Before continuing Emily's story, here is part 1 of a story following a young girl whose dream it was to become a priestess. I hope you enjoy!
Before she had become a priestess of the gods, Sarune Irelle lived a quiet life with her parents in a dense, thick forest. She enjoyed it… for the most part. She was taught how to behave like a proper woman, though her mother’s teachings were leaning on the side of keeping Sarune quiet and out of the way. She was told not to speak unless spoken to. She was not to stand blocking any doorway or hallway. She was to give up her seat if guests were over. In short, she was raised to act and be proper.
Sarune was given freedoms by her parents as well. She was allowed to leave the home and venture around the clearing, sometimes allowed to explore several feet into the thick of the forest. She was, however, not to go past the fence. Within the farm her father owned, there was a small wire fence that kept the livestock and Sarune in. She could easily go under the fence, but she knew better, for her mother and father told her not to leave the acreage. She was told that if she extended past the fence, she might get lost.
“The forest is unforgiving, my dear Saru,” her mother told her. This stuck with Sarune and she kept herself inside the fence at all times. To the best of her ability, she succeeded. However, as fate would have it, there was a time she had to make an exception.
It was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Sarune was out in the pasture playing catch with herself. Her mother was busy with housework and her father was tending to the sheep on the other side of the farm. One overwhelmingly hard throw and the ball Sarune had was bouncing down the field and past the fence. This had only happened once or twice before.
“No worries,” she thought to herself. “It is not that far.” She checked around for her parents and saw no one. Surely, this time would be like all others and she could get her ball and get back over the fence before anyone suspected anything. She got over to the wire fence and slipped under it. So far, sogood. She looked back to the house one more time before running for her ball. She grabbed it, slipped and slid a few feet, and then regained her balance and turned to go back.
At that moment, she was stopped. Her clothes tugged against her and she fell to the ground. She grunted, a bit panicked, and tried to get up. She couldn't move, but kept trying. Whatever was tugging at her wouldn't let go. She didn't want to look out of fear of what may be behind her. Beginning to scream, she hoped that her parents could hear and would come running. At this point, her memory gets hazy and she has forgotten, or blocked out, what happened. The last thing she remembers is a bearded man, unlike her father, reaching down and lifting her from the grasp of the unknown.
Sarune woke up in her bed. As she opened her eyes, fear flooded her once more. She jolted up into a sitting position, but was quickly hushed by her mother at the side of the bed. After her fear had subsided, pain filled her head. She put a hand up to press against the right side of her forehead. There was cloth wrapped all around her head to cover the spot she felt pain from.
"Easy now, darling. Lie back down," her mother's voice said to her. Sarune obeyed and lied herself back down. She looked up to her mother, seeing her eyes rimmed with red skin. She had been crying, but it was not obvious to Sarune. She'd never seen her mother show so much emotion before and it was new to her.
Sarune's father opened the door after hearing the small ruckus. He entered and moved to the bed to hug Sarune, a typical gesture. He told her that he was sorry, that he shouldn't have let her get out of his sight. This was normal for her father; he overreacted quite a bit.
"What happened, Father? Why do I hurt?" Sarune asked this as she held her forehead.
Her father pulled away, sadness in his eyes. "You just tripped, sweetheart. You hit your head and was knocked out, but you're alright now." Sarune took this as a good answer for her father wouldn't lie to her. It wouldn't be normal. There was one image that kept coming to her mind, though.
"Mother, Father. Where did the man go?" She asked. Her parents both looked to her, confused. "The man with all of the hair. He helped me, I think."
Sarune's parents made eye contact, confused for a moment. Her mother then looked to her. "The man you saw was Argoncin, the god of light, coming to calm you down. He was looking over you and saw you in trouble, so he decided to help." Sarune thought back to her teachings of the gods for a moment, and then smiled. It made sense to her. She felt proud - a god was looking out for her.
Sarune's bandages came off and it was at this point that she only got more questions than answers. What hurt so much on her head was a burn in the shape of a cross. "Why does it look like this, Father?" Her father had definitely seen it before.
"It is a reminder, Saru."
"A reminder of what, Father?"
"Not to go over the fence. Now, go get ready for bed." It was hardly even night outside, but Sarune knew better. "Yes, Father."
Years later, 15 year old Sarune waved goodbye to her parents as they left to buy supplies. She had already completed all of her chores for the day and was free to do as she wished. She was just tasked to keep an eye on the fence to make sure the sheep didn't get out again. It was another beautiful day and Sarune decided she would pick a bouquet of flowers to tie together for her mother's many vacant vases. It was a hobby of hers and it kept her busy in the lonely farmland.
Sarune went about with a basket, picking any flower that looked pretty to her. Her hair had grown out to cover her fading scar. It was hardly even noticeable anymore. As she continued on her way, she heard the sheep get a little antsy and acting wild. She turned and moved quickly to check on them.
After she approached, they calmed down, but were looking to the fence. She followed their gaze into the dark forest. She squinted her eyes, trying to find what they were looking at, but there was nothing there.
Before she knew what had happened, there was a prick drawing blood on her right arm. She looked down, seeing a small needle pressed into it. Within moments, she felt dizzy and fell back onto the ground. She pulled out the needle, but the blood still came. She looked back to the forest and she now saw figures moving out of the darkness.
With the rest of her strength, she screamed. "Father, help me!" She was unsure of which father she meant, whether it be her blood father or Argoncin. As she saw the figures move closer, she felt flashes of memory hit her mind and her scar burned with pain again. She crawled backwards, but hardly made it a few feet before she fell back again, now lying in the grass. She was paralyzed and could not move.
She looked to her attackers as they came closer. There were three of them: a man and two women. They were dressed in leather and one held a metal poker like her parents had in the house. She couldn't make out the shape on the end, but that was the least of her worries. She tried to scream again, but was unable to. The people reached her and kneeled down to her. One pushed her hair away from her forehead as the other two focused on the poker. The man grabbed hold of the end and in moments, it began to glow red and orange.
The woman holding it then positioned it over Sarune's head. The poker was then pressed down over her fading scar and Sarune felt searing pain on her forehead. She tried her best to scream and move away, but she was completely paralyzed. Her consciousness began to fade, but as quickly as the pain was applied, it was taken away as the woman with the poker looked down to her chest, seeing an arrow dug into her flesh. She fell back on the ground and the two others stood, the man drawing a sword and the woman drawing an axe. Sarune watched through watery eyes as there was a fight. She waited there, watching shadows move across her vision. She waited and waited, consciousness slowly fading from the pain.
While Sarune slept, she dreamt of a room. In this room, she was sat down in a large, padded chair. Her consciousness told her that she was safe, and she felt comfort. There wasn't pain on her head like before and the room was dimly lit so that it wouldn't strain her eyes. Across from her, she saw two chairs. One was tall and seemingly durable; the other was smaller and seemingly fragile. The large chair was made of dark wood while the other was a lighter, paler shade.
The door that was ajar on the side of the room swung open and two figures stepped into the room with Sarune. She felt calm, but was hesitant. This felt too soothing for her. The figures moved to the chairs and sat down. One of them was a bearded man like she had seen the first day she received the scar. The other was a woman. Her gaze was soft and she was beautiful. The two looked to Sarune who had looked completely confused.
"Relax," the man said. Sarune quickly obeyed, forcing herself into an awkward, relaxed sitting position. She looked to both of the people and began to think.
"Argoncin? Yhannason? Father, Mother?" The two people looked to each other, then looked back to Sarune and nodded their heads. Sarune continued, "Did you save me again? From the forest?" They glanced at one another once more, and the man then spoke to her.
"You behave very well, Sarune," the man said to her. Sarune heard his words and then came to her senses. She pushed herself forward out of her chair into a kneeling bow.
"Rise, child," the woman spoke. Her voice was so soothing that Sarune didn't think twice about rising to her knees.
"Sarune, you've been studying well?" the man's voice was a bit more authoritative, but fatherly.
She bowed her head before speaking. "Yes, Father."
"Good. We have faith in you."
She hesitated before speaking. "Those people, Father."
"Heretics, Sarune. They believe in a single god that looks over the world, not the many we know. They wished to bring you to believe as well. They wanted to make you stray from the righteous path."
"I wouldn't, Father."
"We are well aware, young one," the woman spoke for the man.
"What is it that you would like me to do?"
"Keep faith, Sarune. Keep on the path of righteousness and do not stray from it. Keep your faith strong and smother those who wish to turn you away." The man's voice deepened for a moment, but reverted back to its original fatherly tone. "Follow the path and drive those who do not believe to believe. They need your guidance."
"Yes, Father."
"You're a very well behaved girl, Sarune," the woman's voice echoed.
"Thank you, Mother." Sarune stayed bowed until spoken to, but no one spoke to her again. She looked up again and shut her eyes again. It was sunny out and she was far from the room she was in moments ago. She was crouched on her knees and she heard two people yelling her name. She looked up to see three people, but not her attackers. It was her mother, father, and a second man.
Sarune went to stand but fell again. She was very dizzy and could hardly keep her balance. Her mother reached her first, who put a damp cloth over her bleeding arm. Sarune's father took hold of her face and saw the scar had been burned once more, now a grayish-red against her gray skin. He looked around the area and hugged Sarune's head to his stomach. Her vision was obscured and she was quickly carried off to the house. The other man stayed behind.
Sarune found herself again in her bed. Her forehead hurt once more and she was still dizzy. Her mother brought her water and had her drink, to which she drank three glasses before slowing down. She rested for hours before waking again to her mother waiting at her side.
"Feel better now?"
"Yes, Mother, a bit."
"What do you remember happening?" Her mother sounded concerned. Sarune told her about the flowers, the sheep, and the attackers. She then went on to tell her about her conversation with the people she assumed were the gods.
"You should feel safe, little Sarune, to have them looking over you in your times of need."
"Why don't those people believe in the gods? Where are they?"
"Some people have different beliefs, I guess. They won't bother you anymore."
"Why did they hurt me?"
Her mother sighed, holding back tears. "They wanted to scare you into believing in what they believe in."
"Where did the other man go?"
"Your father is speaking with him. Get some rest, though. You need it to recover."
"Yes, Mother."
Her mother stood and went to the door, but turned. "What are you going to do?"
"Smother those who wish to turn me away, Mother."
She dropped her jaw. "What?" she asked her daughter.
"Uh. Rest, Mother. I am going to rest." Her mother stood in the doorway a few more moments before turning and slowly closing the door. Sarune thought back on what she said to her mother. Did the gods really speak to her?
It was true that the attackers would no longer bother Sarune. Sarune was exploring around the farm weeks after recovering and found three graves with symbols of the gods placed over them. They seemed odd, but Sarune continued on her way, thinking little of them. Sarune grew up with a now permanent scar of a cross on her forehead. She eventually left her family's home to be a priestess in a neighboring settlement. In doing so, her parents wished her the best and promised her a permanent home if she ever needed it.
Sarune made it to the first town and immediately went to the cathedral. A sermon was underway, so she sat herself down in the back and listened. The sermon was over the teachings of Argoncin. Sarune perked up and listened intently to the teachings as if it was Argoncin himself teaching her. It was a sermon similar to what she had been to before, but this time, it felt different. She was on her own and allowed to do as she wished. She could do anything and be anything she wanted.
"I'd like to become a priestess for the church," she said to the priest who had administered the sermon.
"Loving child, Sarune, is that what you wish? It is difficult work; not meant for most people." The priest had seen her many times with her parents. He knew her since she was a child and had let her help around the church before. It wasn't out of the ordinary that she would request such a thing.
"It's all I've ever wanted," Sarune reassured him. "I can... sweep the floors, dust the altars. I'll do whatever needs done, but I want to work here- for the gods." She was confident and didn't seem to give in anytime soon.
"Very well, young one. Go, put on some robes in the back. First, you will make sure the library is organized and neat."
"Yes, I will." Sarune ran off to do as instructed, for this was her dream: to be a priestess.
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