Moving Forward

The next few days passed without incident. Maera and Wen moved in properly on the fifth day of the week, taking the room adjacent to Naemui's, but only the one - the two had cautiously asked about sharing, an eventuality Ahsch had anticipated when constructing the Temple, and so was prepared for and allowed. To that effect, the priest quarters were constructed in two groups: the first was smaller, though large enough to comfortably fit two or three occupants, if they didn't mind the close quarters; the second group was much larger, designed for the more harem-style norm and able to house between four and eight residents, depending on how close people were okay being. Therefore, it was no problem for Maera and Wen to share a small room neighboring Naemui.

The trio of acolytes were clearly dismayed by the complete and utter lack of any proper religious texts about Enochiel and his religion. Enough so that, to appease an almost frighteningly-upset Maera - and with plenty of prodding from Ariin and Mahat - Ahsch handed over his (completed and up-to-date) journals. The girl spent almost every waking moment with one or the other on hand, pouring over it and, with Ahsch's blessing, expanding on his writings. As such, she spent a lot of time speaking with the hrafthi, asking for clarification and his own thoughts on what he'd written.

Clearly, the first true holy text of the Order of Enochiel would be written by Maera. Amusingly, she seemed blind to that fact, as anytime someone hinted at it, she brushed off the comment, saying that she was simply refining Ahsch's writing into something she and the other priests could reference with greater clarity. Her obliviousness was rather endearing, and even Wen smirked about the discrepancy between his partner's actions and perception with great amusement.

Meanwhile, Elui was much more outgoing after her conversation with Ahsch, though she didn't meet one-on-one with the hrafthi again. However, she spoke during meals and spent time with Ariin, the acolytes, and the angels. It was the latter that almost gave Ahsch a heart attack when he overheard the rabbit-girl asking the three divine servants about Enochiel, and he was eternally grateful that he'd already commanded them to keep the truth about his identity a secret. He was, however, quite intrigued by how curious she was about Enochiel, as her curiosity extended far past what he expected - the general ideas of what Enochiel taught and why he taught it - and into questions about the god's personality, desires, what his 'work' on Euphoria entailed, and other, deeper questions.

Questions that the angels were unable to properly answer. As much as they were extensions of Ahsch's will, they didn't know his thoughts and feelings the way Mahat did, and since he either hadn't shared his goals, or commanded his angels to secrecy about most of what he had shared, Elui often left her conversations with the angels in a state of frustration and deep contemplation. The angels were forthright about which questions they simple didn't know and which ones they were commanded not to answer, and while Ahsch wished in hindsight he'd commanded more circumspect responses into them, he wasn't too upset with Elui knowing which questions fell into which categories.

Six days into Ahsch's 'exile,' he'd managed to complete his learning of the diagnostic spells. Tempted as he was to immediately jump into creating the 'Checkup' spell, he decided to instead enjoy his progress and simply relax and celebrate. Deciding to save the celebratory fucking for the evening, he instead took a walk through the Temple, and reveled in the chance to stretch his legs and get some fresh, Mana-dense air. He took a full tour of the Temple, walking through all four quarters and both the inner courtyard and outer ring. His stroll was cut abruptly short when he found a collection of the most unexpected things in one of the dead-end alcoves of the outer gardens: a pink-furred, clearly mystical rabbit, which had black antlers on its head and black feathers growing from around its ears and along its back, was peacefully munching on the leaves of a black-petaled flower with pale, green-blue veins that were clearly transporting Mana throughout the plant; meanwhile, a handful of other, similar flowers had sprouted throughout the alcove, including from the hedge, and a collection of crystals, which ranged from pastel pinks to translucent black, had grown as well.

Has anyone reported any developments that we can attribute to Mystic Domain? he asked his familiar and sister, including Dorin after a moment's thought.

I don't think so, Master, Ariin replied. Why?

He sent an image of what he was seeing.

Oh!

There was silence for a long moment. Avery? the Dominant Mage prompted, sending his wife the update.

Another minute of quiet. I'll have butler send some people to research what the hell you've created, she said finally.

Thank you, Ahsch said. We can house and feed them here. He then set about preparing an announcement for the Temple's residents via Ariin, letting them know that changes had, in fact, occurred, and to keep an eye out. Then, his curiosity getting the better of him, he approached the rabbit cautiously. Despite the odd collection of traits, he could tell that the animal was not a beast - it lacked the aura of one of those feral creatures. As he got closer, the hrafthi could sense that, unlike most animals, this one had the dense Mana of a beast. It regarded him calmly as he approached, never ceasing its chewing. Crouching down, Ahsch carefully held out his hand for the animal to smell.

It blinked, leaned forward to sniff, then returned to its meal unperturbed. Emboldened, Ahsch began to pet it. The only reaction was that it leaned into his hand slightly and arched its back to get more contact on the second pet.

Oh my gods that's the most adorable thing! he exclaimed, his heart aching at the cuteness.

I wonder how it would taste.

A chorus of shocked and appalled exclamations greeted Avery's pondering, and she cackled gleefully at the chaos she caused.

A few minutes later, Ahsch was sitting on the grass, gently petting the rabbit as it ate, and only paused as he looked up to find Ariin, Mahat, Dorin, the acolytes, and Elui all approaching.

"What is that?" Naemui asked, eyes wide with wonder.

Ahsch chuckled. "I have no idea," he admitted. "I've never heard of an animal like this; with the coloration, the antlers, the feathers, the Mana?" He shook his head. "It should be a beast, and its far too docile and trusting to be an animal." He looked around the alcove. "I'm not so sure about the crystals and plants, since I'm less familiar with how Mana and geology and botany interact, but at the least I'm not familiar with them from the woods around Sarvas."

Everyone else agreed, then settled in to admire and pet the rabbit, which nonchalantly accepted the situation and continued to eat. After being ejected from his spot by his sister, Ahsch stood beside Dorin, smiling at the scene for a moment. "After you've gotten your fill of the cute bunny," he said softly, "I want you to organize for a handful of servants to make a pass through the Temple after each meal. I don't want to miss any new developments."

"Of course... Ahsch," came the reply. Do you want anyone to explore the surrounding area as well? If I recall, you said you had extended the influence of the Ley Spring to encompass all of the land you own here.

Ahsch chuckled at his own carelessness. Yes, please, thank you. I'd forgotten about that. He thought for a few more moments. See about expanding the sentinel ****, he added. We should have the entirety of the territory at least occasionally patrolled, and I don't want to disrupt the current setup Tyrn has, so coordinate with him about what would be appropriate.

_Define 'occasional patrols,' _Dorin said, softly chuckling in Daydreamweave. That's vague and Tyrn will be cross with me if that's all the direction I bring him. I'd guess... once or twice a day?

The Dominant Mage grinned. You read my mind, he said, then paused and almost snorted. Dominant's Tithe?

The servant shot him a small smirk. I told you that we'd find some extra benefits.

This time, Ahsch did snort, then quietly left the group to their cooing over the rabbit. As incredible and exciting as the discovery was, it did give him even more work to do.

A couple hours later, the rabbit-appreciation club had disbanded, and a pair of sentinels had been posted to control traffic to its alcove. As calm as the animal had been, Ahsch didn't want to overwhelm it by giving the over 100 people who lived at the Temple free reign to see it any time. The sentinels were instructed to only let groups of three in to see the rabbit, and to only allow them ten minutes per person. Ahsch had likewise made an announcement, which had been well-received, and the Temple and surrounding land had been checked over for any further developments. Aside from another, different cluster of crystals growing in a dark corner of the hot springs, and another batch of flowers that had sprung up on the shore of the artificial lake across from the Temple, nothing had appeared.

Ahsch was in his office, reviewing the briefs that Dorin had written up on the proposed research team Butler had assembled that would be arriving in two days, when there was a soft knock at the door. "Come in," the hrafthi called out distractedly, double-checking the estimation of the team's stay at the Temple to confirm it said 'indefinite.' Which made sense, given nobody linked into Daydreamweave was able to figure out what the animal, plants, or crystals were, so it was possible that...

"Am I disturbing you, Lor... Ahsch?"

He looked up at Elui's voice. "Oh, sorry, no, I was just finishing. My wife is sending a research team to investigate our findings, and I was double-checking the estimates on what they'd need, where they'd stay, how long they'd be here..." he shook his head. "Nevermind, boring administrative stuff I can't wait to pass off onto somebody else," he said, chuckling. "What can I do for you?"

The rabbit-girl shifted, and Ahsch blinked at her nervous energy. Focusing on his Heartsight, he could see... yes, she was quite anxious, almost... afraid? He frowned in concern. "Elui, what's wrong?"

She made a couple of false starts, then swallowed and took a deep breath. "I'm sure you're aware that I've been asking... Enochiel's angels a lot of question about Him."

Ahsch raised an eyebrow. "Yes..." he replied slowly. "Though I suppose that's only to be expected, given your situation..."

The rabbit-girl nodded, chewing on her lip for a moment. "I... I noticed something... interesting, aside from their relative lack of insight into the god that created them, that is."

The hrafthi managed to chuckle awkwardly in response. "I suppose he just... didn't feel the need to inform them of his plans? After all, I was aware of his 'approach' long before they came to be, so perhaps he saw it as redundant."

Elui gave him a searching look for a moment. "That's... just it though. There were questions that I expect you know the answers to, even a couple that _I _knew, that none of the angels were able to answer... either due to ignorance or their creator commanding them to secrecy. And I..." She shook her head. "That's just... it gave me suspicions, but when I asked other questions..." She shifted again, looking very unsure. "As I said, I noticed... something..." she barely said the last word, her voice fading with her anxiety.

"Elui, if something's wrong, you can tell..."