A few hallways later, and the girls found themselves in front of a large, ornate door, which had the goddesses' likeness carved on it. Mia knocked and a soft voice from inside replied: "Come in."
Mia pushed the door open, and Lily followed her inside. She saw a middle aged woman sitting behind a desk. She was wearing the clothes of the priesthood, and a large headdress.
"Oh, Mia, how wonderful to see you," she said when she noticed the dark-haired girl.
"How can I help you? Was there some sort of a problem at the reception?"
"Actually, I am not the reason why we are here, my friend is," Mia replied.
"And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" the priestess asked, turning to face Lily.
"This is Lily Spears," Mia spoke out in a solemn voice. "And she's the new Avatar of Dahlia."
The priestess stood motionless for a moment, but then she pointed one arm at Lily and spoke out: "Sense Divinity"
Her pupils went white, and when the skill ended she dropped to her knees in front of Lily.
"I am truly blessed to be in your presence, Your Grace", the woman said solemnly. "What brings you to our humble temple?"
"Please stand up," Lily said, and waited for the priestess to get up before continuing.
"We are here for two reasons. Firstly, my friend told me you could confirm that I was Dahlia's Avatar. Secondly, Dahlia herself instructed me to contact her through a ritual in one of her temples. Can you help with that?"
The High Priestess considered her words for a moment and then nodded. "The confirmation process should be no problem, Your Grace. The skill I used allows me to see the Divine influence of our goddess, and your soul is full of it. Tell me, have you visited the Guild yet?"
"No, I haven't. It's one of the things I planned to do today," Lily replied.
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"I would ask that you delay your visit for a day, if possible. There have been no new Avatars in a few centuries, but the standard procedure is for the Guild to issue them special identification which confirms their identity. I will personally visit the Guild to inform them of your existence, and help prepare said identification," the priestess explained.
"I see. No problem then, I can wait until tomorrow. What about the ritual Dahlia mentioned?" Lily inquired.
"That might prove a little trickier, Your Grace. There have been no Avatars of Dahlia since the Deluge, so while we have the knowledge, nobody has attempted a Contacting Ritual with Dahlia in over a millennium. We should still be able to do it, but I ask that you give me some time to contact the other temples and make preparations," she explained.
"How much time? I do not know the urgency of the mission the goddess gave me, but I would prefer to move as quickly as possible," Lily said.
"One week should be enough," the priestess replied and Lily nodded. That seemed reasonable, and it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to ancient rituals in Lily's opinion.
The High Priestess, Emilia, tried to get Lily to stay at the temple until the time of the ritual, but Lily refused. She told Emilia about her Soul Link to Mia, but told her to keep it secret. The priestess acquiesced, and with that settled, she offered the girls a short tour of the temple. They agreed, and the three of them set out. The priestess explained that the temple was over thirteen hundred years old, established by followers and lovers of Stella, the previous Avatar. That surprised Lily, for she remembered that Stella was alive during the Deluge, two hundred years after that, but Mia explained that in those times, high level humans could live for hundreds of years. Even now, a level six human could expect to reach 150 years of age, Mia told her, and the other races lived longer. The priestess led them to the main chapel, usually off limits to public visitors. It was impressive, situated in one of the talk spires on the temple grounds, with marble statues of both the goddess and the previous Avatar flanking the altar. It was a powerful scene that made Lily wonder if they would make such statues of her one day.
During the tour Lily remembered to ask about training grounds where she could practice her skill, and the High Priestess told her that they didn't have use for such a thing normally, but that they could repurpose one of the living quarters for it. That would take a few days, so Lily wasn't able to start her training right away. With the tour finished, the Priestess took her leave to start work on the business with the Guild, and the girls returned to their carriage.
"What now?" Lily asked and Mia shrugged in response. The plan was to go to the Guild, but with that delayed, they had no plans for the rest of the day. Mia wanted to show Lily the rest of the town, but Lily, unable to test her skills at the temple, felt like she should do some training. She wanted to be ready for whatever Dahlia required of her, so polishing her combat skills was a priority. Mia suggested sparring at her father's estate, so they returned there.
The training grounds were situated near the guard barracks, and Mia explained that this was where she trained. She was still sad about not being able to use her lightning skills, but she did not despair. Instead she picked up a wooden sword and challenged Lily to a friendly sparring session.
"First to score two hits wins," Mia said confidently. "And just to make things more interesting, let's add some stakes. The loser has to fulfill one request the winner makes."
Lily considered it for a moment. She was not experienced but she had a sword mastery and a physical advantage over the smaller girl. And her heart raced when she considered what she could do if she won.
"Sure, I am in," Lily answered just as confidently. She liked Mia a lot, but she wasn't gonna go easy on her.