Mithra

Mithra is a forgotten ancient earth spirit whom Theodore gains at the very start of his journey. When the grimoire Gluttony devours an original copy of 'Introduction to Spirit Magic,' a Connection forms with the long-dead master elementalist Mirdal Herseim. He judges Theodore unfit for the spirits of fire, wind and water but suited to earth for his 'foolish honesty' and a stubbornness nothing can shake. A palm-sized clay child bumps her forehead against Theodore's, sealing a contract that joins their souls: from that moment they share feeling, sight and hearing.

Mithra is unusual even for a spirit: she took human form immediately, something only high-rank spirits can do, and she possesses her own ego and self-awareness — which astonishes Professor Vince, who records every observation and says her potential is 'almost that of a spirit king.' Her true nature is the seed of an ancient deity of abundance and fertility, worshipped thousands of years before the present age as the Mother Earth Dmitra (Demeter or Ceres in other lands). The great alchemist Paracelsus, recognizing her, cries 'Demeter!' and explains that the gods of forest, rock and the rest are merely the Mother Earth's subjects, and only the gods of sea and sky lie beyond her sway. When the gods of that age grew too close to humankind and gained consciousness, they faded and were forgotten, leaving Mithra only a tiny shard of former greatness.

By nature Mithra is a playful, affectionate, mischievous child: she plays in the dirt, sculpts tiny earthen wagons, clings to Theodore's finger and communicates in short sounds like 'Honh!' and 'Deo!'. Theodore treats her gently, asking her consent before every upgrade, and the elves prize this tenderness in him, scenting on him an 'aroma of the earth.' The rescued elves trail after him like chicks after a hen precisely because of her presence.

Mithra's magic needs no formulas: a clear mental image of the result is enough. Through her Theodore turns soil to mud, opens pits beneath his enemies' feet, raises a hardened Earth Wall and hurls an Earth Spear that once shattered Sylvia's defensive crystal; diving underground, she shares subterranean sounds and images — 'Mithra's Vision' locates foes more accurately than a hawk's eye. Her power grows with Theodore's Circle, from a lieutenant spirit (Ellenoa's awakening doubles her might) to a goddess. After eating a seed of Yggdrasil gifted by Ellenoa, she grows a World-Tree bud that grants tree-like perception of nature, access to Ratatoskr, command over the ents and dryads of the Great Forest, and a healing-detoxification ability — it is this that frees Theodore from Aquilo's paralytic poison and breaks off the dragon's attempt to seduce him.

In the Age of Peace, Mithra fully awakens her divinity: she merges with the World Tree and becomes the earth goddess of Elvenheim — Dmitra, the heart of the world's mana, who warps the space of the Great Forest as her domain. Fueled by the faith of the forest's dwellers and a cult spreading across the continent, she joins the middle gods decades ahead of schedule and can appear either as a mature goddess or her old mischievous elemental self. She builds a sanctuary around the Tree, grants blessings and children — yet at heart she remains the same child who calls Theodore 'Teo' and kneads the earth like dough, turning whole mountain ranges into new mountain spirits.

Mithra grants Theodore formula-free earth magic: a clear mental image of the result is enough. Through her he turns soil to mud and freezes it back to stone, opens pits beneath his enemies' feet, raises a triple Earth Wall by hardening the ground to the maximum, hurls an Earth Spear (which once shattered Sylvia's defensive crystal), summons an Earth Giant and a meters-long Earth Worm, and turns solid ground to quicksand. Diving underground, Mithra shares subterranean sounds and images — her mole-like 'Mithra's Vision' locates foes more accurately than a hawk's eye.

Mithra's power grows with Theodore's Circle: from a lieutenant spirit barely larger than his palm (Ellenoa's awakening doubles her might — what takes elementalists decades) to a goddess. Being an ancient spirit, her 'growth' continues of itself: the bud lengthens, opens into a flower, and once Theodore reaches the 7th Circle she can, in Paracelsus's words, 'germinate another divinity' without being destroyed by an excess of earth-power.

After eating a seed of Yggdrasil, Mithra grows a World-Tree bud on her head. It grants tree-like perception of nature (a sense that the body has become a tree), access to Ratatoskr, command over ents and dryads — as a 'vessel' able to grow a World Tree, she is, to the tree-races, a being they are bound to serve — and a healing-detoxification ability that cleanses an area of poisons.

Mithra comes to Theodore through a Connection with the memory of the elementalist Mirdal Herseim, who summons her for the stubbornly honest youth. The clay child bumps her forehead against his, and the contract joins their souls. At first she barely exceeds his palm and communicates only in childish sounds, but beside the high elf Ellenoa her secret unfolds: Mithra is a shard of the Mother Earth Dmitra. Ellenoa awakens her essence to lieutenant rank and later passes her a seed of Yggdrasil, after which Mithra gains a World-Tree bud and command over the tree-races.

This power proves vital more than once: on the Pirate Archipelago Mithra slaps away the hand of Aquilo as she tries to seduce Theodore, and her detox bud neutralizes the dragon's paralytic poison; in the battle of Leviathan the ents and dryads bow before the bud on her head and obey her command. With each new Circle of Theodore's, Mithra grows, and after the 7th Circle she gains the ability to develop a new facet of her divinity.

In the Age of Peace, Mithra at last becomes Dmitra, the earth goddess of Elvenheim, merged with the World Tree and feeding the world's network of mana. Risen to the middle gods decades ahead of schedule, she builds a sanctuary around the Tree and grants blessings; a copy of her travels east to the Baekun mountains, where Theodore feeds her his own 9th-Circle magic, and, grown into a giantess, she restores the range's exhausted spirit-vein within a decade.