Chapter 15: Diviner

There are a lot of questions that demand answers. I am wholly confused and lost in the depth of the world I find myself venturing further into, it's a lot bigger than the cave that's for sure.

I want to know who the Cult of Phien are, who the Following are as well as why people seemed to view them in reverence, not that they didn't deserve it, especially from me seeing as they saved my life but just because I'm lost.

I want to know why the Mayor seemed like a jerk and how people died dishonourably, although I wasn't seeking to ask that one outright again, I still felt uncomfortable from the last time I tried.

I want to know a lot and I hope I'll learn enough to pass off as a stranger from another continent and nothing more soon. That's why I'm starting with learning about the Diviners.

The Diviners seem to be the most common thing worldwide, proof of this was the incredulous stare Anselm gives me when I confess my ignorance despite my claim of at being a foreigner.

He frantically calls them by several other names; Prophets, Priest of Sight, White eyes. I got the general idea that they were meant to be some kind of fortune tellers or psychics, but the role they play in society here could and is vastly different from the one they played back home, doubly so seeing as their powers were legit.

I insist he tell me about them, more because they made their coin with the magical powers and I wanted tutoring in the art than because of anything else.

"Well, Diviners are just…Diviners!" he huffs, still struggling with the idea that I could be ignorant of something so fundamental. "This is like trying to explain air."

"Look, just tell me who the Diviners are, what they do, how they do it and why they do it."

"Okay. Well, Diviners are from the Synagogue," I wanted to ask which Synagogue but I thought best to let him finish, "They are gifted their powers by the Goddess herself after many, many years of devotion. Diviners are typically old and frail looking but they've got this…feeling about them that just opens you up."

I quirk an eyebrow as he struggled to convey the power they gave off-sounds like a bit of omniscience really.

"And what do they do?"

"What do they do? They Divine." He says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, which it probably is. "The Synagogue is led by a council of Diviners, the very best and likely the oldest, they send out new Diviners to all parts of the world to help people move past grief, to warn people of danger, to predict harvest bounties, bless the soil, bless the children and women and men and let everyone feel the presence of the Goddess. They bless new rulers or denounce them as they are guided and some guide the passing of the dead too."

"Seems like they do a lot."

He nods, "They do. But mostly common people like Sem and Elsa just want their reassurance that their lands will produce a good batch of crops, blessings for their businesses, and especially for them to commune with the dead, those who have passed on to the Goddess."

"Except not everyone passes to the Goddess though. Also, who is this Goddess?"

Anselm let out another exasperated sigh, looking at me like a child who refused to behave.

"Yes, I'm prime example of someone who didn't go into the light of the Goddess. And the Goddess is Anera. The Goddess of Light. How have you not heard of her yet you practice magic?" He levels me with an accusing gaze, trying to peel back the folds of the mystery that is me.

"Forget about that. Just tell me, do these Diviners earn money?" This is what is most important to me; Sem had mentioned something about a free pass that makes me suspect there was a sort of free trial period before your card was charged the full bill.

"Well, I would assume so. They are dispatched to towns and villages everywhere; they mostly stay at the side of the local ruler who generally keeps record of who has had access to the Diviners before. They are difficult to reach, yet widely sought out. So, payment could be needed."

"You sound so unsure, are they paid or not. Do people pay to see them and ask for a commune or blessing? How do they work?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure." He shrugs and I barely resist the urge to facepalm, "I never had a reason to meet one of them while I was alive. First and last time I ever met them was just before I was sent to war, they blessed the entire army, a whole load of them in baggy robes, they held a piercing stare as they did, made you want to spill out everything in your mind. But before I joined the army, I was too poor to have a business. I sold handcrafted wooden toys to Nobles, but I barely had enough to eat. A Diviner was the last thing on my mind."

If one could get a headache from disappointment that would be what I was experiencing. I'd need to ask the locals after all.

***

I spent a bit pondering what my next steps should be depending on the either answer I'm given. If the Diviners weren't paid by the people, perhaps instead by the person managing the village or town, sort of like a salary, then I'd find myself hard pressed to find a means of monetizing my powers, few as they were.

However, if they were paid by the populace, I already had something in mind, and it all centred around the table I sat at. If all else failed I'd try convincing Anselm to help me steal, so far, he was still resistant to the idea.

"It's just not the same!" he shook his head warily; I've exhausted him today. If exhaustion was something a ghost could feel anyway. "There's a distinct difference. When I suggested you rob Arak village, I was certain that it was occupied only of evil. But here? They just want to live their lives and they are barely managing at that!"

His point was solid. Justified even and I doubt anyone could come up with a reason to refute it. Except criminals of course, and that's just what I am. Or rather was.

My criminal activities in my past life had been what landed me in this…place. I would apologize several times over what the terrible things I did and I would swear never to do them again but the truth is; I'd made up my mind. If my welfare, my existence, is in danger, I will do what I must to rectify it, ironically even if it brought me to an untimely end.

A chance of being safe, content and alive is better than the certainty of death and misery. Still, however much I tried I simply couldn't control Anselm as firmly as I thought I could. Waving the threat of not being summoned again only went so far, the man had principles, much like myself.

"Fine. I'll tell you now though, Anselm. If I get the opportunity to get myself out of this, don't expect me to turn it down."

He rolls his eyes but understood nonetheless. We sat in a tense silence and Anselm's six minutes ran out before the door swung open and Elsa came in, the wide smile on her face instantly gracing mine despite my foul mood.

"Dinners ready!" she calls out. She and Sem carried a large blackened pot in, steam rising from the inside, wafting the beautifully melded scents of tomatoes and vegetables.

"It smells delicious."

They heft it beside the table and Sem gets the wooden bowls and spoons to set the table.

Her eyes crinkle at me as she sits opposite me, shuffling her chair in, "Thank you, Great Mage."

I wince at the title, I love the thought of people grovelling at my feet and all but worshiping me, but the actual action was a bit off putting.

"What happened to your…friend?" she asks, looking about the small hut of a house. "Will he not be joining us?"

"Mother, he is a spirit." Sem says matter-of-factly as he sits down, his spoon ready in his hand to scoop up food as soon as his mother dishes it out.

"Oh…Well, may Anera nourish him." Her words come out more as a question than a statement.

We sit and eat in silence together; Elsa had scooped out a generous amount of the tomato-centric vegetable soup and dumped it in my plate. Near the end of the meal, when out plates our all nearly empty and the pot holds only enough for a small breakfast in the morning; I pose my question.

"Elsa."

"Yes, Great Mage?" she answers immediately, seeming to erect herself at the sound of my voice.

"You can call me Asher by the way. I want to ask, do the Diviners receive payment from people?"

She frowns, tilting her head to the side as she swallows up the last of her soup. "Do you mean if we pay to see them?"

"Yes."

"We always do. The only exception is when we want to commune with our dead. We can commune with them for free once, the next time will be charged. But Sem and I haven't even gotten the chance to commune with my Husband, the Mayor, the village…" she stops, her breath hitching a bit and I thought for sure she was about to bawl but she breathes and sniffs a bit before she continues. "I held hope that you would be able to summon him like you do your friend but..."

"I'm sorry I can't help you there. From what I have learned about spirits, they either move on or linger. I can only summon those who linger." I lend her a smile and add, "Perhaps this is a good thing. Those that linger often cannot return and are stuck between the living and the dead, they are not taken by…Anera."

"That does sound like a good thing." Sem mutters, a small smile lighting up his otherwise stained with food face.

"Yes. It does." Elsa agrees before turning back to me. "Why were you asking about the Diviners? Do you want to commune with someone?"

"No. Nothing like that." I smile. The Diviners were paid by the people, it was very well a business. Just like back home with the many churches collecting tithes and offerings for a lifted conscience every Sunday.

"But you can tell me more though. Like how much you're meant to pay for the Diviner's attention." She gives me a confused look, shared wholeheartedly by her son, "And so we don't starve, I'm going to be needing this table and the chairs as well."

Yes. I always played with the idea of starting a church back home but never got around to actually looking into what made the faith business so successful. A second life a second chance.

Time to be a Diviner.