x
The morning of my contrition was a little more sour than vinegar. Sourer? Manual labor would mark the start of my new daily routine when I entered the solarium. A morning sun showered me in beams of morning light. Vivid pvergrowth lined much of the old walls with a serene and glistening green. I welcomed natural decorations for my punishment.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoJpy9vK2k
Now, there is no word of power can make a rag sweep the room on its own. I know; I’ve searched. Which meant, I would be slaving away with no respite. An unwelcome drag, to be sure.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ867uCCM629
There was a very peculiar statuette of the goddess Sofia on the shelf overlooking Serrina’s desk. What business does a goddess have with such a perfect figure? I thought. In her hand, she held a replica of the sun, extending it askance as if to drop light on some downtrodden soul. Then some books. John Crezbel’s A history of Teutonic Crises, A Catalogue of Trinity Shrines, How to Affect Arcane Penance Volume 13. As I crawled on the floor, brushing a wet rag against any and all surfaces, I contemplated whether the priestess knew anything about life outside the Ecclesiarchy.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDZn0kY2mX
I would be affecting cleanliness for the next few hours; surely, I had more interesting things to think about.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHUXp2JrHr
Through my valiant efforts, the class had eventually gone from a nice and tidy room to a cleaner, nice, and tidy room. The bookshelf was free of dust, and the memory vase was void of blemishes. But to think it would be as easy as that was foolish! Lux, you damned fool. "Pollux," Serrina beckoned from her table collection. "Would you care to join me in a recitation?" Me? Oddly, the request was more serene than her typical tone.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceLDkWRElO
"Aha!"
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1Z7Sx7Hai
She blinked in confusion. "Is that your way of saying yes?"
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGF8uIJNkW
"Yes." My teeth tried to smile, but my lips quivered.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81eaEczplN
Serrina motioned me toward the desk opposite the throne from which she orated daily holy lessons. "Take your seat,” she admonished. Always, since the very first day of class, she ignored the circumstances that made me a weakling in everyone’s eyes. Never the special treatment or single word of pity. To her, I was Pollux. To me, she was strange. So, I awkwardly grabbed the seat and sluggishly dragged it closer to the ornamented desk until we were opposites. She was so young, yet I got the sense that she was younger than she looked. And she didn’t waste any time.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSPEONcbON
"What are your aims, miss Pollux?"
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYrPcwbCbT
A broad question. "To be a Magister," I replied, without much thought.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaWqhq64dt
"To what end?" she prodded.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRr6T7MCtWJ
"Umm..." What could I say? What did she expect me to say? Maybe, it was a matter of choosing my words carefully. The way she sat there, stone-like, sipping hot tea out of a wooden cup... Those green eyes were scarier than they were fierce; indifference belied them; devotion cleared them. "I suppose I would use my magic toward good deeds," I told her.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJInKiKcah
"Good deeds. Such as?"
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgk0UyZx5w
Gods, it felt like an interrogation. “I might take up monster-slaying." I hope that did not sound sarcastic.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwxrTsXyyZ
"I see..." Another sip of tea. "Well then, it sounds as if thou hath made up thy mind. Nevertheless, it would be remiss to neglect the Chant in pursuit of the arcane, Miss Lux.”
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokUr8uyQH1
"It's not like that..." Per se.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Hb1BVwEKt
"Then, how do you intend to channel thy affinity?"
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0snwW4zfX
I had stopped to ponder. "I don't really know, honestly. I didn’t know I had a holy affinity."
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdP6AFZdei5
"No time like the present to plan, yes? Not everything noble is championed by willing participants. Fate is funny that way, and it is also a course to be explored. You may learn, to your surprise, ‘that fate is filled with duty and sinister jests. You may find comfort where you may not succeed, and you may succeed far away from the embrace of fortune, the comfort of friends and family… familiar things that fill the morrow with glee.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzT9EnQoNE
“You are young, with a long future, but every action ripples beyond reach. More than we can guess. 'Tis why we of the Chant tender our fate to the Seven. If you lend your fate to Them, you may make Sister Adept in due course. No promise of fun or the familiar, but at least no wasted ripples."
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5ukPGZxtq
I saw this coming. Serrina was a Cinderfall teacher but still a priestess. "I'm flattered that you think so, mum. I know I can partake of the communion, but my heart was set on becoming a magister long before I came to Cinderfall."
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ4CGWvbXC
"Such is fate." She stood up with the poise of a statue.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzq0aoECFS
"Hmm?" I was confused.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcmf5Mo9Mj
"We are neither here for for a debate nor an assessment. I simply sought reassurance for myself... Go with the gods, that they may free thee of doubt and a foul mouth." She had this immature smirk I thought no person of the cloth was capable of.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPuv4PcGH3
"Umm, okay,” I said through awkward, smiling teeth. “Good afternoon, Priestess." I rose cautiously, and for every foot on the newly cleaned stairs, I felt the extra weight of her gaze.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWwUsqE87L
***
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAjdOLCBPk
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdlEqBBrYh
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeGaRzFRLb
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnScILJc9I
