Father Baram walked out from a side door to the front of the sanctuary, and most of the congregation fell silent. I forgave the littlest ones for their continued babbles, of course. The priest smiled and held up his hands. I shouldn’t have been surprised, given the small size of the church, but he greeted everyone by their first name. He called me Rachel, just before nodding to and greeting Nora.
“We will start with a reading from the Book of Origins,” Father Baram gestured towards Aleph, who had just stepped out of an opposing door holding a brown, leather-bound book. He strolled into the pulpit and placed his book on the lectern. Nora’s entire being zeroed in on Aleph, and I couldn’t help but do the same. Aleph squared his shoulders and spoke sonorously.
Before there was, there was Naught.
Naught is nothing, but has the potential to be anything.
In time, Euphridia traveled alone to Naught only after searching all that there already was.
Weary from her journey, she shaped Speranza from Naught in order to have a place to rest.
She gave our world a Name, for without it, it would be unknowable.
She gave our world a Purpose, for without it, it would have no use.
In time, Euphridia filled the world with plants and animals, giving each Name and Purpose even as she created them from Naught. For things without a proper Name nor Purpose are doomed to return to Naught.
In time, Euphridia created for herself a steadfast companion that would support her in all endeavors.
From Naught, Raela, the first human of Speranza, came into existence.
With Name and Purpose defined, Raela flourished at Euphridia’s side.
In time, Raela realized she could not create from Naught like Euphridia may, for that was not her Purpose. This was the first lesson humanity learned. That humans may not be as to a God, for that is not our Purpose.
In time, Raela asked Euphridia if she would create other humans from Naught. Euphridia refused, for in studying Raela, Euphridia learned humans struggle with their Name and Purpose. Failing such struggles would doom a human to return to Naught. Raela accepted her answer and continued to abide by Euphridia’s decision and teachings.
In time, Euphridia realized that even Raela, who strived to be true to her Name and Purpose, would be lost to Naught, for it is natural upon Death that humans forget their Name and their Purpose. Euphridia, ever compassionate, entered into The Everlasting Covenant with Raela, allowing her to continue on after Death if, in Life, Raela stayed true to her Name and Purpose. In turn, Euphridia would remember Raela’s Name and Purpose for her and judge her actions in accordance to them after Death came for her physical form.
In time, Euphridia agreed to create other humans who could join The Everlasting Covenant, and I was the First of Men spun from Naught. I was given the Name Relias, and my first Purpose is to guide all of humanity so none shall be doomed to Naught.
And so I say to you, above all else, understand and cherish your Name and your Purpose and be true to them, for in doing so, you shall have Life beyond Death within The Everlasting Covenant of Euphridia.
No one had made a sound throughout the entire dramatic recitation. It really hadn't been a reading, for Aleph never even glanced at the book he had placed on the lectern. In fact, the stunned silence hung in the air for a full minute before Father Baram realized the show must go on.
“Ah, thank you, Aleph,” he said awkwardly. “I now welcome the Borden family to come forward.”
The Borden family stood up in unison, composed of a mother, father, and young boy, all with blush pink pig ears adorning their heads. Rather inappropriately, I wondered if they had curly tails too, but their clothes were not in such a fashion to reveal the answer. The youngest clenched his fists and squinted his eyes shut as they made their way to the pulpit. I was fairly sure he was praying under his breath, too.
Father Baram pulled out a golden orb from within his robe and offered it to the young hybrid. He glanced apprehensively at his mother and father before placing both hands on it. The orb filled with a bright light at his touch.
“In joyful faith,” Father Baram announced. “We welcome Everett Borden into our community. May you stay true to your purpose as a farmer!”
The congregation cheered loudly, save for Nora and I. Farmer? How is that a purpose? Isn’t that just an occupation?
Everett’s face appeared stricken with grief, and I felt he was probably thinking the same thing we were. He shook as large tears formed at the corners of his eyes. I squirmed in my seat just as his mother went to enfold him in a hug.
He dodged and let out a shriek. “No! I want to be an artist! I don’t want to be a smelly old farmer!” He dashed down the aisle and out the back of the church. No one made a move to stop him. The congregation sighed collectively as the rest of the family went back to their seats. Wasn’t anyone going to go after the poor kid?
I couldn’t concentrate on any more of the service. Instead, I kept craning my head behind me to look out at the main entrance to the church, but I saw no sign of Everett. At one point, Aleph had sat down next to me, but I hadn’t noticed until he gave me a nudge.
“Little dragon, you need to look forward,” he whispered.
“What about Everett?” I asked.
“He will be fine. He just needs time to adjust.”
“He’s all alone out there!” I exclaimed angrily under my breath.
Aleph simply ignored my complaint and kept his head forward. Nora also looked uncomfortable, but there wasn’t much we could do during the service. The moment we were dismissed though, Nora and I flew out of our seats to go look for the little boy. Again, no one made a move to leave the church.
“Which way do we go first?” Nora asked once we were outside.
I looked around the courtyard. The road we hadn’t traveled along yet led into a small, currently empty village. The way we came led farther into the desolate wilderness we were escaping from.
“Back the way we came,” I finally decided. “If he went to his house to sulk, that’s one thing, but if he went out that way…”
“Good thinking.” Nora approved.
We walked towards where we had camped the previous night, calling for Everett. Each time I said his name, I doubted more and more that he would actually respond to it. Nora was also slowing her steps down as we realized this might not be a job for us. We were just weird, dirty pilgrims who witnessed something completely embarrassing. What sort of child would just jump out and say “over here!”
“Um, Nora…” I started.
“Yeah, maybe this wasn’t good thinking after all.” Nora nodded.
“Even if you found him, what were you going to say to him?” Tetora’s voice boomed from behind a large rock.
“Tetora!” I exclaimed, relieved.
“Well? Answer your teacher!” Tetora demanded, still hiding.
“That he doesn’t have to be a farmer if he doesn’t want to!” I shouted before realizing he seemed awfully aware of the situation he had not been present for.
“So he should just ignore his purpose and do what he wants, and when he dies he can go to the Void?” Tetora countered.
“Uh… but…” I floundered before tagging Nora to take over.
“Why can’t he just do both?” Nora asked. “I don’t see a reason he can’t be an artist too.”
Tetora was silent for a moment, but he stepped out from behind the boulder. Clinging to his tail was little Everett, covered in smudges from dirty tears. His cute pig ears were plastered down to the top of his head, making his appearance even more tragic.
“See?” Tetora patted Everett’s shoulder. “I told you these pilgrims are harmless. The tall one is strong and sincere, but simple. Listen to the tiny one. She understands the unwritten rules better.”
“S-simple?!” I twitched angrily.
“Yes. Like a young child, maybe even a baby.” Tetora confirmed. I’d have understood if Aleph had told me that, but hearing it from Tetora was a low blow from a previously perceived comrade!
“What the f…” Stop, child alert! “I mean, how, how dare you! I’m a sophisticated adult!”
“Sophisticated adults do not stomp their feet and announce they are sophisticated adults. They let their actions speak for themselves.”
I took a deep breath so I could deliver a full retort, but Everett suddenly let out a giggle wrapped up in an interrupted sob. I stared at him. One ear had popped up into a half-fold.
“Hmph!” I snorted loudly as I crossed my arms and turned my back theatrically on Tetora, casting one glance over my shoulder at Everett. He giggled again, this time with no sobs whatsoever. Both ears were floating up a little now.
Nora knelt down and whispered something in Everett’s ear. Curious, I turned back around. Everett nodded excitedly and pulled out a large scrap of paper and a charcoal stick from his dusty robe.
“Hey… what are you two doing?” I asked suspiciously.
“Creating a masterpiece, of course.” Nora said.
Everett drew fervently with the stick while Nora blocked my view of the creative process. Tetora also crouched down and watched, even as his tail twitched curiously in the dirt.
“Lemme see!” I demanded.
“No!” Everett said with a laugh. “You have to learn to wait!” Now I was sure he was definitely drawing me. At one point, he even asked how to spell my name, and Nora replied with the letters to Rachel in sequence.
“Don’t forget to sign it,” Tetora reminded Everett, just as he stood up.
“Oh, right!” He plopped back down in the dirt. “Wait, how do you spell Everett?” he asked. Nora and Tetora conferred for a moment, then coached him through the spelling even as he finished the drawing. He then handed it to Nora.
“Why are you giving it to her? I wanna see it!”
Nora cleared her throat and held the drawing up so I could see. It was a stick figure, tall, with angry eyebrows and a cloth mask and hood. A single line represented the bo staff I had. ‘Big Baby Rachel’ was written in crude letters at the top. At the bottom was ‘Everett Borden’.
“What are all the waves?” I said with a pout.
“Stink lines!” Everett cackled. I blinked and sniffed my cloak through my mask. Oh, no! He was absolutely right!
“It’s not my fault! I haven’t had a proper shower in days!”
“Big stinky baby!” He laughed harder as he doubled over.
“See? Now you are a comedian, too.” Tetora approved, slapping Everett on the back. I didn’t exactly agree, but it satisfied me that Everett was safe and having a laugh.
“How much for the drawing?” Nora asked.
“A million gold coins,” Everett answered promptly.
“We don’t have that kind of money!” I countered.
“Then, uh…” Everett paused. “That big sword you left at the church! I’ll take it.”
Of course, a young kid would notice a giant weapon even if I did my best to hide it. But it wasn’t like he could wield it, so I seriously considered it. “Let’s go talk to your parents.”
We made our way back to the church and found the Borden family out in the courtyard exchanging pleasantries with others. Everett ran ahead and gave his mom a hug and a sincere apology for running away. The others smiled at him wistfully. I finally realized that his reaction must have been so customary to the occasion that they had learned it was best to let the children have some time alone to accept the outcome. I still didn’t understand the point of traumatizing someone so young in the first place, though. Maybe I could talk with Aleph about it once I found him again.
It turned out the Borden family was actually interested in purchasing the giant rusty sword and I ended up striking a deal, with Tetora’s help, for the drawing and a small sack of onions and potatoes. I even managed to get a few coins minted from a dark, almost black metal that I didn’t recognize.
“What do you plan on doing with it?” I asked Mr. Borden curiously as we finished haggling.
“Oh, ah, it’ll make a nice plowshare. Ours is a bit busted up!”
“Swords to plowshares!” Nora chortled.
I wrinkled my nose. “What’s funny about that? I think it makes good sense actually…” I looked out over the dry countryside. “It’s not like he needs an anchor or anything.”
Nora grimaced. “Really. You never heard that saying before?”
“It’s a saying?”
Nora shook her head. “When we get back, I’m taking away all of your nerd privileges. We’ll just have to start you back at level one.”
“I’m keeping the ID card you made me,” I muttered.
We waved as the Borden family left the courtyard. The other townspeople also departed in small groups, and we waited for Aleph. Tetora, who had been holding onto the drawing, gave it to Nora.
“Wait. What do you think you’re doing with that?” I asked, gesturing at the drawing. “I paid for it, so I get to keep it.”
“No way. I gave him the idea to draw it so it’s mine!” Nora snapped her bag shut after she placed the drawing inside carefully. “You’d probably just crumple it up.”
“I would not! Someday ‘Big Baby Rachel’ is gonna be worth a lot of money!”
“So let me hold on to it. You’ll just lose it.” I hated to admit it, but she was probably right.
Tetora paced angrily as the minutes went by.
Nora gave him a side glance. “So, sophisticated adults… do they fight with their companions, threaten priests, run off in a fit, and never talk about their feelings?” Oh, thank goodness she stopped picking on me.
“I never said I was sophisticated!” Tetora exclaimed.
“Are you an adult?” Nora was relentless.
“Of course. Look at how big I am!”
“I wonder if I can commission Everett to do a Big Baby Tetora.” Nora mused.
“Little rabbit!” Tetora growled. “You would not understand my anger!”
“Not if you don’t tell me where it’s coming from, no.” Nora agreed.
No, don’t fight! I walked between them. “Ah… Nora, maybe it’s not our business what—”
“It is if it affects the party.” Nora said sternly to me before locking eyes with Tetora. “You need to work this out with Aleph. Don’t you pretend nothing happened, either. You have been yelling at him since dawn!” Had I missed something even bigger before I woke up?
“You…” Tetora started, then sighed. “Yes, you are right.”
“What about Father Baram?” I asked Nora.
“He’s not part of the party, so who cares?” Nora shrugged. I really couldn’t ever anticipate where Nora would draw the line.
The church door creaked open and Aleph appeared, gesturing for us to come inside. Nora led the way, and I let Tetora go next so I could bring up the rear. Instead of going to the sanctuary, though, we headed to a small office with several chairs. Father Baram was sitting at a small desk, with Tetora’s war hammer lying across its length.
“I will bless your weapons to the best of my abilities,” he said by way of explanation. “Your staff please, Rachel.”
I placed my staff on the table in front of him. Then I looked at Nora’s staff expectantly, but Aleph gently shook his head. Father Baram caught our exchange and his eyes widened slightly at Nora.
“You’re a…!” Father Baram exclaimed.
“Father,” Aleph cleared his throat warningly.
“Ah…” Father Baram looked away, only to catch eyes with Tetora. “Er, I would also bless your iron claws, if you approve…”
“Yes.” Tetora refused to look at him, but he placed his iron claws gently on the desk. Father Baram stood and held his hands above the weapons gathered.
“In Euphridia’s name, I pray. May your weapons strike wicked ones true even as it would spare the innocent.” I jumped as a gold light formed around each weapon. Father Baram raised his hands and their glow intensified before disappearing completely. By the end he looked quite exhausted, his robe almost translucent with sweat.
“It’s been a very long time since I’ve practiced such rituals,” he admitted in a wheezing voice. “I cannot vouch for their duration, but I will pray they last through your journey.”
“We thank you for your blessings, Father.” Aleph replied quietly.
Father Baram sat back in his seat with a huff and chanced a remorseful look at Tetora. “I wish I could have accommodated your previous request, great tiger. I am sorry for causing you anguish.”
“It was our request, not just mine, Father.” Tetora sneered for just a moment. He then glanced guiltily down at his feet before letting out a frustrated grunt. “I am sorry I blamed you. I know… things are complicated. ”
“I will pray for change,” the sheepish priest promised vaguely, spiking my curiosity even more.
Aleph cleared his throat. “Father Baram has prepared rooms for us here. We should rest for today. Tomorrow we can head into town and restock.”
Father Baram walked out from a side door to the front of the sanctuary, and most of the congregation fell silent. I forgave the littlest ones for their continued babbles, of course. The priest smiled and held up his hands. I shouldn’t have been surprised, given the small size of the church, but he greeted everyone by their first name. He called me Rachel, just before nodding to and greeting Nora.
“We will start with a reading from the Book of Origins,” Father Baram gestured towards Aleph, who had just stepped out of an opposing door holding a brown, leather-bound book. He strolled into the pulpit and placed his book on the lectern. Nora’s entire being zeroed in on Aleph, and I couldn’t help but do the same. Aleph squared his shoulders and spoke sonorously.
Before there was, there was Naught.
Naught is nothing, but has the potential to be anything.
In time, Euphridia traveled alone to Naught only after searching all that there already was.
Weary from her journey, she shaped Speranza from Naught in order to have a place to rest.
She gave our world a Name, for without it, it would be unknowable.
She gave our world a Purpose, for without it, it would have no use.
In time, Euphridia filled the world with plants and animals, giving each Name and Purpose even as she created them from Naught. For things without a proper Name nor Purpose are doomed to return to Naught.
In time, Euphridia created for herself a steadfast companion that would support her in all endeavors.
From Naught, Raela, the first human of Speranza, came into existence.
With Name and Purpose defined, Raela flourished at Euphridia’s side.
In time, Raela realized she could not create from Naught like Euphridia may, for that was not her Purpose. This was the first lesson humanity learned. That humans may not be as to a God, for that is not our Purpose.
In time, Raela asked Euphridia if she would create other humans from Naught. Euphridia refused, for in studying Raela, Euphridia learned humans struggle with their Name and Purpose. Failing such struggles would doom a human to return to Naught. Raela accepted her answer and continued to abide by Euphridia’s decision and teachings.
In time, Euphridia realized that even Raela, who strived to be true to her Name and Purpose, would be lost to Naught, for it is natural upon Death that humans forget their Name and their Purpose. Euphridia, ever compassionate, entered into The Everlasting Covenant with Raela, allowing her to continue on after Death if, in Life, Raela stayed true to her Name and Purpose. In turn, Euphridia would remember Raela’s Name and Purpose for her and judge her actions in accordance to them after Death came for her physical form.
In time, Euphridia agreed to create other humans who could join The Everlasting Covenant, and I was the First of Men spun from Naught. I was given the Name Relias, and my first Purpose is to guide all of humanity so none shall be doomed to Naught.
And so I say to you, above all else, understand and cherish your Name and your Purpose and be true to them, for in doing so, you shall have Life beyond Death within The Everlasting Covenant of Euphridia.
No one had made a sound throughout the entire dramatic recitation. It really hadn't been a reading, for Aleph never even glanced at the book he had placed on the lectern. In fact, the stunned silence hung in the air for a full minute before Father Baram realized the show must go on.
“Ah, thank you, Aleph,” he said awkwardly. “I now welcome the Borden family to come forward.”
The Borden family stood up in unison, composed of a mother, father, and young boy, all with blush pink pig ears adorning their heads. Rather inappropriately, I wondered if they had curly tails too, but their clothes were not in such a fashion to reveal the answer. The youngest clenched his fists and squinted his eyes shut as they made their way to the pulpit. I was fairly sure he was praying under his breath, too.
Father Baram pulled out a golden orb from within his robe and offered it to the young hybrid. He glanced apprehensively at his mother and father before placing both hands on it. The orb filled with a bright light at his touch.
“In joyful faith,” Father Baram announced. “We welcome Everett Borden into our community. May you stay true to your purpose as a farmer!”
The congregation cheered loudly, save for Nora and I. Farmer? How is that a purpose? Isn’t that just an occupation?
Everett’s face appeared stricken with grief, and I felt he was probably thinking the same thing we were. He shook as large tears formed at the corners of his eyes. I squirmed in my seat just as his mother went to enfold him in a hug.
He dodged and let out a shriek. “No! I want to be an artist! I don’t want to be a smelly old farmer!” He dashed down the aisle and out the back of the church. No one made a move to stop him. The congregation sighed collectively as the rest of the family went back to their seats. Wasn’t anyone going to go after the poor kid?
I couldn’t concentrate on any more of the service. Instead, I kept craning my head behind me to look out at the main entrance to the church, but I saw no sign of Everett. At one point, Aleph had sat down next to me, but I hadn’t noticed until he gave me a nudge.
“Little dragon, you need to look forward,” he whispered.
“What about Everett?” I asked.
“He will be fine. He just needs time to adjust.”
“He’s all alone out there!” I exclaimed angrily under my breath.
Aleph simply ignored my complaint and kept his head forward. Nora also looked uncomfortable, but there wasn’t much we could do during the service. The moment we were dismissed though, Nora and I flew out of our seats to go look for the little boy. Again, no one made a move to leave the church.
“Which way do we go first?” Nora asked once we were outside.
I looked around the courtyard. The road we hadn’t traveled along yet led into a small, currently empty village. The way we came led farther into the desolate wilderness we were escaping from.
“Back the way we came,” I finally decided. “If he went to his house to sulk, that’s one thing, but if he went out that way…”
“Good thinking.” Nora approved.
We walked towards where we had camped the previous night, calling for Everett. Each time I said his name, I doubted more and more that he would actually respond to it. Nora was also slowing her steps down as we realized this might not be a job for us. We were just weird, dirty pilgrims who witnessed something completely embarrassing. What sort of child would just jump out and say “over here!”
“Um, Nora…” I started.
“Yeah, maybe this wasn’t good thinking after all.” Nora nodded.
“Even if you found him, what were you going to say to him?” Tetora’s voice boomed from behind a large rock.
“Tetora!” I exclaimed, relieved.
“Well? Answer your teacher!” Tetora demanded, still hiding.
“That he doesn’t have to be a farmer if he doesn’t want to!” I shouted before realizing he seemed awfully aware of the situation he had not been present for.
“So he should just ignore his purpose and do what he wants, and when he dies he can go to the Void?” Tetora countered.
“Uh… but…” I floundered before tagging Nora to take over.
“Why can’t he just do both?” Nora asked. “I don’t see a reason he can’t be an artist too.”
Tetora was silent for a moment, but he stepped out from behind the boulder. Clinging to his tail was little Everett, covered in smudges from dirty tears. His cute pig ears were plastered down to the top of his head, making his appearance even more tragic.
“See?” Tetora patted Everett’s shoulder. “I told you these pilgrims are harmless. The tall one is strong and sincere, but simple. Listen to the tiny one. She understands the unwritten rules better.”
“S-simple?!” I twitched angrily.
“Yes. Like a young child, maybe even a baby.” Tetora confirmed. I’d have understood if Aleph had told me that, but hearing it from Tetora was a low blow from a previously perceived comrade!
“What the f…” Stop, child alert! “I mean, how, how dare you! I’m a sophisticated adult!”
“Sophisticated adults do not stomp their feet and announce they are sophisticated adults. They let their actions speak for themselves.”
I took a deep breath so I could deliver a full retort, but Everett suddenly let out a giggle wrapped up in an interrupted sob. I stared at him. One ear had popped up into a half-fold.
“Hmph!” I snorted loudly as I crossed my arms and turned my back theatrically on Tetora, casting one glance over my shoulder at Everett. He giggled again, this time with no sobs whatsoever. Both ears were floating up a little now.
Nora knelt down and whispered something in Everett’s ear. Curious, I turned back around. Everett nodded excitedly and pulled out a large scrap of paper and a charcoal stick from his dusty robe.
“Hey… what are you two doing?” I asked suspiciously.
“Creating a masterpiece, of course.” Nora said.
Everett drew fervently with the stick while Nora blocked my view of the creative process. Tetora also crouched down and watched, even as his tail twitched curiously in the dirt.
“Lemme see!” I demanded.
“No!” Everett said with a laugh. “You have to learn to wait!” Now I was sure he was definitely drawing me. At one point, he even asked how to spell my name, and Nora replied with the letters to Rachel in sequence.
“Don’t forget to sign it,” Tetora reminded Everett, just as he stood up.
“Oh, right!” He plopped back down in the dirt. “Wait, how do you spell Everett?” he asked. Nora and Tetora conferred for a moment, then coached him through the spelling even as he finished the drawing. He then handed it to Nora.
“Why are you giving it to her? I wanna see it!”
Nora cleared her throat and held the drawing up so I could see. It was a stick figure, tall, with angry eyebrows and a cloth mask and hood. A single line represented the bo staff I had. ‘Big Baby Rachel’ was written in crude letters at the top. At the bottom was ‘Everett Borden’.
“What are all the waves?” I said with a pout.
“Stink lines!” Everett cackled. I blinked and sniffed my cloak through my mask. Oh, no! He was absolutely right!
“It’s not my fault! I haven’t had a proper shower in days!”
“Big stinky baby!” He laughed harder as he doubled over.
“See? Now you are a comedian, too.” Tetora approved, slapping Everett on the back. I didn’t exactly agree, but it satisfied me that Everett was safe and having a laugh.
“How much for the drawing?” Nora asked.
“A million gold coins,” Everett answered promptly.
“We don’t have that kind of money!” I countered.
“Then, uh…” Everett paused. “That big sword you left at the church! I’ll take it.”
Of course, a young kid would notice a giant weapon even if I did my best to hide it. But it wasn’t like he could wield it, so I seriously considered it. “Let’s go talk to your parents.”
We made our way back to the church and found the Borden family out in the courtyard exchanging pleasantries with others. Everett ran ahead and gave his mom a hug and a sincere apology for running away. The others smiled at him wistfully. I finally realized that his reaction must have been so customary to the occasion that they had learned it was best to let the children have some time alone to accept the outcome. I still didn’t understand the point of traumatizing someone so young in the first place, though. Maybe I could talk with Aleph about it once I found him again.
It turned out the Borden family was actually interested in purchasing the giant rusty sword and I ended up striking a deal, with Tetora’s help, for the drawing and a small sack of onions and potatoes. I even managed to get a few coins minted from a dark, almost black metal that I didn’t recognize.
“What do you plan on doing with it?” I asked Mr. Borden curiously as we finished haggling.
“Oh, ah, it’ll make a nice plowshare. Ours is a bit busted up!”
“Swords to plowshares!” Nora chortled.
I wrinkled my nose. “What’s funny about that? I think it makes good sense actually…” I looked out over the dry countryside. “It’s not like he needs an anchor or anything.”
Nora grimaced. “Really. You never heard that saying before?”
“It’s a saying?”
Nora shook her head. “When we get back, I’m taking away all of your nerd privileges. We’ll just have to start you back at level one.”
“I’m keeping the ID card you made me,” I muttered.
We waved as the Borden family left the courtyard. The other townspeople also departed in small groups, and we waited for Aleph. Tetora, who had been holding onto the drawing, gave it to Nora.
“Wait. What do you think you’re doing with that?” I asked, gesturing at the drawing. “I paid for it, so I get to keep it.”
“No way. I gave him the idea to draw it so it’s mine!” Nora snapped her bag shut after she placed the drawing inside carefully. “You’d probably just crumple it up.”
“I would not! Someday ‘Big Baby Rachel’ is gonna be worth a lot of money!”
“So let me hold on to it. You’ll just lose it.” I hated to admit it, but she was probably right.
Tetora paced angrily as the minutes went by.
Nora gave him a side glance. “So, sophisticated adults… do they fight with their companions, threaten priests, run off in a fit, and never talk about their feelings?” Oh, thank goodness she stopped picking on me.
“I never said I was sophisticated!” Tetora exclaimed.
“Are you an adult?” Nora was relentless.
“Of course. Look at how big I am!”
“I wonder if I can commission Everett to do a Big Baby Tetora.” Nora mused.
“Little rabbit!” Tetora growled. “You would not understand my anger!”
“Not if you don’t tell me where it’s coming from, no.” Nora agreed.
No, don’t fight! I walked between them. “Ah… Nora, maybe it’s not our business what—”
“It is if it affects the party.” Nora said sternly to me before locking eyes with Tetora. “You need to work this out with Aleph. Don’t you pretend nothing happened, either. You have been yelling at him since dawn!” Had I missed something even bigger before I woke up?
“You…” Tetora started, then sighed. “Yes, you are right.”
“What about Father Baram?” I asked Nora.
“He’s not part of the party, so who cares?” Nora shrugged. I really couldn’t ever anticipate where Nora would draw the line.
The church door creaked open and Aleph appeared, gesturing for us to come inside. Nora led the way, and I let Tetora go next so I could bring up the rear. Instead of going to the sanctuary, though, we headed to a small office with several chairs. Father Baram was sitting at a small desk, with Tetora’s war hammer lying across its length.
“I will bless your weapons to the best of my abilities,” he said by way of explanation. “Your staff please, Rachel.”
I placed my staff on the table in front of him. Then I looked at Nora’s staff expectantly, but Aleph gently shook his head. Father Baram caught our exchange and his eyes widened slightly at Nora.
“You’re a…!” Father Baram exclaimed.
“Father,” Aleph cleared his throat warningly.
“Ah…” Father Baram looked away, only to catch eyes with Tetora. “Er, I would also bless your iron claws, if you approve…”
“Yes.” Tetora refused to look at him, but he placed his iron claws gently on the desk. Father Baram stood and held his hands above the weapons gathered.
“In Euphridia’s name, I pray. May your weapons strike wicked ones true even as it would spare the innocent.” I jumped as a gold light formed around each weapon. Father Baram raised his hands and their glow intensified before disappearing completely. By the end he looked quite exhausted, his robe almost translucent with sweat.
“It’s been a very long time since I’ve practiced such rituals,” he admitted in a wheezing voice. “I cannot vouch for their duration, but I will pray they last through your journey.”
“We thank you for your blessings, Father.” Aleph replied quietly.
Father Baram sat back in his seat with a huff and chanced a remorseful look at Tetora. “I wish I could have accommodated your previous request, great tiger. I am sorry for causing you anguish.”
“It was our request, not just mine, Father.” Tetora sneered for just a moment. He then glanced guiltily down at his feet before letting out a frustrated grunt. “I am sorry I blamed you. I know… things are complicated. ”
“I will pray for change,” the sheepish priest promised vaguely, spiking my curiosity even more.
Aleph cleared his throat. “Father Baram has prepared rooms for us here. We should rest for today. Tomorrow we can head into town and restock.”
