"I, I thought of that because of all the times I've talked to you," he told her, a bit sheepishly. "I saw that even though you are a god, you did seem to act very human-like, and you did have emotions. I remember each and every time I made you mad, and when I made you happy, and even a few times when I scared you. I realized that Val had to have those same emotions, and that was the only way I could get at him."

"I act in a human manner so you can understand me, kitten," she told him with a smile. "But in a way, you were right. Behind this icon and inside my true self, I'm still a creature of emotion. I love, and hate, and fear, and laugh, and mourn, just like you. It's our emotions that connect us with the mortals, kitten. It's the tying bond that links mortal and god, the one way we can look upon mortals and understand them, even though you are to us what a mouse would be to you. A simplistic creature barely worthy of notice. But you understand the mouse, because you understand how the mouse would feel if you pulled its tail, or gave it cheese and pampered it, or set a cat on it. And when you study the mouse, you discover that it really wasn't as primitive as you first believed."

"That's not very good for my ego, Mother," he told her.

She laughed. "I'm just making an example, kitten," she winked. "Val saw you as a mouse, but he made the fatal mistake of thinking that the lowly mouse didn't have the ability to think. So when the mouse bit him on the ankle, he lost his composure, furious that the lowly creature would dare defy him. Little did he realize that the mouse was biting him on the ankle to keep him from noticing the tiger pouncing on him from behind."

As always, the Goddess phrased things that were very simple to visualize, and conveyed tremendous meaning at the same time. Tarrin nodded in understanding and looked up at her with serious eyes. "What is it, my kitten?" she asked.

"I hope they're not angry with me," he divulged. "Jesmind and them, I mean. About what I did."

She looked at him, then laughed in utter delight. "My son, right now they couldn't possibly be angry with you, no matter what," she told him. "Now, I can't say that's going to hold true after Jesmind calms down and thinks things through, but for right now, just enjoy the moment," she winked. Then she looked towards the gated entrance. "Well, Triana just arrived, so I guess we can trot you out and let them fall all over you," she announced.

"Triana? Where did she go?"

"The Council of Hierarchs, something of the ruling body of the Druids, summoned her, and she couldn't disobey," she answered. "They wanted to see Jula, and get some answers, so she took Jula with her. I sent word to her about what I did here, and she basicly cursed out the Hierarchs for making her come and immediately started back. She was in such a hurry that she forgot Jula."

"She didn't!" Tarrin gasped.

"She did," the Goddess laughed. "Jula's patient, kitten. I told her just to hang tough, and I'd come and get her when I had the chance."

"I can't believe that she did that!"

"Triana's not perfect, kitten. She'll be the first one to tell you that. I'm going to go collect up Jula as soon as I rest up a bit from restoring you. She'll be back by tomorrow."

"That's good."

"Well, kitten, I must admit, I'm very impressed with you. I never thought you'd think of using a Soultrap."

"I'm just surprised it worked," he chuckled ruefully as he felt the tingling completely subside. He sat up in the soft bed the Goddess had made for him, feeling weirdly weak and strong at the same time. "I never thought that weave I put in the cat statue was going to hold for three months. I figured it would have unravelled long before now."

"Don't sell yourself short, kitten. You're not just a power spellweaver," she smiled. "You've got some very formidable skill in the subtle art of delicate spellcraft. You're a very well-rounded Sorcerer. And as soon as you adjust to your new body, you will be again."

"You said I was the same as I was before."

"You are, but it's going to be like breaking in a new pair of boots, kitten," she said with a wink. "As soon as you get used to it, as you break yourself in, you'll be back to your old self in no time. In fact, you may be better than you were before. I wasn't about to let a chance like this go."

"What did you do?"

"Oh, nothing," she said with an insincere look of innocence, putting her hands behind her back.

Tarrin laughed.

She giggled and gave him a wolfish smile. "Honestly, I didn't really do anything, but think about it, kitten," she said seriously. "You were a god. It may be lost to you now, but your soul remembers, and it has changed you. In time, as your soul grounds itself into this new body and feels as comfortable in it as a soldier in an old pair of well-worn boots, you may start to exhibit certain, abilities, that you didn't have before. You were once a god, Tarrin, and though your divinity was destroyed, there may very well be some faint traces of it left in you that gives you powers beyond what you already possess. They would barely be more than a pittance in the reckoning of a god, nothing that would make even the weakest Younger God worry about you trying to usurp his position, but in the mortal world, they might be significant. But only time will tell if that comes to pass. We had to inventa new term for you, kitten. Darian is calling you a demigod, a mortal with traits that are decidedly godly. I rather like the term. You're something like an Avatar now, kitten, but an Avatar of your own creation."

Tarrin had never considered that, but in all the other information swirling in his mind, he gave it very little weight or importance. That would be something to worry about when, or if, it became a tangible issue. "If I don't like it, can you take it away?"

She nodded. "But I may not want to, and you may not either," she answered. "Having someone like you around may be handy, kitten. There may come a time when Spyder needs some assistance in her role as Guardian, and I know she'd like to take a vacation. You could fill in for her when she needs to take a little break. Besides, you've proved that you're a formidable guardian in your own right, and we have something that we need you to protect."

"What?" he asked uncertainly.

With a smile, she held out her hand, and a black metal shaeram appeared in her hand. Instantly, he recognized it. It was his.

"H-How-" he gasped, but she cut him off.

"It turns out that this metal is quite a bit more indestructible than we believed," she smiled. "Both your amulet and your sword survived. Don't ask me how, because even we don't understand exactly how, but they did. The Firestaff is still inside the amulet. Ahiriya thinks the Firestaff protected itself from destruction, and I'm rather inclined to agree. We've tried to destroy it before, but it just won't die. I think the Firestaff took steps to defend itself from your suicide attack, and it must have caught up the sword with it when it moved to protect the amulet. The conjunction was still taking place, and though it had already used its power on you, it did still have access to some pretty powerful energy. The Firestaff does seem to have a kind of sentience about it, and it must have realized what was about to happen, and took steps. So, we seem to have an opening for a Guardian of the Firestaff, my kitten. Think you're up to the job? You only have to do real work about once every five thousand years or so. The pay's lousy, but at least you have good hours."

Tarrin laughed, laughed long and hard. All that work, thinking he'd destroyed Val and he was also taking the Firestaff with him, and the damned thing managed to survive! How ironic!

Still laughing, he reached out with his paw, and the Goddess reached down and placed the shaeram on his smooth pad. She put her other hand underneath it, and he closed his paw around the shaeram and her hand both. He looked deeply into her eyes, those glowing eyes, and he just knew that he saw the love for him there, and could feel nothing but love for her in return. She was his Goddess, his Mother, and he would do anything she asked. Not because he had to, but because he loved her.