Chapter Seven – The Megami-Hito
After dropping off Sky, her Partners, Nathan, and Nick, Siddeley transported the spies of the group to their destinations. Harley pointed out that the modern-day countries that made up Mesopotamia were not the safest place for Americans or even British people to be. Since they deduced that the Greeks and Romans claimed Mesopotamia for the longest time, it made the most sense to visit Greece and Rome and see what information could be garnered there. Katherine and Leland went to a Roman library while Harley and Finn visited a museum in Greece.
Inside the museum, Harley and Finn saw plenty of ancient artefacts and old texts. What mattered to them was any mention of psyche humans.
"Take a look at this, Harley." Finn waved his Partner over to an informational plaque below a short Greek statue. The statue depicted a young woman in religious garb. "This says that psyche humans played a large role in Greek society through their work as priests and priestesses. Though their Soul Connect Partners were not allowed to live in the temples, psyche humans acted as advisors and speakers for the gods."
"How fascinating." Harley breathed. "So, if you were a psyche human, were you automatically admitted into a temple?"
"It looks that way." Finn said. "But now look at this." He led her to another part of the museum, this one showing an image of a picture taken at an old temple. The priests and priestesses shown in the painting had different skin tones. "This says that the psych-mans in the Greek temples not only came from Greek villages, but were also former slaves from other countries."
Harley tapped her lip in thought. "I'm going to the loo." She walked off towards the restrooms. Luckily, she saw no one else in the other stalls on her way to the stall farthest from the doorway. Harley slipped inside and locked the door. It seemed weird at first, but Harley quickly learned that sometimes the best place to secretly look up information was in the privacy of a bathroom, especially a public one.
Going to her watch, Harley pulled up a holographic computer screen similar to Holley's. She pulled up an online search page and typed in "religion of slaves." Since becoming a spy, Harley developed an uncanny skill for finding information quickly and storing it immediately. When she found as much as she could from one search, she would add words to narrow things down, and then add the new information to what she already knew. Harley spent the next several minutes doing this, searching and re-searching things until she couldn't find anything more, which only frustrated her.
Finn waited outside for Harley to return, and he noticed her eyebrows furrowed in the way they did when she thought really hard about something. "That's not a good face. What did you find?"
"At first, a lot. Then I hit a dead end." Harley explained as they moved down the street. "The slaves in Europe and the Americas, even after they were taken from their homes, still worshipped the gods of their ancestral religion. They did it in secret, of course, but there is evidence of secret shrines and archeologists have discovered old sacred relics with the belongings of these slaves. Some of the slaves' descendants even passed down the relics in their families. Now these are old religions that are only practiced in pockets of the world today. They worship a pantheon of deities and spirits. In every sacred practice I found, they mention a 'psychic deity.'"
"So a deity who oversees people with psychic abilities, like a psyche human." Finn guessed. "What did you find out about this deity?"
"That's just it. I didn't find anything after that." Harley said, frustration in her tone. "There are a few legends, but not much else beyond that."
"A psychic deity." Finn mused. "That does sound close to what we're looking for."
"You don't think we've strayed too far by looking at mythology and religion?" Harley asked. "I mean, I believe in ghosts and all that jazz—seeing Leland, my dad, and Stanley has proved that, and Katherine's abilities further confirmed it—but shouldn't we focus more on genetics and actual science?"
"Perhaps not." Finn said. "I, too, lean more on the side of facts instead of faith. But there are some things we simply can't explain. Take your abilities as a psych-man, for instance. You may have a genetic makeup linked to your powers, but that doesn't mean they can be remade and put into someone else. Scientists have been trying to do that for years, to no avail. This little adventure of ours is taking down spiritual roads, and that may be just what we need."
Harley nodded in understanding and agreement. "Let's call Katherine and Leland. Maybe they found something." She took out her mobile phone and pressed the speed-dial for Katherine. After two rings, Katherine answered. "Hey Kat, what's up?"
"Well, we did make a little progress." Katherine said. "Found good information at the library."
"Great." Harley said. "Tell me this: did you come across anything that mentioned a psychic god or goddess? In any religion?"
"Spot on, Harley." Katherine confirmed. "That's the psychic goddess mentioned in the religions of slaves in Europe and the Americas?"
"Exactly!" Harley cheered silently. "What did you find?"
"Unfortunately, not much." Katherine admitted. "We've found a couple legends about the goddess and her interactions with psyche humans. Sometimes psyche humans were honored by villages for their powers. Other times, shunned. No matter what happened, though, this goddess seemed to be around to guide the psych-man."
"And you didn't find anything else?" Harley asked, groaning a little.
"I found one research article on this goddess, and the entire paper just criticized the idea that she existed in the first place." Katherine huffed. "If she did exist, no one knows what religion she originally came from."
"What are you talking about?" Harley asked.
"Well, she has the same description across these old myths, but she never takes the same form." Katherine explained. "In some mythologies, she's a goddess. In others, a fairy or other spirit. One legend even claimed she was a sort of demon. There doesn't seem to be any kind of trail to follow to find where this goddess originally came from."
"That actually makes sense." Harley shrugged. "When missionaries forcefully spread their beliefs and tried to stomp out the local religion, the indigenous people would hide their relics and stories to preserve them. Or, in some cases, that religion is carried by oral tradition."
"Neither of which helps us." Katherine said. "I've been working on a research essay about all this, and the information we are finding isn't helping."
Finn had tapped into the conversation, and he thought for a moment. "What about Ms. Riley's grandfather? His tribe belongs to an old line of psyche humans. Maybe they worshipped this goddess once."
"I think that's the only lead we got right now." Harley said. "Katherine, call Siddeley, would you? We're going to Basque Country."
Nathan's home had plenty of room for both humans and vehicles, something he credited to sharing his house with his Soul Connect Partner. Unfortunately, due to wingspan and a long tail, both Skipper and Blade had to share the large barn for a sleeping space.
The next day, Nathan explained Basque religion to Sky, Blade, Skipper, and Nick.
"Before being Catholics, the Basque worshipped a goddess known as Mari." Nathan said as they walked through town. "She was often associated with the weather. The Basque didn't have elaborate and ornate temples until they converted to Christianity. They worshipped out in the natural world, and it was the same with the Psikearen. We worshipped the old gods and spirits, whom we believed connected us to the earth."
"So how do we find out more about these old gods and spirits?" Sky asked.
"That, my dear, is a mission for the museum." Nathan directed them to an old building across the street, where they split up and started their research in different parts of the museum.
Sky and Nick came across a section on religion, yet all they found was more information about psych-man soothsayers and priests. "This isn't nearly as helpful as I thought it would be." Sky sighed.
"But it was a good train of thought." Nick whispered in her ear. He had to stay invisible in such a crowded space, and keep his voice down in case someone heard him.
Sky felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. The caller ID read "Racer Skater." Sky answered the phone. "Hey Harley, what's up?"
"Not a lot." Harley said. "We're heading to Sid, on our way to Basque Country. Just wanted to update you on what we found." She described the information she gathered from the museum and the information Katherine found at the library.
"Okay, that's a lot of what we're finding here." Sky sighed. "Not helpful."
"Well, we'll lend our expertise when we get there." Harley said. "I'll asked Holley to look up some C.H.R.O.M.E. contacts in Spain and France."
"All right. See you soon." Sky hung up and stuffed her phone in her pocket. She turned on her heel and marched right out of the museum. Nick scrambled to keep up.
"Hey, where are you going?" Nick asked as Sky hopped down the steps of the museum.
"I need air and a distraction." Sky said.
"I thought you were rippin' and roarin' and ready for action on this thing." Nick pointed out.
"Yes, but we keep hitting dead ends." Sky complained. "I need to set aside time to relax and rethink this. Hey, a bookstore!"
Nick had to hurry after her yet again when Sky cross the street to a secondhand bookshop. "You are far too easily distracted."
"Only by books." Sky shrugged as she entered the shop.
"Your dad is going to freak out." Nick warned.
"He's not going to freak out that much." Sky assured. "I'm going to look in the mythology section."
Nick cracked a grin. Sky would never do anything to hurt her family. Still, she did have her rebellious moments. Nick followed Sky through the bookshop. Even in the extensive mythology section, there were very few answers. Sky did find a few myths about the goddess Mari and stories about the spirits the Psikearen recognized. Nothing much more than that. So Sky just browsed. She loved being in bookstores. Every tome held an entire new world for her to experience. Sometimes it felt like she could get high on the smell of old books.
While perusing the art books, Sky noticed one book spine that looked older than the others. She pulled the book down and found it to be a leather cover with brightly-colored string on the binding and spine. Sky flipped through the pages. Though the pages crinkled and were yellow from age, they were surprisingly intact. Each page had an image on it with some text beneath each photo.
"What did you find?" Nick asked.
"An old book that I want." Sky snapped the book shut and went to the cashier desk at the front of the store.
The college-age man behind the counter took the book and said something in Spanish.
"Um….." Sky thought for a moment. "No habla Español."
"Oh, an American!" the man said. "Sorry. You look Spanish or Basque."
"My grandfather is Basque." Sky said.
"Finding heritage?" the man asked.
"Yeah, you could say that." Sky nodded.
The man looked over the book again. "Very interesting book. I hope you enjoy. I also like books that are a hundred years old."
"Well, I think old books are—" Sky paused. "Wait, a hundred years old?"
"Yes. This book was in the shop when my grandfather was a teenager." The man said.
"Really?" Sky asked.
"Yes, he got it and many books from Megami." The man explained as he rung up the book.
Sky handed him the money for the book. "Was Megami a sister or a cousin? Maybe his girlfriend?"
"No, no, my grandmother was not Megami." The man said. "The book was old when it came in, too."
Sky nodded slowly. "Huh, cool. Well, thanks!" She left the shop, Nick floating behind her. She stared at the book.
"I never understood people who read old books." Nick said. "How can you understand anything when it's written in an old version of a language?"
"I think it's more of an aesthetic." Sky shrugged. "Besides, this book is just full of pictures." Sky suddenly stopped walking. "Nick, look at this."
Nick looked over her shoulder. Sky opened only the front cover, and Nick saw a faded ink stamp on the inside of the cover. "Wait, isn't that—"
"It's the same symbol as the one on my amulet." Sky pulled from the collar of her shirt the amulet Nick gave her. Within the circle of colorful stones in the amulet was a symbol stamped in the metal. The symbol on the amulet matched the one in the book perfectly.
"Whoa." Nick breathed. "What are the odds?"
"This is not coincidental, Nick." Sky said. She slipped into an alleyway so no one would see her talking to nothing. Nick materialized in front of her. "Tell me again where you found the amulet."
"In the ashes of a fire." Nick said. "Maru made a bonfire one night, and I swore I saw something glittering in the flames. I thought it was a bit of metal or something in one of the logs. The next morning, I found the amulet in the ashes. It was completely unscathed, which I found weird, but I figured something cool like that would be—"
"Nick!" Sky snapped to stop his rambling. "Where exactly did Maru get that firewood?"
"He just bought it in California." Nick said. "Local vendor south of Piston Peak Park. The guy chopped down an old tree that was about to fall down, and Maru bought a bundle of it. Why?"
"Back to the museum!" Sky ordered, running out and not waiting for Nick to catch up. When they reached the museum, they found Nathan, Blade, and Skipper waiting outside.
"Where have you been?" Skipper demanded.
"You can't go running off like that without telling someone." Blade added, his tone both worried and stern.
"Sorry, but I have a hunch about where we need to go next." Sky said.
"Really?" Nathan asked. "Where?"
"California." Sky said. The three men before her gave her strange looks. "Trust me."
Once everyone returned to the States, they made their way to California despite their confusion at Sky's orders. Also per Sky's request, Blade called Maru to get the exact location of where he ordered the firewood.
"Are you sure about this?" Harley asked as they journeyed down the street.
"Trust me." Sky said. "I think this shop will have our answer."
"Why?" Katherine asked.
"If the amulet was inside one of the logs Maru used in the bonfire, maybe there's a connection between the amulet and this place." Sky answered as they arrived at the feed and supply store Maru directed them to. "Let's see if this place has been anything more than a feed store."
Inside, the merchandise consisted mainly of farm animal feed, farm supplies, horse riding gear, rodeo gear, and large stacks of firewood bundles. The only occupant was a teenager behind the register. Sky, Harley, and Katherine approached the counter while everyone else waited outside. The teenage boy at the register flipped absent-mindedly through a hunting magazine.
"Hey, we have a strange question. You think you could help us out?" Harley asked.
"I'm not paid enough to answer strange questions." The boy said, not looking up from his magazine. Sky promptly snatched it out of his hands. "Hey!"
"You want it back? You'll answer our question." Sky said in a no-nonsense tone.
The boy growled in annoyance. "Fine. What do you want?"
"Has this place always been a feed and supplies store?" Katherine asked. "Or was it other things?"
"This is a teeny tiny town. Of course this place has been other things." The boy snapped. "Now give me back my magazine!"
Sky rolled up the magazine and whacked the boy on the head. "What else has this store been?"
"I don't know!" The boy whined, rubbing his head. "My grandpa bought this place fifty years ago. Before that, it was a couple different stores. It's been a bookstore, a bead shop, and a weird little store that had strange cultural objects or something."
"What kind of strange cultural objects?" Harley asked.
"I never went into the store. It was around way before even my dad was alive. I don't think my grandpa was alive either, and I have no idea if it was still around when he was a kid." The boy said.
"Thanks." Sky tossed the magazine back to the boy, and she and her friends joined the others outside. They moved to a café and sat in a quiet corner to talk.
"I think I know what you're getting at, Sky." Katherine pulled out her tablet and typed a few things online. She murmured to herself and opened a calculator, tapping in a few numbers. "Based on my calculations, I estimate that the amulet was lost around two hundred years ago."
"Calculations of what?" Leland asked.
"Tree growth." Katherine answered. "Plants grow around or through things inanimate objects. If the amulet was in a log, then it must've been buried near an acorn or other seed, which grew into a tree and carried the amulet with it. Perhaps we can find the shop based on when the necklace was lost."
"Hang on." Harley pulled out her computer and did a quick search of her own. "I'm looking at the town archives of businesses that existed over two centuries ago."
"How did you get that from your computer?" Nick asked.
"We could tell you, but then we'd have to shoot you." Leland said.
Nick snorted. "You're joking." He stared at Leland. "You are joking, right?"
"Here!" Harley cheered triumphantly. "There was once a shop called Ancient Art, owned by a woman named Skylar Saysheen. She sold crafts, jewelry, and other artefacts that she claims were representative of the ancient culture known as Megami-Hito."
"Megami-Hito." Katherine repeated. "That's Japanese. It translates to 'people of the goddess.'"
"I'm looking at records of the things this woman made and sold." Harley said. "Check it out. It's the same symbol as what's on Sky's amulet." Sure enough, the pictures Harley showed depicted stones, drawings, and jewelry, all bearing the strange crest.
"Now that we have a more definite answer, we can make a smarter search." Katherine typed away on her tablet.
"Megami-Hito." Blade repeated. "Never heard of them."
"We certainly didn't go over that in any history class I took." Skipper agreed.
"Why not?" Sky wondered.
"Because nobody believes they existed." Katherine answered. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What I'm reading here says that Megami-Hito is rumored to be one of the first groups of civilized people, older than any other group in history. But there's no physical evidence except notes and books made by early explorers. Apart of eyewitness testimonies, there doesn't seem to be any proof this culture existed at all."
"A fictional culture?" Finn asked.
"What would be the purpose of that?" Leland asked.
"Not sure." Katherine admitted. "It says here that some historians claim Megami-Hito was made up by the Basque, in order to throw crusaders off their trail."
"Of course!" Nathan suddenly exclaimed. "I knew I had seen that symbol before! Here I thought it was just a random design created years ago."
"But you have seen it before?" Sky asked.
"Yes." Nathan nodded. "In some of our oldest history books. I'm not sure how much significance it holds to the Basque people today, but the Psikearen have many stories about spirits known as Megami-Hito."
"Spirits? Not actual people?" Skipper asked.
"Well, no one knows for sure." Nathan admitted. "They say that the spirits all obey the command of a single goddess."
"The Goddess of Psyche?" Harley guessed.
"Yes." Nathan said, surprised. "How did you know?"
"I finally found information on legends for the Megami-Hito." Harley said. "This supposedly pseudo-culture worshipped several different gods and goddess. One of them was known as the Goddess of Psyche, who apparently created the first psyche humans."
"So that's our answer?" Nick asked. "Psyche humans came from this goddess?"
"It seems to make the most sense." Finn admitted.
"When civilizations intermingle, people sometimes appropriate their beliefs to match those of a new culture they live in." Skipper said.
"So this Goddess of Psyche could be the root of other spirits or even deities in other cultures, like the ones we found." Blade added.
Sky took Harley's computer and stared at the information. "Wow. This is so cool."
"Just think: all that time we could've saved if we just came to California first." Harley noted, causing laughter amongst them.