Chapter 1386 (Patreon)

There was that old adage that a crisis was composed of a danger and an opportunity, rolled into one. Or a turning point, it depended on the translation, but opportunity worked just as well. Hel, even Shatterpoint, to steal from the popular franchise, could serve as a working translation. In this case, it certainly fits. There had been danger, both generally and to me personally. No matter how capable I was, there was some risk in assisting with the birthing process, simply because I had been focused on my work, leaving me potentially vulnerable to attack or ambush. It had worked, but the danger had most certainly existed.

Similarly, the entire giant-resettlement project had been in danger. The loss of even one of them would be troublesome, to say nothing of the issues that would have manifested if I had botched the birthing process. One of my more promising ideas to regain Sigmir’s soul rested on the way I could introduce and market my beloved to the giants. Assisting with the birthing process had the potential to go south, turning that idea into nothing but smouldering ash.

However, that was where the opportunity, or whatever you wanted to call it, came in. The giants, well, Naya, their spiritual and general leader, was now introduced to Sigmir. Well, to her image, and the image of the ravens as Sigmir’s companions or messengers. In addition, they had seen me, my body, as a benevolent force, though I wasn’t completely certain how I wanted to portray my relationship to Sigmir. The obvious solution was to show that one of Sigmir’s ravens was more than a raven, though I would have to see how to best portray that. I had no interest in making me Sigmir’s divine subordinate; I wanted to be her equal partner, not her pet. No matter what the blush on my cheeks suggested.

To drive home the point that Sigmir was a benevolent being, one who guided and guarded them, I decided to remain in the area, turning my old, somewhat simple shelter into a better base. Not a full one, let alone an important structure like my tower, but it was a place to rest my head and sleep. Simple, comfortable and secure enough for my tastes. 

Then, I began the proper work. It wasn’t a task that could be accomplished in one night, but once the initial connection was made, I wanted to complete the job and fully establish the connection. So, day after day, I was using scrying constructs to observe the giants, especially the group around Naya. On occasion, I provided a bit of assistance, though I never had to step in personally again; merely using magic through my constructs was sufficient. More importantly, I continued a project I had pursued when I first moved the giants here, only now the seeds I had planted were germinating. The giants had, originally, been little more than massive brutes, more beast than intelligent being. Compared to some of the dogs we had met, or the Sasquatch, the giants were primitive and, frankly, dumb, but I had always wanted to change that. To make them into more than brute force and dumb muscle, I wanted to turn them into a race Sigmir would be proud to be associated with. 

Originally, I had given them lessons in dreams and brief visions, and now, I was using those same tools once more. Visions, giving a bit of guidance when needed, always using Sigmir’s guise, just as I had back then. It was a relatively simple process, but it proved to be quite effective. Sure, they wouldn’t suddenly turn into some super civilised society, but I could see the progress day after day. They were becoming more than they had been, especially when I gently nudged their minds magically to become a little better. I couldn’t simply wave my hands and uplift them, but I could assist them. And they took that assistance and ran with it, demonstrating that giant-long legs could run pretty damn fast.

The other half of the work, the work done under the cover of the night, was to whisper in dreaming ears and sleeping minds. I was trying to be as subtle as I could, but it wasn’t easy. This wasn’t something I had done before, so it might be a good thing that the giants, as a race, were fundamentally not a very subtle race. That lack of subtlety seemed to be ingrained in them, deep down in their racial psyche and make-up, making them somewhat stubborn and hard-headed, but I didn’t really mind that. Mainly because the stubborn hardheadedness meant that they wouldn’t change their minds easily. So, I would only have to work my way through their minds once to plant the idea, maybe water the seeds on occasion with the odd dream to reinforce it, but ultimately, this would be self-reinforcing. I only needed to get the process started. 

And I did get the process started. It took me almost two weeks of near-constant work, with maybe an hour or two of sleep on an average day, but I managed to push through. It wasn’t fun; even with my high attributes, sleep deprivation could be an issue, but I managed.

The first time I noticed that the dreams of a giant I was visiting were already focused on Sigmir and on receiving guidance from her, I couldn’t help but grin. That grin went even wider when I started to plant the basic ritual that conjured the image of one’s suitable deity into Naya’s mind. It was, admittedly, a bit of a gamble. I had no idea whether Sigmir’s image would pop up, whether they would be guided to me, or even to some entirely different deity, but I felt that having the system provide them with the ‘official’ image to deify her. The other issue I could see was that the giants were still primitive. Not really at the level of organised religion as I understood it, more in the state that belief in the supernatural served as a survival trait. After all, when random movement, like that of the wind, was more likely to be associated with spirits or supernatural forces, people were exceptionally vigilant to avoid annoying those forces. That vigilance also helped detect and ward off mundane predators, thereby aiding prolonged survival. 

Not that the giants had all that many predators. Their size alone gave them fairly good protection; their sheer bulk was an intimidating and deterring factor. In addition, they were supernaturally tough and strong beyond their impressive physique, to the point that they would likely be able to fight foes above their level with relative ease. At least, dumb foes, any reasonably intelligent being would be able to easily exploit the myriad flaws giants had and take the victory. But beasts like bears, moose or similar critters? Giants ate those for breakfast, literally.

Regardless, when I saw Naya perform the ritual to conjure a divine icon, I couldn’t help but watch, feeling quite hopeful. When the icon started to form from what looked very much like a flurry of ice and snow, I felt trepidation. Ice and snow could mean it was Sigmir’s form they conjured, or it could be that of the Pale Lady, or some other deity associated with the cold. While the ritual took only a few minutes, mostly stabilising and supporting the formation of the divine icon, it felt as if hours passed while I watched. 

Then, finally, the icon took shape, and I heard myself sigh in relief, the scrying construct I had used to observe almost disrupted as I lost focus. The figurine, made from a mix of marble, some glossy, black stone and clear crystal, was Sigmir, no doubt about it. The image was somewhat idealised, which I had expected, but she was easily recognisable. This meant there was a connection between Sigmir and the system here, that Sigmir was now recognised as a divine, or maybe proto-divine, entity of her own, capable of ascending, or something along those lines, I wasn’t quite sure. And it didn’t really matter all that much to me; the connection was all I was after. 

Sure, it would be incredible, and a little frustrating, if Sigmir somehow managed to become divine enough with just these few worshippers to become a deity in deed, as that should allow her to leave the afterlife behind and take her divine position. After all, you couldn’t really be a god if you were dead, and if that were to happen, I would happily grab either of the two divine domains I was connected to and completely focus on my own divinity, so we could play gods together.

But even if that didn’t happen, I now had a connection between an area I had access to and Sigmir. Now, I only had to figure out how to use said connection to access Sigmir’s being, her Soul, and pull it into this world and a new body. 

Oh, and I needed to figure out how to return her Mind and memories to her, but that was an entirely different issue.