The Gathering

[Koli]

"Koli! What is the meaning of this!?"

Abbas Amo paced in front of the young monk who stood at attention in the inner sanctum of the monastery- the holy of holies. Behind Koli lay the shattered pieces of a stone baptismal, and the sacred symbol of the brotherhood. Koli had not intended for this to happen. He simply felt closest to their God in the Holy of Holies

"Well?" Abbas Amo pressed.

Koli had sat on the floor meditating. The depth of his meditation brought him to the heart of his spirit, and inthat moment he fell into complete unawareness of his physical surroundings. His body became weightless, as he dissipated into ethereal energy and began to rise. The young monk's soul began to vibrate at the same frequency as his surroundings. Koli tuned his spirit until he synced in harmony with the world, and in that moment he attained the highest form of being that the creator intended. It felt better than Koli had ever imagined. Time stood still. Problems that plagued humanity remained a mere wisp of thought while he attained this form- emotions, pain, fear, attachment- none of it mattered.

And then came the high priest into the holy of holies, shattering Koli's concentration. The young monk came crashing down into the baptismal and found himself lying on the floor amidst broken pieces of the cross and basin. Koli picked himself up and shamefully awaited his fate.

And now he could not bring himself to meet Abbas Amo's gaze.

"What have you to say for yourself?"

Koli looked at the high priest and opened his mouth; but when he did, no words came for him to speak. Slowly he closed his mouth, and dropped his gaze to the floor. His fists tightened, and he tensed the muscles in his body to a sharper position of attentiveness.

Abbas Amo's eyes softened. "Koli, I didn't mean..."

Tears formed in Koli's eyes out of the sheer disappointment he felt for himself. How could he lose control like that? How could he be so stupid? Here he thought that his meditating benefited his training, but it actually benefited nobody but himself. How could he be so selfish? And now his selfishness caused him to destroy the holy of holies.

"Koli you cannot be so hard on yourself." The high priest said.

Koli wanted to tell Abbas Amo he was sorry. He wanted to say how he didn't mean to cause this, and it was an accident. But he felt the world closing in on him, and he grew cold and isolated. The young monk gave a shiver, and then he felt nothing.

"Koli, please..." Abbas Amo said, placing his hand on Koli's shoulder. "Don't shut me out."

And in that moment, everything came rushing back. The hurt, the disappointment, the pain. It was more than he could bear.

Abbas Amo lifted Koli's chin gently with his forefinger and thumb. Large tears rolled down the young Monk's cheeks- his eyes growing gray and troubled, with specks of black darting around. His irises were growing and shrinking as his pupils dilated. Abbas Amo drew him close to his chest in a large hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Koli sobbed. "I didn't mean to. I was meditating and I didn't know what was happening and before I knew it I was on the ground and everything was broken and I-"

"Shhhhhh," Abbas Amo hushed Koli. His long silver hair tickled Koli's ears, and the young monk could feel his father's heart beating in his chest. Something about it soothed the young monk, and his eyes returned to a shade of white starlight. "Breathe, Koli. Just breathe."

It took all of Koli's energy and concentration, just to inhale and exhale. He came to consciousness on the floor of the inn next to the young boy's bed. He opened his eyes to find blotches of his vision missing as he stared at the ceiling, and his eyes hurt so much that he could only keep them open for a few seconds at a time. Every inch of his existence ached. His face stung and throbbed, the flesh in his body throbbed, and his bones were on fire. His spirit felt bloated and torn, as if his very soul bled poisoned lifeblood into his body. His mind throbbed, fogged and cloudy- as if cracks in his mind impeded his concentration.

Breathe, Koli. Just breathe.

He tried to hold on, but an icy atmosphere descended upon him, almost as if a freezing blanket enshrouded his spirit before he faded from consciousness.

The next time Koli came to, his body ached more, but his mind felt clearer, as if some of his mental wounds had healed. Koli forced himself to his knees, but found that he didn't have the strength to stand up all at once. He collapsed onto all fours.

Breathe. Just breathe. Abbas Amo's voice echoed in his head. You can do this.

Koli shuddered and nearly vomited on the floor. After several minutes of deep breathing, he mustered the strength to force himself off of his knees and onto his feet. He stumbled, half hunched over, down the hallway, using the walls to guide him to the restroom. A local merchant exited his room along the hallway with the sound of a man's sighs hanging in the air as the door shut. The merchant looked at Koli, and horror spread across his face.

"Dear gods," he cried, "by the Divine Blood, whatever evil happened to you, let it stay away from me for all of eternity and into the afterlife!" The man ran downstairs, shirtless, and left the inn entirely.

After a long journey, Koli finally made it to the restroom at the end of the hall. He latched the door, fell to his knees, and began retching into the chamber pot. Nothing came out, save acid and saliva. Wiping his mouth he stood up, feeling the aches in his body with a vengeance, and used the washbasin. Slowly lifting his gaze, he looked at himself in the mirror.

Great purple and red circles surrounded his eyes, reaching his temples and eyebrows. Several areas where lesions rose and bubbled in his skin plagued his face and neck. His eyes themselves no longer had any whites, as the blood vessels had popped and colored them a deep crimson red. Dried blood crusted, caked underneath his nose, and his cheeks sported a red and splotchy color with small pits scattered throughout. Long dark purple and blue marks stretched down his neck and onto his chest, around his entire neck in irregular patterns and frequencies. Looking down, Koli found that the magical burns escaped no part of his body; dark red rings and circles plagued his palms and the back of his hands, and stretched up his arms.

Ashamed of his burned, distorted ghastly appearance, Koli drew his hood and exited the restroom. He needed to get food into his stomach. The priest descended the stairs and made his way to the bar.

"You look like absolute hell my friend," said the bartender in a voice like wine being poured into a glass. "Whatever you got yourself into, it better not be coming after you here or there's going to be serious problems."

Koli simply shook his head and pointed to the bread and cheese meal that the man across the bar was enjoying. When the bartender went to pour mead into Koli's glass, he knocked on the table to get the bartender's attention. The priest shook his head and pointed to the glass milk bottles in the corner of the bar.

"Suit yourself,' the bartender shrugged, and flipped her long raven hair as she turned to the milk. "So how much longer are you staying?" The bartender asked when she brought Koli his meal.

Koli looked puzzled as he pulled out a gold coin and gently placed it on the bar.

"Rent is due tomorrow."

Had Koli really been recovering for almost a week now? He shook his head and pulled out his bag of coins, counting out another week's rent. He slid the gold towards the bartender and looked around. He had to find out what had happened to him. Koli got her attention and pointed to a business ledger below the counter at the far end of the bar.

"You want my ledger?"

Koli shook his head. He pointed to the business ledger, and motioned grandly to insinuate lots of them.

"Oh, you mean you want a library?" She asked. Koli nodded.

"Why didn't you just say so? There's one that overlooks the ocean in the Nebulous district. Beautiful place. The architecture is incredible. I can show you if you want."