Chapter 1395 (Patreon)

“Thank you.” Lady Hecate sat with a smile, and I felt my control over the Astral Power I had used in the conjuration fade away. The power was still there, and I could still sense it, but I had absolutely no control over it, though the lingering sensation allowed me to observe what happened next. After taking control, Lady Hecate gave me a casual masterclass in conjuration, showing me just how far I still had to go when she altered the conjuration I had created on a fundamental level. 

When I had conjured the chair, it was made from Hard Ice, with a bit of magical trickery to keep it from being uncomfortably cold or melting despite the warmth. That made these chairs as comfortable as wooden chairs, and the temperature control meant they weren’t too cold, nor would they get too hot and sweaty. They were, quite frankly, practical and reasonably comfortable, especially for the casual ease I had when conjuring them. 

Lady Hecate took that same material and turned it into something else. Under her careful guidance, the outward appearance was maintained, but the seat itself became cushioned, the materials shifted, and the entire thing was elevated by a level of comfort, maybe even two. Just watching her work made me realise that she was operating on a level beyond mine. Where I was constrained to direct elemental expressions with a limited amount of tweaking, she was casually changing the elementally aligned base material into something else. For a moment, I wondered if she was manipulating reality directly, and what her limits were, but I immediately realised that she would never tell, not until I reached a level that enabled me to trade with her as an equal. Something I was still very, very far from. 

“Though, given that this is my house, allow me,” she added and waved her hand over the table, causing a dainty china plate to appear, complete with a variety of cookies. Maybe she had just wanted to remind me of the differences between us, or to drive home what I had observed moments earlier; I wasn’t sure. But it certainly worked; I wouldn’t even know where to start conjuring something this complex. A part of me wanted to believe that it was merely sleight of hand, that she had something similar to my magical bag up her sleeve, allowing her to simply pull out what she wanted in the blink of an eye, but I had sensed enough to know the truth. She had created these cookies, and the china plate, for that matter, just now, essentially bringing them into existence with a casual wave of her hand.

“Thank you kindly.” I gave her a small, seated bow, my pride not allowing me to debase myself, even after Lady Hecate had casually demonstrated just how far I still had to go. 

For the next few minutes, the conversation was as mundane as it was absurd. Lady Hecate and I engaged in what could only be described as small talk, which was perfectly mundane. Comments on the weather, some largely censored complaints about co-workers from Lady Hecate; if one ignored just who was talking, it would have been completely normal. Or, as normal and mundane as a conversation could be when the third person, who was expected to join in on the conversation at some point, remained a quivering mass of submission and confusion on the ground, unwilling to raise her head, or acknowledge the divine presence in our midst with more than pleading and prayer. Which only added to the surreality. 

“These cookies are marvellous,” I admitted after tasting yet another of the conjured cookies. They went perfectly with the tea I had brewed, though I had a strong feeling the perfection had more to do with the cookies than the tea. It made me rather jealous, not just for the superlative magical skill Lady Hecate had demonstrated so casually but just for the simple pleasure these cookies could create.

“Thank you,” she smiled, though I noticed that the smile on the Mother’s lips was pleased and proud; the smile on the Grandmother’s lips seemed to be rather amused, maybe a little indulgent, while the smile on the Maiden’s face couldn’t be called one. A grin, sure, but it was far too mischievous to be called a smile.

Swallowing the bite of cookie down, I focused my mind inwards, curious how the cookies were processed. I knew that conjured Water, for example, was largely broken down into Astral Power as it entered the body, and now, I wanted to see if this worked similarly. Or if she had somehow created the cookies on a physical, molecular level, as opposed to simply shaping Astral Power into the right form and giving it the right properties. I wasn’t sure what it would mean if she had, but I had a feeling it would be important to know.

“Truly delicious,” I complimented again, even as my body was breaking down a complex and rather fascinating mixture of magic and mundane. The cookies were partially made from physical matter, but not entirely. They were unequivocally divine, and, sadly, rather inexplicable. Beyond my current skill, even if I were making copious mental notes.

Lady Hecate simply took another sip of tea, nibbled on her own cookie, before glancing over to Anise, who remained on the ground, pleading and babbling.

“Now, I’ll admit that I didn’t just come here for the conversation, the tea or the cookies,” Lady Hecate began, finally ending the slightly awkward part of the conversation. But even I knew better than to hurry a deity if the deity doesn’t want to be rushed. 

“Don’t get me wrong, the conversation was lovely, but I’m here for multiple reasons,” she let out a content sigh before turning serious again, “One is to officially give you permission. If you manage to decipher the work I put on the Library Crystal here, or even the Occulus back at your other tower, you are welcome to the knowledge. It’s gained by your hard work, so you can have it. I just can’t help you gain that understanding outside of the proper trades.” 

Noticing that she didn’t appear to stop talking, I simply nodded in understanding, unwilling to interrupt the deity. Mortals had been cursed for less, and I didn’t want to see what Lady Hecate might come up with if vindictively motivated. No, that wasn’t quite true. I really wanted to see it, just not directed at me. 

“Another thing are those Warlocks you created,” she continued, “Some of the others are, shall we say, concerned. Their existence comes a little too close to intruding in our domains, especially after the business with the Mother,” she shrugged, making it obvious that she wasn’t overly bothered, merely giving me a warning so the other Gods wouldn’t take offence. “Keep them in small numbers, no more than a handful active at a time, and you’ll be okay. Make an army out of them, and things will get interesting,” she suggested, though the tone in her voice, especially the voice coming from the Maiden, sounded rather eager and intrigued, as if that aspect of her wanted to see what would happen. 

“Other than that, I wanted to ask a favour of you,” she added, making my eyes go wide. “Those beacons, anchors, you are creating. Think you could add a little something to them for future use? I’m rather hesitant to have people traipse through the Dark willy-nilly; that can be rather hazardous without a guide. But having long-distance, instant transportation is too useful to pass on, especially if it can be monopolised by mine.”

“It would depend on the exact modification. Can’t get locked out of my own network now, can I?” I replied, a grin on my own fixed on my face, “But generally, sure. I might even add a little something to the current anchor-places to guide people towards you, at least those I left publicly accessible. No need to have some idiot pop out in my bedroom; I’d hate to punish one of yours for something like that.”

“This is why you are one of my favourite mortals,” Lady Hecate grinned, clearly amused, “We’ll talk about the modifications tonight; it’s much easier to explain then.”

“Oh, already planning a nightly visitation?” I asked, my tone teasing. Maybe it was a little too much, or maybe Anise was only now capable of listening again, as she whimpered quite pitifully, still unwilling to raise her head from where she had been pressing it on the ground. 

“Stand, girl; if I wanted snivelling, I would look for pigs.” Lady Hecate finally had enough with Anise’s behaviour, snapping at the girl. The result likely wasn’t what Lady Hecate had in mind, as Anise tried to keep her head on the ground while standing, though the tone in Lady Hecate’s voice also caused her to have a rather embarrassing accident. 

In short, it was a mess, causing Lady Hecate to rise, a disgusted expression on her face. “Dear, would you please deal with this one? This is a little too pathetic,” she growled, fading out of existence as I nodded, already pitying Anise. For all the ways a conversation with your God could go, this might have been amongst the worst.