When he arrived at the college it was already dusk, but now after glancing through the window Alex saw the rays of sun happily dancing between the treetops.
“Of course!” Bishop smiled back his gentle smile, “What did you think I gave you? It was the Lord’s seed! It has enormous amount of the holy power and you absorbed almost all of it! But don’t get greedy – if you had another one right away you surely would have exploded, well … anyone would. Each chosen can only receive one Lord’s seed per year right after the Midsummer cleansing ceremony and also only until their adolescence. For some reason adults are not able to absorb the holy power from the seeds, but the Lord has his own plan. Sigh, how I wish I could be in your shoes – even if it was only because of that, you know.”
“I thank you, your grace, for the generosity!” Alex immediately put his palms together and bowed, “Lord, guide us!”
“Indeed, Lord, guide us!” Bishop said, “It’s His rules and not mine. But enough of this. We need to understand what to do with you.”
“Well, your grace. I … I think I should follow the Lord’s orders and … guide the people in this world?” Alex said more like in a form of a question while looking down at his feet as if battling uncertainty.
“Obviously.” Bishop snorted back, “What I meant is – how do you intend to do that?”
“I think I first need to learn the ways of the common people as well the knowledge of the chosen. Afterwards … I’m certain afterwards the Lord will show me the way.” Alex said ‘bravely’ looking bishop in the eyes.
“Alright, let’s go with that for now. Figar!” Bishop said and called in his trusted aide, “Show Alfons to his room. And you, my young friend, rest for the day. Tomorrow morning come to the church and I’ll assign the teacher for you. Dismissed!”
Alex bowed and followed the priest out the bishop’s quarters with a straight face while inwardly hysterically laughing.
‘Looks like the next four years will be a lot of fun. I definitely have to clear your stash before I leave this place! Those seeds are the treasure wasted in your hands and I intend to bake something sweet from them! Project ‘Sunflower seed halva’ – commence!’
Actually Alex didn’t have a plan. He only had a clear goal, but for now it was enough. There was no rush, especially since his body was only four years old even though he looked like a six or seven year old kid.
There were some things he had to keep in mind. First of all – the time limit of four years was not a guaranteed one. The crusade, or – the expedition, how they called it, could begin sooner as well.
Second, there was definitely something wrong with bishop Phelippe, but Alex was not sure what exactly. The old man definitely smelled like some kind of a pedophile, but towards Alex he behaved like a caring grandfather. He even guarded while Alex was cultivating all night long! Alright, maybe he was also studying something at the same time, but he still did nothing bad.
The third thing Alex had to note was the power of the religion around here. At first he thought that the highest clergy clearly took the Lord and all that nonsense only as a political instrument, but apparently there were many devout believers between bishops, maybe even cardinals. Thus he definitely had to play the role of a pious chosen from now on.
On the way to his new place the priest, Figar, didn’t say anything and Alex didn’t try to strike conversation either. He walked behind the man in the gray robe while leisurely looking around. The air was fresh and the atmosphere peaceful. Only a light breeze rustled the tree leaves and birds cheerfully sang making one feel like this was some kind of a park. The whole college looked deserted except for a couple of youths in dark blue and black robes rushing somewhere.
“This is where you’ll stay.” Figar stopped at one of the stone houses in the middle ring, “Cardinal Francis’s chosen live here and in the those other three houses as well. If you wish you can meet them after the morning prayers.”
Alex nodded and they proceeded inside. The house only had a dark corridor dividing it in two sides and the only source of lighting came through the door they came in from. Alex counted six wooden doors on each side when they arrived at the very end of the corridor and Figar opened the last one.
‘Not a bad start at all!’ Alex inwardly grinned.
The small room was nothing special – compared to the corridor it was much lighter since it had a window of a reasonable size, meaning – Alex could easily climb through it, and there was only one bed and a single shelf. But Alex didn’t expect to magically arrive to a Marriott’s suite anyway.
“Urid, the priest on duty here, will bring you your new robe later and explain the rules. Take care.” Figar said and immediately left.
Alex didn’t care about that. He threw his small sack under the bed, sat himself on it and closed his eyes. For the next few hours he intended to cultivate the force of nature in order to stabilize his cultivation and afterwards he’ll begin making the plans.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The last night came with incredible gains to his force of nature cultivation. If during the past almost four years Alex barely felt its presence, then after eating the golden seed he felt bloated as if his whole body consisted only of the absorbed power.
During the year in Saint Theodor’s basilica he slightly altered the regular pose the beastmasters sat while cultivating. Instead of holding hands on his knees, he kept his palms pressed together in front of his chest like he was praying. Alex was not completely certain, but it felt as if this style radically improved his physical growth and possibly metabolism. In addition it served as a great excuse for what he was doing – if anyone asked, he could always say he was praying to the Lord.
The two meals per day in the basilica were way too little, but constantly cultivating the force of nature compensated for it. Back in his previous life headmaster said that by cultivating the force of nature one could achieve a state when they didn’t need to drink or eat at all. Of course, at the time it sounded like a fairy tale, but the guy did owe a personal dragon, so what could Alex know.
“Knock, Knock.” Alex heard someone saying instead of actually knocking.
He opened his eyes only to see a middle aged priest with a lush black beard dressed in the usual gray robes standing next to his bed. The man entered soundlessly almost like he was trying to catch Alex doing something illegal only to see the boy sitting on his bed and praying.
“Lord, guide us!” Alex whispered and smile on the priest’s face vanished.
His whole existence became somber and the man also put his palms together and prayed, “Lord, guide us!”
“Are you Urid?” Alex asked and when he saw the priest nod, added, “Thank you for taking care of me, your honor!”
The priest immediately shook his head, “Please! I don’t dare! You are the chosen and should simply call me by my name.”
“You’re doing the Lord’s work! But alright, if you insist.” Alex pretended to struggle a bit and finally decided to stop amusing himself, “Figar said you would come. Could you walk me through everything I need to know, please?”
“There are no special rules here other than those the Lord has set everywhere else – be devout, maintain order and don’t take what doesn’t belong to you. But I’m certain you won’t have any problems.” Urid said and passed over a sack of cloth, “Here are your new robes – black ones, similar to the other chosen belonging to cardinal Francis.”
“Weren’t the chosen supposed to wear white?” Alex asked. From what he remembered they did during the ceremony in the coliseum.
“That is correct, but not here. The chosen of each cardinal dress in their own colors to signify their belonging to the particular group. Cardinal Francis’s – black, Isidoro’s – dark blue, and Rudolf’s – dark green. Since different cardinals have different responsibilities, their chosen will assist in their respective fields and have to learn to cooperate with each other within their group.” Priest explained, “That is especially important for cardinal Francis’s chosen since in four years you … well, you know.”
Seeing Alex nod, Urid continued, “The kitchen is in the first, the middle ring, on the eastern side. We have two meals per day so don’t be late otherwise you’ll starve till the next morning. Regarding your education everything will be told by your direct teacher. Other than that – if you have anything you need – come and find me. If there isn’t anything else, I’ll …”
He didn’t manage to say ‘take my leave’ when Alex interrupted, “Do chosen have any kind of duties around here?”
“Well, you are the Lord’s chosen so you have to learn and bring enlightenment to the world …” Urid answered in confusion.
“In that case, tell me about all the other people in the college. Who does what? And do the commoners come here to, for example, fix roofs or cut bushes?”
“Uhmm, alright.” Such questions caught Urid by surprise.
Normally chosen didn’t care for anyone else and acted all high and mighty, especially when they got a bit older. The ones who recently arrived did their best to copy the behavior of their eldest colleagues and often acted like they were the Lord themselves. A kid like this who showed interest in others was completely out of place.
“Everything in the college we do by ourselves, that is – priests. Brother Irden is our main chef, Stan does all the repairs. There is also Clark, Gustav and others … you can get to know everyone if you want to.” Priest explained even though was not clear what the little chosen wanted to hear from him.
“Do we have a doctor here?” Alex probed.
“Of course! Highpriest Galen is an amazing healer.” Urid proudly confirmed, but then asked, “Is there something wrong? Are you sick?”
“No, no. I’m fine.” Alex shook his head, “What about the women?”
“Oh, when a new group arrives they are kept in two houses in the outer ring near the south side.” Urid said, “Why do you ask?”
‘Kept? Wtf?! Are they livestock or something? Ok, I have to stop here before I say something stupid. I’ll investigate later.’ Alex thought.
“No, no! I just wanted to understand the overall situation.” He shook his head and said, “What about the common people? Any work around here?”
“Only when we need a larger workforce to build something bigger. There is a village not too far from here – some two thousand steps or so. Sometimes their blacksmith or carpenter come over to help as well.” Priest explained, but then furrowed his brows and asked, “Why do you want to know all of this?”
“This will be my home for many years and I want to know people who’ll live alongside of me.” Alex shrugged and immediately gave the previously prepared answer.
Urid still felt something was wrong, but then Alex forced the priest to show him around the college grounds and the matter was soon forgotten. On the other hand, three hours later Alex already had a detailed map of the college with all its inhabitants drawn in his mind.
The middle aged priest didn’t even know how helpful he has been when Alex left him confused, but happy after showering with compliments and praises. It was a pleasant change to meet a chosen who didn’t try to act superior in front of a lowly priest who was basically the storekeeper and janitor in one person.