New Arrival
Location: Gloria's Temple / Serina's ChamberTime: Y1500 - 14th day of the Harvest Moon - Dawn
I'm Serina, a temple maiden for the goddess Gloria. My duty to the temple is to nurse children that were gifted to Gloria by the faithful. They'll grow to be Priestesses or Soldiers of Gloria.
Tonight the High Priestess entrusted me with a new born child. I have never seen a girl with such a fair skin color. It is said that the fairer the skin, the greater the aptitude for magic is. She might grow to be an outstanding mage. So, I understand why this child is given special treatment.
Still, there is something that bothers me. There are rumors that the Seer died yesterday! And, according to the rumors, the last Oracle was about a newborn child.
This can't be a coincidence. But I trust Meridia. She is the High Priestess. Her voice is the will of Gloria. I am merely an instrument to realize that will.
*cry* (child)
As I walk toward my chamber I hear a cry. The child finally woke up. I pick her up and embrace her. I chant her a lullaby.
"~Young girl do not cry~ ~Gloria watches over you~ ~My love will keep you warm~" (Serina)
It works. The girl stops crying. When she arrived yesterday night she was dirty and wrapped in rags. She must have been through quite the ordeal. But she seems alright now. I'm glad.
The child briefly opens her eyes.
**!!!** (Serina)
They are crimson red! I have never seen eyes of such a deep red in my life! Her eyes along with her pure white skin makes her appearance unsettling. I wonder just how special is she.
...
The child finally settles down and falls asleep. Rest well. You are a Daughter of Gloria, now. We will take care of you.
Decisions
Location: Gloria's Temple / High Priestess' ChamberTime: Y1500 - 14th day of the Harvest Moon - Morning
I'm tired. I have been unable to sleep because of tonight's events. But as the High Priestess of Gloria, I do not have the luxury of resting. There are many matters that requires my attention.
The death of the Seer. The burning of Fernern. The arrival of the child.
*knock knock* "Blessed One. Sister Serina wishes to see you." (Sister)
Good. Serina is quick with children as usual. I'm eager to hear her thoughts about the child.
"Many blessings to you, Sister Serina. First, I inform you that I decided upon a name. The child shall be known as Liara, from now on. Now, tell me. How is she?" (High Priestess)
"Liara was in poor condition when she arrived. But she woke up, and she seems alright, now." (Serina)
This is good news. But I can see something troubles Serina.
"Sister Serina. I'm sure you realized already. Liara is an important existence to the church. If something is troubling you, no matter how small you think it is, I want to hear it." (High Priestess)
"Ah! Uhm... This child. I find Liara to be... Unsettling... She is different from the others. Her skin is of the fairest color, sign that she has outstanding magical potential. On top of that, her eyes are crimson in color. I never seen such deep red. I don't know what to think of it." (Serina)
Red eyes?!? This is unheard of. She might be dangerous! Should i dispose of the child right away?
No. The Oracle... All signs points to Liara having a destiny to fulfill. And we lost the Seer. With no suitable replacements, we simply must get value out of this child. Under the right guidance, Liara might become our sword. Tip the balance in the church's favour.
"Uhm... Blessed One? Is everything alright?" (Serina)
Ah! I let my doubts be seen by a subordinate. I still have much to learn as High Priestess.
"Serina, the rumors you may have heard are correct. The Seer died tonight. Her last Oracle is what guided us to Liara. Our calling is clear. It is our sacred responsibility to guide this child under the light of Gloria. So that she may fulfill her Destiny." (High Priestess)
"Yes! I shall rear Liara to the best of my abilities Blessed One! I will not fail you!" (Serina)
"I know you won't, Sister." (High Priestess)
There are too many unknown sorrounding Liara. This might be dangerous, but I need to shed some light over this matter.
"There is something else, Serina. We must gain deeper understanding of this Liara in order to guide her. I will prepare for the Ceremony of Gifts. I'll be ready the day after tomorrow. And, Serina, no one else shall know this." (High Priestess)
"But... To perform the Ceremony of Gifts on a new born... In secret even..." (Serina)
"I shall perform the ceremony personally. Rest assured, no harm will come to the child. This is the will of Gloria." (High Priestess)
"! Forgive me for my doubts, Blessed One. I shall make the necessary preparations." *leave* (Serina)
If she is merely a girl with great aptitude it would be fine. But she might be a dangerous existence. And finding this out one year down the line, might be too late.
What is that Gloria wishes of us? What is Liara's destiny? It's up to me to find out.
*knock knock* "Blessed One. You have another visit. A Knight of Gloria wishes to see you. Steffen, Leader of the Fourth Unit." (Sister)
There is this matter too. Burning Fernern was a bold move, but information about Liara mustn't spread. Our enemies would try to kill her. Or worse, kidnap and make use of her.
It had to be done. Luckily, Fernern was attacked before. Many times, according to the reports. Furthermore it was just seventy Dark Skin that had to be silenced. A small price to pay.
As for the cover story, it is simple. Our knight saw the smoke, and rushed to the Fernern, only to find it burned to the ground. The work of bandits no doubt.
Ceremony of Gifts
Location: Gloria's Temple / Ritual ChamberTime: Y1500 - 16th day of the Harvest Moon - Night
The sun had long set over the city of Victoria But within the Temple of Gloria, someone was still working. And not just the night patrols.
A Fair Skin, forty years of age with long red hair and a simple white dress was weaving magic in a special chamber in the lower levels of the Temple.
The Ritual Chamber was a large dome shaped room, fifty meters in diameters and ten meters of height. It was built deep underground, ventilated by a vertical shaft in the centre of the ceiling. A large crystal, about half a meter in height, was floating just under the ventilation shaft. The walls were covered by plates made of solid gold. Small light crystals dotted the circumference of the chamber, casting just enough light to see. The floor was a single large sheet of stone, upon which there were concentric circles and elaborate carvings engraved. In the centre of the room there was circular altar made of wood, about one meter tall and two meters in diameter. A shallow bowl was carved in the surface of the pillar.
The Ritual Chamber was the end result of centuries of experimentation in magic. The perfect place to weave intricate magics. The pride of the Temple of Gloria.
The spell that the High Priestess was weaving tonight was amongst the most complex known by man. The magic was called <Superior Reveal Gifts> it was a magic that under the guidance of a skilled caster, could map each and every magic channel within a living creature.
It did so by carefully injecting a small amount of magic inside the body, detecting where the magic would flow from there and etching the result on a mapping crystal. This process is repeated over and over until a complete map is produced.
The spell required sharp focus and precision to be maintained for a long time. Hours even. If the caster by mistake inject too much magic, or inject magic in the wrong place, it can permanently damage the channels at best, or outright kill the patient at worst.Even the caster might receive a backlash. It's a dangerous spell to weave.
This spell was used for therapeutic reasons, to reveal the aptitude for magic of an individual, or to examine the function of an enchantment engraved in an item or a person.
This time the High Priestess was using the spell on a child only days in age. This was not only dangerous, but useless. Magic channels forms only after the first few years of life.
[But Liara is different. I can't wait one year for a proper ceremony to be performed. It has to be now.] (High Priestess)
As the High Priestess was done checking on the intricate magical circuits she engraved in the chamber as part of the spell, another woman entered the room. She was a tall beautiful woman. A fair skin, twenty years of age with long silver hair and blue eyes. She was carrying the young Liara.
"Blessed One. I brought Liara. I told the Sisters I was helping you perform a cleansing ritual over the chamber. No one saw me carrying Liara here. She was a good child, and didn't cry." (Serina)
Cleansing rituals were meant to remove incomplete magical circuits and enchantment from the Ritual Chamber. Leftovers of continued use. They were performed at night, when magical interferences were minimal. It was the perfect cover.
The timing, just after the Seer's death, was suspicious. But it couldn't be helped. Furthermore, the High Priestess has almost absolute authority. As long as her action are justified, the Council of the church will not even reprehend her.
"Well done, Sister Serina. I have completed my preparations. Everything is ready. Put Liara over the altar, and step back." (High Priestess)
Serina gently placed Liara in a the shallow pond of <Catalyst Water> over the wooden altar.
*cry* (Liara)
Liara started crying. That was expected. The chamber was deep underground, no one would hear her. Serina and the High priestess patiently waited for the child to settle down. It took less than a minute.
Then, taking her time, the High Priestess started weaving magic. One after another she activated the magical circuits she had engraved in floor and on the altar. After five minutes, preparations were complete.
[Beautiful...] (Serina)
Those with affinity to magic could see patterns in the grounds lighting up in a faint glow of many colors. Symbols were rotating and dancing both on the ground and in the air.
[Isn't Liara looking at the magic? no. She can't possibly see magic. She is a newborn] (Serina)
The High priestess was too focused to notice Liara's gaze. She weaved the final step of the magic.
<Superior Reveal Gifts!> (High Priestess)
The large crystal floating near the opening in the ceiling, descended. It took it's place one meter above the altar as the magic fully activated.
**cry** (Liara)
"High Priestess!!!" (Serina)
Serina was worried that the magic was harming the child. That was not the case.
"The... The magic is working perfectly. I'm sure she is not being hurt. She must have felt the magic entering her body. Somehow." (High Priestess)
"But how?!? A newborn couldn't possibly feel the flow of magic!" (Serina)
The high priestess agreed with Serina in her heart. But the only other explanation was that Liara's cry was a coincidence. There was no point in speculating either way. The High Priestess was minutes away from an answer.
<Superior Reveal Gifts> was working as intended. Under the careful direction of the Meridia, magic was being injected, it's flow, traced, and a map of it etched inside the crystal.
A new born child shouldn't have any channel at all, the map should have been empty.
But Liara was obviously special. The High Priestess performed the ceremony precisely because she expected liara to have some a few magic channels already. But Meridia was not ready for what followed.
The megic power being injected was flowing inside one of Liara's magic channel, but it branched. Than branched again, and again. And again. First a few branches appeared in the map. Than dozens. Than hundreds! Then thousands!!!
"This child!!! I don't know how, but body has tens of thousands of magical channels. They are fully formed, stable and can sustain a strong flow of magic power. In raw affinity for magic, she already far surpasses me!!!" (High Priestess)
"???" (Serina)
To have a few hundreds of channels inside ones body was the mark of an average magic caster. Top tier casters like the High Priestess could have a thousand. This news was shocking to say the least..
[I can't even see the finer details. As I thought, a complete map will be impossible.] (High Priestess)
The circuits within Liara's body branched like roots, every branch getting smaller and smaller. While the High Priestess could see the overall structure and shape of the circuits, it was not possible for her to see the finer details. This much is her limit as mage.
"This is not all. I can see magical circuits engraved within her body. They are complex beyond my understanding. I can't even begin to guess what their functions are." (High Priestess)
The High Priestess had the ability to engrave magical circuits on a living being. Enchantments to increase the arm strength of soldiers or enchantments that allow lesser mages to cast great magics. But the enchantments engraved within Liara's body where on another level
[Nobody in this world could possibly have engraved those circuits. Not even the High Elves of old should have had this kind of power.] (High Priestess)
There are legends. High Elves performing incredible feats of magic, like moving mountains and bringing inanimate matter to life. But the complexity of Liara's circuits exceed even that.
[I wonder what kind of spell are those circuits meant to cast? No. I'll have time to consider this later. For now I must focus on making the most complete map possible.] (High Priestess)
...
Thirty minutes after the start of the ceremony, the work was over. The map itself was far from complete, but the High Priestess run out of space inside the crystal.
Magic threads left Liara's tiny body, the magic circuit the High Priestess engraved in the floor over two days, flickered out of existance and the crystal rose up, to it's original position near the ventilation shaft.
The High Priestess fell on her knees. Her mind and body taxed after weaving such complex magic for so long.
"Blessed One! Are you alright???" (Serina)
*short breath* "... I will be, Sister." (High Priestess)
The High Priestess collected herself, and gave orders. Subordinates must not see weakness.
"Serina, bring Liara back to your chamber. Then come back here and help me to mine. I will need a few days to recover." *pant* (High Priestess)
"As you will, Blessed One. I'll inform the Sisters that the purification was a success and that you need rest. What will be done with Liara?" (Serina)
"Nothing, for now. I need time to consider today's events and examine the crystal." (High Priestess)
After that, Serina left the Ritual Chamber with Liara, leaving the High Priestess alone with her thoughts.
[This ceremony was meant to give us answers... And yet all I'm left with are more questions...] (High Priestess)
[Liara, a red eyed girl with the fairest skin. Born of dark skin parents. Her birth was predicted by the Seer. Her body has greater affinity to magic than my own and is enchanted with circuits nobody in this world could possibly have weaved.] (High Priestess)
"Liara. Just who in the world are you?" (High Priestess)
There was no one in that chamber that could answer that question.