"As the soul's light begins to grow,
Cosmic whispers start to flow.
Its core concept takes a thread,
Race and heritage guide ahead.
The soul's essence starts to bloom,
Ancestors' whispers in the room.
Bloodline's echo, harmony,
Passing on its legacy.
Celestial music plays its part,
Destiny's nudges touch the heart.
Even the Echo joins the song,
Guiding souls their whole life long.
Certain traits in races find,
Peak potentials intertwined.
Though differences are all around,
Race remains a core profound.
Some souls break the norm's fine line,
Essence rich in paradox, they shine.
A soul's wild energy in sway,
With cosmic whispers, starts to play.
Amidst the chaos, body shows,
Structure and order, where it goes.
The body grounds the soul's delight,
In the world of day and night.
A canvas for chaotic brush,
From mess to clear, in careful hush.
The body leads the soul's grand dance,
Guiding energy's wild prance.
Concepts form and manifest,
Purpose echoes through the rest.
As the soul within does lie,
Cosmic whispers lullaby.
Universe's ancient call,
Soul's potential starts to sprawl.
Bound by flesh, yet growth inside,
Protected, yet the limits guide.
In this union, soul and frame,
Mystic dance, and sacred flame."
Norris sat back and rub his bony fingers against his skull in exasperation. Mages being individualistic will not care much about whoever is going to read their work. This makes for a diverse array of writing styles, some even in a puzzles. Norris having calmed down leaned forward with his eye sockets narrowing as he re-examined the text. "Let's break this down," he thought.
"From the moment of conception, the soul's growth is influenced by many things, like genetics, environment, and even destiny. This makes it so that physical as well as mystical forces play a role in the formation of a new life. This complex mix makes each life truly unique."
He paused, reflecting on the text. "The soul is then encased within the physical body, which, while protecting it, also limits it. This arrangement is a double-edged sword: while the body shields the soul from outside influences, it also restricts the soul's potential. The pros outweigh the cons, though, as in this universe with Eldritch entities, the body is the last line of defense against the warp and all it has to offer"
Norris leaned forward, intrigued, "Now, let's look at the idea of a 'spark' that can restart the soul's evolution. Essentially, this spark is a catalyst that can unlock new potential within the soul, allowing it to go beyond the current limits the body has set on it."
"The spark, a catalyst for the soul's evolution, usually comes from a higher-level source. This source can be a superior plane of existence, a deity, or a powerful entity like Eldritch beings, Aeons, mages, demons, angels, or dragons. Though this is very dangerous process because you leave the core of your being to an entity much more stronger than you. The spark contains information, energy, thoughts and so much more. I can imagine a situation where enough information and thoughts can overwhelm a person changing their whole personality. Though no god would ever do that, openly of course. People are drawn first to gods most times by benefits. So only saints who are too compatible with their God deserve this treatment. Another situation that should happen is affinity. Even if just little the spark would make you more compatible with whichever entity you received it."
"In my case, as a mage, the spark was given to me through a ritual that points to the creator of the arcane realm, the Goddess of magic and the death realm. Most mages will first receive a spark from The Lady and study till they find what they are good at and perform a new ritual to get a new spark. I easily accepted necromancy since there was no choice. The perks of being a mage allows a mage's soul to keep growing just by gaining knowledge. Because my ritual was specialized for me to become a necromancer early on, Having more knowledge about necromancy gives me more growth though this ended up costing me as my soul accumulated too much at young age ultimately leading to my current predicament.
The knowledge accumulation is a ritual that you gain from the spark that connects you to the arcane realm. By gaining more knowledge, you attract more attention from the arcane realm. Your meditation will bring better results. The more I study life and death and the closer I am to it, the more the death realm and the arcane realm will notice me."
"However, other sources of sparks may need different approaches. Some may require other types of rituals, sacrifices, or specific practices to unlock their potential."
Norris gaze narrowed as he pondered the sinister forces at play. He thought about the Cults and secret sects, devoted to twisted deities, lurking in the shadows if the world. He had read in his previous life some novels where a powerful Demonic cultivator would spread techniques with backdoors so that after his protege practices it to a certain height he could use the backdoors to easily defeat him and could also help him absorb his protege's life's strength after they've reach a certain height. Some Gods, mages, demons and other shady being follow this practice by spreading the spark as seeds for easier harvesting after their believer or beneficiaries reach a certain level. He felt a sense of pity and disdain towards this kind of cultist. Pity for those drawn in by mistake or helplessness and disdain for those who succumb to power gotten easily changing their personality.
Norris turned the page, his eyes scanning the title of the next chapter: "The Soul and the Divine". He settled into his chair, intrigued by the prospect of exploring the connection between the soul and the divine.
"The Soul and the Divine"
In realms of existence, chaos and order entwine,
A delicate balance, where forces align.
The divine weave, with threads of might,
Imposing order, on the fabric of night.
Concepts take root, in reality's soil,
Nourished by understanding, they begin to toil.
Shaping the world, with each passing day,
As collective perception, gives them their way.
In this grand symphony, forces play their part,
Chaos and order, in eternal, cosmic art.
The divine conduct, the harmonyof existence,
As concepts unfold, and reality's tapestry makes sense.
Norris closed the book, his mind reeling with the implications of what he had just read. "Concepts take root in reality through collective perception?" He shook his head, finding the idea both fascinating and vague.
"It's like they're not even trying to explain it properly," he muttered to himself. "Just a bunch of cryptic phrases and vague notions to annoy us readers as we finish the book."
He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together as he tried to make sense of it all. "I guess this is just a teaser, a taste of the divine knowledge that's out there. But what's the point of even mentioning it if they're not going to explain it?"
Norris sighed, rubbing his temples. He was getting a headache from trying to wrap his head around these abstract concepts.
He thought back to his previous life, trying to remember if he had ever heard anything similar. And then it hit him - faith. Collective perception was just another way of saying faith.
Norris nodded to himself, feeling like he had finally grasped something tangible. But as he stood up to put the artifact book back on the
"It makes sense," he thought. "The gods need faith to exist, to have power over reality. Though I'm not so sure about that, faith should just be a supplements to the Gods since no mage worships The Lady but she's still as strong as ever. And concepts rooted in reality... that should just be another way of saying that the gods have authority over the world, maybe.
Concept should be like the law, dao, priesthood and mystical high level stuff like that. So if I try to understand that again, it means that collective believe shapes laws", Norris was shell shocked imagining possibilities and trying to remember any history where he had seen this happening before shaking his head. He had just learned some high end mystical knowledge but there was nothing he could do with it so it's better not to waste time.
Norris nodded to himself, feeling like he had finally grasped something tangible. But as he stood up to put the artifact book back on the shelf, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was still so much more to learn.