Chapter 4

When the first rays of morning came I was unprepared for the vision that leaned above me to begin fading as mist does when touched by the first 
rays of a spring sunrise. His fingers grazed my cheek and mine did the same, though his form was now ethereal once again, luminous and fading. 
“You are a woman, child of the stars.” The vanishing vision said to me. “One of us. We will remember you.”

Then he was gone.

I waited for a sense of overwhelming sadness to grip my heart, waited for anything but the calm and peace I felt to take hold. But, nothing did and I 
was left with a smile threatening on my lips, listening to the sleepy bursts of song that wafted from the tree above me as the morning birds opened their 
eyes and settled their feathers for the day.

I heard her as she approached and it was only then that I sought to pull the veils back around my body, the marks long smudged and kissed away. As 
I stood it was as though I could still feel him smiling at me from his reclaimed position in the sky, even though the stars were sleeping and hidden from 
view. I would have fancied it was love that made my heart and mind warm, but I knew it was something entirely different. It was not my own warmth 
that consumed me. It was the fire that possessed the universe; it was the energy that made both stars and planets turn on invisible toes in an eternal dance.

Ariana's mouth fell open as she gazed at me. I wondered how I must look in her eyes: untamed mane of gold glinting like fire in the morning sun, eyes 
clear as the ocean water the sunrise kissed, my violet-encased body rosy and filled with life. “You…” She trailed off and her mouth closed as she 
regained her composure. “You are not a child any longer.”

“No.” I said and the one word was filled with knowledge, with seduction, with joy, as though some part of the velvet voice that had whispered from the 
stars had now become lodged in my chest, issued forth from my mouth with a promise of starlight. “Ariana…it was, it was wonderful.” I told her and my 
voice became choked with emotion that did not know how to express itself.

“Hush.” She said and her eyes glittered. “That night was a gift to you from them. Speaking of it will disgrace the secrecy, the power it held.”

“I understand.” I told her and when the woman I'd come to think of as my protector, my life-line, held out her hand I took it and embraced her 
compulsively. For we each knew that my time with her was coming to an end and quickly. I was a woman now, both in my own eyes, hers, and the 
gods. The time to do what it was I had been working for, training for, was at hand. I could almost taste it upon my tongue as we walked back to the
hut and the waiting bread from the morning's fire. I would be joining the inner temple. I would tend the altars of new and strange gods so that I could 
grow close to my goal – vengeance on the one who had destroyed my family and all that I once had been as an innocent child.


~*~

It was three days later that found me plaiting my long hair into a braid and gazing at myself in the water pail to see that the shoulders of the pale robe 
rested as they should. I had packed nothing, for to come into the service of the gods was to leave behind mundane possessions. It seemed that such 
a concept was something that did not change, regardless of what gods were served or what their purposes were. To commune with them or tend to 
their needs, one must first surrender all things they themselves deemed important. 

However, my advantage was that I was not entering into the temple to serve a god whose name I did not know, but instead I was entering on the 
pretense of such so that the true purpose I worshiped and served would have its chance to come to fruition. Perhaps if my heart had not been so 
twisted by the need to have vengeance I would have felt guilt for betraying such sacred sects such as religion, but I was a hardened thing and the 
gods I served were older than Xenos, older than the temples he erected in his own name in order to attain a status of godhood for himself. They 
whispered within my heart and my blood, and they did nothing to stop me, nothing to stay the hand that fastened the veil around my face securely, 
that dusted off my sandals and reached out to the teary-eyed woman that was framed by a halo of sunlight in the doorway of the hut.

“Send word to me time and again when you can.” She whispered in my ear, and her voice trembled with unshed tears.

“I will never forget you.” I whispered in response and I hugged her close as though I could memorize the form beneath my fingertips. “You have 
been the mother to me that he took away.”

“I love you, Cynara.” She murmured and I stiffened. It was the first time she had spoken those words to me, though I had often seen the emotion 
shining from her eyes. She loved me, and she felt the need to let me know before I left her for what we both knew was most likely forever. I knew 
in that moment that it was an affirmation I would cling to in harder times to come.

“I love you too, Ariana.” I told her and we slowly pulled apart from each other.

“You best be on your way.” She told me and I knew how hard she was trying to keep the tears from falling. “You have a long walk to the city from 
here.”

I leaned forward and placed a kiss to her weathered cheek and one drop of moisture fell from her eyes in its wake. I began to walk and I paused 
only once to look back, and I will always remember the vision she created as she watched me, her back to the ocean. She was a thing of fire and 
water, filled with light. She was absolute beauty and I raised my hand once in farewell before turning back to my journey and my ultimate goal.

~*~

When I entered the city from the eastern gates I felt myself grow cold. The fact I had been required to enter the city from a gate of any sort was 
disheartening. As a child I remembered the city open, no need for protection or fortress from those things that resided beyond it. The entire island 
was our haven, our sanctuary. It had been greater and more encompassing than any of our temples, and all had been sacred. But, now as I entered 
into the city the scents of urine and sweat assailed my nostrils and I fought not to choke upon it. 

The city was still beautiful but it had taken on a terrible quality that whispered of promised torture and death if there was disobedience. I could taste 
fear upon the air and I could have wept. What had this monster done to my home? Was there nothing he touched that was left undestroyed?

The women I passed were veiled and kept their faces lowered. Veils were something I had been informed of by Ariana, who time and again had 
journeyed into the city. I had never gone, for fear I would be recognized. There was only one tell-tale feature left that could be easily placed, and 
that was the small brand that had been placed upon the back of my neck as a baby, a mark that showed I was a senator's daughter. It proclaimed 
my place within the society that had been, and it was now a mark that could bring my death. It had faded with time and was barely recognizable for 
what it once was, but Ariana had wished to take no chances.

When I was a child women were not forced to be veiled. They were strong creatures of beauty and that beauty was meant to be shared, looked 
upon and appreciated. The women I passed now seemed to be fearful, weak creatures, head bowed and hurrying along their way as though some 
great danger followed snapping at their heels. And the men were far different. Most were dressed simply and poverty whispered from their 
demeanors, hunger shone from their eyes. What had once been a rich city seemed to have dwindled, and I wondered where all our riches could 
have possibly gone.

That answer came to me as the inner temples located in the center of the city came into view. Before my life had been so completely changed these 
temples had not existed in the way they did now, and it did not take one of much experience to recognize that the temples that had once stood with 
the symbols the first of us had placed within the cornerstones had been demolished and these erected in their place. They were breathtakingly 
beautiful and it was easy to perceive that the poverty in the markets and the outer circles of the city was caused due to the riches that were poured 
into these buildings.

Turrets rose like spikes against the sky and the windows were comprised of glittering, multicolored glass, supports gilded out of silver and gold. The 
entire building was possessed of a sheen, as though coated with some metal such as copper or something finer. The symbols that were engraved into 
that metal were strange to my eyes, but even as I looked with unfamiliarity it seemed a whisper rose inside my head that filled me with knowledge 
faster than any should have been able to absorb it.

It was both a terrible and all-consuming beauty, and I could almost feel his touch breathing from out the stone and metal work as I climbed the steps. 
The doors were made of a heavy glistening wood and there were four men in military dress guarding it. They were armed, something else that had 
never been normal in my short years under the previous rule.

As I reached the last stair of the wide entrance two took each door and pulled, swinging the heavy object open and granting me entrance to the inner 
halls. A warm, sweet surge of air assailed me as the doors came open, whispering of incense and oils. I breathed deep of that air and stepped inside 
on quiet feet, the doors quickly coming to close with a loud sound behind me. 

The halls were lit by torches, the light glinting from the dark stones. The entire place was possessed of an ominous quality, one that sought to freeze 
the blood within my veins. It was as though I saw his face around every corner, felt his breath on my skin as I had that night as a child. I shook my 
head slowly. If I was unable to control myself better than this I would never achieve my ultimate purpose in this place. I took several deep breaths, 
readjusted the veil across the lower part of my face and continued along my way.

The layout was strange and I did not find my destination easily. It took several moments of mindless searching before I found the main sanctuary and 
the women who were tending the candles there. The one who approached me was notably older than the others, and her dark hair was pulled back 
starkly from her face, giving her a stern appearance though her eyes shone with kindness. 

Kindness. It was something I had not expected to see from any who served Xenos.

“You are the girl the messenger sent word of?” She greeted me.

“Aye, mistress.” I made my voice smooth, innocent, and harmless, made my face appear young and kind. “I hope to enter into the service.”

“Not often we get girls so pretty.” She told me, looking me over with a critical eye. “Generally they go to…” She trailed off and her eyes became an 
even darker brown as though the thought behind them was an ugly one. “Come along with me then.” She smoothed her hands down over her pale 
robe. “Let us get you situated in a room.”

“Are there not tests I should take first, mistress?” I asked, surprised at how willingly she had accepted a stranger.

Those dark, expressive eyes met mine again. “I will gladly take any girl in if it will keep her off the streets or out of the…” She trailed off again. 
“Plus, I have a feeling about you.” She added and I saw her smile. It would be years later that I realized that the smile upon her face was a rare 
thing and that it should be cherished. It would be too late when I realized it, but I did not know such things then. During the moment where she 
led me down the hall to where the acolytes' rooms were housed all I knew was the relief that rose upon within me like an ocean's wave and a 
silent prayer issued through these strange walls into the all-familiar sky that whispered of my gratitude.

Little did I know that God had nothing to do with the ease with which I found my way into this new chapter of my plan.


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