“That should help for a bit,” I said, exhaling loudly as I sat down on one of the chairs.

“Is he cured now?” Venari asked as she gently brushed some hair out of the man’s face and tucked it behind his ear.

“No, not yet. I’ve given him some medication to reduce his fever and pain, but the underlying cause still hasn’t been dealt with.”

Looking out the window, I realized that the sun was going to set soon.

“How long will the tests take?”

“[Calculating…all tests should be done in approximately 3 hours and 2 minutes.]”

I leaned back in the chair and put my feet up on the footboard of the bed. “We got some time to kill while the tests are being run.”

“If that is the case,” she said, applying a wet towel to Nicodemus’s forehead, “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Shoot. I might choose not to answer some of them though.”

“How did you heal yourself when you were hit by my water spear?”

“Technically not healing. More like self-repair.”

“Excuse me?”

“Eh, nevermind. You wouldn’t get it no matter how I try to explain it.”

“Very well then. Next question. According to Deathwalker Sicco, you have an incredible amount of knowledge, even about seemingly abstract things. How did you acquire it?”

“Oh, you mean Mors? Well that’s one of the questions I can’t answer. But how about this, I’ll give you a little demonstration of what I know. For example: What is water?”

Venari thought about my question for a few moments. “Water is…fluid. It is an odorless, tasteless colorless liquid that comes from the sky, and becomes rivers and creeks, lakes and seas.”

I chuckled. “You’re describing the qualities of water. What I’m asking you is much deeper, I’m asking about what makes water, water. What separates water, and say, blood? How about water and wine? In fact, why does water turn into snow when cold, and steam when hot?”

Venari looked at me in disbelief. “You can’t tell me you know all of the answers to those questions.”

“On the contrary, I know all that and more.”

“I suppose I can see why Mors would want to become your student then,” she said ruefully.

“I’ll give you a little piece of information since I’m already explaining this. Water is essential for all life. It doesn’t matter if it’s an ant or a wolf or a human, every living being needs water to survive. Do what you will with that knowledge.”

“Have you ever considered becoming a teacher in one of the magic academies?” Venari asked out of the blue.

I remembered Mors mentioning he had studied magic at the Pithus Institute of Laws, and I asked her if it was similar.

“The Pithus Institute of Laws is one of the more well known magic academies, but yes, they are both part of the same system. The magic academy here in Ocaephis is called The Dignus Law Academy.”

“Huh. That’s interesting…” I muttered to myself.

“Hey Eve, what do you think about investigating this academy?”

“[Seeing the way magic is taught may be instrumental in deciphering its exact nature. However, it is still a very risky plan.]”

“Hey, go big or go home, right?

“[You cannot go home if you are dead.]”

“I’m surprised you didn’t know about the mage schooling system here Pithus,” Venari commented. “Are you a foreigner or something?”

I chuckled uncomfortably. “Ah, I guess you could say that.”

Changing the subject as naturally as I could, I asked, “So who’s this guy to you?” nodding towards Nicodemus.

“He is one of my comrades in the Wild Hunters,” Venari said flatly.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Yeah, I’m going to have to call bullshit on that. Lemmie guess, he’s your secret lover, right?” I said teasingly.

Venari’s gaze hardened instantly, and I noticed one of her hands had clenched into a fist. “How do you know that?” she growled.

“Oh shit, I was right?” I said with a shocked expression on my face.

“Who told you?!?” Venari demanded, shoving her chair back and standing up.

“I swear, I was just joking! I had no idea!” I stammered, holding my hands up in a placating gesture.

“[I believe she is angry with you.]”

“NO SHIT SHERLOCK!”

Venari stared at me and breathed heavily for several seconds. Remembering how she had attacked me earlier, I was prepared to dive out of the way, and use the patient as a hostage if necessary.

“Don’t tell anyone,” she spat with an angry look on her face before sitting back down.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” I shrug. “Do you people not have doctor-patient confidentiality here?”

“What is that?”

“Basically, where I’m from, if a doctor is treating a patient, they are required by law to keep everything the patient says or needs confidential.”

“I wish,” she snorted. “Healers in Pithus love to brag about what they’ve seen and treated. Many treat it like a competition, so most people don’t hire doctors unless they want every fact about them to be announced to the whole world.”

We sat in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes, not knowing what to say next. Out of the blue, I heard bells ringing in the distance.

“Are those bells supposed to mean something?” I asked Venari curiously.

“Yes,” she said, standing up. “It’s time for the Reverence.”

“The Reverence?” I said confusedly.

“You don’t know what the Reverence is?” Venari questioned with a baffled expression.

“Uh no?”

Venari shook her head in disappointment. “You really are a foreigner then.”

I laughed self-consciously. “Do you mind if I attend this ‘Reverence’ then?”

“Don’t you need to stay here with Nicodemus?”

“Nah. My assistants will alert me if anything changes. Not really much I can do before then.”

“Very well. Please follow me.”

Walking out of the room, I stayed close behind Venari as she navigated us through the mansion. We walked until we were at the back end of the mansion, where a door with a large symbol stood. The symbol was simple, simply one large golden circle encircling another, smaller, red circle. Venari paused before we entered, and whispered, “Entrarae et benidiciet,” to herself.

“Any idea what that means?”

“[Unable to translate. It is possible it is a dialect of the Pithan language.]”

Venari grabbed the door handle and slowly pushed it open. The inside of the room was well lit with candles, and the air was thick with the smell of incense. Tables were lined up in rows, and each one had several large needles placed on top facing forward. Towards the back of the room, a statue of a woman made completely of gold curled around a rose laid upon an altar. A cracked earthen bowl had been placed in front of the statue, and I wondered what kind of significance it had. Behind the altar was a large window, but for some reason it had a small square left in it that allowed the cool breeze to enter.

I looked around with fascination, but I didn’t have much time to study my surroundings. A flood of people entered the room, nearly all of them being servants or maids of the household. Each took their place at a table, standing in front of one of the needles. Not wanting to make a scene, I quietly snuck off to the side to watch. Surprisingly, nobody treated Venari like they usually did. They simply treated her as if she were any other person, not the lady of the house, and Venari seemed fine by this. She didn’t have a dedicated spot, and she simply took whatever was available.

“I wonder what they’re going to do.”

“[Considering she called it ‘The Reverence’, I believe this is a religious ceremony or ritual.]”

I suddenly saw a robed man in the middle of the room. It was strange, since I hadn’t seen or heard him enter, even when everyone was completely silent. The man was completely bald, and his robes were made of a golden thread, with white trim embroidered in a vine-like pattern across the sleeves.

He slowly walked across the room, stopping in front of the statue and kneeling respectfully.

“Children,” he said with his back still turned to the room, “I am glad to see you have answered the Mother’s call, as all her children should.”

His voice was rich and deep, the voice of a well practiced orator. “I see many familiar faces here, and some new ones as well,” looking pointedly at me.

I frowned slightly. I didn’t realize he had seen me, considering I had been lurking in a dark corner the entire time.

“In light of this fact, I will begin The Reverence with the story of the Mother’s journey of creation. In this way, we will all be brought closer together, and share in the Mother’s care.”

The man, who I assumed was a priest of some sort, began telling the tale of how the world was created.

“In the beginning, there was only the Abyss: the infinite nothingness that existed everywhere, and yet nowhere, at every time and no time at all. From the Abyss came the Mother. She saw the potential in the vast emptiness, the potential for great beauty and life. So, she started to mold worlds from the void, giving each one its own unique qualities. But she was unsatisfied with her creations, for she felt they were flat and inanimate. In order to create her ‘perfect world’ she sacrificed her body, her soul and her mind to create the Flower of Existence, Vita. Each petal on the flower represents a world, upon which we reside on one. With her body, she formed the roots, stem, and petals. With her blood, she watered the Flower of Existence. With her breath, she breathed life into the Flower of Existence. With her passion and care, she warmed the Flower, giving it energy. And with each half of her mind, she created the light and the dark, to balance the forces she had created. The Laws you see every day are a result of her sacrifice, allowing us to harness but a small fraction of her existence. Sacrifica matris honorama,” he said, clasping his hands in worship as he uttered the last sentence.

“Sacrifica matris honorama,” everyone else muttered.