32 – Visionary

Two weeks after his injury, Jonny held perfectly still as Helen’s mana snaked its way through his body. It felt weird, and mildly uncomfortable to have someone else’s mana poking and prodding around inside him, but he knew it was just to help him. After about a minute, the mana retracted, and he let himself relax as Helen pulled away. He looked at her unreadable expression, worried she would give him bad news, but when she finally spoke, it was only good.

“Fully recovered.”

“Yes! And what about–?”

“Igrette will explain later,” said Helen, cutting him off. “Not here.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“I’ll be going now. I have some duties that I have been neglecting as of late. And Igrette.”

“Yes?”

“Be careful.”

“Of course.”

“I mean it.”

Helen gave Igrette a very serious look before turning and walking out of the infirmary, leaving the other two alone. Igrette watched her leave, then turned to Jonny, raising an eyebrow.

“Well?” she said. “What are you waiting for? Get dressed.”

“Okay!”

Ten minutes later, the two of them were stomping through the snow outside the fence, heading back toward the stone circle.

“In light of your background, Helen and I talked, and we decided that we are indeed going to give you more freedom.”

“Really?”

“Did you expect us not to?” asked Igrette. “You are an adult. Even if you have… reckless tendencies, you can decide things for yourself. You don’t need our permission. In fact, if you wanted to leave this orphanage on your own, we wouldn’t stop you. However, I think you should stay.”

“I wanna stay anyway,” said Jonny. “I can’t really learn from you if I leave, can I?”

“No, you cannot,” said Igrette with a small smile. “But if you do stay, we think it would be best if you remain undercover. That means sleeping in the room with the other children, and continuing to play with them sometimes and things like that. We’ll give you some more alone time, and one on one time with us, but as a whole, your lifestyle wouldn’t change.”

“Is that ‘cause of me not being able to tell anyone else about my past life?”

“Yes.”

“Why can’t I? I mean, I know it’s kinda weird, and maybe a little creepy, but you and Helen keep talking about it like it’s a big deal.”

“Do you remember learning about Visionaries?”

“Uh…” Jonny scratched his head. “Maybe?”

“Visionaries are people who appear once every other century or so, and cause great change in the world. The founder of our nation was one, and there have been seven more since. They are usually taken in by the church at a young age, and raised with great care, and they are usually later venerated.”

“Yeah, I think maybe I remember learning that once?” said Jonny.

“Well, now you’ve learned it twice. And those Visionaries were all people like you.”

“They were?”

“Yes. That part is not quite public knowledge. It’s not a well-kept secret, but it’s not discussed openly. And, usually, the pope receives a divine message whenever a new Visionary appears, so they can take them in and make sure they are safe and properly educated.”

Jonny nodded slowly. “But that didn’t happen for me?”

“I don’t know whether it happened for you,” said Igrette. “But regardless, you were not taken in by the church. Whether they know, and have chosen to do nothing, or they don’t know, neither option is good. There are countless possibilities, the worst of which being that the church is compromised.”

“Oh.”

“You aren’t strong enough to protect yourself yet, so for now, you must keep it a secret. As far as the world is concerned, you are just a strange child.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” said Jonny, nodding. “What happens if the church is compromised?”

“We’ll climb that mountain when we get there,” said Igrette. “But most likely, nothing. Not immediately, at least. It will eventually lead to a theological reformation, but that will take years. And you should have nothing to be worried about as long as you don’t flaunt your Visionary status. The corrupted church may see you as a threat to their power.”

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“Okay. So then we’re good if I don’t tell anyone else?”

“Hopefully.”

“Awesome. Okay, now what are we gonna do out here?”