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"Because Merci knew that parents would do anything for their children, even give them up, if it would ensure a good life." He paused, looking at each of us. "When Calseth was founded, life was much harder than it is today. Only half the babies born lived to be old enough to walk. Of those, half again died before they became adults. Death was normal when we were born, so we never thought to question it, but our priests did. Our priests encouraged us to make life better. Maybe not easier, but better. Designing a way to feed the poor failed. Offering to take the children, however, solved two problems."
"A steady influx of priests and a way to care for the needy," Delran said, nodding as if that made sense.
"But," Zeal went on, "that influx of new priests meant we needed even more leadership. So, the six of us - the gods - decided to elect a representative. Someone to make the decisions when we were answering prayers or unavailable. You see, even gods can only be in one place at one time. Our time might pass differently than yours, so it might not seem like that, but it's still true."
"How was the first High Priest chosen?" I asked.
Zeal smiled at me in a way that made my belly flip. "The god of each temple chose five priests. All of them were on the Path of the Word by sheer chance. From those five, we allowed the priesthood to select the one they felt most comfortable with."
"How did they know?" Livia asked.
Zeal chuckled. "We could all be seen back then."
She nodded, accepting that. "You should make a mark. Something that even the nonbelievers can - "
But before she could finish her sentence, the door opened and Priest Kinen stepped in. His eyes jumped to Vernie reading her book. The Priestess quickly closed it and sat up, but Kinen's scowl was only becoming more obvious as he turned to glare across the room.
"What was that about nonbelievers?" he demanded.
"She said that I should mark my priests," Zeal told him as he leaned back against the wall. Then the god flapped a hand in the High Priest's direction. "Not that you'd care."
Orilee, another woman in the class, decided to answer for Livia. "We're discussing how the original leadership of the temples were chosen. Histories say that those who believed in the gods could see them, but what about those who didn't? The nonbelievers. Were the gods influential in swaying the vote for, say, the first High Priest?"
Kinen turned to Vernie. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching this course? Not reading..." He tilted his head, clearly examining her book. "...Socioeconomic Impacts on Class Status?"
"I encourage theoretical discussions on theology," Vernie said as she set her book on the desk. "Is there something I can do for you, Priest Kinen?"
"We need to be sure that our initiates are all receiving proper instruction for their Path," Kinen told her. "I often check on the initiate classes."
"No," Zeal grumbled, "he doesn't. He's here to keep track of my Chosen."
Beside me, Delran's lips split into a grin that he very quickly got control over. "You mean like the improperly trained punisher in last year's initiate Body class?" he asked Kinen before turning to me. "That was you, wasn't it?"
I could almost feel it as Kinen turned his complete attention on me. Refusing to look at the High Priest, I nodded once. "It was. While I was completely bound and gagged, the initiate became drunk on the high of causing pain. My guardian tried to stop him, but his guardian fought back, putting Talin fighting two against one. It is only because of a miracle that Talin is still alive."
"Who is supposed to identify punishers?" Konas, Delran's former guardian asked, looking up at Vernie. "Isn't that the responsibility of that class's instructor?"
"When I went through," Delran said, "our instructor did. Granted, I specialized in the rather boring fetish of exhibitionism, so I don't have personal experience with the more dangerous specializations."
Livia giggled. "Why am I not surprised, Delran?"
Kinen slapped his hand onto the surface of the desk. "Enough!" The man glared until the entire class was silent again. "Is this what you call proper instruction, Priestess Vernie?"
The woman looked up at him through her reading glasses. "This class is on the Words of Zeal and our assumptions of his intentions, Priest Kinen. That means theory is a part of the class. I mean, unless you have a better way of knowing what our god intended? Personally, I think that simply asking him would be the fastest way."
"And how is that working for you?" Kinen demanded.
How Vernie kept a straight face with Zeal watching her, I would never know, yet the woman did. In fact, she blinked at Kinen a few times, looking almost shocked at his question. It was almost as if she was struggling to comprehend how the man in charge of our temple didn't believe in our god enough to see him.
"It works very well, actually," Vernie said. "Zeal has returned to the temple, you know."
"I've always been here," Zeal corrected. "And no, Vernie, he can't see me."
That caused the room to stir as the initiates in here with me turned to look at each other. Kinen noticed, his jaw clenched, and his eyes landed right on me. I swore the man's nostrils flared as he pulled in a deep breath.
"Priestess Nariana is a mistake," he snapped, sounding like he was still talking to Vernie. "Clearly, the tears are no longer working properly."
"How so?" Orilee asked. "What reason do you have to believe that Nari's lace isn't exactly what Zeal intended to put on her?"
