Welcome to Gaia! ::

He finds them all sitting around the kitchen table and Mica doing his best to convince Tam to accept the title of Lord Protector of the temple. Tam of course, is adamantly refusing to do any such thing.

Mica jumps in his seat and turns to face the ebony furred lion. "And why shouldn't he? It is a great honor."

Tam sighs and shakes his head. "My duty at the present time is first and foremost to Kero. I am his guardian, Mica... in more ways than one. And when that task is done, my stay in your fair village will be at an end. I came to your aid because one higher than I summoned me. Not that I would not have come to your aid otherwise... but I honestly had no idea what was taking place up here. Kero's shield over the cottage prevented me from reading anything untoward. You are my friend and the temple has been good to us, for that alone I would have come had I understood the true danger you were in... but I cannot fill the position you wish for me to take."

**get some sleep.. I'm getting off too, pretty soon.**

Mica heaves a hefty sigh. "I was so certain the ritual would serve our purposes. I was a fool. Had you not come..."

Tam nods. "It was indeed a very near thing. And by losing control you fed it... until even I had trouble handling it's backlash. You should have waited for word from the High Temple or did you even contact them?"

Shar shakes her head. "We feared there was no time. After I sent Andra down to you, I did a sweep of the compound and found that the book's influence was more insidious than even Mica had feared it would be. It wasn't exactly subverting our people but triggering all sorts of negativity, instigating arguments and petty jealousies, which were boiling over into even uglier confrontations... and then feeding off the destructive energies these conflicts drug forth."

Mica sighs. "There are a few who are still affected, not shadow bound, but who's souls have darkened, if only a little. Two I'm sending on to the High Temple for counseling. They are young enough to endure the trip there. And Brother Benedict has yet to awaken and had his dreams tormented ever since."

Shar spreads her hands. "One such patient I can handle, three is far too many. So since he is the eldest of the three and in poor health to begin with, it was decided I would tend to him and let the High Intiate tend to the others."

Shar nods. "I would give him a day or two to come around though. It may simply be the fact that he was infirmed to begin with. As for everyone else. We're all still reeling, I fear. A few were so drained that they could barely make it back to their beds. But I have sensed no underlying compulsions. Others complain of seeing shadows jump out at them, but again I've seen no true evidence of that fact. I believe it to simply be a matte of nerves."

Tam nods. "Naught remains of the tome. I broke it's bindings and sent it's magics back along the tether it had with it's creator. Hopfully someone has a headache right now the side of the Marianas Trench."

"What's that?" asks Mica in confusion.

"Another world? How many worlds are there?" asks Mica, his interest in the fact outweighing his concern of the moment.

Tam laughs wryly. "I've been to a few... over the years, shall I list them for you..." and he begins to tick them off on his fingers, finally Mica waves him into silence.

"OK, okay... I get the point. Ao's creation is vast and larger than any living mind can completely grasp. Tell me... on how many is Lathander worshiped?" he asks worriedly.

"Most of them... though his name most likely varies from the one you know. The Morning Lord's worship is one of the primal religions." says Tam with a gentle smile.

"Primal..." says Shar attempting to puzzle out what he means.

"As in one of the first to form. The worship of Ao's light and all the good it embraces. And as it is a positive reflection of Ao's creation, it rarely fades. You do realize that the Morning Lord was and remains a favored son. If ever you have felt even a glimmer of doubt in following him, please put your heart to rest. When you follow Lathander, you follow Ao. That is why when he summoned me to go to your aid, I could not refuse. As he is a true son, I was bound to demands. Thankfully he makes very few." replies Tam quietly. He looks down at his mug and sighs. "And trust me, he would not require of me what you have asked, Mica."

Mica nods and fingers the rim of his mug. "It is not that I do not believe in Ao, rather he is too vast for me to comprehend and understand. Perhaps it is because he embraces the good of creation as well as the bad and I find that hard to swallow."

Tam reaches across the table and places a gentle hand on his, stilling it from it's worrying. "What he embraces is the freedom of choice... the choice to be like him, accepting him fully in the whole of his creation... or to turn one's back. Yes, bad things happen... sometimes with no reason... people turn away from him and deny his existence... embracing the evil which sprung from the Fall... and they fear him in his righteous anger... and in their fear strive to wipe away the knowledge of his existence. But that does not mean he doesn't care. Listen well to Lathander's teaching, for in following him you follow my Lord as well. For your Lord bows fully to him in all things. Ao is a difficult master to follow. He speaks to you, not with words or thundering manifestations, but with quiet gentle whispers in the heart. He is that inner voice that tells you... this is wrong... this is right... but he calls no attention to his presence... rather he asks that we acknowledge him of our own free will. He speaks through us, his messengers, but the words he gives us often cannot be translated into language... but rather feelings and inspiration. If Lathander gives him a face and humanity that brings you closer to him, so be it. But so that you know, hear me now... Ao is love... a love that embraces all. I am but a faulty mirror of his majesty, a dim reflection of his grandeur... a dust mote in his eye. He is the Father of all and no matter the name we give him, deserving of a father's due."