Divination and the Two-Bodies Problem

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[u]Also, had an odd couple of days to end off the week, but I was writing, so weekend double-chapters, woot woot!
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After the dragon left, Ahsch turned his attention to Rwnil. “So, the zone in hrafthi land…” he prompted.

The ascendant crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. “I’m not certain what you expect aside from ‘I don’t know,’” she retorted.

Ahsch raised an eyebrow. “You know nothing at all? Nothing to add to what Phashim said? No discoveries since she and her sisters were trying to investigate?”

“The clan that controls the territory around that area are insular, secretive, and rather unwilling to cooperate with other clans,” Rwnil said bluntly. “And since an ascendant leads them…”

Ariin grimaced. “I suppose it would be difficult to encourage them to share what they know.”

Rwnil nodded. “What I can say is that the phenomena Phashim detailed imply the work of bond magic, which suggests that whatever is within the zone, it is related to the hrafthi.”

Ahsch took a deep breath. “The question, then, is how to get there and enter the zone.”

A scowl darkened his mentor’s face. “As a godling of bonds, that should be a relatively simple feat for you.”

He frowned back at her. “You are more powerful at bond magic than I am, Rwnil,” he protested.

“You possess divinity.”

The word brought Ahsch pause. She was right, and given how Object of Worship worked… “I would likely need time - a _lot _of time,” he pointed out. “More than I would bet this secretive clan would be willing to grant us, or that we could earn through stealth.” He frowned. “And more than I can afford, considering my other obligations.”

“The refugees are expected to arrive within the month,” Dorin agreed. “We will need to return to R’sath before then, so at most in two weeks, just to be safe.”

“The journey to the zone would probably take longer than that,” Ivrine guessed. “That globe wasn’t detailed, but from what I could tell, the zone is not exactly nearby.”

Ahsch nodded. “So the entire question of getting to the zone - let alone inside it - is moot at this point. And I honestly have no clue when I will have the time to commit to an expedition that far from R’sath, for an unknown length of time.”

“Then you should focus on your goal of gaining a second body,” Kirasiel softly suggested. She almost shrunk under the sudden attention of everyone present, but pushed on. “The problem is that you can’t afford long stretches of time away from R’sasth, meaning that you can’t even begin to explore these zones. At the same time, you made a pact with Phashak, and I have a suspicion that uncovering the truth of the hrafthi’s - and the other outsiders’ - fall will be important, somehow.”

“She’s right,” Sti’el said, her gaze distant. “The secrets of eld, an antithesis of all, find hope in despair.” Her eyes rolled up in her head, and she slouched forward, only to immediately righten. “Fuck, that one hurt,” she complained, holding a hand to her head.

“What just happened?” Stisea asked.

“Divination,” Sti’el’s mother Maviem, Kirasiel, and Rwnil all replied at once.

Ahsch’s mouth moved silently as he repeated what his sister had said, and then he frowned angrily. “Wait, divinations happen in fucking haiku?!”

Everyone stared at him. “What’s ‘haiku?’” Sti’el asked, giving him a confused look.

He let out a groan. “Long story short, it’s a type of poem back on Earth, arranged in a sequence of five, seven, and five syllables.” He held up his hands and counted off the syllables as he recited Sti’el’s divination.

“The secrets of eld,

An antithesis of all,

Find hope in despair.”

Expressions of concentration filled everyone’s faces for a few moments as they confirmed his count themselves. “Odd, but likely coincidental,” Kirasiel said. “Divinations can occur in any number of forms - this is actually the first time I’ve heard of it happening in this sort of pattern.”

“And ultimately, the form is meaningless,” Ariin said. “What’s important is the meaning of the divination.”

“‘Secrets of eld’ seems pretty obvious to me,” Dahil said.

Ahsch shook his head. “It isn’t necessarily the zones,” he said. “I’m sure there’s any number of ancient secrets waiting to be found - we’re just assuming it’s the topic of our conversation because that’s what we’re focused on.”

Rwnil nodded. “Divination is known to be either vague or detailed enough to be useless, occurring randomly with little rhyme or reason. It can be focused, but the more important or impactful the event being divined…” she shook her head.

Ahsch nodded. “Seems about right,” he muttered. “And besides, ‘an antithesis of all’ doesn’t even make sense - it would have to be something that was literally antithetical to all of everything in existence - life, space, time, magic, matter, energy…” he shook his head. “And finding hope in despair could be as direct as finding hope while experiencing despair, or it could possibly be names of people or places…”

“So we just ignore it?” Stisea asked, seeming a little upset by the idea.

“We keep it in mind, but do not worry overmuch about it,” Noeh said. “I’m much more curious about what was mentioned before, about you getting a second body?” the man gave his son an intrigued look, one eyebrow raised high.

Ahsch sighed. “Given how taxed my time is, I’ve been looking into ways of… well, splitting my attention and working on multiple things at once. I’m somewhat hoping for my domain of bodies to give me something via Object of Worship, but I’ve also looked into other options, including commissioning one of the experts on magical constructs to research the issue. If I was able to be in two places at once, I could both remain in R’sath to fulfill my duties there, and embark on the expedition to figure out what secrets those zones are holding.”

Dahil frowned at him. “But how would an automata help you? Another pair of hands would be beneficial, yes, but it wouldn’t be another body, would it?”

Ahsch smiled sheepishly. “It would… if I somehow bound my soul to it while maintaining the bond between my current body and my soul.”

His mother gasped in shock at the suggestion, and even Rwnil raised an eyebrow. “That sounds… ambitious.” “Dangerous!” “Cool!” Dahil’s worry and Sti’el’s excitement clashed with the ascendant’s much more neutral tone.

Ahsch nodded. “Yes, though I have a, uh… well, failsafe, I suppose,” he said, glancing at his twin, who smiled and placed a hand over her belly.