by Drew Wagar
‘You said there were rebellions,’ Kiri said. ‘Maybe folks don’t like your taxes and tithes.’
Charis didn’t answer immediately. Kiri felt her hands released and placed carefully on her chest.
‘Perhaps not, but they are necessary for society to function,’ Charis replied. ‘Merrin speaks of other troubles …’
‘What troubles?’
‘Don’t worry about that now, child. It is more important that you get better as soon as you can. What do you know of the priestesses?’
‘You live in the temple, you’re in charge of everything.’
Charis nodded. ‘True enough. There are lots of different types of priestesses. Some are warriors, some are healers like myself.’
‘Can you stop people from dying?’ Kiri asked.
Charis sighed. ‘Sometimes, yes. It depends on the nature of injury and infirmity. You would have died if we hadn’t found you.’
‘You saved me,’ Kiri said, thinking back about the stoning she’d received.
‘I did what I could,’ Charis said. ‘Your will is strong, that was a big part of it.’
‘I want to be a healer,’ Kiri said, her face etched with determination. ‘Just like you.’
Charis smiled. ‘You will get to make your choice in time, child. I’m sure you will make a remarkable healer. The truth is we could definitely do with more, so many want to be warriors nowadays.’
‘What else do the priestesses do?’
‘There are administrators who organise work – Merrin is one of them – and birthers who ensure that, in time, we have new priestesses joining our ranks.’
‘Birthers?’ Kiri said, wrinkling her nose.
Charis nodded. ‘Every half a round the birthers choose from amongst the strongest men. If Lacaille blesses a priestess with a child they become a birther. If a girl is born there is much celebration …’
‘And if it’s a boy?’
Charis paused before carefully saying, ‘It is of little consequence, we have enough men.’
Kiri screwed up her face in disgust. ‘You don’t have to be a birther do you?’
Charis laughed and shook her head. ‘A priestess chooses her caste according to her gift.’
‘I know you control everything, ‘cept the onlies. You don’t see us.’
‘It seems the onlies have much to teach us,’ Charis said. ‘Now it’s your turn, you promised. Where are you from? How did you end up in the street?’
Kiri shrugged, her voice matter of fact. ‘Not much to tell. I can’t remember being a tiny. I remember an old couple, they died in a plague. After that the onlies found me, older ones look after the younger ones, that’s the way of it. When I was old enough, I did the caring. That’s why I was looking after Tia …’
Charis caught the sudden emotional charge in her voice. ‘Tia?’
‘We were hunting. She was killed. Choso killed her …’ Kiri’s voice wavered out of control. ‘I tried to stop him. I was supposed to look after her …’
Kiri felt her hand being grasped.
A wave of empathy and comfort swept across her, wrapping itself around her like a warm comforting blanket. It was startling in its intensity. Kiri saw images of Tia’s face, her mischievous grins and knowing smiles flickered across her mind. So real she could almost …
You did everything you could, it wasn’t your fault …
‘It was my fault!’
No Kiri, you are not to blame …
There was such a tone of surety and concern that Kiri dared not disagree.
She caught her breath as she felt the hand let go.
‘I ran, Choso chased me, we fought. He fell, a crowd gathered and dragged me through the streets. They threw stones then …’
Charis didn’t say anything for a long moment. ‘Yes?’
‘There was this strange feeling …’
Kiri felt Charis take her hand again. There was a strange metallic tingle, familiar now.
Like this? This is ‘the seeing’, you have the gift!
Kiri pondered that for a while.
‘And then you woke up here,’ Charis prompted.
Kiri nodded.
‘Thank you, Kiri. That has been most useful. Now it’s my turn to teach you a little. Have you heard the scriptures?’
Kiri managed to shake her head a little, it hurt more than the nod.
‘Really?’ Charis sounded surprised. ‘Not even heard the elements being read aloud in the courts?’
‘Never go into the city outside of the sleeping,’ Kiri replied. ‘Not safe. Traders don’t like you stealing their wares. They’re wise to the onlies.’
‘I guess they have to be,’ Charis replied. ‘Trading is hard enough …’
‘Starving is harder,’ Kiri said. ‘They kill the onlies when they can, but we’re faster than them.’
Charis paused for a moment. Kiri heard her retrieve something, there was a scrape as a table was moved.
‘I will read you a little of the first element then,’ she continued. ‘There are five of them. They were written for the world, it is only right that you should hear them for yourself. It will help you to understand.’
Kiri felt one of her hands taken and given a slight squeeze. Then she felt the strange tingle that preceded the seeing. Kiri tensed for a moment before …
Do not fear. That you can hear me is remarkable enough. Few can.
Kiri encountered a strong sense of wonder accompanying the words. It was as if they somehow were imbued with colour, giving the sentences hues, contrast and brightness. She could sense Charis’ own emotions behind the words; reassurance, concern and a twinge of worry.
The feelings changed. Kiri was bathed in the warm glow of surety, a deep and abiding trust and assurance of absolute truth. The words that followed would never leave her during her life, it was as if they fused with her very being, becoming a cornerstone of her existence. It staggered her. She listened, entranced …
The sun is the source, the centre. It determines order. Worship it as a God. In all things turn your face to the sun. There is a way which must be followed; all other routes lead to destruction. As it once was, so it must remain.
For we once turned away from the sun and in our arrogance determined we needed it not. We crafted machines and devices, perversely rending the metals and rocks of Esurio to our own whim, believing our own inventiveness was sufficient grace.
Thus it was in the time before the cold days that the sun was angered. Black marks smote its face and wrathful tempests swept our lands. The sun, in righteous anger, purged our lands with fire. The people fled in vain before it, the devices they had wrought availed them not. Only the penitent were saved and then only by grace and fortune.
The fire was followed by cold and times of hardship that only the strongest could endure. Times of famine and strife. Fewer still survived those dark and terrible days.
We beseech you, life giving sun, never to inflict upon us such devastation again. On our part, we vow to keep the words of truth alive. As you direct, we seek to hold all peoples in your will.
She was tired now. Charis stopped as she felt Kiri’s mind slip away. A single thought remained as she rested back against the pillows.
There is a way which must be followed; all other routes lead to destruction …
The third time Kiri awoke she opened her eyes and found she was able to see. The bandage around her head had been removed. Above her she could see a panelled dark wooden roof leading to four posts that supported it above her. The bed was ornate, hung with tapestries and gilded ropes. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around.
She was alone in a room, lying in a huge bed with thick white linen drawn up around her. On top of this lay a thick red blanket, embroidered with a symbol of Lacaille, a warm and comforting circle of orange wool, soft to the touch.
Beyond the bed the room was richly decorated with wall hangings, depicting scenes from the elements. Kiri recognised the one she had been told about, t
he land being consumed by fire. The room was lit by four wax candles, supported on real metal candlesticks. Kiri felt her fingers twitch.
I could live for half a round on just one of those!
A small window, hidden behind curtains allowed a further faint illumination into the room. Kiri also spied a large oval mirror, along with a few other intriguing looking instruments, positioned on a formal dresser opposite the bed. She shifted in the bed and threw back the sheets atop her.
Oh …
Her right leg was bandaged right up to the thigh and secured with a specially shaped piece of wood. Her chest was likewise strapped with a tight bandage that felt as if it were stopping her from breathing properly. Other than that she was naked and her clothes were nowhere in evidence. She became aware that her hands were stinging. She turned them over, palms upwards and inspected them, running her fingers gently across the inflamed cuts.
She could see they had been expertly cleansed, with one particularly deep looking cut having been sewn up with thread. She couldn’t quite close her fingers, but they all worked.
The grief and rage still boiled away within her, but she could manage them now. Coolly, she replayed events in her mind, shaking with the effort of keeping her composure.
Kiri swung her legs over the edge of the bed and tested her feet on the cold wood panelled floor. There was some pain, but not too much. Tentatively she transferred weight to them and then pulled herself upright, holding on to one of the four bed posts for support.
She leant there for a moment, gasping for breath, hoping to stop her head spinning from the exertion. After a moment it subsided and she was able to see clearly again.
The dresser was only a few hands away, but it felt like a chasm to her and she summoned up the strength to move across the room without support. She let go of the post and staggered across, gratefully grabbing on to the edge of the dresser and then lowering herself on to the accompanying stool.
On top of the dresser she found a brush, comb and some pretty hairgrips she’d often seen noble Ladies wearing. She picked one up, admiring it, turning it about and feeling the smooth polished surface under her fingers.
Metal!
She was surprised by its weight. The urge to steal it was palpable, but the thought seemed unworthy and she felt ashamed, replacing it on the dresser. She turned her attention to the brush, made of some carved bony material and fitted with immaculate herg hair. It felt silky, sending a shiver down her spine.
The trappings of a rich woman. Why are they left here for me?
She looked into the mirror absentmindedly, thinking to try the brush out on herself.
The girl in the mirror was a stranger to her.
Bold blue eyes stared out of a thin pale face framed by a luxurious curve of shiny black hair. It had been neatly trimmed at shoulder length and cleaned, cleaned like she could never imagine it was possible. She looked at her hands again. Her nails had been trimmed and scrubbed, her fingers soft and pink despite the cuts and bruises. Somebody had taken a lot of trouble to make her presentable whilst she’d been asleep.
She looked closer at the face in the mirror. It was thin and gaunt. Her arms looked wasted for even her short frame. Her shoulders, clavicles and collarbones were uncomfortably obvious against the strange pale skin that was now hers. But it was the hair that drew her attention back. She ran her fingers through it, feeling a strange pleasure in knowing it was hers as it moved and crackled against her hand, alive with static energy. She leant forward and examined her face with more attention.
Her eyes looked huge, her cheekbones high and prominent, her nose long and pointed. She could see the yellow and black remains of a bruise over her right eye, the puffiness yet to completely subside. A cut was also sewn tightly shut across her forehead, but she could now hide it with a newly acquired fringe.
This is what I really look like …
She flinched at the sound of voices approaching rapidly and before she could move the door opened. A tall, thin and pale looking woman, dressed in a familiar cyan and magenta robe walked in and then stepped back in surprise.
‘What in shades …?’ the woman looked behind her quickly and closed the door.
‘I … I’m sorry!’ Kiri stuttered. Then she recognised the woman’s voice. ‘Charis?’
The woman smiled briefly and Kiri relaxed.
‘I see you’re awake and up to mischief already,’ Charis said, failing to put a stern note into her voice.
Kiri felt small and inadequate next to her and couldn’t help but admire her stiffly erect posture. She carried herself with shoulders thrown back and head held high in a way that spoke of a confidence and assuredness that Kiri had never known.
She was older than she sounded, middle-aged at least. Her robe fell elegantly about her shoulders, also richly embroidered with gilded designs. Kiri couldn’t resist staring at the pale silver streak starting from her temple which weaved its way through beautifully arranged tresses until held in place by a simple tiara. Around her neck hung a bright pendant, dotted with fine jewels in the shape of an elongated triangle.
Her skin was likewise pale, with her lips accentuated with red, her ears decorated with glittering earrings. Her eyes were dark, brown perhaps, it was difficult to tell in the subdued light.
‘Since you’re up we must get you dressed,’ Charis began, ‘Come with me Kiri, let us choose you a dress to match your eyes.’
Charis held out her hand. Kiri took it and was helped to her feet. Straight away she felt the strange tingle.
Do not act surprised, Kiri. We must continue our spoken conversation for appearances sake. There are others not far away who mean you harm. Do you understand?
Kiri tried to control the shocked look on her face and managed a nod, the little colour in her face draining quickly away.
‘Something in green I think,’ Charis’ spoken voice sounded calm and carefree. ‘A contrast with those pretty blue eyes. Come hither and I’ll help you try it on.’
Charis didn’t let go of her arm, but led her to a wardrobe adjacent to the bed.
News of what happened has travelled throughout the temple. Choso’s mother wants you executed for the death of her son and has made a petition to that effect. Merrin and the rest of the elite will not defend you as they see you as a threat to their interests. Tell me truthfully now, did you murder Choso? Speak softly.
Kiri looked up in horror and then managed to concentrate sufficiently to reply.
No! They murdered Tia! He chased me and fell. It was an accident …
Kiri’s face fell at the alarmed expression that crossed Charis’ face. Belatedly, Kiri realised that she’d responded to Charis’ insistent question in the same manner in which it had been asked; within her mind. A bright impression of astonishment, wonder and bewilderment burst across the link between them.
This is wondrous … yet we must be careful, so careful!
Charis stared at her for a moment before recovering her composure and quickly rummaging inside the wardrobe, pulling out a green dress. Kiri saw it was the only thing in the wardrobe. Clearly Charis had planned in advance.
‘Excellent,’ Charis said, her voice shaking slightly. Kiri saw her swallow. ‘That’s good. Green it is. Let me help you put it on.’
There was a bang at the door.
‘Do hurry, Charis. These Quisitions are tedious at the best of times. Let’s get this one over with.’
Kiri recognised the voice belonging to Merrin and looked back to Charis in horror.
‘We shan’t be long,’ Charis responded, for the benefit of those outside. ‘Slip this on, Kiri.’
There is little time to explain, Kiri. Choso’s mother aims to find you guilty for her son’s death. His mother has much influence, being the captain of the temple guard. I will tell of what I saw, but you must convince Nerina of your powers. Nerina is the key – do you understand? She presides over the Quisition. I cannot be seen to interfere.
Kiri couldn’t hide the bewilderm
ent she felt. Charis let go of her arm to help her with the dress and Kiri felt bereft without the close contact. The dress fitted well, clearly made for someone of her size. She had never worn a dress before. Charis bent down before her, looking earnestly into her wide fearful eyes.
‘Almost done,’ she called out, touching Kiri’s arm once again.
I wish there was more time to explain. Just know that this gift you possess is so rare as to be more precious than the finest metal. If Nerina favours you, do whatever she asks. Yes?
Kiri nodded, trembling.
Charis touched her other hand to Kiri’s face and patted it gently.
‘Come with me,’ she said out loud.
Charis led her to the door and opened it. Outside Kiri saw three other priestesses, all with the distinctive silver streak in their hair and pendants around their necks.
All silver, all bejewelled. What does it mean?
They were wearing darker colours than Charis, maroons, greens and deep purples. They were lined up against the wall of the corridor, waiting. Kiri spared a glance around as she emerged, seeing stone built, high vaulted ceilings, the walls hung with mirrors reflecting sunlight from somewhere she couldn’t see. One of the priestesses, a thick-set plump woman with a distinctive double chin and red hair, scowled down at her as if looking at an unpleasant stain on the rich red carpet that ran down the centre of the corridor.
‘Causing all this ruckus,’ the woman said with distaste and disapproval, clicking her tongue and then looking sideways with a hint of smugness. ‘Truth will out, I’m sure.’
Kiri recognised Merrin’s voice from the previous stretch and scowled at her. Merrin raised her head slightly, her eyes narrowing.
One of the other priestesses pushed a wooden wheeled chair forward and motioned for Kiri to sit in it. She was relieved that she wasn’t going to have to walk to wherever it was they were going. Her legs still felt stiff and sore. She hobbled over and settled into it gratefully, pleased to discover it was padded with cushions.
