Prologue Part 17
A bit later back at the mansion, Thomas, Roselle, Matteo and two other people sat in the living room, about to begin a very important discussion. They were served tea, wine and pastries but Matteo didn't touch any of his. Once everybody settled in the house, it was time to begin their discussion.
"Alright, thank you all for coming. Let us begin, shall we." Thomas began. All the guest nodded in agreement. "So, I have the book with me here now. Please look through it and decide which seed to pick unless he has already decided on one?" One of the seed bearers asked as she gave Thomas the book she was talking about.
"Actually I thought it would be fitting if I chose his first seed for him. I mean after all, the boy is only seven years old, he doesn't know anything about the Spirit Seeds yet." Thomas explained. "Well, it's customary for the Inheritor to pick the seed they wish to plant," the lady explained, "especially the first one." The gentleman she came along with added, "Perhaps we can give him a quick explanation of the different seeds as we look through the book together."
"Alright" Thomas conceded with a sigh. Matteo was called over as he and everybody else gathered around the man holding the book. As he flipped through the pages, they saw a variety of different symbols, their names and the histories behind them, as well as the type of powers they possess. The Seed Bearer flipped through the pages until finally,
"This seed is called The Heart of Seneva. According to the records, this seed was founded many thousands of years ago, although the exact era and timeline is unknown. Stories say that this seed was formed by a girl named Seneva. She was a very kind and deeply compassionate girl who took up life as a nurse, using her kindness and skill to heal the hearts and bodies of all those around her, there are even stories of her resurrecting the dead. She had patients coming to her from all over the world, and she healed each and every one of them.
"Though as amazing as her career was, it was also short lived. All information about her vanished even from the minds of all those she healed. The only remaining information on her were the various scrolls and books about her from the people, as well as what was believed to be her diary. And through these stories she has become a mythical figure even hailed as a goddess in some places."
Wow Matteo thought internally as he heard this. The man continued,
"After many investigations, the people discovered this heart-shaped symbol among the texts and diaries, which they chose to name, The Heart of Seneva. Those who plant this seed will be given the same great healing abilities as her, though unfortunately nobody has managed to replicate her feat of resurrecting the dead quite yet."
As he was wrapping up his explanation, Roselle said from behind him, "You know, this was your mother's favourite seed. She would always use it to heal flowers and sometimes people."
Matteo's eyes lit up. He knew that very well, and he had always wanted to have that same ability his mother had.
"I want this one." He shouted as he pointed to the symbol of Seneva's Heart. "I want mama's seed."
"Interesting choice." The lady said from next to him. "No way" Thomas rejected sternly. "The Heart of Seneva is a high ranking Spirit Seed, it would be nearly impossible for a complete beginner like Matteo to plant it. The amount of strain planting such a seed would put Matteo in would be enough to corrupt and killl him almost instantly."
Faced with such logic, the other adults were left with almost no possible way to object… Almost.
"Might I make a suggestion?" Roselle asked with her hand raised. "Sure, what?" The Seed Bearer lady asked in response. Roselle began explaining,
"Well it may be true that usually it would be nearly impossible for somebody like Matteo to be able to fully plant the Heart of Seneva or any other seed like it, let us not forget that Lord Matteo is in a very special position. Not only does he have one of the most powerful Inheritors in the world as his father, but he himself possesses a special seed which, though we may not have any knowledge of it, could help Matteo increase his spirituality making it easier for him to plant even The Heart of Seneva despite his inexperience."
"True," Ths Seed Bearers agreed, "We still do not know what kind of seed Lord Matteo already possesses or what affect it's had on his spirituality, though I do assume it to be a positive affect. Plus, with you around, you can guide him and help him plant the seed without any mishaps, right?"
Thomas was now the one running out of counters. "I suggest we start him out with something much easier like one of the elemental seeds. It's lower risk with higher reward. Plus, we still need to take into account the compatability factor. If Matteo plants the Heart of Seneva his options for future seeds will be reduced significantly. That is why Isabella only ever planted two seeds."
The lady interjected, "True, but still, the child wishes for the Heart of Seneva. And as far as I can see, he has every advantage possible with regards to lowering the difficulty of planting it, so why not?"
Everybody in the room agreed. "But still, special or not it would still take Matteo years before he fully plants that seed. I have very big plans for Matteo so I do not have that much time to waste on one seed no matter how powerful it may be."
Roselle interjected, "Oh come on, by the time he plants it, he will only be in his late teens or even early twenties at the absolute latest. That is still plenty of time as most people don't even receive their Inheritance until they reach adulthood or later."
Thomas now had no more cards left to play. "Fine, you win. Matteo will plant The Heart of Seneva."
"Excellent!" Exclaimed both the guests. "Let us begin right now shall we? I would also like to study Lord Matteo's special new seed."
"Very well." Thomas agreed.
The two guests got up and began preparing Matteo's seed. Matteo was presented with the symbol for the Heart of Seneva. "Before planting, you first need to make sure you are able to draw the symbol perfectly. So take a pen and a paper and practice it right now." the gentleman explained. Matteo took a feather quill and began copying the symbol. It didn't take him long to copy it perfectly.
"Excellent work" the man celebrated. "Now you are ready. Enter your Spirit Tree and copy the symbol exactly like how you did it just now, then touch the symbol with your hands and try to exert as much of your spirituality into the symbol as you can, then come back."
Matteo got the instructions down and asked one last question before following them, "How do I enter my Spirit Tree?"
"Follow my instructions". Matteo did as he was told. He got into a comfortable position and closed his eyes. Then, he focused really hard while also somehow keeping himself as relaxed as possible, then after a few seconds, he got sleepy before completely blacking out.
When he opened his eyes, he was back inside his Spirit Tree in his plain white garments.
He spent a few moments looking around the place as he still hadn't gotten used to it. He was also looking for somewhere to plant The Heart of Seneva. He walked around until he finally decided to go back to the locked palace gate. Once he reached the gate, he searched all over for the ghost but just couldn't find him. After a short while he gave up and shifted his focus back to his original objective.
This time he searched all over for somewhere to draw the Heart's symbol. His search led him back to the two pillars he walked past on his way to the gate. How am I supposed to draw it here? Matteo thought, standing in front of the pillar. As he thought over how he was going to do this, the entire place trembled and a sharp pain hit Matteo and made him fall to his knees.
He got up shortly and realized that his time in here was running out. It was only a matter of time before he would be forced out without being able to plant it, so there was no longer time for searching. I have to do this now.
He touched one of the pillars and sure enough it was rock solid. But still, he had to try something. Unfortunately all he had to draw with were his fingers so he took his index finger and began trying to draw the symbol. He pressed hard on the pillar and began scratching the shape of Seneva's Heart with his nails. He touched the area where he drew it, closed his eyes and focused his spirituality onto the symbol.
It took a while but soon the symbol absorbed all his spirituality and began to truly take shape on the pillar. From the symbol, some of the spirituality leakedout from the seed into a vine like shape and coiled all around the pillar. Once the vines reached the floor, Matteo's Spirit Tree began quaking again but this time it didn't hurt him.
The quaking grew more and more violent and Matteo fell to the floor once again. A few moments later, he grew weaker and weaker until he passed out once again.
Once he opened his eyes, he found himself back in the living room with everyone's eyes on him. It took a moment for him to fully register his new surroundings and when he did, he fell to the floor screaming in complete agony.
His heart was racing in his chest and he felt every vein in his body bulging, each one bringing more pain all over. It continued on like that for a good minute, Matteo cried from all the pain, and soon it faded and all was back to normal… for now.
"Congratulations, my Lord, now listen because what I am about to say will be extremely important for not just planting your new seed, but also for preserving your life," the lady warned,
"From now till the day you complete the planting, you have to stay as close to your father as possible and listen to everything he tells you. Unfortunately the planting process will hurt, especially since your seed is so powerful, but you can prevent thar pain by focusing on your spirituality as much as you can. If you ever have any problems or need any help, speak up immediately. Failure to do so will result in your spiritual corruption and more than possible death, understand?"
Matteo took those words in then nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"Good" the lady's tone softened, "well, our job here is done now. Lord Dumont, along with taking care of Lord Matteo, the council has also requested reports on his special seed, any reports will much appreciated."
"Of course." Thomas replied formally. After packing their things, Thomas led them outside and saw them off.