Life As We Know It - XV A South of Metmor Early 699 Paschalis never showed up. Sotto would be testing me. That meant the most powerful Channeler I’d ever met would be testing me. If that doesn’t drain your confidence nothing will. “You need to control your breathing Janelle.” Mr. Sotto said to me. “If you can’t control your breathe, you will not have balance.” A lot easier said than done. Even trying to nod left me shaking. “I’m just not ready.” Is what I did not say. I’d come to far to stop. So I forced out the quickest nod I could. Mirna whispered something to Umaro who snickered. I tried not to look at them. I had shed my coat and gloves in favor of a sleeveless shirt and long skirt. I wore a scrap of cloth around my forehead to keep sweat out of my eyes. My skirt was long enough to hide my shaking legs. Each one of my three testers held a soul gem. Mirna and Umaro twirled theirs between their fingers. Sotto in contrast held one of his little jars as steady as a rock. His eyes locked onto mine. “Janelle, this is your final exam. Are you ready?” “I am ready sir.” I said. Sotto nodded.
“Janelle, you will be expected to pull this spirit far enough in so that both you and the spirit have even control of your body. Do you understand?” “Yes sir.” I said. “After that is done, you will be expected to return the spirit to its vessel. Each of the spirits we have selected knows this is your task. These spirits will fight you for control. Do you understand?” “Yes sir.” Do you understand that some of them might not need encouragement to try and possess me? I swallowed. “Is there anything I need to know?” “Just that if you succeed you will be the first to have succeeded in the full training process Paschalis and I designed.” Mr. Sotto said with a grin. “You will be the first true Enlightened. You should feel honored.” “Of course I do sir.” I lied “I’m ready to begin.” Sotto’s grin grew wider. “That’s the spirit Janelle! Ready for anything.” “I’ll go first.” Mirna said. “Sotto says you’re the strongest Channeler he’s ever seen, did you know that?” My stomach dropped. “Heh, no I didn’t. Really wishing he hadn’t said that…” “Well he did.” Mirna said. “That is very high praise you know.” Sometimes you don’t need to tap in order to feel envy. “He never said that about me you know.” Of course he didn’t. “It must be nice to be that strong.” “That’s enough.” Sotto said. “Start the test.” “But of course sir.” Mirna closed her eyes. When a spirit tries to take you, what you feel depends on the spirit and the force they use. If you are not gifted, a spirit has to be reckless for you to feel it from the get go. But if you have my gifts, you can feel it the moment it starts to burrow into you. 'I feel you.' I closed my eyes. 'I’m drawing you in.' In my mind I see my abilities as a shield surrounding my body. It exists as a haze, always there without overwhelming me. When I draw a spirit in, I see that shield drawing in like a funnel. It appears around my chest and goes down to my core. To where my soul resides. 'Eli be with me please.' The thing is even in my fantasy the shield around me never vanishes. Instead it creates a sink hole to my center, with one very small opening. That means the spirit can’t overwhelm me, it has to go into the small hole. This gives me a degree of control. I’m afraid though only a degree. The spirit can still fight against my mental barrier and break it down. And no matter what I will feel something from the spirit. 'You’re scared. And you’re angry. I understand.' I began to pull the spirit in. As I did my fingers and toes began to tingle. It’s an unnatural tingle, like someone is pinching your muscles. The deeper the spirit enters into you, the more your body is no longer your body. It’s a shared vessel, your soul and the other spirit. It manifests as numbness, that’s your body struggling for control between you or the invader. The numbness will spread throughout your limbs until everything tingles. 'Come deeper into me. Don’t be afraid. You can’t hurt anymore.' The spirit was about half way to my core. It’s sorrow now washed over me. I could begin to see images in my head, but they didn’t make sense. Just snatches of light, a face, a house, and many glasses of ale. 'You enjoyed a good drink. Nothing wrong with that. I don’t want to hurt you.' The speech was less for the spirit’s benefit then for mine. A strong Channeler finds their balance, that point between keeping the spirit coming in and keeping control of your body. To keep balance, you must be as calm as possible. My arms didn’t shake, nor did my heart beat waver. The spirit flowed into me like water. As the numbness seemed to consume me, the spirit entered my core. “Spirit, are you in Janelle’s body?” Mirna asked. “Yes ma’am.” A voice, not my voice, spoke through my mouth. “Janelle, are you still in your body, in control?” “Yes ma’am.” I called out. I wish I could have opened my eyes to see the changes my body underwent. With two spirits, your body changes to a vessel that best fits both. Not that you feel it, all you feel is numbness. If I opened my eyes I could see the changes. But then I’d lose my balance and it would all be over. “Good. Janelle, begin to remove the spirit. Spirit, resist everything she does.” Oh how I wish you hadn’t said that. Pulling a spirit in is easy, removing one is hard. It’s like trying to remove an arrow shaft with your bare hands. But your eyes are closed and you’re not using your hands but your ellbows. I began to close the hole I had drawn the spirit into. In doing so I would force the spirit back. 'Return to where you’re from. You are leaving now.' The emotions of the spirit began to rage against me. When getting rid of a spirit, the battle is an emotional and spiritual one. Emotions are your tools and thoughts are your weapons. If the spirit distracts you or breaks your concentration, it’s all over. Images from the spirit began to run even faster and more fractured. My mind was awash in new feelings, each one leaving me a bit more exhausted. I began to feel like my body was aching from running a marathon. 'You’re almost gone.' Removing a spirit is much harder than channeling it for another reason. You have to direct where the spirit goes when it exits your body. Essentially you grab the spirit, reach for a suitable place and force the spirit in. If you don’t the spirit will return to where they last were. Your body. I closed the funnel completely and attempted to grab the spirit. Mentally this is trying to control a rush of emotions and non-sense, all designed to break your thoughts. The spirit tried by hitting me with a wall of anger so intense my thoughts stopped for a moment. But only a moment. You have to focus. I moved the arms of my spirit out, looking for the empty soul gem. It presented itself as a sucking void, something that wanted to pull my spirit in. 'Got it.' Now I focused my control on the spirt and began to move it into the gem. The spirit began struggling even harder, forcing every emotion and memory against me it could. My will weakened slightly, not enough to give it a chance. In seconds the spirit’s force began to fade as it entered the gem. It grew weaker and weaker, until it was gone all together. I opened my eyes. “Done.” I said, exhaling.
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