(11. A) Elders Join the following

"-I can see why my father was hesitant to ask. I don't look like either of my parents. Well, maybe I have a mother's skin tone? Then again, it could be because I am still a baby-", Aaradhya lifted his head to get a full profile of himself in a glass sculpture he used as a mirror. A young child with long and silken white hair pulled back into a high bun, bright golden eyes that sparked with green and blue light, and dark espresso skin stared back at him in the mirror.

"-Hm. I looked much older than a newborn. Not only that, my features are reminiscent of my baby pictures from my previous life. Different hair and eye colors but nearly exactly the same-", Aaradhya leaned forward and frowned. His image warped as the sculpture twisted around at an odd angle. He could now see through the glass and see an enormous ballroom where people of all nationalities filtered in.

"-I know it's only been around three months since I went down but it feels like more time has passed… Hmm. Could it be that my Rest is slightly different compared to Wilfred's? Another question I don't have the answer to- ", Aaradhya frowned and focused on the situation at hand.

His father argued with an older man about something important. As Aaradhya understood it, the elders were mostly content with staying on the island for the rest of their days. They didn't want to go back and reinstate the main temple of the cult. The high priest argued otherwise. The circling conversation quickly came to a halt when a group of 12 old men walked in from a service entrance. Nearly all of them yammered about the same subject as they walked in.

"Elders. Please. Please, settle down. We are in the presence of our lord. Have some restraint...", Aaradhya's father projected his calm voice and shut everyone down.

"-Interesting. They do respect my presence if only somewhat. However, the depth of their self control only seems to be dependent on the faction they are in...-", four elders followed a shriveled y old to the seats closest to the high priest. They were the fastest to hold their tongues and bow to their god. The rest sat down behind and near the scrawny toothpick of a second elder. He was the fool who argued with the high priest.

"How dare you talk of restraint, high priest? You know nothing of the matter! Your recent behavior is completely unbecoming of one in your position", the second pointed at Masih Sr with a red face.

"-Right back to the argument it would seem. Such a useless old man. How did he get the position of an elder with that tongue of his?-", Aaradhya pondered the subject for a bit then observed the rest of the elders with the eyes of a hawk.

"I have to agree. Do you know of the frenzy you instigated amongst the council during this morning?", another elder spoke up. One after the other, nearly all of the elders not in the high priest's faction yelled in disapproval.

"Absolutely true fifth. I also have a qualm high priest. Did you not agree to receive a punishment? When do you plan on accepting the weight of your actions this morning", one of the elders squeaked out. Like a broken record, the group of old men repeated over and over, louder and louder.

"-I really hope some of these Geezers are useful, otherwise, they are just dead weight-", Aaradhya leaned to the side and frowned at their childish display. In his boardroom, anyone who spoke out of turn was fired and barred from ever entering the same field. In fact, quite a few of his stockholder and business partners found himself living in squalor for their out of turn quips during meetings.

"-Father, take note. I despise parrots who only know how to squawk-", Aaradhya glared at his father and once they met eyes, the high priest shuddered.

"Enough".... "Stop"

The high priest and the cherub-faced first elder spoke up at the same time. This elder was the only person not on the high priest's side to hold his tongue. He was also the only elder to bow with sincerity. Thirdly, he was the only elder in the room to stare directly at Aaradhya, which was probably for the best.

"What's done is done. Our lord has awakened to grace us with his presence. This is something we must celebrate and share. But as for the other matter… It's unlikely the flock would be willing to endure that strife once more. Regardless, if you want to share the glory of our lord, who am I but a humble servant to our lord. I will do as he wishes, high priest", Masih Sr sat down next to Aaradhya as the first elder spoke and settled his faction.

"-Oho? Very interesting. That baby faced old first elder really knows how to wrangle his dogs. Even in my day, I never made my intentions so obvious…-", Aaradhya could almost see the tangible anger hidden behind the first elders jolly expression.

"-He really doesn't want to leave this cushy island-", Aaradhya nearly smiled… nearly.

"I agree with the first elder, my lord. The flock wouldn't…", the second started to speak but stopped when his master coughed.

"I mean, our lord is here in the flesh. It is an occasion we have to celebrate and share with the flock and the world.", the second elder turned to his seated companion and nodded. When he turned back to Aaradhya's throne, the snake faced old man smiled then teared up as if he remembered something heart crushing.

"...Sadly, the trials given to us by our lord proved too difficult. Even if we share his glory, there would not be a big reception as many of our members have scattered out of fear. Frankly, high priest, I fear your effort over these past few months will go to waste as our lord seems to have a distaste for outsiders", the second wiped his tears.

"-What led him to this conclusion? It's true I despise fools and mindless sheep but this jester doesn't seem to understand who it is I despise...-", Aaradhya leaned forward and stared at the second elder.

Everyone aside from the high priest gasped. They whispered among themselves but even though Aaradhya didn't understand some of the languages they used, the general conversation revolved around whether or not Aaradhya was an actual baby or a god.

"Second Elder, what are you referring to? Our lord is curious about your statement", Masih Sr glared.

"I am... ahem... Excuse my impertinent phrasing but soon after our lord fell asleep, many in the flock fell ill or outright died. Many of the outsiders who were interested in our lord's glory, perished from this mysterious illness and those that have survived. Well, we all know that they have tried everything in their power to get rid of our influence. Even you, high priest, fell ill. Can't you see the truths of this world now?", the peanut gallery filled in the rest of the information Aaradhya was looking for.

"-I guess my Rest truly is different. I attracted spiritual energy like a whirlpool and the density disturbed the world's ecosystem-", Aaradhya guessed.

"Those lost souls haunted those we would have converted and outright hunted us for our gifts. Even our counter attacks were met with disaster", one elder shuddered and lifted his robe. All over his chest and arms were cuts from what looked like claws and fangs. The elders who weren't in the know, gasped out of fear.

The elders in the high priests faction then stood up to convince their brethren. One old man with shades and a walking stick lowered his glasses to reveal glowing green eyes. The rest revealed wounds across their bodys that looked too violent or exaggerated. Almost as if their flesh cut itself from reeling back in shock.

"-Do the lost souls they speak of look like people or monsters that are decomposing into red dust?-", Aaradhya leaned back with an even deeper frown.

"They are exactly as you say. The worst among them, however, do not show the same decomposition my lord", Masih Sr turned his head to Aaradhya. The elders paused, completely caught off guard by their god and high priest's apparent disinterest.

"-From what the second said, I assume you see these lost souls and the spirit world-"

"I can"

"-Then, before I came to this island, was there a green filter over everything?-"

"No, I don't remember as such"

"High priest, who are you talking to?", the first elder didn't know why but he had to ask. Sweat erupted down his back like a waterfall just like every elder on his side. Their complaining reached a crescendo, now fueled by echoing questions to their high priest. They all wanted to know why he asked a question then proceeded to ignore them. Were his thoughts more important than their curiosity? Absolutely not in their minds. The second smiled and slowly sat down, the chaos and hatred flowed seamlessly as all of it was aimed at the high priest.

"SILENCE. I am conversing with our lord, my son. Do not interrupt his divine communication", Masih Sr shot up and roared at the elders who dared to disrespect Aaradhya. They've only seen him erupt like this once so immediately, they were dumbfounded and rightfully silenced.

"-Thank you father. Now that it's quiet, look at this...", Aaradhya opened up the spirit realm tab and turned the dial to the third option.

"(Red) The antithesis to the essence that fosters life within the Emergent Fog. This is the poison that exists wherever spiritual energy remains stagnant. When a world or person becomes corrupted with this particulate, they spiritually decompose and destabilize. This corruption clings to life through any means"

Aaradhya turned the dial twice more, to blue and green, and explained the inner workings of the spirit world as he understood it.

"-Tell them this. Embellish and leave out what you think you must, just get my meaning across...-", silence reigned for a few minutes then an entire hour. Every now and then the high priest would exclaim in surprise and interest but overall, the tense atmosphere reached a palpable level of fear, worry, and excitement.

"I have just conversed with the lord about the inner workings of his realm...", Masih Sr cleared his throat and stood up.

"What we experienced was not a trial of our lord's design. Rather, it was the cost of our fervent prayer. For generations we begged our lord to show himself but in our hubris, we did not understand the price. The moment he answered our prayers and reached out a hand to save our world from a violent force, his domain suffered a catastrophic blow at the hands of a vile corruption threatening all life. Our lord sacrificed his divine form to keep that corruption within his own domain but our pleas and prayer distracted him still. The creatures we saw or felt roaming the shadows of our world, were once residents of our lord's domain but now they are lost, drawn to the living world by the corruption our lord once contained....", Masih Sr spoke with such calmness and understanding that even the first elder couldn't find the footing needed to shut it down. Another hour passed by as the high priest explained everything.

"In summary. The lost souls we have encountered so far are the lord's servants who have forgotten his grace. They've long since abandoned his shelter and wandered our world, but in doing so, most have become nothing more than roaming demons or husks of who they used to be. Only now, with the corruption at the gates of the living world, our lord has decided to ask us for help. Even now, his presence finds its way into the mists of our world in an attempt to empower us for the coming battle. We should all be grateful that even in such a stressful situation, our lord bestowed gifts that would help us counter the corruption that threatens our world", the high priest finished. His eyes glinted with a green sheen so perfectly at that moment, many of the elders not on his political side nodded in agreement.

"You are right, high priest but my point still stands. How will we convince anyone to follow us again? Nearly all of our flock left after gaining these gifts. And those that know nothing of what happened at our temple will not take kindly to being attacked by these corrupted denizens of our lord's domain", the second elder grit his teeth and still pressed the matter.

"We have our lord's guidance now. His plans for us and the world extend beyond what any of us could possibly imagine...", Masih Sr spoke for another two hours. The topic, world peace and control. He spoke with such assurance that nearly all of the elders were convinced. Aaradhya slouched around halfway through his fathers talk and locked onto the first elder. The man's anger seemed to subside, and what replaced it was a smile of schadenfreude. Though the man seemed concerned about the state of the world after what he heard, his body language showed his complete disinterest.

"This plan may actually work for the high priest. We can even hold a display of what's possible if people follow our lord...", one person on the high priest's side of the room finally spoke up.

"Display what! A lost soul, one of those foul creatures?", the second elder grimaced.

"We could, but I was thinking of showcasing our gifts", one elder said.

"How do you suppose we do that?", the first elder, believing it would go nowhere, posed the question.

"I don't know about anyone else but about a month ago...", one of the elders in the high priests stood and grunted really hard. A second or two later, he waved his arms. Even those without any spiritual senses could see a dense bright emerald mist swirl around his body. The elder dropped to the floor, pale as a sheet and gasped. Murmurs spread throughout the room.

"Impossible!", the second screamed. The first elder's jaw dropped for a moment but he quickly contained himself and the sparkle of light that flashed through his eyes.

"-Pfth, old man. I see the desire for power course through your veins…-", Aaradhya rolled his eyes at the first elder then he turned back.

"-You on the other hand. I can use someone like you-", Aaradhya clapped his hands and nodded at the elders' efforts. Half shocked and excited, another elder shot to his feet to garner some praise.

"My lord. Look at this, it was around two or three weeks ago for me...", this elder stood and did the same thing except, he screamed even louder and only a single finger made any movements in the verdant mist.

"-Oh my. This poor old man is so red. Ah, and those eyes, he must really want my praise despite the pitiful display-", Aaradhya didn't clap this time but he gave the old man a thumbs up for effort.

The third elder, a very short and balding old man, stood up. He was the only elder who didn't grunt in strain, and he was also the only elder that managed to cover his entire body with the emerald particles. He held the aura for more than five seconds before he sat down with a bright smile. The particles still held in the air like a moving painting.

"-Incredible. Father, I'm interested in what he can offer. Introduce him to me later. He also seems to know his place… For his effort, I will put on a display-", Aaradhya leaned back with a light nod. He crossed his stubby leg over the other and motioned for the elder to speak.

"Thank you my lord. On the eve of your birth, I found myself capable of sensing things I've only ever caught glimpses of. Now I can sense those forces whenever I please and interact with it for but a scant moment. I never knew this was our lord's presence. I should have known, considering the warmth I received with every interaction in my past", the elder explained as he bowed to Aaradhya. One common element between all of the old men who showed powers was, they were all in the high priest's faction.

"There we are elders. Proof that our lord can grant powers to those willing to follow him and take up arms against this corruption. Third elder here is a perfect example as he is the only one among us who I would surrender to in a battle of faith", Masih Sr waited for another excuse but no one said anything after him. Even now, the agitated particles vibrantly pulsed and swirled around the room.

"Alright, since we are all convinced. Let us talk about the conclave", Masih Sr. sat down as he made a mental note to contact the third elder later. His lip service was a small acknowledgment to everyone in the room that the third elder was currently their lord's shining star.

Another elder from the high priest faction got up and cleared his throat. He flipped a giant notepad back to its first page and said, "What we have planned for the flock is..."