sphere of Endla,” Jophiel explains. “There is space above us, and there is the moon of Endla.”
Inside of the prairie vista, the permeable dome around it created an artificial sky overhead with a sun shining down, but outside of the dome, Ariel stares up at the wonder of the cosmos. There are more stars than she has ever seen in her life. The moon of Endla is large in the sky, about the size of the full moon on Earth but probably larger and it is blood red.
“Why is it red like that?” Ariel asks. “It looks creepy.”
“Why is the essence blue?” Jophiel asks in response. “It is home to the most powerful Aerphim born of Endla, who threatened the safety of tourists to this world. It is called the Arch of Hysteria.”
“Why does it have that name? Are the Aerphim there crazy?”
“The Arch of Hysteria is named for Hysteria, the daughter of the archangel Gabriel and the Supreme aboatia Ahdis. Her powers were so awesome that she struggled to control them. Metatron created the moon so that she could gain control of her abilities without harming others. She was so successful that she built an arch of five vistas on the moon to house and mentor others who struggled as she did.”
“Will you take me there to learn to control my power?” Ariel asks.
“You are a natural, you need no guidance. And one does not go to, or take others to the Arch of Hysteria. One is summoned there by Hysteria or her cohorts. I will take you into Endla to see the inner spheres.”
Ariel follows Jophiel as she dives into the blue cloud, and she is surprised at how intuitive it feels to use her wings. She loves the feeling of the essence coursing through her body that feels rejuvenated, stronger than ever before.
Jophiel shows Ariel the various Archs on Endla before they come to rest at one of the mansion sized cottages of the first vista that they arrived at on Endla.
“Does this mean my mama, my cousins, can do this stuff too?” Ariel asks as they sit on the porch of the cottage, their feet dangling over the side, and their wings resting at their backs.
“Not at all,” Jophiel says. “You are very special, Ariel. The manifestation of your Third Heart and ecstatic gland is mysterious even to Fonlanders. But you are here. And I will guide you.”
Ariel likes Jophiel a lot. She is the perfect guide to this new life she has discovered, which is strange for Ariel to admit considering how they first met.
“Jess and Seraphiel are expecting me back on Earth,” Ariel says. “We have this tour and it’s really important to my career. Are you going to come to Earth to be my guide, or can I come back every now and then?”
“I can only guide you here, on Endla,” Jophiel says. “I will continue your education and we will start a training regime to test the full range of your abilities and the full extent of your strength. This must be your life, no distractions. I will help you unlock your true potential. If you truly must return to Earth, then your education and training will be done by Seraphiel. He is strong, but he is not an archangel.”
“I thought archangels were male,” Ariel says
“Says who, your Bible?” Jophiel says with a laugh. “You saw how Seraphiel bowed to me, I am his superior in every way. But the choice is yours. You can return to Earth or stay here with me. I prefer that you stay.”
Game Move:
GM: How are you liking Endla, Ariel?
Ariel: It’s crazy to say, but as mind blowing as all this is, something about it all feels so familiar. I guess being close to Seraphiel, I must have gotten something off of him. I can’t believe what I am, and the more she tells me, the more I want to know.
GM: So you want to stay here and train with Jophiel?
Ariel: Yes and no. Honestly, I don’t know what I want now. I’ve worked for so long now to get what I have going now with Jess and Seraphiel, but does that mean anything now? I mean, I got wings and this crazy ass aspect. I’m torn. I don’t know what I want to do and I know you need something from me so I can roll, but I don’t know what to do.
GM: It’s tough, I can’t imagine making this choice. Though, if I’m being honest, I would stay on Endla it seems cool. But Jophiel did seem pretty hype on killing you not that long ago.
Ariel: Preach! She’s nice to me now, and I like to think I have that effect on people, but I’m not Aerphim, right? I’m mmoatia, and she said they were the enemy. You are not helping me make this decision.
GM: You can give it completely over to the dice if you want. You can roll 2d10 for a combined score, and if that score is more than 55, you stay on Endla. If it’s less than 55, you go back to Earth.
Ariel: Leave it to chance? Is that a good idea?
GM: I wish I knew. But I’m gonna need an answer. Do you have a move or do you want the dice to decide your next move?
Ariel: Can I roll to see what I should do? I’m kidding. Ok, so I’ll let the dice decide. Over 55 I’m staying with Jophiel, under I’m going to Earth.
Tune in next week to see if Ariel continues training and learning under Jophiel or if she goes back to Earth to join Seraphiel on tour.
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