Nania POV

The evening was the most important time of day for Greshans. While the two suns were up, farmers would work the fields, merchants would barter in the markets, the king would pass his decrees and the chefs would fill the kitchens with wonderful scents. Then finally, as the suns fell, the majority of citizens would file into a number of dining halls across the central city to share dinner together, laughing and joking over food.

Most returned home with a lightness in their hearts, but Elian and I both felt too tired to keep up with a hall of rowdy Greshans.

Some families lived too close to the city’s edge to make it to a communal dining hall in time, or had members too elderly or infirm to walk the distance. They would cook their own dinners, to only be shared with family members. Their meals may not be so reinvigorating and tasty as those who mastered channeling via the art of cooking, but it suited the two of us far better right now.

After a long day of carrying the monster’s carapace back home, we paused before my friend’s house. Light and laughter emanated from within. Ellie gave me a sheepish grin, then he stepped inside.

“I’m back,” he announced.

“Ellie!” one of his much younger sisters cheered. The rest of his siblings crowded around him, badgering him with incessant questions, though I noticed the second eldest among them hanging back, focusing on her chores rather than greeting Ellie. The other kids were much less reserved.

“Is that a scar on your cheek? I want a scar! I’d look so cool with a scar—”

“Ellie, show me your weapon, Ellie! Is it a spear!? If you don’t want it can I have it—?”

“No! Perene, it’s Ellie’s spear, you can’t have it! Peren—”

“But I can have a spear too, right?”

“Raike told me that you were gone so long because the monsters ate you, Ellie!”

“Ellie!”

“Kids, kids,” their mother chided, pulling some of the more rambunctious ones back. “Let them rest, you lot. I’m sure they’re very tired, and will tell you all about his adventures later. Ellie, what are you doing here?” she asked, turning her attention to her eldest. “If you’re finally ready, you should go report it to Head Menone!”

“Dear, I’m sure Head Menone’s retired for the day by now,” his father sighed. “But if Ellie’s changed his mind, there’s no shame in staying with us, being a farmer, helping with your siblings…it’s still not too late, and you’re quite talented at—”

“No, Ma, Pa, it’s just late at night. I’ll go do it in the morning! I told you, I still want to be a soldier,” Elian reassured them. “I just dropped by because we were both hungry.” I stepped inside as my friend finished speaking, and waved a bit awkwardly. The smile on my face felt frozen in place.

Elian’s parents looked at me, and I felt like a convict on trial before the king.

“Elian…have you and Nania been out since—” Elian’s father shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter. Nania, you should hurry back to the temple.”

“It’s just one meal, Dad—they’ll understand!”

“Ellie, no. Holding a priestess or priestess-candidate against her will can result in exile—at best. And your mother heard she’d been gone several days already. You’ll be lucky if they only revoke your rite to become a soldier,” he said, his usually soft voice now cold and firm in a way that made me flinch.

Elian looked to his mother for help. She only shook her head. “Your little adventures are one thing, Elian. But if they had proof or witnesses for this, they might detain you for the Rite of Sunset. You’ll never become a soldier. We just want what’s best for you,” she said. “You should know. The only crime worse than holding a Priestess against her will is killing one, or a member of the royal family…or aiding the Sun Fiend. May she ever flee the Falcon’s light.”

Elian became flustered, and spoke, stuttering, “I—I didn’t hold her against her will, I—”

“You’re a kind child,” she said. “But kindness isn’t all there is. You have to be kind to the right people, Elian, or you’ll only get in trouble.”

“Your mother’s right. Whatever you meant to do, the result is, a sacred priestess-candidate went missing for several days,” his father added. “You’ll have to atone somehow.”

As his father spoke, Ellie’s gaze sank lower and lower towards the floor. Finally I spoke up. “It’s okay. Thank you for what you’ve done—it’s more than enough. I’ll head back to the temple on my own.”

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His head snapped back up. “Wait! I’ll walk you back.”

“Ellie—”

He shook his head. “No, no—I can spin it like I found you lost, and brought you back, right?” His gap-toothed grin returned, though I could hear a subtle edge of bitterness in his voice, one I wasn’t sure was heard by his family. “That ain’t a crime, right? It’s—it’s a good deed. They can’t punish me for helping.”

Maybe I was just cowardly. I should have done more to protect my best friend from the consequences of my selfish and impulsive actions. But finally I agreed to let him walk me back to the temple.

Usually once evening meal was finished, a number of Greshans full from feasting, drinking, and good company spilled out onto the streets, still chattering away even as they blearily wandered home. It was well-past that time now, and the moonlit streets were quiet and eerie, like an alien world. Now was the time for monsters, spirits, and the unstill.

We didn’t talk as we walked through the street, but I stole glances at Elian, and I could tell he was stealing glances back at me. In the woods it felt like my worries were all miles and miles away, giving me unnatural courage, but every step towards the temple added more and more weight to my shoulders.

Finally we reached the temple. It didn’t take long for the guards to notice us and the Head Priestess to be roused. She was beautiful, her appearance well-groomed and composed. She was clad in a richly dyed green and gold dress. Her auburn hair was held in place by braids and heavy jewelry, framing her white, unblemished skin and cold green eyes. I found myself pinned by her gaze, but Elian somehow managed to speak up.

He knelt, his gaze respectfully on the ground. “I deeply apologize for not returning her sooner, Honored Mother! I wished to become a warrior, but desired a magical weapon to aid me in battle first, so I sought permission to hunt in the Deep Woods. And there I found this Honored Sister, lost and afraid. I knew I had to bring her back as soon as possible. I only regret I could not fly as fast as the Sun Falcon.”

I was so used to how my friend usually acted that I had forgotten my friend could be quite well-spoken…well, when he was motivated to be. His earnest nature only aided him. For a moment his transformation in demeanor encouraged my confidence, until the head priestess stepped forwards and I felt even smaller than I had before. “Is this true?” she asked me. I nodded furiously. For an agonizing moment, she said nothing.

“H-he really helped me out,” I said. “I-i…wanted to channel—I mean, to thank—to offer a prayer of gratitude and—and—and encouragement, and empowerment, to Hallow Na—I mean, I mean Crown Naruune and Hallow Zaya, because, because the Rite of Sunset is soon a-and I got lost and—” My voice petered out under the Head Priestess’ unrelenting stare.

She looked back at Elian. “I do not recall granting your permission myself, yet you seem familiar to me.”

“My name is Elian. When I first decided to become a soldier, seven years ago, I needed to transition. The Temple aided me once, through Hallow Zaya’s teachings.”

“Yes, I remember you. Aren and Grenia’s boy.” A smile appeared on her face, but her green eyes remained as cool and joyless as ever. “On your feet, boy. A feat such as this deserves appropriate recompense, does it not? You said you sought weapons materials?”

“I was, yes,” Elian said as he stood. My shoulders slumped with relief.

“Then as a show of gratitude, you may take for yourself one of the magical weapons and artifacts of warriors past that we preserve in the temple. Tomorrow, please browse them at your leisure.”

“Ah! No, I actually found the materials I wanted, and was coming back home when I found her! I don’t need anything like that!” Elian said. “Although…if I may be so bold…could I maybe ask the talented Priestesses of the Temple a favor? I lack the skill to craft them into a weapon. But I don’t want a weapon… I want armor.”

The Head Priestess inclined her head, indicating she was willing to listen.

After Elian finished explaining his hopes, Head Priestess stroked her chin. “Hm. You have some backbone to ask favors of the Crown’s Temple. Good, good, more of you soldiers could do with some guts. I’ll see it done.”

“Thank you, venerable Mother!” Elian quickly bowed, then shot me a bright and cheery grin. I couldn’t smile back as brightly, but I’d savor his grin until I could see him again.

“May Crown Naruune sing your songs for generations, Soldier Elian,” she said dismissively. The indulgent smile had disappeared from her face.

“And may your children thrive to hear them,” Elian quickly replied. A part of me was relieved he left before the priestesses could scold me, but I still dreaded the coming scolding. I wished I could bring the courage I found in the Deep Woods with me back here.

Head Priestess Forya’s icy gaze fell upon me. “Are you causing trouble on purpose, girl, or do you possess the brains of a headless chicken?”

“I-i—the Rite of Sunset—I was scared—no, I was excited!” I said. Maybe I should have tried harder to convince Elian not to take me to the Deep Woods, but I was the one who’d let him take me—I was the one who had left my lessons first. I couldn’t be mad at him, the least I could do was be happy for him as I accepted my punishment alone. “I was excited, I—I’m not a Junior Priestess yet, just a student, I can’t participate, I wanted to help out too—”

“What is that, child?” I briefly struggled as Priestess Forya grabbed my shoulder. She looked closely at the bruises on my body, and frowned. “Were you attacked?”

“Y-yes. While Brother Elian was hunting, the monster ran away and I encountered it. It atta—”

“Be more careful with your body. We may not fight the Angra like the soldiers, but that’s because we are reserved for far more important battles. We are entrusted with the safety and prosperity of Gresha,” Priestess Forya lectured. “Our channeling rituals are petitions to Crown Naruune and Hallow Zaya. For fair weather, for bountiful harvests. We petition Crown Naruune, in her aspect as the Queen of Weather, to bring the rains. In her aspect as the Soil-Mother, we pray to ensure a bountiful harvest. And we are the ones who keep the Sun Fiend at bay for another year every Rite of Sunset by granting her strength.

We are the grease that keeps all the other wheels of Gresha moving. If you want to help out so badly, then I will give you work to do to prepare for the Rite—in addition to all the studying and practice you’ll have, to catch up with the other girls. No dinners until you’ve entirely caught up, you’ll use that time for studying and extra work instead.”

I hung my head, and choked out a reply. “Yes, Honored Mother.”

“You are a soldier, too, Sister Nania. Gresha’s wellbeing outweighs your selfish flights of fancy. Now go to bed—I will assign you your new tasks tomorrow.”