Randy chomped wood, the evening birds filling the air with song as dusk faded away. The temple compound had lanterns and fire posts all around it so there was plenty of light to see by. The food he had eaten had been plain. Simple unleavened bread with soup. Still it had been filling. And from the kitchen he had seen the poor come into the courtyard to pray and eat. To support even a few extras must be hard on this place. Foreign temples wouldn't receive a lot of donations. The few faithful who hadn't eaten were not many in number.
Feeling obligated, Randy had joined them in the courtyard and knelt in the back. The services were short but fervent. Normal. That was what bothered Randy. He took the worry and uncertainty out on the wood. Chopping. Splitting. Growing the pile of wood.
"What bothers you?" The priest from earlier approached slowly. Calmly. His eyes shadowed and unreadable. At Randy's shrug, he pointed out, "You have enough wood split for not only tonight but also morn and still yet continue."
Randy paused, his breathing heavily than he had realized it would be. The question weighing down on him. How to put into words what he felt? "It's hard to explain." He was a kid. There was so much he didn't know. He didn't want to offend this kind priest so quickly.
"Perhaps I can guess. Tell me if I am correct." The priest waited for the nod and then continued, "The Sun Temple is foreign. Not bad except that we are a religion of the kingdom in the east. The one of nightmares and demons. The one no one wants to speak about." Glancing at Randy, he asked, "Am I close?"
Randy nodded, "I thought you guys summoned demons from other realms to eat souls." Seeing the priest look down instead of denying it, Randy felt his heart stop. "Is it... true?" He hated how his voice quivered.
The priest gave a long sigh, "Only half true. There is an order than handles that, yes. Originally they were priests who learned how to summon and send back creatures from other dimensions, er, worlds stacked above or below ours." The priest visibly grew tired before Randy's eyes. "Though they were protectors of the night, dispelling the horrors that threatened one's very soul. They themselves changed. No one knows why or how. Some suspect they tried blood magic and ended up losing their soul in the process." With a shuddering sigh he ended, "Now they are masters of the night. Not dispelling, but summoning the very creatures they were to fight."
Randy stood stock still in silence. His young mind trying to wrap around such betrayal. Yet unable. There was only one thing that made sense now. "You fled here? Where it's safe."
"Yes, my entire homeland is held captive." Suddenly the priest regained his former strength and calm. Straightening he looked Randy right in the eye, "When you learn to use your Mana, be happy with that and want no more. Stay away from the dark contracts and blood magics."
With a solemn nod, Randy swore, "Yes sir."
No comments:
Post a Comment