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"Not the word I'd choose," Zeal told her. "Oryll is a sycophant. His only goal is to please the High Priest, in the hopes that he'll get ahead because of it. Sucking up to a man is easier than working hard, after all. Ghale loves Oryll blindly - or did. That devotion has started to crack lately. He hopes that if his partner attains his goals, things between them will be happy again. They won't."
"Makes me feel kinda bad for Ghale," I admitted.
"Don't," Zeal said. "He's not innocent in this. Ghale wants to see you fail because he's terrified of what it means if you don't."
"And what does it mean?" Roek asked.
"That my temple will once again be mine. Not Kinen's, and not some other priest or priestess who plans to replace him. This is my home. The High Priest is supposed to manage the household: my priests. He or she isn't in charge. They are not here to replace me. They certainly aren't supposed to use my priests like slaves!"
"More responsibility," Saval clarified, "and less luxury. But until Nari's out of her initiate training, she's powerless. She's just an initiate, unable to move about like she wants, limited in the sessions she can take, restricted from any serious studies. So long as Oryll and Ghale are training this class, their entire focus is on removing Nari, not training the dozens of other priests to survive their duty!"
"And I do not want to lose any more," Zeal said. "Each of you is a treasure. I work so hard to give you all a chance, but my temple is broken!"
"The system is," I corrected. "Priests of Obligation are treated like livestock and never allowed to move up. One girl was placed there simply because she can't read well. She gets the letters confused."
"She needed more time," Zeal explained. "She'd excel in Action, but the smiling one learns at her own pace."
I just thrust an arm out at him. "See? Only Priests of the Body and Protection are allowed to reimmerse in the hopes of moving to Word when we get too old. That's not right. Action should be allowed to move to Word as well."
"Or Protection," Zeal said. "Sometimes Body. Other times, Obligation, but they make stepping down easy. Stepping up is reserved for the select few. The open living area was meant to be temporary. There's an entire space for rooms above this wing. Yes, above. Obligation was meant to live in open air and sunlight!"
Roek was nodding. "That sounds more like what I'd expect. As an initiate, I too had questions. As an instructor, we use Obligation as a threat, when it shouldn't be. It's a fair Path, just like all the others. Some enjoy cooking. Others, lying with strangers. One Path should not be ranked above another, but rather beside."
"You do understand," Zeal said, the praise audible. "What are you going to do about it, swordsman?"
"Roek," I whispered, reminding my god that the man had a name.
"Roek," Zeal corrected. "I'm sorry. Names were something we avoided, finding it easier to lose you when we didn't know you so well. But it also made it easier for you all to lose us. It's how we ended up in this situation, assumed to be a story instead of actual people who care about you."
"This is a lot to take in," Roek told Saval.
She nodded. "I know, but it doesn't change anything, Roek. We need to file a grievance with the council of educators. Not just about the incident - which is already underway - but about the entire curriculum. Oryll needs to be investigated, and the young man's death gives us a reason to do itnow. Most of all, I need a priest who isn't seen as biased to do this. That's you. I don't know anyone else who can without bringing this right back to Nariana and making it look like a power play against the High Priest."
"I will," Roek assured her. "The kid's death has been the talk of the temple, and a lot of blame is coming back to rest on Oryll's shoulders. It gives me a plausible reason to bring up the rest. Zeal, you protect Nariana as much as you can. I'll worry about the instructor."
"I'll worry about both," Zeal assured him. "I also have patience. We gods did not get to this point in a day, a week, or even a year. It took many generations, but now, my siblings are fading. They're powerless, and me?" He glanced over at me. "I wasn't strong enough to protect the thing I love most. I had to choose, so I chose the most imminent."
"Our price is less," I told him. "That's enough."
"But the games are more," Zeal countered. "Gods do not play them. This is something I cannot help you with."
"I can," Saval promised. "You put me in her path for a reason. I can only assume this is it."
"It's not," Zeal told her. "I put you on her path because you are kind. Both of you. I wanted my Chosen to have a good childhood. I wanted her to be happy. I chose you because you care about them as much as I do. And you, Roek, accept that they were never meant to fit into molds. You were the best ones to help her grow. Nothing more. Now, I'm the one in your debt, and it's not something I'll forget."
Chapter 60
Nariana
The weeks passed without much trouble. I didn't hear much more about what Saval was doing. Naturally, they were trying to keep me out of it, since I was supposed to just be a student. Amerlee did make a point of saying that Oryll was under investigation for Nyrren's death, and Jamik had been cleared completely. That let me relax. Then, with the guys helping me stay ahead of my homework, life became a little easier.
And I learned.
All of those things priests on the Path of the Body were supposed to learn were finally being taught. That, more than anything else, made it clear that Oryll knew he was wrong. The man stopped calling me out in class. He stopped trying to make me into an example. In truth, he basically pretended that I didn't even exist, and it was amazing.
My favorite class became Cooking, and not even Polst's bad attitude could deter me. When I finally made a pie worth eating, Ati had Drandir deliver the whole thing - minus my slice - to our room. The guys devoured it, and Anver said he needed more. Once my ribs healed, grappling was even better. The other guardians began to finally treat me as if I belonged, pushing me hard enough to make me work for it, but with the same respect they showed all the other first-year students.
But every week, finals got closer. With only two weeks left of the semester, our instructors began passing out forms for the scheduled exam time and what we would be expected to do. Grappling wouldn't be until the last day of the week, and it was going to be a round-robin type of sparring match, pitting each student against all the others. In other words, a verylongday of sparring.
