The flavor of the treats changed from moment to moment, but none of them were unpleasant. If they were concentrated on, the flavors conjured ideas that were not associated with culinary sensations. One bite might taste like arousal or ambition or adoration, however that worked. It seemed a combination of the nature of both confections and the place that held them. While they had a springy substance in the hand, once they passed the lips they melted almost instantly, suffusing Kala with an energy that had nothing to do with her stomach or even her body. There was a reservoir inside the fledgling goddess that eating the pure worship made obvious in the same way that the location of one's stomach becomes obvious only when it is empty.
The bone-deep fatigue began to slacken its hold and clarity to return.
Eshar was watching closely, golden eyes brighter for their attention.
"The aetheric tongue? More like 'the long hiss'." The words were spoken and heard, distinctly, in a language that did, indeed sound like a combination of hisses and rumbles, but while Kala's ears did not know the sounds, her mind interpreted them as easily as it did Common. The host switched back to Common to continue,
"All languages can be understood here. At least, so long as I wish them to. It can help some with learning a language, but hinder others. Nuance is easier to learn with perfect translation, but your mind doesn't learn to listen for it as much as it would in the world. But even I can not teach you a language in a night. So, for now, let's try something easier."
Scooting to the edge of their chair, Eshar held out one hand, palm up.
"You have Elementalism, so I'll assume you know how to make an Elemental Lodestone? Making a tangible version of worship is remarkably similar."
Concentrating on the surface of their hand, Eshar poured the energy of the worship they received from their reservoir into a little pool of power that slowly coalesced into a similar candy to those on the table.
"It can look like whatever you want. I just like candy." They grinned and popped the newly created treat into their mouth where they made it dissolve more slowly so Kala could watch, through her Semblance, as it returned to the reservoir.
"You could also re-absorb it through any part of you, it just makes sense to 'eat' it, so it takes no thought. Worship comes in different forms, but mainly two: Sustained faith, and sudden need. The first typically has to come from a sentient being," They wavered their hand back and forth to imply that 'sentient' was a messy term, "who chooses to worship a deity specifically. They don't have to know that it is you that they worship, but some concept of a god that resonates with your domains. Reverence to your general concept is good, reverence to you specifically is better, but can also be dangerous. More on that later."
They paused to take a sip of whatever was in their own teacup,
"The second kind can come from such followers, and will, in moments of desperation or adoration, but you'll get a lot more from randos. Or," They eyed Kala again, "I do. Your domain might affect that. Lots of people get desperate in their Desires, I don't know how many do for Unity but..."
They shrugged, pondering,
"Asking for help might be considered a version of pleading for Unity. I am excited to find out. Anyway, all of that will go into your 'worship stomach'." They made finger quotes in the air, "Which, at the moment, isn't that big. You don't have that many worshipers yet, and your domain is still fuzzy, if you will, in the group consciousness, hardly there at all, so you probably aren't having much spillover. If you are it is probably just filling your body, giving you energy, reducing the amount you need to sleep or eat to stay healthy. But as you go, you will probably run into times when your reservoir is filling up and you don't need it to currently make any miracles happen. In those cases, you could just do some miracles anyway, but that inevitably leads to more followers, which leads to more worship. It's easier to just push it into little treats or gems or whatever you feel like and hold it for when you need a big bang, or like, I dunno, a big Unity?"
They gestured to Kala with a 'you know what I mean' expression on their face.
The bone-deep fatigue began to slacken its hold and clarity to return.
Eshar was watching closely, golden eyes brighter for their attention.
"The aetheric tongue? More like 'the long hiss'." The words were spoken and heard, distinctly, in a language that did, indeed sound like a combination of hisses and rumbles, but while Kala's ears did not know the sounds, her mind interpreted them as easily as it did Common. The host switched back to Common to continue,
"All languages can be understood here. At least, so long as I wish them to. It can help some with learning a language, but hinder others. Nuance is easier to learn with perfect translation, but your mind doesn't learn to listen for it as much as it would in the world. But even I can not teach you a language in a night. So, for now, let's try something easier."
Scooting to the edge of their chair, Eshar held out one hand, palm up.
"You have Elementalism, so I'll assume you know how to make an Elemental Lodestone? Making a tangible version of worship is remarkably similar."
Concentrating on the surface of their hand, Eshar poured the energy of the worship they received from their reservoir into a little pool of power that slowly coalesced into a similar candy to those on the table.
"It can look like whatever you want. I just like candy." They grinned and popped the newly created treat into their mouth where they made it dissolve more slowly so Kala could watch, through her Semblance, as it returned to the reservoir.
"You could also re-absorb it through any part of you, it just makes sense to 'eat' it, so it takes no thought. Worship comes in different forms, but mainly two: Sustained faith, and sudden need. The first typically has to come from a sentient being," They wavered their hand back and forth to imply that 'sentient' was a messy term, "who chooses to worship a deity specifically. They don't have to know that it is you that they worship, but some concept of a god that resonates with your domains. Reverence to your general concept is good, reverence to you specifically is better, but can also be dangerous. More on that later."
They paused to take a sip of whatever was in their own teacup,
"The second kind can come from such followers, and will, in moments of desperation or adoration, but you'll get a lot more from randos. Or," They eyed Kala again, "I do. Your domain might affect that. Lots of people get desperate in their Desires, I don't know how many do for Unity but..."
They shrugged, pondering,
"Asking for help might be considered a version of pleading for Unity. I am excited to find out. Anyway, all of that will go into your 'worship stomach'." They made finger quotes in the air, "Which, at the moment, isn't that big. You don't have that many worshipers yet, and your domain is still fuzzy, if you will, in the group consciousness, hardly there at all, so you probably aren't having much spillover. If you are it is probably just filling your body, giving you energy, reducing the amount you need to sleep or eat to stay healthy. But as you go, you will probably run into times when your reservoir is filling up and you don't need it to currently make any miracles happen. In those cases, you could just do some miracles anyway, but that inevitably leads to more followers, which leads to more worship. It's easier to just push it into little treats or gems or whatever you feel like and hold it for when you need a big bang, or like, I dunno, a big Unity?"
They gestured to Kala with a 'you know what I mean' expression on their face.
