The way Olivia and his mother acted around Olrich left Orn unsure how to interact with his cousin. A couple dinners with Olrich, made Orn not want to interact with him at all. The priest was, to be kind, a pompous windbag.

Orn began to dread the evening meal where his cousin would find a way to fill every second with his droning voice. Orn’s limited contact with Olrich ended when his cousin found out he had never really learned about the faith. Something Olrich sought to fix in the few days leading up to Orn’s pathday. This left Orn listening to his cousin drone on about his faith.

“Tomorrow is your pathday, so we will be brief tonight. Recap what we covered.” Olrich leaned back in his char a slight redness showing in his cheeks.

“There are four important goddesses. First is the mother who sleeps and dreams of the future. …” Orn repeated the small amount he learned from the first lecture. His main takeaway was the fact his cousin could talk for hours without managing to stop for breath or be interesting.

Olrich nodded listening to Orn’s description. “Good, now to the daughters.”

“The eldest and most powerful daughter is Atr. She controls fate and the “pattern” of the great loom.” Orn repeated a bit from Olrich’s thankfully shorter lecture the second day.

“Good, good. Now Clo.” Olrich said smiling slightly as he motioned Orn to talk about the third goddess.

“She is the middle daughter who works the loom and keeps the peace. She also gives people their paths.” The priest had rambled something to that end when he was teaching. Orn’s main takeaway from that night was the priest cut this lecture short, as the as the wine hit him early and hard.

“A bit simple, but passable.” Olrich gestured for Orn to continue.

“The third daughter is Lac. She holds the shuttle.” Orn was not sure what to add since Olrich had been vague about the details. She did something with fabrics. The volume of wine Olrich drank that night made the lecture mercifully short, but hard to understand.

“Not as good as the others but her power is too complex for a child at any rate.” Olrich stood slowly, “You need not worry on trying to remember, or explain more of her nature.”

Orn was sure that meant Olrich did not know, but felt that saying so would cause trouble, or worse, more education. Out of fear of the later, Orn kept his mouth firmly shut. Instead, he watched the man put a bit of his weight on the chair’s back for balance. The wine he saw Olrich guzzling after dinner was catching up to him. The priest was already red faced, but Orn was not about to complain. If it meant the fat man left early, the cellar could be emptied.

“I’m sure that after my wonderful teachings, you will be given a great path. Just remember what I taught you. You need not fear her. Now, say a prayer for those who were not so blessed when you go to sleep.”

Olrich slowly let go of the chair back he had been using to stabilize himself and turned toward the door. But Orn’s mind was racing, “Her? Is there someone I should worry about?”

“Just Kao, …” Olrich replied absent mindedly, then froze. Even with the wine muddling his brain he realized in he had mentioned something he should not have. Frantically he tried to smooth over his mistake, “Nothing you need worry about.”

Kao? Orn had to know more. She was clearly not on friendly terms with the goddesses if his cousin was so worried. Fortunately, the priest’s ego provided the perfect opening.

“Thank you for protecting me from her.” Orn did his best to sound innocent. “What happen to people who are not safe from K…. her?” Orn corrected quickly not wanting to trigger a lecture for using a forbidden name.

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The man smiled, “It does not hurt to say the name. But do not say it a lot, or you may draw her attention.” The priest nodded to himself, “Such discres… discre… “

“Discretion?” Orn offered as Olrich searched for the word.

“Discretion! Exactly!, “ Olrich repeated louder than was necessary. “You are a good student. Maybe you will become a priest after all. Then you can be like me full of the honeyed words of…”

Full of something but I am not sure I would call it honey… Orn managed to keep the comment inside as he listened to his inebriated cousin rattle on.

“… maybe not as good as me, but possible.” His cousin winked at him, “The goddesses see your potential. That is why so many follow their father's paths. Your father is a noble. But fear not! Our family has also boasted many priests, though I am the best.”

Orn was secretly thankful the man was drunk. The wine had apparently begun to overrule whatever force kept the man’s pride in check. When the control went, so too did his apparent ability to keep secrets.

“Most priests do not tell their pupils about this until later. But I am a better teacher. Knowledge is to be given! Especially to students, noble ones, who can handle it.” Olrich nodded to himself at the stressed rationalization he managed.

Then in a voice too loud to be the whisper it was intended to be, “There is one more goddess, the youngest of the goddesses.”

Another goddess? Orn was feeling his hope fade. His last interaction with the goddesses had not gone well. Orn pushed down the memory of the hand squeezing him.

“… but she did not follow her path. She refused to hold the strings. Can you imagine?” Olrich looked at Orn for agreement. Orn shook his head to keep the man talking.

“She got mad and tied knots in the threads. The knots pulled people from their paths.” Olrich shook his head, “She is as evil as the others are good.”

“She changed people’s paths?” Orn sputtered, and immediately hopped his cousin was too drunk to notice the excitement in his voice.

“Exactly!’ Ollrich yelled apparently misunderstanding Orn’s excitement for shock, “Many people got the wrong paths. It caused chaos.” Olrich gestured dramatically.

“She is the goddess of chaos…” Olrich trailed off for a moment before continuing, “The other goddesses stopped her before she could do more harm. Now she can only do bad things when people ask her.”

“So people have to ask for her?” Orn asked trying to keep his voice level.

“Exactly, “ Olrich smiled widely opening his arms before immediately putting them back on the chair to steady himself, “she will sometimes tell them to pick a different path. Not that it matters. No evil goes unpunished.”

“How do they get punished?” Orn did not care, but needed to keep the priest talking before his wine clouded mind could catch up.

“Many get caught for choosing evil paths, doing crimes . Others well …” Olrich absentmindedly gestured at Orn.

“Me?” Orn felt fear welling up, his attention focused on the priest’s every move. Keep calm, there is no way he knows…

Olrich started backpedaling, “No. No, not you… not exactly …”

“My weakness?” Orn hopped to get more information out of the priest.

“It is a big day tomorrow…” Olrich tried to change the subject, but Orn did not want to let it go.

“Why am I being punished?” Orn asked staring at the priest who was trying to find a way to talk himself out of the mess he had made.

“Not you, children are all innocent. It is not your fault.” Olrich back tracked again.

“Then, who?“ Orn struggled to think who could be to blame.

“Nothing you should worry about, “ Olrich said locking down. Then turning for the door he added over his shoulder. “Do not worry about unimportant things. Now sleep, tomorrow is a big day.”

As Olrich closed the door Orn’s mind raced. Who does Olrich think is to blame? The goddesses hate me, but who?...

Orn eventually fell asleep never finding an answer to the question running through his head.