Warning: long post ahead.
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You stagger to your feet, intending to keep going, but you only make it a few steps before you collapse again. Matthias crawls over to you and lays a hand on your arm.
“We need to rest,” he says gently. “Neither of us can run any farther.”
“But what about the-”
“Listen. If she was still following us, she would catch us if we kept going. She would have caught us already.”
You hesitate, but realize that Matthias is probably right. And you are so very tired...
Before you can think about it any more, sleep overtakes you.
Your dreams are disquieting. The dimly-remembered figure of your mother, a Pilgrim like you who died when you were young, murmurs words you cannot make out in a voice you barely recall. You remember long hair and a slender figure, but the image is washed out, without colour or detail.
Your father is said to have died before you were born. You do not remember him at all.
A shadowy, vaguely masculine form listens to your mother’s whispers before enveloping her in darkness. You reach out to stop him, to help her, anything, but you are falling into a darkness of your own, a slimy, close darkness that threatens to overwhelm you.
You wake up with a start in the not-quite-darkness of impending dawn. Matthias is still asleep, but Blackie is awake and turns to regard you briefly before returning to his watch.
You give yourself a few minutes to calm down before shaking Matthias awake. The boy shoots you a grateful glance before turning to face east.
You occupy yourself with picking up your things and taking stock. You had not begun to set up camp when the Tainted appeared, so you still have all your things. You feel tired and sluggish even though you have only just woken; normally you are very alert in the mornings, but last night’s exhaustion coupled with your disturbed sleep has left you not fully rested. You suspect that you will not be able to sustain as much of the World’s backlash as you normally are, since you are starting from such an impaired state.
When Matthias turns back to you, his morning ritual done, he seems far better-rested than you. Whatever it is he does at sunrise, it seems to be a druidic thing, and you have deemed it best not to inquire. Druids tend to be secretive about their rites.
“Good morning,” Matthias says cheerfully.
You mumble something that might pass for a return greeting. Matthias seems to catch on that you are feeling grumpy, and politely lets you be.
You look around, realizing that in your haste to run away, you went slightly off-course. After a while, however, you catch sight of the road you were following, and strike out once again.
Matthias has been finding things for you to eat, but you do not want to take the time to forage today, so you dip into your supplies instead. The food and water disappear fast shared among both of you (Blackie somehow hunts for himself and still keeps up), but you have enough to last until you make it to the temple.
By noon, you are starting to feel somewhat decent again, and are able to be civil enough to apologize to Matthias for your earlier rudeness. He waves it away, and the three of you continue on.
That afternoon, you start thinking about what you are actually going to do when you get where you are going.
The Pilgrims maintain a number of shrines, but there is only one temple. The temple doubles as a school, teaching those who have chosen to take up the Pilgrimage the knowledge they require to do so.
Those like you, orphans with nowhere else to go, are also taught at the school. Taking up Pilgrimage is not required of them, but the Word is taught only to Pilgrims. Several of your friends chose not to take up the same path as you, and left the temple-school as soon as other opportunities appeared.
The elders reside at the temple, teaching their successors.
Malice and mercies, they will be
furious with you.
You shake yourself slightly and try to focus. You will have to explain to the elders that the Mirayuki Shrine has failed, that the Fell were set loose, and that you accidentally sealed the Fell into a wizard.
Malice and mercies.
It is midmorning two days later, five days after you left the Mirayuki Shrine, when you arrive at the temple-school. A large but humble building of wood, it is surrounded by greenery that is enclosed by a low wall that serves more to mark the boundary than keep anyone out. Still, there is a front gate, which it is polite to go through rather than go over the wall.
Aaron, the elderly gatekeeper, calls a greeting as you approach.
“Welcome home!”
You smile a little, even as stressed as you are. Aaron has always treated you kindly; he was your combat instructor, and that was one of the lessons you actually paid close attention in. Whether that was because of his kindness or the cause of it is difficult to say, but Aaron is kindly disposed towards children in general, so the former seems more likely.
“Thank you, Elder Aaron,” you reply courteously.
“Who is this with you?” Aaron asks.
“This is Druidic Initiate Matthias,” you introduce, “and his Awakening companion, Blackie.”
Aaron nods understandingly. Awakened animals are always treated like unusually-shaped humans, because barring a few differences in thought patterns, they more or less are. Blackie is not Awakened as the wizards term it – he cannot speak as a human does – and his intelligence is still catching up, but he is Awakened enough to merit being treated as such.
There are two kinds of Awakening, the wizardly kind and the druidic kind. A wizardly Awakening is abrupt and total. A druidic Awakening, by contrast, is gradual, and unlike wizardly Awakening, does not grant the capacity to speak human languages. You vaguely recall that there are some other differences – something about shock – but you were not always the most attentive nor diligent of students, and the details slip your mind. You do recall, however, that Pilgrims who know the right Words can cause either type of Awakening if they wish, as well as accelerate, slow, or complete a druidic Awakening. You, however, know none of those Words.
“If it is no secret of the druids,” Aaron asks Matthias, “why are you here?”
Matthias bites his lip nervously.
“My teacher was killed,” he answers softly. “The druid who replaced him had a student already, so I must seek a new teacher. I thought it better not to travel alone.”
Aaron nods again, expression sympathetic.
“I see. Then welcome to you both as well.”
The gate is normally left open during the day, so Aaron simply steps aside to let the three of you through. You hesitate a moment before moving closer to him and mumbling, “Elder Aaron... I have very bad news to report.”
Aaron blinks twice.
“I see,” he says slowly. “I will gather the others, then.”
Aaron turns and closes the gate before setting off for the temple itself.
“What now?” Matthias asks softly.
You force yourself to stand straight, even though what you want to do is find a hidden place in which to curl up as small as you can and hope no one notices you, like you did when you were younger and in trouble.
“Now,” you answer, unable to keep dread from creeping into your voice, “I report to the elders.”
A few minutes later, you are sitting formally, with your legs neatly tucked under you, on the floor of the meeting hall. The elders are seated similarly, in a half-circle around you.
You know them all by name. Elder Aaron, gatekeeper and combat instructor. Elder Priska, teacher of the Word. Elder Salome, who taught you history – or tried to. Elder Mikhael, teacher of geography and navigation. Elder Tabitha, who teaches basic mathematics, reading, and writing. Elder Simon... you have no idea what he does, but it seems to be important, because the other elders certainly act like it is. He sits across from you, with Elders Aaron and Priska to his right and Elders Mikhael and Tabitha to his left.
Matthias is not with you. He was politely excluded with the suggestion that he go play with the other boys his age. He took the hint and went, Blackie joining him.
The room is very, very quiet. You do your best not to fidget.
“I have heard,” Elder Simon says, voice easily heard in the silence of the room, “that you have news to deliver. Please, do so.”
You take a deep breath and begin.
What do you tell the elders?
Inventory:
Equipped:
Traveling Clothes: trousers, undershirt, overtunic, rope belt, straw hat, walking boots
Walking Staff: sturdy, can be leaned on or used as a weapon
Glasses: without these, your vision could generously be described as ‘bad’
Hairtie: keeps your hair out of your eyes
In your backpack:
Food: enough to last you one day, most of it bread and dried fruit
Flask: contains enough drinkable water to last you two days
Tinder and flint: to start fires with
Knife: a sharp implement suitable for cutting things or striking against the flint to make sparks; using it as a weapon is possible, but not recommended
Wooden Case: contains a spare pair of glasses, in case yours break
Spare Clothes: spare trousers, shirt, and tunic
Extra Hairties: in case one breaks or is lost; you have two
The Word:
You can currently take up to 5 points of backlash without consequence. At 5 or more points of backlash, you are weakened. At 10 or more points of backlash, you fall unconscious for a period of time every time you use the Word. At 15 points of backlash, you die.
You have taken 0 points of backlash so far today.
Words Known:
Comprehension: Allows you to understand any creature. Backlash 2.
Repairing: Perform minor repairs on an object. Backlash 1.
Sealing: Maintain the seals that bind the Fell. Backlash 4. You also know how to construct such seals, but you are not yet powerful enough to do so without severely hurting yourself (Backlash 10).