We were escorted to a flight of stairs carved into the stone. They ran up all the way to the first plateau. And I tell you, walking them up was not an easy task! At the very end, everybody was panting, some were even crawling up the last few steps. Well, except the black guards, they probably could jog all the way down and up several times without breaking into a sweat.
As soon as we entered the plateau, a group of four female practitioners greeted us. Each one was wearing a different-colored robe. The woman in the front wore a tightly wrapped robe in gray. Her black hair carried streaks of white and was similarly wrapped around her head. She was old, and young me immediately thought of a walking, talking mummy when she first appeared. Mind you, I still think she looked like a mummy.
The woman to her left wore the elegant white robes of the Nu Order. She had shaved her head, similarly to the black guards. In my mind, I had decided to call her ‘Peach’ due to her shiny head and friendly appearance. The practitioner in the center wore a purple tunic that went until her knees. At the height of her waist, she carried a sash made of embroidered silk. She stood out among the practitioners, as she had a particularly arrogant air around her. She judged each one of us silently with a condescending look, unconsciously twirling one of her brown locks. ‘Royal Pain’ was the name I chose for her. Finally, the woman on the right seemed to be a member of the Order of Horus. She wore a tunic as well, but it was bright turquoise. Unlike the practitioner in the middle, the tunic fit her very loosely, and she needed several brooches to keep the cloth in the right places. Like Lilly, she had red hair and green eyes. During my entire time at this place, she pretty much identified as a scatterbrain, hence I called her ‘Owleen’.
“Welcome, children of the Pilgrimage.” The practitioner in the front spoke, slightly bowing to us. “Please follow us and we will show you around. While we are at it, we have also prepared tea for you.” Woman, stop smiling so sickeningly sweet! You’re setting up red flags that we cannot trust you! Alas, my friends had thrown any sense of caution down the mountain when they arrived, so all I could do was roll my eyes when they cheered and tagged along.
While the guards actually returned to the bottom of the mountain, we were led to the main building where more practitioners in different colors were waiting for us. Once we entered, each one of us received a cup of sweet tea. I skeptically sniffed it and noticed a weird aroma. Nevertheless, since everybody took a big gulp, I decided to play along and sip it.
I almost spat it out again. What was this horrible aftertaste? Why did nobody notice? I glanced around, irritated. My friends were all very brave and drank up the entire cup of tea without saying anything. They flinched a little, but it wasn’t as obvious as in my case. The mummy noticed my displeasure and tried to comfort me. “Ah, because the herbs are cultivated here in the mountains, they are more bitter than the ones you are used to. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” Lady, don’t talk that nonsense to me, I was raised by an herbalist, you clearly spiked it!
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Wondering what it could have been, I glared up at her, but she didn’t mind me anymore. Instead, she hovered around my friends, praising them for being such precious little children. Left alone, I began guessing what bitter component they might have added to my drink. While the basic composition was chamomile and honey, there was something alien in it. Alas, I was too young to know all medicinal herbs, so all I could do was finally remember my mother’s words of caution.
“Alright, it’s time to meet the other children, see the school and sleeping chambers!” The mummy, yes, let me keep calling her mummy, thank you, clapped her hands and her three friends swarmed around us, ‘gently’ nudging us through the main building that was simply a brightly lit hall. I hugged my bag tightly, thinking of the medicine my mother had hidden inside.
The walls of the hall were completely made of wood. Somebody had made the effort of inscribing strange prayers in golden paint all over the wood. Since it wasn’t insulated, you could hear the wind crawling through the slits and cracks between the wooden planks, causing faint whistling noises. The floor consisted of the naked stone this building was erected on, showing all its flaws in full glory. Reed, my blond-haired friend, was the one who stumbled the most, by the way.
Once outside, we saw the labyrinth of ladders and bridges up close as they swayed in the wind. It was pretty high up here; walking around this place was nothing for people with a fear of heights. Even though they were well-maintained, they kept squeaking ominously as we walked on them one by one. In the wooden building directly opposite of the main hall lay the school grounds. It had slightly thicker walls and wooden floors. The center area had an open fireplace which kept the room heated. Five children from another village were already there, learning how to read. The instructor was an elderly man with many deep wrinkles on his face. He squinted as we entered, before bowing deeply towards the mummified practitioner.
“Greetings, dearest Hazel.” By the love of Nu, this woman had such a lovely-sounding name? I think ‘Dried Cedar’ would match her better. But again, these were all thoughts kept to myself.
‘Dried Cedar’ - excuse me - Hazel explained to all of us that we would be taking part in basic practitioner training, consisting of meditating, learning how to read different prayers, and memorizing them. Only if our minds were at peace, we would have the strength to withstand the evils of the temple and subdue the evil goddess. Until then it was strictly forbidden to enter the temple. But, hey, I wouldn’t be here if I had adhered to what they ordered us to do, so you can bet your bottom coin that it didn’t take long until I escaped the control of Hazel and her three crazy friends.