“How do you think Ratel’s going to do today?” - Ariebella

“What do you mean, he's Ratel! He’s going to do great.” - Alice

“Alice, just because he’s a monster to us doesn’t mean he’s actually a monster.” - Fia

“You’re just nervous Fia. The first time is terrifying for the mother, but it always turns out alright.” - Merrygold

“Yeah! If we’re lucky he might get baptized! Wouldn’t that be sweet?” - Patricia

“Wouldn’t that kill him?” - Priscilla

“Ehhh… maybe?” - Greyward

“Why are we doing this again?” - Sakura

“Because every child we raise needs to be tested every year until they become strong enough to be sent beyond the walls.” - Linshee

“I can’t wait to see how he acts when he’s bleeding and injured. Wanna make bets on how long before he cries and gives up? I say third round Physical.” - Maddy

“I’ll take that bet. I think he’ll make it through the whole thing without ever crying.” - Strawberry

“Ooooo… Betting on a toddler are we? Can I get in on that?”

Wait… I don’t recognize that voice.

I open my eyes and look down from where I’m comfy perched in a sling around Elodie. I see a tiny giant who seems to have just walked into our group. She’s human? Round ears, messy brown colored hair, freckles, no sharp teeth… Yeah, human.

“Who are you?” I hear Amy ask from somewhere out of my line of sight.

“Oh ummm… sorry. I’m Janice. I’ve been a page of Lady Wisemore for almost two months now. When she said that Ratel was going to be tested at the central temple today I begged leave to come watch. I was at his birthday - but there were a lot of people so I don’t blame you for not remembering me.” She pushes out her chest proudly and I see the ‘coat of arms’ - which is a strange name because wouldn’t that be something she wears that gives her more arms? - that belongs to the Lady.

“And how old are you, Page Janice?” Elodie asks the tiny giant as she’s now walking backwards and trying not to fall over.

“I turn 9 at the end of the summer!” Her face is beaming.

“Have you taken any of the trials yet?” Merrygold seems to have materialized out of nowhere.

I look around rapidly. Seriously, where did she just come from? Wasn’t she up with Greyward not two breaths ago?

“No. Not yet. My Lady says I’ll have to start taking them on my birthdays from here on though. I’m excited, but the looks the other pages gave me were scary.” She starts strong but gets a far away look like something bad is coming. I follow her gaze and see nothing, so she’s obviously not looking at anything I need to worry about.

“So Lady Wisemore just let you out of your duties for the day?” I’ve never heard Ingrid use that tone of voice before. It’s like she’s laying a trap, a predator stalking her prey, Wooshy eyeing a worm.

“Of course not! I started my chores at midnight and finished everything as perfectly as possible in order to catch up with you all.” Janice beams around her.

Peach, from where she’s walking in front of me - but behind Janice who is walking backwards - guffaws loudly, turns around, and whacks Janice on the back, causing her to pitch forward into one of the…

The pretties around Janice all take a quick and casual step away from her.

…onto her face on the cobblestones.

There’s a polite snickering and tittering of voices around me as Peach turns a little more pink and scratches her head. She then steps forward, grabbing Janice’s belt, and just lifts her off the ground.

Scratching the back of her head, “Ahem, sorry about that. Forget my own strength or something sometimes.” Peach loudly mutters at Janice who is hanging by her belt, arms and legs flailing to not be dragged along the cobblestones.

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“Ummm… that’s alright. Can you put me down please?”

With a hyup Peach hoists Janice the tiny giant higher into the air, scoops a hand under her chest, and sets her down on her feet.

“Thank you mighty dwarf.” Janice says meekly. Now suddenly unsure how to act in the group of women in veils and robes that might just be monsters in their own right.

It’s too early and the sun is too warm for this. I’m going back to sleep. I close my eyes and enjoy my sling hammock in the morning air.

– – –

“Ratel, time to wake up.” I big yawn and stretch as Elodie sets me down on the floor somewhere.

Woah! This place is amazing!

I look around at a huge hall. The ceiling is at least twice as high up as Happy Place, making even Gwab look short. There are beautiful white marble pillars with gold lines in them - like the rainbow mist fist at the park - that hold up the ceiling.

Everything around me, from the floor to the pillars to the ceiling is gold-veined marble. Carved into the marble are stories of battles, of building, of loss, and reconstruction. It looks like the history of this land and the peoples. The windows are huge and made of colored glass that light up the pictures along the pillars.

Looking at the amazing pictures made from rainbow color around the room I notice scenes of people fighting huge beasts, fire, lightning, trees rising up, and scenes of magic and power. As I watch I notice that they twinkle ever so slightly and seem to slooooooly be moving - turning the stories carved into the pillars into motion.

Hold up. Nuh huh. I look at the thick windows, then at the pillars. The windows don’t have the same pictures. They’re just complex beautiful things of colored shimmering glass. But the light coming through the windows changes the pictures on the pillars?

As I’m staring at this a cloud passes over one of the windows, shadowing its pillar just a little. The whole scene changes. It goes from an epic battle where people are winning and driving back the nightmares, to claws of darkness reaching across towards those same people running in fear.

Woah… Just. Woah.

I wave my hands into the air, “Magic?” I question as I point at the windows and pictures around the room.

Cleric Strongjaw, the jerk, steps out of hiding and answers me. “No little Ratel, no magic here. The artisans who crafted these pillars and windows had a level of skill and understanding of how light moves through glass that no one has been able to replicate in thousands of years. We often have pilgrims travel here to study the carvings and windows. Now, those are magically reinforced to withstand time and be nearly indestructible. But no, the pictures themselves aren’t magical.”

Do I like face man or do I not? I feel very conflicted about him, but he doesn’t seem to want to harm the pretties so I guess he’s fine.

Face Man looks up at the pretties around me, “Is he ready for his trial?”

I can’t see their faces through the veils but all their eyes harden as they nod. Okaaaay…

The Cleric reaches down and roughly picks me up, “Then head to the viewing balcony. I’ll take him to get started.”

Hmmm… he has me solidly. I don’t think I could get out of his grip without losing a part of my skin or destroying my new thing Xanthe made for me, and that would make her sad. Me too, she worked hard and smiled big when I wore it yesterday.

Face Man carried me through a small door in the back of the huge chapel room. It’s dark in here - no light, with a tight spiral staircase going down. I noticed the pretties going into a door next to this one that is much larger.

Face Man mutters something and the symbol on his robes starts to glow with a soft blue light. Nifty. What did he say… “Strength of The Fist, illuminate my path. Light.” Hmmm… I think that was it.

“Stwenth of bwa fwast. Wuwumina mwah pwa. Light.” I make sure to really say the last word right. Nothing happens. Booo.

The Cleric chuckles and looks me in the face. “Trying to copy my spell, are you Ratel? Well, you just might be able to do that one day. This trial will let us know where we should focus the first year of your growth.”

I’m still pouting and trying to make things glow when we reach the bottom of the stairs and open a solid stone door. The other side is very bright and stings my eyes.

Blinking I notice that the light from the room above, that hit the pillars, is somehow shining down here through crystals in the ceiling. I glower at Face Man, pointing at the lights, “Magic!” I correct him.

“Ha aha ha. No Ratel. Those are refractive crystals. They take the light that hits the pillars and shines it into a bunch of different rooms. It’s amazing, but not magic.” He bounces me, seemingly happy I’m arguing with him.

Pouting, I cross my arms. Silly Face Man. Magic is light and life and color and beautiful amazing things. Not just your little ball of glowing light on your patch.

I stick out my tongue at him. This just seems to amuse him more.

“While it’s just you and me, I do want to apologize for almost killing you last time we saw each other. The council wanted to remove you from the Sisters of the Broken Hearth, and put you in a regular orphanage. They said that if you could only last 17 seconds then you were unworthy of The Fist’s resources. I offered them a solution. I would try and kill you with intent alone, and your fate would be left to the Sisters. I truly think there is something about you that’s… interesting. I don’t know if you’ll grow to be strong, but I do know you’ll do something that’s worth keeping you alive for. After all, you were very dead when I first met you.”

I dunno what Face Man is talking about, but he looks like the pretties do when they hurt each other and say sowwy. The pretties don’t seem mad at him, so I’ll forgive him too.

I reach up and slap him in the face, then nod with a smile and a thumbs up. “Fwace man good.”

Woah, talking is getting easier. I should do it more.

“A fighter!” he laughs as he holds me out by the armpits and looks me over again.

I stick my tongue out at him again and go as limp as possible, eyes glazing over, pretending I’m dead.

That seems to set him off because he starts bellowing laughter as he tucks me under his arm and just carries me, face down, across the room to a big stone slab.

“On the off-chance you understand more than you let on, also because it’s my duty, I will explain to you what is about to happen. Your soul will be bombarded with illusions. These illusions will recreate your body as you see and feel it to be. Inside these illusions you will be tested again and again until you break fully. You will be put through every fear, every trial, every challenge that those who are watching you can imagine putting you through. Your observers aren’t here to help you, they’re here to hurt you - to see what you yourself believe your inner strength to be. In any other circumstances I would wish you luck. But today… Sigh. The Sisters of the Broken Hearth have each been through a lot. Individually, their challenges have always been the hardest. Merrygold’s have broken more than one child all by herself. Combined?”

Cleric Strongjaw looks at me, his eyes softening and his visage looks sad for me. Then it abruptly sharpens with a bit of a malevolent glint.

“You’re fucked Ratel.”