A couple months passed long before she'd receive another visitor. In those months, she had come used to the chimes waking her up every morning. One morning she had come to the conclusion of why.

"Miss Saphite? Is that you?" Sabele looked towards the cloud filled skies in wonderment. Why would a goddess bother to help her? Perhaps it was just a coincidence but Sabele had been taught not to believe in coincidences. "I'm not sure but thank you.” Then more to herself she breathed out her thoughts, “should I make an offering?" No response was heard but Sabele remembered her mother and father sacrificing a lamb.

Checking on her traps, Sabele waited for the perfect rabbit. While it was sad that they had to die, Sabele made sure that they didn't suffer. Her traps were to kill more than trap just like her father taught her. She was to go hunting with him on her sixteenth birthday. She would have gone sooner but her mother thought it safer if she was older.

Smiling at her newest trap, Sabele dusted off her pants and headed back to the cave. If her parents would only choose the best then so would she.

Finally, a beautiful brown hare with a white underbelly and fluffy tail had been caught. The creature's fur felt incredibly soft to the touch and the meat, when cooked, would be tender for sure. All that was left was to prepare it.

Sabele remembered her parents dressing the lamb nicely and fixing the coat so it would look whole and clean, so she took it down to the spring to wash away the blood before drying the fur properly. Once the hare was cleaned, she dressed it in what she could. Now, how to give it to her.

Grabbing the clothes that fitted her, she used the old priestess's robes to cover herself and to hide her face. Taking the hare in one arm, she began her march through the snow. It thinned out the further she walked the path and thankfully her trip became much easier.

There on a separate hill stood the magnificent temple of their gods. Each altar had a separate room which was guarded by not only the guards but helper priestesses as well. Sabele would have to be very careful about going inside.

The walk up the mountain was difficult but worth it. Inside was golden walls with silk curtains everywhere. Altars were made of usually marble or other precious stones which had embedded gems in them. Often, depending on the type of god, paintings would line the walls or plants like for Haven, a goddess of nature, had beautiful ivy plants along her walls with flowers that bloomed all year long.

Entering Saphite's altar room, Sabele stopped to look around. It was a beautiful room with paintings of Saphite commanding the wind and causing snow to fall upon a small town where little children could be seen playing. However, one painting showed her terrifying wraith upon past invaders who dared to try and sneak an attack by going through a mountain pass. She froze them and buried them deep under an icy lake.

Nervously, she placed the hare in front of the small flame as her parents had done.

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this but if it is you making the chimes cling every morning then I'd like to thank you and this is the only way I know how to." Sitting for a moment more, Sabele nodded to herself and stood awkwardly to leave.

Upon leaving the room, she nodded to a couple who were making their way to Venés's altar and made her way out of the temple. On her way back down, a mental image of a herd of deer came to her mind. Following just meters behind them were a group of hunters. Sabele ran back home, never stopping once and holding the makeshift cowl close to her face to keep the city folk from seeing her.

She checked her traps and grabbed any catch she had made. Taking them with her, she headed back to the cave where she dressed in her priestess outfit and hid the meat.

The hunters were closing in on her location despite the deer actually running back down the mountain. When they arrived at her cave-home, she was practicing some potions to help with rashes and body aches. They didn't say anything, just stood by the entrance and waited for her to finish. When she did she turned to look at them as if signaling them to speak up.

"We would like to appease the god Have in hopes of more herds towards our hunting grounds," the leader of the group stepped a tiny step forward like they were afraid of her.

"What do you plan to offer to him? Do you have an offer for him beforehand?" Sabele had never asked them if they did before but she figured that these people must have had something in mind.

"The biggest buck we can catch. We will gladly sacrifice it at his altar."

"I will speak with him. Come back later and next time not so late." They bowed their heads in respect to her and left her alone.

Sabele slightly smiled. They hadn't yelled at her or been rude when she chided them and it made her feel good that she had been able to speak her mind without fear.

With her back to the fire, Sabele sat on her knees and her head bowed down low. Her hand rested over her heart while she called out to the god of the hunt and of animals. No response came. It was a bit rare for them to not answer her, but she simply assumed he was busy with other matters.

Looking up, the cave walls that glowed with firelight didn’t surround her, but a meadow with the tree line not too far off. She caught sight of him just a few feet from her, petting a beautiful golden-haired horse. Sabele kept quiet and quickly ducked her head back down until he addressed her.

"In no hurry, I see? Come, off your knees." Have waved her over and when she came to stand next to him, he took her hand and led it to the golden mane. It felt like silk strands washed in pure gold. A beautiful dark tan covered the rest of the horse that made Sabele wonder if it had been born that way or if it occurred from just being under the sun a lot.

"Mister Have?"

"Yes?"

"I don't mean to speak out of line but aren't you an anti-social kind of person?" A word she had learned within her limited time with Opheria.

She freely ran her hands across the horse's neck making him neigh in delight.

"I am but you are here to speak to me and my horse loves the attention. He is the opposite of me. A very social creature," Sabele couldn't see Have but she could feel his gaze settled on her. "Those clothes are way too big for you, child." As the words left his mouth, her clothes melted into a beautiful winter dress that had long sleeves and pants.

"Oh thank you, sir. You said the horse is a social creature?" This time Sabele looked back to stare into his golden eyes but then quickly averted them to the ground.

"I did." His voice hesitant, confused.

"So, he likes to socialize but I don't see any other horses here. If he stays here mostly then how can he be a social creature without being able to talk to the other horses?" Sabele shuffled her feet. To her, her confusion was reasonable but Have chuckled at the child.

"I meant he likes people. You were here on behalf of some hunters. What did they want?"

Getting back on her knees with a bowed head and hand over heart, Sabele told him what the hunters had wanted. He hummed softly before helping her back to her feet.

"You can look at me. I won't be offended, child. Their offer is accepted and I will send more herds their way.” With those words, she was sent back to the mortal world. There she headed to town and sent a messenger to the hunters to let them know and then headed back to sleep. With the message delivered, Sabele slept knowing she had done her job.

"She did what?!" Fliana flung herself from her husband's side and to her mother's.

"I said that she gave me this hare as a thank you for waking her every morn. She couldn't tell when the sun had risen since my husband's rays pass right over her," Saphite jabbed a finger towards Ugaras, the sun god.

"That's surprisingly nice of you..." Amist curiously looked over at her. Saphite just rolled her eyes and continued to eat the tender meat.

"She summoned me earlier when I was out with Lagż. They gave her priestess clothes that were too big for her and covered little. Those people are ridiculous. However, I helped the hunters as asked." Have walked into the room casually and sat down by his sister, Venés.

"Valcite?"

"Yeah, windy?" Saphite growled at the stupid god.

"Deliver the hare fur and bones to Sabele. She could use them better than I could." She lifted a small leather bag and threw it at him. He caught it with ease and disappeared.

"I said not to get involved. We are to watch that is all," Agous's eyes narrowed dangerously at his mother-in-law.

"I'm not. What will I do with those anyway? Might as well give them back. She caught it herself you know." Saphite relaxed back in her chair and looked towards Amist who had a dangerous glint in her eyes. The women smiled at each other. If there was nothing they loved more than irritating the big boss was irritating the big boss by doing things their way on their time.

Sabele turned eleven just a month before in her cold miserable cave. The hare fur and bones that were returned to her proved useful in helping her make a pair of boots for the winter. Her feet weren't frozen stiff all the time and managed to keep warm for an hour out in the cold.

Have's gift of clothes was so nice that Sabele would wear them only when she had to summon a god or goddess. She also caught a hare and sacrificed it to him in thanks but instead, he sent back everything except this time the meat was cooked until tender.

Valcite had delivered both without much of a word but she thanked him too with a rabbit she had caught. He did not return anything but she did find a nice waterproof bag (tested that by accident) by her bed. She used it to collect herbs and berries along the path and rarely did it ever leave her side. She simply assumed he had delivered it to her and she thanked him mentally.

However, in the early months of her new age, she was visited by the head chief of the city. Eztil-Catl had been furious to find her not wearing the clothes and that he couldn't find them anywhere. Which leads to Sabele sitting in bruises and torn clothes. Thankfully, they weren't the clothes the god had given her. The chief got new clothes for her and threatened to strip her himself if she didn't change right then and there.

She did reluctantly.

Once she had been dressed "properly". Eztil-Catl and his men took her food for something to eat before they addressed her.

"Now, summon the god Agous before us so we may speak with him." The head chief stood tall above her cowering form.

"I-I can...can not..." She gulped and a small part of her mind called out to the god. She received no answer.

"Why not?"

"Priestesses are not to allow others to speak to the gods and goddesses without their permission beforehand." Sabele slightly scooted back in case he was to hit her.

"Then ask." His stern frown grew even more so and he seemed irritated so Sabele quickly nodded.

"Please leave. I cannot have you anywhere near." They said nothing and left. As soon as they passed out of the dome and towards the town, Sabele quickly tried to call for the god. "Mr. Agous? I have something to ask of you. Mr. Agous?"