The Ascension

Chapter 83 was accidentally released last week as chapter 82. I just fixed this, so don't forget to read chapter 82.

Symi ate the oatmeal porridge set before her, and was doing so happily. The honey dripped onto the surface made it sweet to taste, which made the girl quite happy. Being from a poor family, she did not have many opportunities to enjoy sweet things while she grew up.

"She's so precious." Ellie said softly. She looked at Kaala. "Toast some bread and cheese for her. I'm sure she suffers from the same problems we did." Kaala nodded.

"No doubt. Master always finds the broken ones, like ourselves." Kaala's cheek twitched. "Did you feel that?" She asked. Ellie turned her head.

"Elemental essence in a vast quantity. It's not mine though." Elena dashed from the kitchen into the living room where their beds were located. "I think I know which kind it is." Elena looked excited, and shocked.

"Shaala, can you watch over Symi for me?" Ellie asked. She stood up. "I need to see to Master, and find out what has my sister so excited." Ellie watched as Nuri ran passed the door as well.

"Maybe I should stay here, and not go out. Little Symi needs company, and too many people not doing their jobs will make Master upset." Ellie said and sat back down. Symi smiled at her.

"This is good! Sweet!" She said with a grin. Ellie smiled, as she knew how this child felt.

"Master collects wild honey for us in the forest. She even had us buy it in the town. Said it would be good for us to try." She lightly combed her fingers through Symi's hair. "Master made a shower for us as well." At Symi's confusion, she smiled again. "It's like a bathtub, but sprays water from up high. It makes us nice and clean." Symi inhaled, and nodded.

"Yeah, you smell like water." Her face clouded briefly. "Some of the people at the cities smelled like water, but they weren't nice. Are you nice?" She asked innocently.

"It's my actions that make me nice, not my words." Ellie said, and grinned. "Master told me that once. I could say pretty words, but do bad things." Symi nodded quickly, like an innocent child would, and returned to her oatmeal.

Kaala put the bread down, freshly toasted with cheese still melting on top.  The girl's eyes made her smile warmly.

It was nice having a child in the house.

* * *

"Elena, why are you so excited?" Nadya asked.  Soon, she frowned as Nuri approached much faster than she's seen her move in a long time.

"Sister? What's wrong?"  Nadya felt a bit of concern.  Nuri sat down and put her hand on Aila's chest. Elena knelt down and took Aila's hand. She held it to her forehead and smiled.

"So much earth essence is being moved." She said in a low voice. "Master is absorbing it from the earth beneath the stone floor, all without breaking the stone!" She said in awe. Nuri nodded slightly.

"Can you remove the stone tile, Elena?" She asked. "Just pry two up so that the dirt can be seen." Elena moved away from the bed, and put her palm on one stone. It was pulled out of its place as though she had glued her hand to the surface.

"I'll have to turn it over when I put it back." Elena said, her cheeks red. "I couldn't dissolve it as that is Master's floor. I had to shape it to fit my hand and use that as a grip." Nuri nodded a bit.

"The elemental essence is moving much faster...uhnnn!" Nuri groaned as a wave of gravity fell over her body. Elena pointed at Aila's hand.

"Look!" Each of them could see what she pointed at. Aila's finger bones began to glow, and radiated energy out through her skin. It was brown, like the earth element, but still looked like it was a light underneath the skin.

"Elemental reinforcement of her bones." Nuri said. "She is beginning the first stage of her elemental growth." Nuri rolled away from her Master, while Elena was unaffected. She helped Nadya to slip out from under Aila's now increased body weight.

"She has a lot more to go, but that also means she might not wake up until she finishes." Elena said, and bit her bottom lip.

"You have to stay with her, Elena." Nuri said and grimaced. "You're the only one who can while she's moving so much earth essence."

"I will." Elena said, but she looked at them with a look of concern. "You and Nadya are her caretakers, Nuri. How long will this take?" She asked quietly. Nuri sighed a bit.

"I don't know, but now that she's concentrating on earth elemental essence, it's your turn to take care of her." Nuri said firmly. "Nadya will sun herself as often as she can, while I will shape the wood." She looked at her own frame, how large she appeared, and her lack of physical strength.

"Can I do this?" She whispered. "I need to get firewood split, but I'm not strong enough to go into the woods." Elena looked at her Master, and pursed her lips.

"Get Ivadra. I'll pull out a couple of trees. You can take off the root balls as energy, and use those. Ivadra can steal any beast's strength, and the old bears nearby should be watching our walls for us." Elena stood up and picked up the ax as she walked to the door.

When she went to the gate, she found a large boar outside the gate. She chirped in fear, but noticed it could not move. It glared angrily at her, but she noticed that the legs were splayed out, and unnaturally so. Elena lifted the ax up high.

"Master can still protect us." She said in glee. Her immense strength, not quite on par with Aila, but on par with a stone bear, sliced through the hide of the boar like it was a slow cooked ham.

She pulled it back inside the gate, called out for Kaala, and went back outside the walls for the trees that their family would need for winter fuel.

Elena's love for their Master swelled to a new height, along with her devotion. Deep within her body, the gate to her elemental essence pool opened a bit wider. Her devotion to Aila slowly erected a mental construct that resembled an altar with her elemental core set as its gemstone.

If the others within their family could have seen this altar, each of them would know its purpose. This was a gift from their Master, and a symbol of their faith in her.

A god deserves an altar, and she carved one on each of their souls.