The temple was adorned in giant stained glass windows that were on every wall. The light filtered through in colored glass, creating a mixture of reds, golds, and blues. I had slept in, causing us to be late for the ceremony. All of the pews were filled. The whole entire village must've been here. I never knew Empyrism was so popular.
An Apostle wearing black robes with glittering gold stitching was standing at the front of the room. Behind him stood a group of similarly dressed people. The only difference was the thin sheer veils with a golden eye that covered the top half of their faces. There was something off here. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to this religion, but I felt almost… suffocated.
There were no seats left. We stood in the back and away from prying eyes. I looked around the temple. Everyone was wearing nice clothing. Some held necklaces with thick beads while others wore golden necklaces with the symbol of an eye. A shiver ran down my spine. All those eyes felt like they were watching me. It was as if I had done something bad. The eyes pierced into me, silently judging. Waiting for me to be sentenced for an unknown sin.
The Apostle droned on for what seemed like an hour. Partway through, he stopped his preaching. "I'd like to thank those of you who have decided to join us in service. The Empyrians have granted us to spread the word of The Three Teachings. And to one of the Holy Ones, no less."
I flinched as everyone turned to look at us. Or more specifically… Alder. He gave a smile and nodded his head in acknowledgement. I didn't know what a Holy One was. Neither he nor Stolas ever mentioned anything about it. Was it because of his title that he was deemed as a Holy One?
"Thank you, Fairy King, for gracing us with your presence." The Apostle pressed his hands together. "And let us thank Empyria for giving us this opportunity to spread the faith."
"Thank you." The whole temple spoke.
He motioned behind him. "Let us thank the Divine Brothers and Sisters and their prayers for this opportunity."
"Thank you."
Yeah. This was creepy. I hated this. I tried to zone out as the Apostle continued his teachings. It felt like I was suffocating. There was no actual teaching going on. Just talk about The Three Teachings and how we should all praise Empyria and The Great Divine. It was like his words held no meaning. They were spoken without a second thought.
"We shall not sin, for Empyria is above us. Our souls, our bodies, and our minds are bared for The Great Divine to witness. Let us not hate each other and let us instead love, for love is a gift from the Empyrians. And for their gift, we will praise."
"Praised be." The people of the temple echoed.
The Divine Sisters and Brothers had their hands clasped in front of them, their heads bowed. A strange energy pulsed through the air and tugged me away from distraction. A sick feeling rumbled in my stomach as I looked around. One of the Divine Sisters seemed to be staring straight at me. The golden eye on her veil seared into my soul. Her face stretched into an unnatural smirk.
"Those blessed by The Great Divine, given magic, may guide us to salvation. For magic is a gift that will lead us to our fate. And for that gift, we will praise."
"Praised be." The temple echoed once again.
She kept staring at me. I tugged on Alder's sleeve, keeping my eyes on hers. "Alder… I want to leave."
"We can't leave in the middle of service." He whispered.
"Please." I swallowed thickly. "I don't like it here."
The Apostle held out his arms. "And now, we will ask for our Divine Sister to bring someone forward and lead us in our final prayer."
"Alder." I whimpered, tugging his sleeve even harder.
The Divine Sister who was staring at me stepped out. She immediately pointed at me. "You."
Everyone turned again in an eerie tandem. This time I could tell that they were all staring at me. I shuffled behind Alder, hiding my face. For once, I didn't want to be in front of an audience. I wanted to run out of this temple and head straight for the capital. It was so stupid of me to suggest this.
"Don't be shy, friend." The Apostle grinned and motioned for me to come forward. "Come."
"Go on, Cahira. You can do it." Alder whispered.
Stolas pushed me forward. "Don't mess up."
I grimaced and slowly made my way to the front of the temple. The Apostle reached out and eagerly pulled me next to him. The Divine Sister stood next to me and let out a small snicker at my tense expression. Everyone was smiling up at me, waiting for me to speak. How the hell was I supposed to do this?
"Uhm…"
"Go on. Let the Great Divine lead your prayer." The Apostle tried to encourage me.
I blinked. I would just mimic what he said earlier in service. "W-We are all… uhm… blessed to be here today. L-Let us praise our… attendance?"
There was a moment of silence before everyone responded. "Praised be."
"And we praise the Apostle for leading us in service."
A couple of chuckles echoed through the temple. "Praised be."
"So… praise the Great Divine. And praise this service. Th-Thank you?"
"Praised be."
"Thank you for leading the prayer." The Apostle was trying not to laugh. "And thank you everyone for joining this service. Greet your neighbor and then head over to the tavern for some food and music."
My whole face felt red as I hurried over to Alder and Stolas. I could feel that Divine Sister keeping her eyes on me. But that didn't match the embarrassment I was feeling. I never felt embarrassed speaking or performing in front of people. This? I was out of my element. I thought what I said was good enough.
"Horrendous prayer." Stolas had a giant shit eating grin.
Apparently not.
"What else was I supposed to say?" I hissed, clenching my good fist at my side.
Alder patted my head. "It is alright, little blossom. It was a cute prayer."
"Doesn't help." I muttered. The thought of embarrassing myself in front of Alder made my ears go hot. "Besides, where are the sacrifices?"
Stolas stared at me. "The what?"
I tilted my head in confusion. "You know. I thought every service had an animal sacrifice. Is that… wrong?"
"What?" Alder's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Do you truly think that?"
Stolas burst out into laughter. He bent over, his laugh echoing in the large temple. I could feel my ears heat up from embarrassment. They couldn't judge me! I grew up sheltered. How was I supposed to know everything? It wasn't like Empyrism was common in my village. Sure, some Northern War Elves practiced, but we didn't even have a temple. So it wasn't weird that I was feeling uncomfortable with all of this and had misconceptions. Right?
"Stop laughing." I huffed, crossing one arm over my sling.
Stolas kept laughing. "Are you really that dumb?"
"Hey!!"
"I bet if I flick your forehead, it'll echo because you have no brain!"
My face scrunched up. "Okay, you're dead."
Alder let out a tired sigh as I attacked Stolas. The stupid raven was still laughing as he easily dodged my strikes. I didn't even notice that the Divine Sister from earlier was walking over until she cleared her throat. I stopped trying to hit Stolas and straightened. A curl of bright red hair was peeking out from beneath her veil. My eyes narrowed and I took a step back.
"Hello." She smiled directly at me. "I wanted to-"
"Help!! Somebody, come help!!"
The three of us turned around. A man had stumbled inside of the temple. Black goop covered the bottom half of one of his legs. I immediately went pale. It was the Atrophy. We run forward. The man is huffing, his skin almost translucent and sweaty. I've never seen anything other than an animal or plant touched by this disease.
"Everyone, back away!" Alder shouted. He touched the man's shoulder, trying to get him to sit down. "Are you alright?"
The man was shaking. "Th-There's monsters out there! They're attacking the village!"
Alder's eyebrows furrowed. "Please, lay down. Let me look at your leg."
The man did as he said. Everyone was sent into a panic. Some were praying while others ran out of the temple. Alder sighed and moved his hands over the goop. If he couldn't heal animals, he wouldn't be able to heal this man. He would die.
"Stolas, go see how many there are."
"Yes, my king."
"Cahira-"
"I'll go too."
Alder shook his head. "I have not had the chance to finish healing you."
I sighed in annoyance. "I'll just help! I won't fight, I swear."
"Do you promise?"
I couldn't lie to him. I pursed my lips. "Let me help."
"Alright. But if you get hurt-"
I didn't let him finish his sentence. I ran out of the temple to survey the damage. Atrophied cervidae were trampling through the village. Some of the guards and Stolas were trying to hold them back. I ran forward, my heart pumping in my chest. We couldn't let this spread.
Stolas knocked back one of the cervidae. He glanced at me. "Cahira! Get back inside, your arm is still injured!"
"I can help!" I shouted. I felt magic starting to tingle through my veins.
"Alder will be pissed."
"I can handle that."
"Then fight."