Chapter 10

Passing Sur’s gates, I stopped and looked around now that I had full control of my body again. That was the oddest sensation. It was me who just entered Sur’s temple along my actions and words, mine yet not mine. Almost as if I were programmed to complete the tasks inside. I had a choice on how to do so, yet the wording had and hadn’t felt like my own.

I hadn’t been this far down Temple row before, since Aune’s was the first one to the left on entering from the east. A pristine white stone wall blocked off a large plot of land a few hundred feet away. The pure white radiance glowing from behind it might as well have been a neon sign. Before I took a step, I noticed a blinking green dot in the upper right corner of my vision. Just like in Heroes World when I was on VR.

Suspiciously, I focused on the icon willing it to expand. Two bulletin points expanded. The first was: ’Return Home’. The second was: ‘Seek Elder Judith of Aune. Relay a message: “Voices are False”’.

Wondering if Sune was bored or just playful at the attempt to mimic HW’s quest log.

Heh, I’m game.

Since ‘Home’ had to be Sune’s Temple, which looked walled up across the way, I went there first. Not seeing an entrance from the street, I tried leaping over the seven-foot white marble wall, only to bounce off an invisible barrier that extended upwards an unknown distance, aligning with the stones.

I knew that Sune would not prevent me from entering, which meant that someone else had erected a magical barrier. I learned at the Mage’s Guild how to deal with those. ‘Boom’. ‘Boom. Boom.’... ‘Boom, Boom, BOOM’. The field shattered with my fist colliding against the stone wall behind it. After the combo ending with Crush cleared the way, I leaped over the wall without restriction. The now familiar sensation of Sune’s loving warmth cascaded over me and held me close.

The large open field densely populated by Lilies of all types somewhat hidden by the uneven short grass, called to me. I spent a good half hour wandering around the perimeter before heading to the worn-down temple with obvious battle damage. Columns were chipped, broken exterior walls had large cracks, and in one area even a nine-foot chunk of stone wall was missing. Darkened splatters of dried red liquid seemed everywhere. I sadly concluded - blood. Old blood that the defenders shed defending their home family.

Gathering my courage, I entered the ruined temple proper. Inside was a mess. I was mystified, no remains of battle were to be found, just mostly decomposed mats, vases with dirt and dead plants, and broken statuary. Nothing else was evident until I recognized and approached the spotless white marble altar.

“I’m home, my Goddess.” Now what? I reached out and placed my palm on the altar, hoping for a reaction. A faint pulse caused me to jump back in shock. Quickly I returned and placed both of my hands on the link to Sune. I focused on her image that I could never forget when Theresa introduced Her to me and the feelings I had for Her.

“I’m HOME.” I called out again, feeling the pulse beat ... And again, after thirty seconds or so ... I didn’t let up and kept focusing. Ever so slowly, the speed of the beats coming from the altar increased until it synchronized with my own heartbeat.

Once assured that the altar felt healthy - odd, but healthy - I inspected the rest of the interior. It was smaller than Sur’s, but still decent sized with two offices, a ‘classroom’, and a lower level with four decent sized rooms and twelve individual cells, which were at least triple the size of the ones I saw in Sur’s temple when I healed the apprentice with burns. The four bedrooms were stripped of any possible valuables, leaving only bedding to decompose over the centuries. The cells were roughly in the same condition as the main bedrooms.

Again, no dust, cobwebs or any other signs of neglect, as one would expect could be found from being abandoned for so long. I didn’t even see any bloodstains once I ascended to the lower levels. That had to have meant that everyone died defending the temple itself, or escaped.

Saddened at the extent of the hate and jealousy of others, I returned to the temple main itself. I knelt and vowed, “I shall see You returned to glory.”

A massive pure white light blinded and dazzled me. Once I could see again, I made my way out of the grounds, but not before adding a sizable hole in the wall which ‘Protected’ HER grounds from ‘intrusion’.

I had expected to be angry at the devastation inside, not sad. I guessed that I didn’t know myself as well as I thought.

I waved at the curious apprentice of the Forge when I passed by on my way out of Temple row. I had a one more task to accomplish. Everyone, literally everyone, was staring up at the sky behind me as I made my way east. At first, I thought that they were reacting to the sudden bright light, but when I turned back to look, it wasn’t that simple. A single Lily could be seen in perfect clarity hovering hundreds of feet above the Temple of Sune. I knew that Her Symbol was a normal sized flower, yet we all could see it as clear as if it were growing at my feet. The slow rotation of the symbol of Sune on its center-axis made it all the more real.

Chuckling to myself, ‘subtle’, I continued on, not even stopping on entering Aune’s grounds with its discordant chime. Two matrons of indeterminate age stalked towards me, not at all pleased by their expressions. Trust me ladies, your bad day is about to get worse.

“Greetings Sisters, I bear a message for Elder Judith.”

The younger of the two replied, “I am Judith,” with some distaste. The other looked at me in disgust, edging on outright hatred.

“I have a message if you will receive it. I recommend that Judith hear it alone. But that is up to you.” I really didn’t want to make things worse than they would be shortly.

“I will listen. Kale, please find Mother.”

“You can’t trust her type, “ the thin priestess rebutted.

“Who is your message from, Lady Cynthia?”

“Sune, Priestess Judith.” I replied calmly, causing a panic from Priestess Kale at my words and a hardening from Priestess Judith.

“Kale, get Mother and assemble the Faithful,” Priestess Judith ordered. Seeing her hesitation and fear, Judith lightly pushed the other priestess on her way. “Your message?” Elder Judith demanded once we were alone. I did see other priestess and acolytes hover out of earshot.

“Voices are False.” I covered my mouth while whispering. The air went out of the older woman. A thin line of a mouth formed, while she stared at me to see if any falsehood was in my message.

Producing a staff from nowhere, the elder of Aune started chanting a long spell. Two minutes later she thrust the butt end down, changing the atmosphere of the grounds to that of a darkened, one-room cottage, fire burning and all. The whole time she stared at me. Not in hate or anger, but in despair.

Maybe more than a little hate and anger was held in those eyes.

If the message meant what I believed it meant, I understood her feelings. It wasn’t every day you were betrayed by your family.

“Will you join us?” Her offer was seemingly without animosity.

“It’s your family. Do you want me there?”

“You are the accuser; you have a right to be present.” Since she wanted me to witness, I agreed.

“I will witness.”

At the temple entrance resided a large Triangle, Aune’s symbol, with an iron rod hanging to the side. One, Two, Three, times, Aune’s Triangle was struck loud enough to be easily heard for miles in every direction. The reverberations seemed to echo for minutes.

Standing at the temple’s interior entrance, Judith refused admittance of the laywomen and sent them home with a no-nonsense command. I silently sat in the corner on a mat as directed. The hubbub of women, curious to what was happening, filled the auditorium sized cozy room. Judith remained mute, even to Mother Vennon’s demands.

At the sight of me sitting in the corner and watching with an interested expression, the cacophony increased. The only two non-acolytes present that weren’t speaking were Judith and I. Once the nine other women and dozen girls were inside the temple, Elder Judith cast Aune’s Sanctuary on the temple itself. Even though she spoke only two words, I intrinsically understood what the spell was, what its effects were, and how to cast it.

“Women of Aune,” Elder Judith began with a great deal of anger laced emotion, “we have an adulteress amongst us,” the elder Priestess stated clearly and succinctly. With that shocking announcement said, she marched straight to the hearth area, placed her palm on the marble altar and stated clearly. “I hear Aune.” She stepped to the right and ascended the dais after her provocative declaration.

The room that went still at her first announcement, went absolutely silent at the declaration of her connection with her Goddess. I doubted that anyone other than myself was even breathing at that point.

“I hear Aune.” Was repeated six more times. I was fairly surprised that Mave was one of the faithful ones. The acolytes didn’t know what to do. One of them tentatively moved forward only to be intercepted by the youngest Priestess, the frightened children were led to the side without being tested.

Mother Vennon and one other older woman were protesting the insult with fading voices. A plump younger priestess knelt down, “I no longer hear our Mistress’s voice.” Eyes watered as she cried openly while admitting her loss to the shocked wall of her accusers.