Chapter 60: Encroaching Darkness

Church of Thena, Todos, Todos Kingdom

Christina had a hard time sitting still as she sat on the edge of her bed. She’d been waiting years for this day, the day she would officially become a full fledged priestess. Like the others that would take their vows today, she wanted to be excited, but she could only think of everything that could go wrong as she fidgeted with the hem of her robe.

Every month, initiates were chosen to become priests and priestesses. The only difference was that Christina appeared to have skipped the initiate stage altogether, inevitably drawing the jealousy of initiates who had been there for months and still hadn’t been chosen.

“Nya! Sit still! I can’t comb your hair if you keep shaking your head!” Esaa complained from behind her. The feisty feline had kindly offered to comb her hair for the big day. Naturally Teta had come to watch, swinging her feet off the end of the bunk bed as she watch Christina break down into a nervous wreck.

’I worked hard too! Just because you didn’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not true!’ Christina thought as she eyed some of the spiteful initiates that dared to say she was chosen because she pretty. Just the sight of them was enough to set her teeth on edge.

“Dang-it Christina! You need to relax!” Esaa protested sternly as she struggled to divide the hair into segments.

“I know, I know!” Christina said and took a deep breath. Today was her day, and she refused to let anyone ruin it. After all, she had her friends beside her, even though one of them was invisible.

Teta, who had been sitting quietly beside her, suddenly moved closer and was watching her intently through her round spectacles.

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“What is it?” Christina asked nervously. Teta was always pointing out things, regardless of whether one wanted to hear them. A fact that would not change today.

“Bald spot.” she said flatly, pointing just above her ear.

“What!?” Christina screamed out in panic. Esaa had to use her beast-like strength to keep her friend from jumping up.

“Teta, don’t rile her up! She won’t sit still as it is!” the she-cat said as she lashed her tail. “There’s is no bald spot, Christina. She’s just trynna lighten the mood.”

“Are you sure?” Christina asked, misty eyed. She looked like she’d break into tears any second.

Esaa sighed heavily, then she pointed her comb at the culprit. “You! Is there really a bald spot!?” Teta shook her head rapidly, causing her pigtails to swish. “See! Now would you please let me finish!? It’s almost time for the ceremony!”

Christina settled down again, but not before she sent an icy glare Teta’s way. “Not funny.” she said, but the pint-sized initiate wasn’t easily intimidated. When she stuck out her tongue, Christina couldn’t stop the small smile that spread on her face.

’My friends are here for me, so today can only get better! If only Thadius were here, I hope he’s okay.’ she thought, remaining motionless as Esaa focused on braiding her hair into an intricate ponytail. Not long after, one of the priests came to gather the initiates.

“All done, and just in time too!” Esaa declared patting her on the back. “Now all you have to do is make sure you don’t trip on your robe!” she smiled.

“Is it too long? It’s too long isn’t!?” Christina jumped up. “Oh! If only I had a needle and thread-”

“I was kidding!” Esaa pouted, flicking Christina on the shoulder with her tail. It didn’t do much to the initiate. To make matters worse, Teta joined in, tugging on Christina’s robe saying “Too long.” Which earned her another earful from Esaa.

Most of the other chosen initiates were filing out the door by time Christina said goodbye to her friends. She hugged them both fiercely. “I’m going to miss being in here with you two. I wish you could go with me!” she said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be right behind you! They won’t let us in the temple during the ceremony, but they didn’t say we couldn’t peek!” Esaa said. Her eyes light up with mischief, and Christina could only laugh at her friend’s optimism.

“Christina Tristan?” a priest called from the stairwell.

“Coming!” Christina answered as she walked through the door.

From the top of the stairs, she immediately recognized the priest that gave her the tour on her first day. His bald spot and gangly features were all too easy to distinguish. Christina had to resist the urge to cringe as she walked past him.

“Good morning, Christina.” he greeted her. As she passed, he followed right behind her. If he leaned forward, he would be close enough to whisper in her ear.

“Good morning, Brother Shawn.” she replied as she fell in line behind the other initiates. Instead of returning to the front of the line with the other priests leading the procession, he hung back and walked beside her.

“You remembered my name?” Shawn smiled. The sight was enough to turn any stomach.

“Of course, I try to learn all the names of our brothers and sisters.” she replied kindly with a smile.

“And that’s why you’re the best Christina…” he said sweetly, then he moved in so close that their shoulders touched every few steps. “You know, it’s been a few days since your friend came around...Is he alright? I haven’t heard any news from the coliseum about-Thadius, was it?”

’He’s not dead you rat!’ Christina thought as she turned to the over-confident priest.

Despite her irritation at the priest’s suggestive tone, Christina managed to maintain her friendly face. “Oh, you didn’t hear? He’s on an excursion in the Mists of Croaka with the city guard. He said something about quelling his bloodlust on monsters instead of men since it eased his conscience. I’m sure that’s why you haven’t heard any news of him. He’s quite adventurous you know, so I’m sure he’ll get tired of it after a day.” She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Truth be told, I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked in here right now…” she said, taking a meaningful glance down the hall.

Christina’s smile was genuine as she watched the blood drain from the Brother Shawn’s face. Then when he shuffled to the head of the procession, she sighed with relief.

“I really don’t like him. The way he always tries to touch girls just seems wrong.”

Christina barely stopped herself from jumping as a voice came from directly beside. Given the past few days, she was still getting used to fact that Yuna showed up whenever she was alone. The tiny Goddess still chose to hide herself from anyone but her, making it especially hard to talk to her, lest she be accused of talking to herself.

Christina bowed her head as if in prayer, in the hope that anyone who glanced her way would see nothing but an initiate speaking to her god one last time before the ceremony. “He’s not so bad. You just have to know how to talk to him.” she replied.

“Talk? Half of the things he says are lies. His entire way of life is a lie.” Yuna whispered.

“You can’t call someone a liar just because you don’t like what they say Yuna.” Christina countered.

“I know when someone’s lying, and he does it all the time.” Yuna sighed and went silent as a priest passed by.

“What do you mean you know when someone’s lying? How can you tell?” Christina asked. It was the first time she had heard anything about this.

“It’s hard to explain... I just get really annoyed when someone lies. I can’t prove it though, and it didn’t really happen when I was around Thadius and Master.” Yuna replied softly.

“But I’m sure even Thadius told a lie or two…”

“It’s not the same!” Yuna said. It was a little too loud though, causing the initiate in front of Christina to turn around curiously. Yuna waited until the coast was clear. “The little lies that Thadius told were nothing. But in here...every time I turn around someone is covering up for something or hiding something important from someone else. I don’t like it here Christina…”

Christina’s heart sank as she mulled over her friend’s words. All this time she’d been concerned about herself and never asked Yuna how she was or how she was feeling. While she was laughing and playing with her friends, Yuna had been alone with a frustrating feeling that she could not shake.

As stealthy as she could, Christina reached for where she thought Yuna’s hand could be. After a moment, the feeling of warmth wrapped around fingers. “How about we go celebrate afterwards? Once I’m a Priestess, I’ll be able to go into the city, so we could walk around and see the sights. Oh! Maybe we should get something tasty to eat!” Christina whispered excitedly.

“It would be nice to get out here, I guess.” Yuna mumbled.

“Then it’s settled!” Christina smiled, giving her friend’s hand a light squeeze before returning her attention to the line ahead of her.

The procession had come to the main corridor, and all the initiates were being lead into the heart of the church. The pure white stone flooring changed to polished marble as Christina walked into the church proper. The pews were all hand made from a dark wood, and they were all intricately carved with different depictions of the Goddess Thena and her children. In every depiction, the Gods were formed from the same marble as the floor, which made them stand out as the initiates made their way up to the altar. Then beyond the altar, looking down on them all, was a statue of Thena with her golden robes shining in the morning light.

The ceremony was held at the foot of the statue. Each initiate would walk behind the altar, kneel before it, and pray to Thena after drinking from a golden goblet of holy water. Should Thena approve of the initiate, they would then take the vows of the Goddess and would be given a fraction of her power in the form of a skill.

The entire process was rather quick. The only reason it was even called a ceremony was because of what followed. Once all the successful initiates were seated, the High Priest himself would make a speech about the responsibilities and duty of priests and priestesses of Thena.

The High Priest Nigel was waiting for the initiates at the altar with the golden cup. He was a tall, slender man like most of the priests, but unlike the others, he never seemed to smile. High cheekbones gave him a seemingly long face that accented the hawk-like eyes that stared out from behind his glasses.

As the initiates went up one by one, the High Priest would speak a few words and then hand them the goblet to sip. If an initiate was successful, signified by the light of Thena shining down upon them, he would then hand them a note as certification and usher them off to the pews to await his speech. There were no words of congratulations, and no kind gestures were offered to the newfound priests and priestesses.

This did little to settle Christina’s heart as she approached the altar. The initiate before her had failed to gain Thena’s favor, and he’d been taken away in tears.

“Christina Tristan. Step forward.” Nigel called.

Christina walked around to stand in front of the High Priest. He paused as he looked down at her.

“I’ve heard a great deal about you, Ms. Tristan. You’ve excelled at your studies, and you are earnest in your prayer. Yet, never would I have chosen you to take vows so soon. Especially when others have worked harder to get here.” Nigel gave her a hard look, and Christina suddenly felt small standing in front of the man.

A few of the initiates that shared a room with her snickered in line behind them, but the same look from the High Priest silenced them immediately. When he turned back to Christina, the glare was gone, replaced by a much softer look. “Fortunately for you, I received a very special letter today. A letter from the High Priestess of Yune.”