Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Dio - Ch. 112

"Have you heard of Addas before Major Dio?"

I could feel that Hakim's story would drag on as usual, and he topped it off by yelling the whole thing into my ears, riding a wyvern roughly ten thousand feet high. Normally I would have been struggling with the cold and the winds this high up, but it was Midgard, the highlands down there were scorching hot even in this late autumn, so the air felt nice.

"All I know is that he's the Appenon nomad's guardian deity or something." I humored the bard to pass the time but felt bad for my ears in advance. It has been some time since I got to ride a flying mount, especially with a second person in the saddle, but he had this master plan to end the campaign quickly, and it only took him three days to get permission from the Demon Lord himself.

"That much is correct, yes." He had to shout it across the winds, although being the kind of magician he was, he didn't have issues reinforcing his voice. It hurt my ears though. "He is the only god that never signed the Pact, or joined the Cranta Panteon, and managed to avoid banishment while still having quite a few priests remaining."

"You want to talk about rogue deities this high up in the air?" I asked a bit annoyed. "We could have discussed it on the ground too, you should be focusing on finding those domination thingamagics instead."

"Oh, I am, Major, I just wanted to explain how these things work, and how I'm going to find them." He laughed, but I could tell from his tone that my question offended him. I was on the fence for a while, leading recon and raiding parties all day was tiring, and now my time to rest was curtailed because of his request.

"Fine then, explain, but try to avoid your usual roundabout storytelling, and get to the point. It's hard to concentrate while flying these beasts." I shrugged, although the wyvern was flying itself for the most part. "So your Addas is still active somewhere, avoiding the Inquisitorias?"

"Yes and no." His answer didn't explain anything. "He was active even up to the Collapse, and was never caught by the Church, but he disappeared not long after, and his priests couldn't perform a single miracle ever since. Me included, that's why I started my journey."

"You mean to tell me, you were an Addas priest before?" I raised my eyebrows, but he couldn't see that since he sat behind me. "Is it how this works? You pray for your god, then if he doesn't answer you just exchange him for a lute and go with that?"

"Technically you are not wrong." He noted with laughter. "You must be aware that whether you are a priest, a shaman, druid, or wizard, you need to be attuned to the magicules first and foremost, and the method you utilize after that is entirely up to your preferences."

"I doubt it would be that simple." I shrugged, but he continued.

"To become a wizard, or a sorcerer in your case, you would need to learn for years, maybe decades, right?" He asked the rhetorical question and paused for a moment. "Very few magicians are talented, let alone patient enough for that, but that is not the only way to become one. You can make a pact with the gods, spirits, and maybe even nature itself, and let them cast the spells for you in exchange for your mana, prayers, sacrifice, or whatever they desire. While it's rare that multiple deities answer the prayers of the same person, nothing stops you from learning magic after you become a priest. If you have the opportunity, at least."

"Okay, is this going to get us somewhere, or you'll explain the whole history of magic before getting to the point?" I yawned and didn't even have to pretend. The winds, no matter how gentle, made it rather difficult to keep my eyes open, and this made me sleepy after the long days, and his long-winded sentences. "I have no aptitude for magic so your explanation is wasted on me. Just tell me how you will find our target."