The church radiated serenity, with practitioners coming from far and wide to witness its white facade. The inside was a labyrinth of rooms and corridors to which the general public had very limited access. Unless they had sanctioned business with the High Priestess herself, few ever ventured past the first few rooms.
Most only came for the cathedral, which was open at all hours. Priests and priestesses attended to the faithful day and night, helping them lessen the burdens of their sins. Below the cathedral, a small room served to allow those sentenced to death to find peace and absolution before their end came.
In the upper floors, the various church staff members made themselves home. The highest floor was reserved for the High Priestess’ quarters, as well as rooms for sacred artefacts and rituals. In the far rear corner, the most precious of all the church’s artefacts knelt, trying to keep her mind on her prayers. The earliest rays of light cast beams across her room, illuminating specks of dust that floated about. She followed one with her eyes, watching it become invisible in shadow only to reappear in the orange glow.
She unclasped her hands and waved one towards the speck, sending currents of air to throw it off course. It flew about wildly before vanishing into the greater shadows of the room. Her focus all but evaporated, she stood and stretched. The High Priestess would give her a lot of grief, as she always did, but Seraphina could not bring herself to care. She looked out of her window to the city below, and the mountains in the distance. Her arm stretched out, but both were beyond her reach. She longed to explore the city. She had managed to lose her usual escort before, but all the entrances and exits were guarded, both at the church and the castle. Within those walls, she knew how to make herself lost, but she could never escape their confines.
“Having fun, are we?” Seraphina’s body stiffened in response to the sudden intrusion.
“I was just stretching my legs, High Priestess,” she said, turning and bowing to her visitor.
“It is not fit for a member of the church to tell such bold lies,” Aeliana said, rolling her eyes.
“Of course, my apologies, High Priestess,” Seraphina said. “What can I do for you?”
“I have business with Ced-... His Highness, so we are going to the castle,” Aeliana responded.
“Why do I have to go as well?” Seraphina asked with a frown. “I have no business with the King.”
“Yes, but I can not let you out of my sight, lest you go galavanting throughout the church,” Aeliana shot back.
“Would you rather I galavant throughout the castle?” Seraphina countered.
“I would rather you behave yourself in a way that is becoming of someone bearing the title of Saint,” Aeliana barked. “Now stop arguing and prepare yourself. Come meet me in the stairway when you are ready, and be quick about it.”
With that Aeliana stormed out of the room, leaving Seraphina to sulk while she made herself more presentable. She detested her formal wear, every inch of fabric feeling like another bar in her cell. Unwilling to upset her guardian even more, she moved as fast as she could, making her way to the stairway before the beams of light illuminating her room could noticeably shift.
Despite her swiftness, Aeliana still seemed annoyed and refused to speak during the short journey to the castle. Seraphina tried to lag as much as possible. These few short minutes were her only exposure to the world outside her cage, and she relished them. Her eyes fervently scoured every sight she could see.
The castle and the church stood across from one another, separated by a lavish square filled to bursting with tourists, admirers, soldiers, practitioners, and entertainers. In the side streets men and women tried to call customers into their businesses. At the centre of the square, an ornate fountain with a giant marble statue of the former king spouted crystal-clear water.
Seraphina’s eyes lingered on the statue for a while, before her attention was drawn by a flamboyant man playing a lyre and dancing to his rhythms. People around him deposited coins into a hat placed before him. She wanted to get a closer look, but Aeliana’s path was rigid and unwavering, and Seraphina had no choice but to follow.
At the castle gates a row of people extended out, waiting to meet with some member of the court. Aeliana paid them no mind, walking right to the front. No one dared say a word about her brash entrance. The High Priestess could go wherever she pleased, whenever she pleased. Anyone who dared to deter her progress would likely meet with punishment from the King himself. The Saint being in tow only solidified everyone’s desire to give her as much space as possible.
Even the guards stood aside long before she reached them, greeting her as she passed. In a sight all too rare to Seraphina, Aeliana smiled and returned the greeting. The guards were visibly flustered, and for good reason. The High Priestess was not just admired for her status, after all. It made Seraphina all the more angry that she could never receive the kindness that everyone else was entitled to.
The inside of the castle was vast, but both women were very familiar with its corridors. Aeliana led them out of the public section, to the second floor. Here the King held all important discussions. Rooms were dedicated to various subjects, planning military placements throughout the kingdom, specialised magical research, and even a room for the construction of non-magical mechanical works. Against the outer wall to the West was the main conference hall, where the King gathered all his advisors and stewards. The room was ornate, fit for the most important of discussions.
The balcony at its exterior was more modest, with only four chairs, each no more than a stone stool overlooking the city and the farmlands beyond. Here, only the King and his three most trusted advisors would come to discuss matters in an environment where decorum and formality could be thrown aside.
“You wait here and do not move, I will likely not be long,” Aeliana said, sitting Seraphina down on a bench outside the conference hall. They could hear the slight hum of conversation beyond the doors. Seraphina caught a clearer snippet of the conversation in the brief moment Aeliana opened the door to enter.
She could not hear much, but the words ‘royal tournament’ were enough to capture her attention. She knew she could get into the adjacent room and, if the doors to the conference room’s balcony were open, she could eavesdrop from the window. Unfortunately, a guard at the end of the hall made sneaking in impossible unless she could distract him somehow.
She looked at her hands. They apparently held such immense and unique powers, but Seraphina could never progress in the way that made her superiors happy. Whenever she thought she was learning, she was scolded. They only wanted her to heal. According to legends she could repair the most fatal wounds, heal the worst incurable diseases, and if the more radical stories were to be believed, bring someone back from the grave.
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Everyone around her believed nearly every word of the legends, but she could not bring herself to have that kind of faith. She could never channel the divines to heal even the smallest scrapes. She could find some semblance of power within herself, however, and she practised it whenever she could. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity to try again. She brought her hands close together as if holding an invisible ball. Her eyes locked on the light on the floor surrounding the guardsman. His own shadow wobbled slightly as the light shifted.
The guard blinked as an unexpected flicker of light hit his eye. He turned around, scanning the windows. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He looked down the hallways, first to his left, then to his right, studying carefully. Finally, he shrugged. He must have imagined things. He faced forward again, vigilantly guarding the empty hall before the royal conference chambers.
Seraphina waited for a moment with bated breath, her ear pressed against the door. When she heard no one coming, she took two steps away before throwing her arms into the air with a wide smile. She wanted to cheer and shout, but after coming this far even her excitement would not stand in her way. She quickly moved to the other side of the room and pulled the window closest to the left wall open. She peeked outside. Slightly muffled but still discernible voices drifted to her ears.
“Our crops are under more strain than we anticipated,” a voice she recognized to be the High Steward of Agriculture said. “With the upcoming tournament and our efforts in the North, we are spread thinner than I am comfortable with. Perhaps we should consider postponing the tournament?”
“No, we can not do that,” another voice said. This one was far more familiar to Seraphina. The Commander and the Archmage spent so much time with the High Priestess that Seraphina saw them more than some other members of the church. “Our armies need bolstering, we are losing ground on nearly every front. His Highness has rejected the idea of conscription, so we need to take any action we can to motivate citizens to enlist of their own volition.”
“Hadrian is right,” a second, equally familiar voice said. “But we need to do something about our dwindling food supplies. Aeliana, has the Saint shown any progress with her higher abilities?”
“Archmage, you would do well to remember the proper decorum to uphold in these meetings,” Aeliana said in a tone Seraphina had been on the receiving end of far too many times.
“My apologies, High Priestess,” Elrdin said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now, I beseech thee, has your student made any progress in unlocking her most mysterious magics?” The other members of the meeting chuckled softly.
“She has not,” Aeliana said. “Aside from playing with sunbeams, she has yet to perform any real magic. Part of me doubts if she ever will.”
“We can not rely on the High Priestess and the Saint unearthing centuries-old magic to solve these issues,” the most commanding voice in the room said. He continued. “We will prioritise our food security above all else, with our military budget as our second priority. Our coffers are still full enough to wether this. We should offer a higher incentive to our farmers as well. We might be able to avoid this problem if they are encouraged to have bigger yields during the next harvest.”
“Understood, Your Highness,” the High Steward of Agriculture said. “I will liaise with the High Steward of Finance to assist me in allocating funds, and with the Commander to ensure our armies are well fed.”
“I will be available to discuss this at any time,” Hadrian said.
“Hopefully we can manage,” Cedric said, his exasperation with the situation all too evident in his voice. “Now, lastly, let us discuss the upcoming tournament.”
“The regional rounds are taking place over the next week,” a new voice said. Seraphina recognized it, but not well enough to place it. She assumed it to be the High Steward of Revels. “In a month, all the best fighters in the land will gather here, along with a sizeable crowd to observe the spectacle. Archmage, have you prepared the arena?”
“Casting the wards now is pointless,” Eldrin said. “I will create them the day of the event and have some of my adepts maintain them during the tournament.”
“Very well,” the High Steward of Revels continued. “Everything seems to be in place.”
“That is fantastic news,” Cedric said. “Thank you all for your hard work. It has been a difficult few years, but I feel like we are finally on our way to prosperity again. This tournament, the first of its kind under my rule, marks the start of a grand new era!” A cheer echoed out of the room. “You are all dismissed, save for the Archmage, Commander, and High Priestess.”
Scraping of chairs and rapid footsteps ruled the soundscape for a few moments. Seraphina was so focused on the sound she almost failed to notice the four figures walking out onto the balcony. She quickly ducked her head back inside. With them out there, she could hear them even without hanging out of the window. Still, she could not resist peeking out at them. She saw all four sit down, and each looked more tired than the last.
“On our way to prosperity, ey Your Highness?” Eldrin asked.
“Cut the shit, Eldrin,” Cedric spat. “I am not in the mood. Our affairs are looking worse by the day.”
“We need a miracle,” Hadrian said, looking to Aeliana.
“I thought we had one,” she said. “But no matter what we try, Seraphina just will not take to her training.”
“I could have another go at it,” Eldrin proposed. “Perhaps I will be more successful?”
“After the tournament,” Cedric said. “As much as we need her to master her abilities, it will not do for it to come at the cost of this event. This tournament needs to be spectacular. It is our only way of showing the masses that everything is going well.”
“Even though it is far from it?” Eldrin asked.
“Must you be such a pessimist?” Hadrian demanded.
“With the current state of things, yes, I must,” Eldrin said. “I do not know if you have noticed, but we are quickly heading towards ruin.”
“If we had only acted sooner,” Cedric said, resting his face in his hands. “If I had known how they had been lying.”
“There was nothing we could do,” Aeliana said. “Until your father passed we were seen as mere children in the court. No one would have taken us seriously, and those that did were all a part of the corruption that was festering.”
“The bastards took advantage of a dying man,” Cedric said, fury growing in his voice. “My father built a kingdom of glory and honour, and they defiled it. How are we to pick up the scraps?”
“By trying our hardest,” Eldrin said. “We four are the most powerful people in this kingdom, possibly the world. If we can not find a way, then none exists.”
“Or, someone stronger exists who could,” Hadrian said. “We have certainly seen stranger things.”
“I need some rest,” Cedric said, standing. “Thank you for the parts you are playing. I know this is not as glamorous as I made it sound when I promised you this.”
“Cedric, we were children then,” Hadrian said. “We could not know the duty that came with these stations. Even knowing them now, we will follow you till this kingdom comes to ruin.”
“I do not have anywhere else to be,” Eldrin said in agreement. “And I must say, all of our titles ring quite nicely to the ears, so I will not complain.”
“We should leave before your stewards grow too suspicious of us,” Aeliana said. Seraphina took this as her cue, quickly sneaking out of the room and taking her spot on the bench. She mulled over everything she had heard.
So much seemed to rest on her, but that wasn’t what she found her mind drifting towards. Instead, she imagined the spectacle of the greatest fighters in the country battling against one another. The performance of a lifetime. She had to witness it for herself. The door beside her opening snapped her from her daydreaming. She quickly jumped up and bowed as the four occupants exited.
“Good morning, Your Highness, Commander, Archmage,” she greeted. Each returned the greeting before the three men moved on down the hall.
“Come, we must return to the church,” Aeliana said.
“Yes, High Priestess,” Seraphina said, falling in step behind her. Her mind immediately started drifting again, a plan already forming. In one month she would escape her cage.