An Oath Of Lords And Ladies (ARTK, Book 1)

Chapter 65

Noveno 2oth, 3328 A.G

The room Aises had been given was larger than those she was used to, with unrelenting heat pouring in through the windows. Though it didn't bother Aises, she'd sweated in her sleep as she dreamed of Vanora and the gods, war and blood. When she woke, it was still dark out and hair stuck to her forehead. She reached into the sacks she'd brought, sleepily moving her hand around until she found a thin strip of fabric to tie her hair back. She settled for one of the worst buns she'd ever done, caring little about how it looked.

Though she'd only gotten more beautiful with age, she'd stopped caring around her fortieth year alive.

She got up and closed the open window, seeing no point. Breakfast would not be for a while, but she was hungry neverthelesss- so she walked through the hallways barefoot in a thin dress until she found a servant.

"There are peach pies in the kitchen. Breakfast hasn't been started yet and the pies are meant for tomorrow's dessert but I can have one brought to you-" the girl started, but Aises shook her head.

"I can go get one myself, thank you." She said, leaving the girl. When she found her way to the kitchens, she ate a pie in mere moments- then a second. They were incredibly small, so she was contemplating a third when she looked out the window and saw what had to be the best view in existence. Some buildings around the temple had candles burning, as did the cottages, but the temple itself seemed to be completely lit up.

At first she could only imagine how wasteful that was, but then she snapped out of her tired state and remembered where they were. In that temple, there would be people reading all hours of the night, sleeping at different times depending on when their bodies told them too. She'd heard of the temple's greatness her entire life.... And she was finally so close to it.

She cursed at herself. She could have been there earlier, when most were up- to see if most truly did read every possible second of the day. It was a sight she'd dreamed of, since plently of witches were trained in the temple and she'd been trained by another witch. The healing arts brought her joy, but she'd met far less witches or witch's apprentices that most her age- and they were right there.

She sighed, giving in. She would not be able to fall back asleep no matter how she tried. It would be a long walk, but far less long than the walk they'd gone on back on the continent Ebon.

It took her many moments to find her way out of the castle, but when she did- she found the quietness of the streets combined with ocean waves to be relaxing.

The temple appeared so welcoming, putting the abandoned one to shame. The walls, inner and outer- were made of strong marble, and the entrance was completely open. Dedor had no need to protect from ice giants, sand crawlers, or ocean dwellers- as it and the surrounding waters were too hot for all three and no one, no one- would dare to attack a temple; especially one with so many rare books.

Aises stepped through the main entrance, and the incredibly large room was mostly quiet. A few Fenthos Followers who were sitting on the floor, close to the wall furthest from her- a stack of books sitting beside them and an open one on the floor.

They paid her no attention as she looked around. She'd seen paintings of it before, but they were poor in comparison to the real thing.

Potted plants, used for studying- lined the room. Shelves lined a wall, though the library was on the top floor. The staircase was winding and went all the way up, doors off to the side. Spinning around for even a moment, to get a good look- made her dizzy, so she had to stop.

Because of how peaceful it was, Aises nearly jumped out of her skin when a door off of the main room opened and a man in his forties walked out.

  "Aises-  daughter of Remi, sister of Thomas of the house Mallor." He said Calmly. "A small house, but not as small as the Simonet family. And to think their ancestors once ruled....."

  The man started to talk to himself, seemingly unaware of her presence when he did so. His hair extended past his knees, and he wore a simple tunic and breeches with Fenthos's symbol hanging on a chain around his neck. From his tone alone Aises could tell how wise he was- though that didn't make him any less strange.

  "How do you know my name?" Aises raised an eyebrow. "I've hardly spoken to anyone here."

  "I know almost everything there is to know." A sadness passed over him. "Almost. I'm having difficulties finding good books written in the time of the gods. Of course there were very few and those that were finished are either unreadable or-"

  "Who are- oh!" It hit her then. She'd read books on the temple before and seen a painting copy in one, with him also reading a book. There was a note under the picture that said: "Refused to stop reading while I got the line work done- Arnold Hemin."

"You are the high priest." She continued. He'd been the high priest for decades, though Aises couldn't recall exactly how long. "Ranold, no Raaf is it?"

  "I am Raaf. No better than any other servant of my god." He shrugged. "I always wished to have the honor of serving the god I was named for, but my mother chose a family one. What is it like?"

  "To... do what?" Aises raised an eyebrow, confused.

  "Serve the goddess you were named for." He said. "Or do you not?"

  "Oh...well.... I do but... I try to honor all of the gods." She finally replied. "They've each done amazing things for this world, each deserving of worship. I base my healing in the teachings of Aises and Mauve... but I find the god Fenthos... fascinating."

"As do I." The high priest Raaf nodded. "He is my reason for being alive. I hope to meet him in the Lodah when my time comes."

"You're not that old-"

"How old do you think I am?" He interrupted, and it was just them than Aises noticed the huge book in his hands.

"Forty seven?"

"I'm ninety two years old." He said. "I did become the high priest when I was forty nine."

"But that's-"

"So young for a high priest?" He finished her sentence. "Here, it isn't. Here- the high priest is ordinarily around thirty when they are selected."

"Forgive me if I've been irreverent then but I still find that so young for someone who's supposed to be the closest thing there is to a god walking amongst men."

Raaf shrugged. "Here, we do not waste energy on anger or disrespect of titles. One cannot become a true high priest until they demonstrate such. It is the duty of each high priest to find a successor as soon as they start exhibiting sighs of imminent death, as the process can be months long. There is often only one person at a time among the living who could qualify, sometimes two or three. When that happens the first to finish their questioning takes the priesthood."

The questioning- Aises did remember reading of it. When it was time to choose a new high priest or priestess, the person up for it would be forbidden from reading(temporarily) and pelted with questions by other followers every single moment of the day up until they went to sleep. If they could answer each question correctly until people ran out of questions to ask, they would be granted that high priesthood.

"And what of the healing arts?" Aises asked.

"What of them?"

"Surely there must be some things I can learn here that the witch who taught me did not know of- things that will help when battle comes."

Indeed there are." Raaf nodded. "But healing arts are not the only sort of magick."

"Other types are forbidden-"

"No one has tried to tell the temple what we can and can't practice in hundreds of years." He replied. "Since knowing almost everything is our duty and certain things require... demonstration over words on paper."

Aises's eyes widened. "Do you mean you teach the blood arts here?"

Raaf laughed. "How else did you think I looked so young?"