Mountain of The Suns • Book 2

Chapter 7

I sat in class scribbling smaller doodles on my page. I would look around at the teacher every so often and my classmates occasionally, but my mind was elsewhere. I knew we were going over Wisteria, but there wasn't much else I didn't already know. I hadn't wanted to be rude, but it was hard for me to pay full attention. 

I had to listen to him restate everything Jun had told me when we had discovered that I was being pricked with the stuff. I knew everyone around me was looking to me every few minutes because it was clear why this was added into the curriculum. I was the one pure blood we knew of who was susceptible to it's influence. Even if they didn't know I was being messed with it was clear I was the reason this was added into our lessons.

Jun had mentioned a few days ago when we first had gotten here that a guard had been placed at every temples Wisteria Tree to not only protect the tree itself but to make sure no one was harvesting from it. There of course was the forest near by but that was too large to be monitored as closely. Since any trips out from the Temple were monitored the idea was to avoid whoever was doing this from getting more. The Wisteria tree was in the temples main court yard so it was pretty easy to see if someone was tampering with it from the front doors.

Though, there was some comfort to be had because Jun said it was a tedious process to extract it. It takes hours to even get a small drop from it and that's even with a proper fixed drainage system installed into its trunk. Not to mention it was clear whoever was doing this was trying to be discreet.

The irony of those trees was almost humorous to me now looking back. They had been planted initially thousands of years ago as a symbol of freedom and spiritual strength. Now every time I thought about it I felt anything but that.

"Wisteria used to have a significant effect on us Ethereals. Wisteria can be a great source power, but when consumed or administered to an individual with a pure bloodline. It can cause a temporary weakness and a weak consciousness but over time it is said to strengthen the user. It increases their strength and abilities." Toshiro explained.

"So why don't we all eat a bunch of this stuff?" I heard Ollie ask a few desks in front of me.

"We are not pure blooded beings anymore. Over the thousands of years since our creation we have mated with the Temporal's and this has changed our very DNA. We've built up a sort of resistance to the toxin because Wisteria has no positive effects on Temporal's therefore that dominant trait took over. Throughout time we have always been outnumbered by Temporal's so most of our strongest traits have receded. The likely hood of Wisteria doing anything more than giving you a headache or stomach ache is minimal.

That being said the part of our soul that binds us to the gods can be shared with most anyone. Most Temporal's have the ability to gain the gods power if they seek it out and bathe in the fountain. So long as they have some part of the Ethereal bloodline in them, they likely can bind a connection. Just like almost all of us have Temporal in us they have the contrary.

While we have grown our bloodline it has in turn weakened it. Hence why we must all bathe in the fountains and reside close to the temples, we need a dose of that connection every so often to make sure we have a strong bond to the gods. That's why we travel with glow stone as not only for identification and light but as an external battery if you will.

Though this Wisteria is very powerful to certain Ethereal's and can increase power in the right person, in turn it takes a heavy toll on the body but typically temporary in most cases. If the dosage is too high it can paralyze or even kill the user if not careful, it is a toxin in a large enough dose to a Temporal or Ethereal." Toshiro said clasping his hands together as he looked to me. "Since it's effects are so harsh and now useless to our kind taking it would really only make you ill."