Champion 3

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Previous Chapter

*~*~*~*

When you wanted information, the best place in any kingdom to find it was the library in the holy academy.  When you didn't have a disciple of Yorn to escort you through a library large enough to contain a copy of every book that had ever been written, the second best place was the royal library.

This was where Lillian was, deeply ensconced in the Elyia Royal Library, poring over medical texts from the last three centuries, written by disciples of Clio and disciples of Yorn alike.  Only in the medical field were texts written by disciples of Yorn more interesting than texts written by disciples of either Lady or any of the Sisters.  Lillian's eyes were swimming, and her head ached.

Unfortunately, she'd yet to find what she was looking for.  Well, that wasn't completely accurate.  There was a lot of information about religious accidents.  Most were the normal sort: a disciple not noticing, or ignoring the fact that she no longer bore her tattoos of office and suffering injury for it, misuse of religious magic, and anything caused by the mixing of secular and religious magic.

But the recent trend was nothing like that.  She had green-wristed disciples of Runal with vegetables growing through them and somehow mesmerizing people, disciples of Yorn getting hurt, disciples of Clio dying of illness and injury.  This was not normal, and it was frightening, not only for the disciples who could no longer depend on their magic, but for the general populace, who could not come to the disciples in times of trouble.

The only thing Lillian could think was that there had to be some sort of precedence for this, maybe during the Great War, but she couldn't find any understandable answer.  Signs seemed to point to a time in history when the Ladies and Sisters abandoned humanity, but that made no sense.  They depended on humanity.  Collective faith gave them their power, and their power ensured faith.  That was how it worked.

Lillian naturally pursued that line anyway, just in case it lead her anywhere, but all she could find was a fairytale derived from an atrociously-mutilated journal detailing the battle of unnamed women known only as the "Disciple" and the "Champion" against a villain known as the "Untouched."  Everyone knew the fairytale about the untouched, whose impossible birth set them against the holy women who looked over the planet of Johse.

The journal revealed that the untouched supposedly had a much closer relationship with the disciple and champion than the fairytale intimated, but the condition of the tale, with large chunks missing at critical junctures, was the reason the personal journals making up a large portion of the holy library were in a constant state of being copied and recopied.  Lillian very seriously considered throwing the book.  It would do absolutely no good, but it would make her feel better about having discovered nothing usable.

She didn't do that, but she did slam the book shut, roughly grabbing the other books scattered over the table she'd been sitting at all morning, and all day the last five days.  She needed a break, she decided as she found herself slamming books into ever-growing piles.  She would give a lot to have the white line across her forehead that would allow her access to the holy library, or at least someone who had the line, but anyone who might escort her was either at the Hilean ceremony, providing their protection and assistance, or too far from the royal palace to be much immediate help.

"Wow, it's not even midday and you're already angry at the books.  What did they do to you?"

Lillian looked up at the sound of Maya's incredulous voice, and her day was already better, if a bit more confusing.  Lillian and Maya, in spite of both working on the royal grounds, rarely saw each other during the day, and even when they did, Maya was always in her armor, because taking it off and putting it back on again was far too much of a hassle.

Seeing Maya in a plain shirt and serviceable pants, sword belt rakishly thrown over her shoulder, was an unexpected delight for Lillian.

"Maya!  What are you doing here?  Don't you have trainees to terrorize?"  There was a book on the other side of the table, just beyond Lillian's fingertips, and Maya pushed the heavy tome closer with a fond chuckle.

"Not for the rest of the day.  Ritual, remember?"

Oh, the Hileans were working up some magic outside, weren't they?  Breathing on the training grounds probably felt like breathing oatmeal.  But then again, Maya was a bit more resilient than Lillian, and Jettas' disciples had to be tougher in general, so Lillian's brow furrowed, "I figured you'd just work through it."

Maya shrugged, "I can handle it, but the girls were having a lot of trouble.  Besides, aren't you at all curious what they're up to over there?"

"Not particularly."

Maya arched a brow at Lillian and smirked, "You are lying."

Lillian was nosy by nature, curious about most things, and yes, she was totally lying.  She laughed in response to Maya's declaration, making neat piles of her books, "I am completely lying, being that I am terribly jealous you get to go and I don't."

"Who says you don't get to go?"

Lillian paused midmotion, then squinted at Maya, "What did you do?"

"Besides scaring Shannon into growing flowers?"

"Dammit, Denice told her that spell wasn't going to come out right, no matter how she mixed it."

"That's roughly what Denice told me, too."

If Maya had been to the medical wing in search of Lillian, and spoken to Denice, Denice might have given Lillian leave to go see the ritual.  Lillian pushed the table away from her heavy, comfortable chair and slid her finger up her belt as she got up, moving closer to the gleeful Maya.

"...what else did Denice tell you?"

"That you were investigating the recent rash of religious accidents?"

"Maya!"

Maya laughed and threw an arm about Lillian's shoulder, pulling her along, "She said she wants you to take notes."  Lillian groaned deeply, flopping into the still-laughing Maya.  The only thing Lillian hated more than reading notes written by those who served her Sister were writing them herself.  So much detail.  Down to color, every subtle move.  She'd barely get to watch the ceremony for writing.

"I hate you both."

"That's a lie."

"It is not!"

"That's a lie, too."

By the time the pair reached the library doors, Lillian was throwing her arms everywhere, dramatically flopping all over Maya as the smaller woman laughingly pulled her along, "Yes, it's lies!  Lies, lies, all of it!  I don't hate you or Denice, but oh my god, note-taking!  Mayaaa!"

Ok, she was whining now, but Maya was laughing at her, only half sympathetically, "I know, I know, notes are terrible and distressing and frustrating."

"And I don't wanna!"

"And you don't wanna," sniggered Maya, still pulling Lillian down the halls, heading for the amphitheater where the Hileans were bound to be working their magic.

"You don't sound very sympathetic," complained Lillian, opening the door so that Maya could pull her through it.

"I am very sympathetic to your made-up problem and overdramatic whining."  Lillian didn't even have to see Maya's blue hair go muddy, like dye washing away, to know that Maya was lying through her laughing teeth.

"Liiiiiiar."

"That was definitely a lie."

"Urgh."  They'd made it out of the palace, and the air was thicker than Lillian had expected, even coming in that morning, the sun high and hot, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.  It really did feel like trying to breathe oatmeal, and she was already exhausted.  She definitely didn't want to be clinging to Maya, who'd already had a hard morning of training in this.

"It wasn't this bad when I came in," Maya assured Lillian, leading the way along the path, people parting for the blue hair, now restored to its vibrant glory by confessing her joking lie, "Or I would have canceled training today.  This is bad."

Lillian felt jittery and tingly, like she wanted to escape her skin in a very intense way.  She hoped the ritual didn't take very long, or she was going to have a panic attack, and she probably wouldn't be the only one.

"Lillian."

Lillian almost crashed into Maya's back as Maya stopped, and she easily sidled around Maya, uneasy smile on her face, "Sorry, I'm with you.  It's getting to me."

"Should we get something to eat?"

Lillian shook her head, "We're already not going to have the greatest view, let's just get in there."

Maya offered her hand, and Lillian took it, squeezing tightly as they continued into the amphitheater, which was a sea of golden robes.  Lillian didn't know why Hileans liked uniforms so much.  They had their marks of office, like every other disciple, Hileans' marks being yellow handprints on their arms, halfway between the wrist and elbow.  The robes covered that.

She could see other disciples, purple-necked disciples of Clio and red-lipped Loliens, armored disciples of Jettas playing guard, their blue hair vividly bright in a sea of darker colors, most serious-faced, a few joking with one another.

There were even some members of the general populace, but they were few and far between, simply due to the sheer density of the air.  They were smart and went away from places where it was difficult to breathe.  But that was neither here nor there.  The important thing was that the royal Hileans were in the center of the room on a dias around a mirror, one which flickered, like a light rod at the end of its existence, and there were a lot of people in a small space.

Maya managed to get them seats close to the dias, on the side where the light flickered.  It looked like Lady Torina, was the focal person for this spell, all the other Hileans would concern themselves with funneling energy to her, and her vision would bring forth....whatever.

Lillian gathered her skirt behind her knees and slowly slid her finger down her belt, making sure to position herself over her seat properly before letting herself drop into it.  And she was to Maya's right.  Yes.  She wanted to be able to keep holding Maya's hand, after all, and she leaned closer to Maya, "Do you really think they'll be able to summon the champion of lore?"

"I think they're going to try."

Lillian tried to elbow Maya in the arm and got pushed off with a laugh, "I don't know, Lillian, what  do you want me to say?  Noone thought the queen would ever be a man, but he is.  They have enough energy to make a lot of things happen.  Why not the champion?"

"But what if it's not the real champion?  How will anyone know?  What if the champion is peacefully dead and resents them bringing her forth?  What if they summon a berserker whose only concern is subjugating us all to her will?  Or a clever demon with similar aims?"

"For one," chuckled Maya, "Demons don't exist anymore.  And for two, there's lots of us here.  Do you see the sea of blue hair?  All the white foreheads?  We'll help deal with anything that arises.  Now shush, I think she's ready."

Sure enough, the image of the High Lady was on the face of the mirror, and Torina spoke, her voice booming throughout the room, with the assistance of a bit of magic, "And now we begin."

The golden-robed Hileans all began muttering their prayer, chanting Torina's name to focus energy towards, and the air began to feel less oppressive as the gathered energy was poured towards Torina, who was already beginning to sweat and turn coppery in the face, the mirror glowing a bright, distinct yellow.

Lillian had no idea how long they all watched and listened to the swelling voices, overlapping and intertwining.  To Lillian's astonishment, a hand came out of the mirror, fingers curiously reaching, followed by a very human arm farther and farther, almost up to the shoulder.  A startled murmur rippled from the people close enough to see it, spreading up the crowd and disrupting the Hileans, as even they stopped chanting to marvel at the sight.

The mirror's light dimmed, and the arm hastily retreated, prompting the closest Hileans to resume chanting, but louder, the rest taking their cue and diving back in.  For a small eternity, nothing happened.  A bare foot stepped out, onto the lower edge of the mirror, causing it to wobble precariously before the owner of that foot thought better and hesitantly slid their foot down, clearly feeling for the floor.

Lillian was breathless, Maya's hand tight in hers.  The foot was followed by a leg, a hip, a hand and arm coming out to hold the mirror, higher up, then a body, nude, a head, hair, and a bewildered face.  They had done it.  They had actually done it.  They had summoned the champion.

There was a moment of breathless silence before Torina whirled, triumphantly thrusting her hands into the air and howling, "The champion has arrived!"  The silence broke like a dam overflowing, and everyone cheered, even Lillian, watching as everyone leapt to their feet around her.  Apparently the champion hadn't realized how many people were there, because they looked up, visibly stunned by the roaring noise and raucous cheering.  Lillian would feel bad for them later.  Now was the time to celebrate.

Champion 2

Previous Chapter

*~*~*~*

Maya swung her arm hard, catching her opponent in the chest and throwing the girl flat on her back, the dull thunk of her helmet hitting the hard-packed dirt floor barely audible over the clatter of weaponry against armor, the shouts and cries of battle and pain that always filled the training grounds this time of day.  That was the third time today, and it wasn't yet midday.

"Leticia!  What have I told you?"

Leticia slowly levered herself into a sitting position, her voice strained as she dutifully recited, "Watch both arms, pay attention, do not underestimate your opponent."  Leticia paused to wheeze for breath, then got to her feet before miserably adding, "But the air is so thick, I'm having trouble breathing!"

"You think it won't be this thick in battle?  This is what Hileans are good at, what they excel at--they summon so much energy that anyone but them chokes on it.  You will be a follower of Jettas, if you finish your training!  You will be at the head, the front of the battle, and it will be thicker and deeper than this, do you hear me, Leticia?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Maya could see the way Leticia's mouth twisted under her helmet, though not the bulk of her face, and she understood the girl's ire, remembered her own teacher yelling the same things at her while she wore the same expression, but that did not make it any less true.

Disciples of the High Lady, Hileans, had access to a great deal more magic than disciples of any of the four sisters, and almost more than disciples of the Low Lady, Loliens, and while there was much Hileans could not do with their powers, overwhelming others was something they could do.

Unfortunately for Maya, Leticia was right.  The air was very thick, and she knew why.  The Royal Hiliens were preparing for some ritual, had been for days, and midday was a very auspicious time for the spell to begin.  The disciples-in-training were all sluggish from the heaviness of the air, though they gamely attempted to continue.

Maya sheathed her sword and gave Leticia's shoulder a rough clap, "Round up the little ones, and get them some water."  Leticia ducked her head and ran off, while Maya raised her voice to be heard above the din, "Everyone stop what you're doing!  Cheryl, I mean you, too!"

Cheryl lifted her helmet to give Maya a cheeky grin, and didn't even have the good grace to wilt in defeat when Maya glared at her.  Maya shook her head at Cheryl and took off her helmet, tipping her head back as ropes of vividly blue hair fell into her face.  Stupid long hair.  She used her helmet to gesture the other women closer, and they followed Maya's example, removing their own helmets, and trying to avoid creaking or clanking too much as they moved.

"Alright, as I'm sure you all have noticed, the royal Hileans are doing some ritual, and I'm sure a few of you have even heard rumors of what it's supposed to do."  A few women nodded, some looked sheepish or giggled to each other before being hastily shushed by their comrades as Maya continued.  "I was going to keep you all going until the spell's climax, but even I have to confess there is a lot of energy in the air, and for the most part, you all have been doing well.  So you've got the afternoon off."

That prompted an immediate cheer, a rolling rumble of chit-chatty voices, and Maya waited for the excitement to die down before she continued, "I won't say that you must go to the ritual, but I will say that I strongly advise it.  Though the magic makes it difficult to breathe, it is actually quite beneficial, and additionally, there is power and value in knowing how those of other faiths perform their spells, understand?"

There was a generalized mumble of assent, and Maya sent everyone off with another wave of her helmet.  Once she was sure Leticia had the younger girls hydrated, she followed the other recruits to the armory, discarding her armor and weaponry in a small bubble of relative silence.  She pretended to not notice.

As a disciple of Jettas, Maya held a heavy burden.  Jettas was the lady of death, of course, and justice as well, so Maya was authorized to kill, as necessary, and an arbiter of justice.  But more importantly, Jettas was the lady of truth, honesty.  As her disciple, not only was Maya forbidden from lying, she was obligated to confront any lie she heard, even one said in jest.  She was allowed leeway for confrontation, as her own conscience allowed.  But Maya's conscience only allowed her to know three lies before she was forced to confront the liars, or confess her reasoning for not confronting them to Jettas, and risk losing her status as a disciple.

Maya finished changing out of her armor and looped her sword belt over her shoulder, then took her bubble of silence out of the armory and into the palace halls.  The funny thing about lying, Maya reflected, was that a person had to know they were doing it to get caught out.  If someone knew they were lying, it polluted their auras in ways only disciples of Jettas could see.  Being wrong wasn't the same, and that was what tripped people up around her.

Maya carried her bubble of silence into the medical wing.  She certainly intended to attend the Hilean ceremony, but first, she had to find her housemate.  Lillian was her housemate and best friend, and had been for many years.  As a follower of Clio, Lillian should have been amongst those tending secular and religious magical accidents, and certain non-magical accidents as well.  "Should have been" being the operative words.

Maya made a quick search of the medical wing, carefully avoiding masked disciples of Clio, because if they were sick, it was something that Maya very definitely didn't want to catch.  Unfortunately, there was no sign of Lillian, and the patients were beginning to get antsy and anxious from Maya's presence.  Maya moved into the medical lab, which was off the medical wing, in hopes of finding Lillian there.

When Maya entered the medical lab, she found a young disciple mixing a beaker of something purple and something green.  At the sight of Maya, she fumbled the beaker of muddy liquid that was the result, before dropping it on the floor, swearing as it shattered.  Everything the liquid touched began to grow flowers, including the disciple's hand.  Maya decided to end her search of the lab there and beat a hasty retreat.

Fortunately, she was able to find the head disciple, Denice, who was instructing a disciple-in-training over a wriggling patient's rash, "Uh...Denice?"

"What broke in the lab?"

"Just a beaker, but it's growing flowers."

Denice heaved a sigh and sent off the young woman she was speaking with, "Probably Shannon again.  Lilly said she thought there was an abnormal number of religious accidents, and last I heard, she was headed to the library."

Maya gave a sheepish laugh, embarrassed to be so transparent that Denice didn't even bother to ask her purpose.  Well, it wasn't like Maya was hurt very often, even as a trainer of recruits, and the only people who ever had any business in a medical lab were disciples of Clio, and the occasional disciple of Yorn, so it made sense that Maya would be searching for Lillian, whose skills were best displayed in the lab.

"Thank you, Denice.  Do you think Shannon will be able to recover from that spell?"

"Based on what I saw her doing, she should be able to.  It might require a bit of secular magic, but I've been telling her that spell's not going to work the way she wants it to for a month, and she has persisted, regardless.  It was bound to happen, eventually."  Maya nodded and made to head off, but was stopped by Denice, "Are you taking Lilly to the ritual?"

"I was planning to."

"Well, tell her I said to take notes for the rest of us."

Maya could almost hear Lillian's frustrated groan.  Though Denice's directive meant that Lillian was free to go, disciple's of Clio tended the injured and ill, which meant they always needed to know exactly what looked like what, what smelled like what, and Maya had seen three-page reports written on a bruise.  The ritual would surely fill a book, but she couldn't help but grin, appreciatively ducking her head, "Thank you, Denice."

Denice made a shooing gesture before heading towards the lab, while Maya left the medical wing to head for the royal library, where Lillian was bound to be.  It was her favorite place to be, anyway, after the medical lab.  She really should have been one of Yorn's disciples, but she had her reasons for choosing Clio.

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Next Chapter

Sern

The temple is a small, squat affair in the center of the village, unassuming and rather drab.  The most interesting thing about the temple is the large courtyard it surrounds.  At the center of this courtyard is a tree, possibly the largest in the world, certainly the oldest, and the small temple gives the impression of containing the tree, protecting it from the world.  Or perhaps protecting the world from it.

The courtyard is never empty.

The courtyard, and the holy tree at its center, is a gathering place for the vast majority of the village, because it is the most comforting place to be, filled with the prayers of future parents wanting children, new parents offering their gratitude for their children and exchanging advice, and children, running and laughing, brown skin made darker by the sun, black curls bleached yellow by the same.

The future parents are the primary concern of the priests in the temple, as the future parents are the most likely to go without food or sleep, praying to the tree and the ribbon they've tied to it for a child.  In a few weeks' time, if they are both devoted and truly want a child, the ribbon will adorn the oblong red fruit that will bow the tree's branches.

In that oblong fruit will be the beginning of a young child.  When the fruit grows to the proper size, a priest will carefully harvest it, cutting the stem above the ribbon marking parentage, and the parents will take the fruit home to begin the work of feeding energy into it, and the young child within.

Assuming that the fruit does not wilt due to lack of attention or toxic environment, it will gradually shade to blue on the outside, then grow larger and larger for five months, at which point, it will actively take the energy it needs from its parents, rather than passively receiving, and in a final burst, it will bloom into a rainbow-colored flower, vividest bright blue on the outside and deep, blood red in the center, where the new baby will lay, crying and wanting its parents.

Most parents keep the ribbon and flower as a memento for themselves and their children, all parents return to the temple courtyard, to offer their thanks to the parent of all, holy Casern, who has granted them their new child, and also to seek advice from each other, as well as the head priest.

Because the new baby will be a combination of the parents' energies, its young body and mind will be an amalgamation of the parents.  It is not uncommon for parents who have sustained disabling physical injuries to pass those disabilities, or a portion of those disabilities, to their children, and it is just as common for people born with such disabilities from their own parents to pass their inherited disability on to their children.

Similarly, parents with certain mental states frequently produce children with similar mental states, or, more commonly, children whose mental state is some unique combination of the mental state of the parents.

Such a variety of bodies and minds offers children, and their parents, the chance to learn and grow, and it is not uncommon to hear children exclaiming to their parents and peers about prosthetics or wheelchairs they have encountered that they like, or for children, deaf, partially so, and hearing alike, to make up hand signs together to describe things they encounter until they learn the true sign for it, as well as for children, blind, partially so, or not at all, to come up with words for their own experience.

The childrens' games, of course, naturally vary based on the ability of the group gathered, and either have audible, visual, and tactile components, or depend on teams, to accommodate for varying levels of ability and disability.  Lessons about the world with the priests, of course, are similarly crafted, though most children learn the vast majority of what they know from their parents and peers as they grow, from work and play, as well as from socializing in the courtyard, modeling what they experience from that environment.

On any day, the head priest will see many couples and triads of parents, some female, some male, some mixed-gender, offering advice for how to handle this aspect or that of parentage, reassuring nervous parents that their child's fruit is the right color for how long they've been home, so on and so forth.

Xe is very good at xir job, and xe enjoys it greatly, enjoys talking to people, meeting people, and, of course, watching the children grow up around the temple grounds nude as the day they were born in the tropical heat, variably investigating the physicality of a sex they don't have yet.

All children, of course, are born without sex, much like holy Casern, and they will be given four chances to try different anatomy as they age, depending on what they encounter in their studies that they are curious about, or based on what they are told.

Some children will first try a sex they are fairly certain they don't want for their first choice at 12, and change for their second choice at 15.  Others will choose the sex they think they want at 12, and try the one they think they don't want for their third choice at 18 before changing back for their final choice at 21.

Others are indecisive and switch back and forth, while some know what they want and make their choice immediately, never varying it, and still others find themselves surprised by how much they like or dislike a certain sex and change or maintain their decision accordingly at each decision point.

All such decisions affect how childrens' bodies grow and develop, because changing sex doesn't eliminate the effects of the prior decision they've made, and some children will choose no sex at certain decision points, depending on how they want their body to develop.

Some children, like many of the temple's priests, choose no sex for more than one decision point, precisely because they want to serve holy Casern, or else because being without sex is familiar and comforting to them, though most choose a sex at least once.

One child, to the high priest's vague surprise, chooses no sex for all their decision points, even though their parents are all strongly attached to their sex, and most of their peers are strongly interested in one sex or another.

Xe finally understands when xe prays to Casern, and that child, now an adult, appears before xir with a faint, pleased smile, standing before the massive statue of Casern, resembling the deity incarnate.

"Oh," xe murmurs, surprised by this development, earning a wider grin in response.  Xe falls on xir face, humbled and honored by the incarnation of holy Casern answering xir query for more information, as well as for the honor of having raised and taught said incarnation for all these years, though there is only one reason xe can think of for them doing this, at this stage of xir life, "I am ready for the end, whenever you shall deem it right to take me from this life, holy one."

"I know you are. But you have much work ahead of you."

Xe looked up to see Casern's genderless young incarnation give a slow twirl, turning to look up at the statue they stood below, "And I have much to learn yet."