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"Tell her," Amerlee encouraged.
I gripped my stuffed bunny a little tighter. "Papa said that when they asked to say I was ten. He said it's close enough because my birthday's coming soon, but that it was very important for me to just say ten."
Saval sighed, reaching over to caress the top of my head. "It's ok, child. It's also good that I know. I can't take care of you if I don't know things like this, but can you promise me something? In the future, I want you to always answer me - just me - with the complete truth, ok? Doesn't matter if someone else tells you to lie."
"I didn't wanna lie," I told her.
"I know," she assured me. "But can you promise me that? From now until forever, you will always tell me the truth, even if you wouldn't tell anyone else?"
"I promise."
Amerlee rubbed my back encouragingly. "That's my little sister." Then she turned her attention to Saval. "I'd also like to claim her as my acolyte."
"A first year?" Saval gasped.
"Jamik and I will make sure her lessons are well-rounded, but yes. I have a feeling that my little Nari is going to need some extra guidance. I'd be so appreciative if you could help me with an age-appropriate lesson plan?"
"Of course," Saval assured her. "Were you planning to guide her toward a Path?"
"No," Amerlee said. "We'll teach her about all of them and leave it for Zeal to make her decisions. I am not brave enough to guide the hand of our god."
"Then I will send her to your office this afternoon. Say two marks after the noon meal?"
"Perfect. I'll notify the scheduler to keep my afternoons open for the foreseeable future." Then Amerlee knelt to look in my face. "I'm going to leave you with Priestess Saval, ok? Keep Bunny with you and remember all your questions. I'll answer every one when I see you again after school."
"Ok." I hugged my bunny hard against my chest. "But I'm going to see you again, right?"
"I swear it on Zeal's name," she told me. "And if you're good today, I'll ask Jamik to meet you outside those doors after class. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Thank you," I told her. "You're the best sister ever."
She bent and kissed my forehead, leaving something behind. I almost swiped at it, but she caught my arm and lifted my hand to her lips instead. With a devious smile, she kissed the back of my hand, letting me see what she'd done. There, the mark of her kiss was stained with the same red gloss she used on her lips.
"Those are so you know I'm coming back. This is just for a few hours, sweetie, and you're going to get a new room, clothes, and lots of things. You won't even notice how fast it goes. Promise."
When she left, Saval showed me to a chair behind a long and narrow table. Behind me was another, and then more after that. All of them had chairs only on one side, and plenty of them were filled with kids about my age. At the back of the room, I saw the boy who'd asked about my stubbed toe. His eyes were red like he'd been crying, and locked on the table before him. His was the only face I recognized.
Soon enough, Saval started talking, explaining to us some of the things Amerlee had said the night before. She explained the gods, their temples, and where each ones' strength lay. Zeal, our god, was mentioned with the rest, but she didn't really explain what exactly Temptation meant. I knew the word, but I didn't quite understand how rage, fear, pride, and love could all be a part of it like Amerlee had said.
From there, we were given a description of the things we'd be expected to learn. Reading and writing were at the forefront. So were mathematics and history. Manners and style would be another class, along with ceremony and state functions. The last class in the list was simply called prayer. Those would take up most of our days, and in the evenings, we'd get hands-on training.
Saval's eyes turned to me as she explained that most of us were trainees, called novices. Eventually, we'd all be either chosen by or assigned to a ranked priest or priestess. When that happened, we'd be promoted to the title of acolyte. Our mentor, either a brother or sister, would be responsible for guiding us toward our own path.
Because it seemed like being a Priestess of Temptation wasn't a simple thing. Those Paths? There were five different ones that we could specialize in, and while our training could guide us, our decision would be made when we finished our tenth year of school. Once we passed all of our courses, we'd each be locked in a room for a full day and night to bathe in the tears of Zeal and pray for guidance. Like the basins had yesterday, the pool would mark our futures.
Then she explained our options. The Path of the Word was the highest and most sought after. Those were the priests who read the marks and explained the signs of our god. Often, those from a different Path moved into this one when they were older. The next one down was the Path of the Body. These priests used touch to do the will of Zeal. Then there was the Path of Protection. That was for the priests who looked after those who followed the Path of the Body. Below them were those that followed the Path of Action. Their duty was to care for the ones above them. Lastly was the Path of Obligation. They were the ones who kept everything else running, even though they were rarely seen.
At one point, Saval talked about Amerlee. It seemed she'd come to the temple when she was eleven, surrendered by her family the same way as the rest of us. After her ten years of education, she'd been selected as a Priestess of the Body on her Choosing night. From there, Amerlee had excelled in her final studies, and now she was one of the most respected priestesses in the Temple of Temptation, even though she was barely twenty-six years old. Saval said it was proof that any of us could achieve anything if we wanted it enough.
Lastly, she told us all to look at our hands. Naturally, we all looked at each other's. The girl beside me had black well over her wrists, but the boy on her other side only had it from his knuckles down. Saval explained that our "lace" existed where we'd submerged ourselves in our god's tears, and each of our patterns would be different. The gods marked our hands first to make it clear we were their property. Most person-to-person interactions started with the hands. Whether that was a greeting, trading items, or even a wave, we would never again be able to hide our tie to our god. That was the price he asked in exchange for the lives he'd give us.
I knew what she was trying to say. Most of us wouldn't have lived through this winter. I wasn't the only skinny kid in class, and while we were all clean, that didn't hide the hollow cheeks or recently shorn hair around me. All of our clothes were new - and black - but everything else about us looked sad and pathetic, because we were the unwanted. We were the children our parents hadn't planned for. The kids who'd pushed things over the breaking point, so Zeal had given us a second chance.
The issue was that no one had asked me - well,us.I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one who'd been hauled in there without any clue of what was going on. The tense grips of parents suddenly made sense. Amerlee said my papa had been given a gold coin in exchange for turning me over. In other words, I'd been bought like a sack of seed.
But when Saval began handing out little metal keys, I decided it wasn't so bad. These were for our own rooms, she explained. On the loop part was a number, and if we couldn't read it ourselves, she would help us. Then, when each kid in the class had a key, she offered to show us how to use them. We were told to line up and follow quietly.
As the entire class walked through the temple, Saval's lesson continued. She pointed out markings on the door frames. Some were in colors, others were just shapes. Those, she said, were signs that showed which halls we could use. For now, we were expected to stay in the unmarked halls. The only place we could go that was different was the wing for our dormitory. That had a single vertical line about the height of my head. For first year students, Saval said.
