In the centre of the temple, the ash coated stone rumbled with the approach of a dozen small eager feet. The sun peeked over the horizon, one last look before giving the world over to the bright moon. Jade breathed in the flickering warmth of the bonfire. She rubbed her hands close to it. The chatter of children flowed into the temple from the bottom of its hill. Jade shrank behind one of the pillars. In time, the little ones came close enough for their scent of dirt to merge with the wild crackles of the firewood. She breathed it in deeply.
‘We can do this,’ Jade muttered, pulling her silver cloak tighter around her. As the an older voice hushed the children’s chatter, her hood fell over her, denying the breeze the touch of her hairless head. The fresh spawns of new locks scratched the cotton inside.
‘Are you well?’ a voice leapt into fray. Gwen Tennent, strength in a human form with a stride that threatened to tear through the rocky foundations of the temple, bounded up to Jade with an infectious smile. Her mark showed itself at all times on her forehead, three triangles to represent her Order of the Paladins. Gwen’s muscular physique blended in with the thick pillars with her own battered brown robe. She chuckled.
‘First time giving the talk?’
Jade grumbled, pushing aside any worry in favour of heated determination.
Gwen patted her back. ‘Shouldn’t be too hard for a Child of the Eyes. You must have heard it a hundred times preparing.’ She looked around. ‘Are you the only one?’
‘They trusted me with the talk this evening alone.’ Jade took another deep breath. ‘You should call them up. There’s no sense in wasting time.’
‘Will do.’ Gwen hesitated. ‘Who did the Clan send?’
Their answer came as the sweet music of a flute crawled up the hill to their ears. The two shuddered, knowing the dry lips that touched the finely crafted wood well enough to know the cold night came early. Sure enough, the spindly figure of Clare Morningstar rose from the hill. Her music carried the attention of the children behind her. Their awed expressions added a warmth to the temple the bonfire couldn’t match. Clare’s crimson cloak swept the grass beneath her before meeting the worn stone. A man brought up the rear, wrinkles caressing his features but with a light in his gaze rarely seen with age. He bent down an assured a boy with eyes so similar to his own and blonde curls distant from the man’s baldness. Clare clapped suddenly, ensnaring their attention again. Slowly, she pocketed her flute inside her cloak. Her hood draped over the top half of her face. She gestured to the ground. Without a single syllable leaving her lips, the children sat in front of the bonfire. Their ill fitting white garbs stood out against the last evening droplets of the sun. Silence remained until Clare turned stiffly to the man. He grew pale under her glare before taking a seat behind his boy. With a nod, Clare looked to Jade.
‘They are all yours now, sister,’ came her croaky words.
‘Thank you, sister.’ She paced around the bonfire, arms tucked behind her back. Ten children. Thirteen judges. Jade ran through the speech in her mind, first as the speaker, then as a child what felt like a lifetime ago. She reached to twirl her hair instinctively. When she touched nothing, she coughed, gaining the anticipation of those around her.
‘Welcome to the Trinity Temple,’ Jade began. ‘As tomorrow will see another victor of the trials enter the ritual circle, the time has come to explain it to you what that means for them.’
A girl, streaks of snot coating her cheeks, raised her hand. ‘Do they get a prize.’
Jade paused. ‘You could say that, though it will be one they always have with them.’
The row of children shot their hands in their air. A flood of questions poured out. Jade clapped her hands together abruptly, quietening them back down. She gave a smile, too aware of the force she used.
‘All your questions will be answered.’ Jade snapped her fingers. She pulled up her sleeve and showed the children the mark of eyes on her arm. ‘Who can tell me what this mark is?’
They looked to each other with shy glances, mumbling answers smeared in doubt. One boy, sat next to the one with golden locks, drummed his fingers on the stone floor. He stopped suddenly before shooting a hand past his freckled face.
‘Do they give you specal powers?’
Jade stood back up. ‘Not exactly but a good guess. When you complete the trials and step into the big symbol, you go to the world of the spirits.’ She caught her tone. ‘Don’t worry, it’s just where Kayla, Ki, and Belna live to reward us.’ Jade ushered the rising hands back down. ‘A winner goes to them and asks one of them for a blessing. I chose the blessing of Belna when it was my turn.’
‘Why?’ The word echoed amongst the children. ‘Why?’ repeated Clare as she paced around behind the visitors. ‘I’ll admit I’m curious.’
Jade let the steady stream of personal questions flitter from the group while she stepped back behind the bonfire, using the flames to disguise the sneer she gave Clare. Gwen took a cautious step towards her.
‘When I was a very little girl, no older than you all,’ Jade began, ‘I sat where you are now and was told about the three spirits and what they stood for.’ Sharing a smirk with Gwen, the paladin backed away. ‘Kayla stands for a warrior’s heart, fearless and powerful in the face of danger.’ Clare sat with the children, playing her flute softly. ‘Belna, in contrast, represents peace and kindness in the darkest of times. Lastly, there’s Ki, the oldest and wisest of the trio who believes a combination of sword and shield is needed in all things.’ The corner of Jade’s eye caught the pride that filled Gwen’s cheeks. ‘So, when I was old enough and passed my cycle’s trial, I saw Belna and wanted to live my life that way. They may not give you special powers but they are a promise that you will live by that believe every day.’ She glared at Clare, restraining the anger from her tone. ‘Does this answer your question?’
Clare stopped playing. She nodded. ‘Very much so.’
‘Why do they give you a mark?’ asked a mousy girl.
The lively bonfire covered the grumble of irritation. Jade steadied herself, forgiving her own oversight.
‘The mark tells others of the promise you made and binds you to a wider family. You see that Gwen here has the mark of Ki on her forehead while Clare…’ Jade stepped out from behind the flames. ‘I’ve never actually asked you where your mark is. Where did they put yours, sister?’
Keeping the children on edge, Clare slowly returned her flute to its pocket before rising to her feet. She took a place beside Jade. She put down her hood to reveal the narrow dagger like symbol on her eye. Her younger audience either shrank from it or had amazement thrust upon their expressions while the man watched his boy’s reaction closely.
Children don’t have middle grounds, I suppose.
One child, attention lingering on the floor, rubbed her shoulder. Words slipped out of her cracked lips lazily, inaudible to all except from other children.
Jade moved not as herself but as a Child of the Eyes, graceful and mindful of each step she took. She kneeled in front of the little girl. Jade listened to her repeat the words then played it over again in her mind until she deciphered their meaning.
‘Do we bring tributes to them?’
The child nodded.
Jade bounded to her feet. She eyed Gwen covering an amused smirk with thick knuckles. With her own mischievous glee, Jade rushed to the paladin’s side. She stood with a mocking bravado matching Gwen.
‘That is a great question,’ she cooed. ‘Sister Gwen Tennent would be happy to help explain that.’ Her elbow prodded Gwen forward. Jade made a mental note to apologise despite the familiar warm that spread throughout her with the action.
Gwen coughed. ‘While we do bring tributes to our Gods, the three spirits are not Gods. They are old, yes, but they are not creators.’ She paused. ‘Mind you, if you brought them food they probably wouldn’t mind. What do they eat? I should ask the next victor to take something to see, next cycle is never far away. If it was, it would take some time to build up members. I suppose other communities would have to send members other. I’ve always wanted to work with gnomes.’
Jade patted her broad shoulders. ‘Thank you, sister Gwen.’
The little girl’s unease washed away into the cool of the new night. Vigour spread from her to the other children, causing a flurry of small hands to shoot into the air. The man beamed as he own child joined in.
‘Sister Clare Morningstar can also answer questions with us,’ announced Gwen.
With a reluctant nod, the Clan member skulked to the pair and chose a question.
The complete Trinity.
Tradition, routine, the natural order, races called it something different every few years but their fate remained the same. From the highest lord to the lowest servant, all could end up in front of their doors. Three possibilities stood in front of them. Kayla and her siblings watched the circle closely for the next mortal who would make a choice. She looked on, formless in a near vacant void, at the symbol before the three doors. A circle for life, a trio of short triangles for Ki’s crown, two eyes for Belna’s sight, and a sharp down pointed dagger for Kayla’s own flavour. It hummed quietly. The glow from their symbols rippled out into the darkness, illuminating the faded reflection of a hall. Kayla sneered at it. One hundred cycles ago, Belna adjusted the void to give it more of a shape for their guests. She’d argued that people made clearer decisions when comfortable. Much to Kayla’s displeasure, Belna gave the hall a translucent sheen seen in the richest of mortal dwellings with a warm ember glow trailing around the void and back to the symbol.
A waste of time.
Kayla’s mood brightened as the beam of light erupted from the sigil. She felt her form blossom, each claw and jagged spike taking root in strong flesh but not visible to a mortal gaze yet. On cue, she waited to appear, letting Ki make the first move.
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‘Greeting friend,’ his booming voice welcomed. ‘You have passed the trials and so have earned a blessing from one of us.’ He took shape as a golden clad knight fading into existence. A pair of blue lights emerged behind Ki’s visor. In his hands he clutched a great sword, the end embedded into the ground of the hall while a diamond shield adored his back without the need for straps. Ki’s armour glistened as he spoke. ‘I am the spirit Ki, choosing my blessing will set you on the path of a great leader, one who knows when to rely on steel or when to use your mind to guide you.’ He stood resplendent in front of his door. A shining monolith of metal, Ki’s path held the symbol of a crown in its centre, the handle a hilt of a sword.
Belna stepped forward next. Her soft voice walked delicately to anyone’s ears. She took the form of a tall elf with starlight skin that culminated in a stream of water from atop her head flowing down to the ground like a wave of long aquatic hair.
‘I’m the spirit Belna, choosing me blesses you with a peaceful heart and begins your journey to a life of helping others without cold steel.’
A blanket wafted from her doorway, the perfect capture of a moonlight sky. Belna’s path needed no handle, only for a mortal to walk through it.
My turn.
Kayla manifested in a flash of fire, feeling satisfaction warm her as her spiked tail dropped to the floor with a thud. Her feline eyes tracked the lowering beam of light. The anticipation made her sleek fur stand on end. She wiped her tongue across her sharp teeth. Kayla made her form taller than her siblings for good measure. As she grinned, the realm felt it, Kayla noting with amusement the slight shudder from her siblings when it reached them.
She snickered. ‘My name is Kayla, a spirit to bless your life with power.’ With the beam halfway down without any sign of the mortal, Kayla’s grin grew wider. Dwarf, goblin, gnome, all races that favour me. ‘Choosing me beings your fight to be an unstoppable warrior that…’
Kayla’s words petered out as a pair of youthful human eyes scanned the room. Its tufts of blonde hair bounced while its small legs eagerly brought it closer to the three. The garments it wore ill suited the bright expression it carried, rough and older than the wearer.
‘Helwo,’ it waved cheerily.
Belna waved back. ‘A child?’
Kayla backed into her door, a hearty structure of scorched oak with a hole used for where a handle should have been.
Ki let go of his sword and knelt down.
‘He must have run into the ritual on the other side.’ Ki held out a gauntlet. ‘Hello there, what’s your name?’
The child grew shy. ‘Caweb.’
Kayla stared at Caleb, claws dulling until they became simple furred fingers. With the final burst of the beam, Caleb flinched in the hall lit by armour, skin, and the dying embers beneath Kayla’s feet. Unease crept onto the child’s face.
‘It’s alright,’ Belna assured. ‘We don’t mean you any harm.’ She turned to Kayla. ‘Perhaps you should leave us to deal with him. You might frighten him.’
Her words fell short as Caleb locked eyes with Kayla.
‘K…kitty?’ he muttered.
The spikes on her tail shrank out of existence. Caleb watched it wave about. It drew him closer. With each small step, Kayla’s teeth dulled, as did the harder features of her form.
Belna reached out to the child. ‘Caleb, come here, please.’
Swiftly, Kayla scooped him up in her arms, filling the void with a gleeful laughter only children could master. She sat down with him, crossing her legs for him to sit on.
‘Humans are my favourite race,’ she told him. ‘I’ve not met a small one before.’ Kayla stroked his cheek.
‘You big kitty,’ Caleb declared.
Belna sighed with relief. ‘Thank you, Kayla.’
‘Kawa,’ Caleb repeated.
She nodded.
‘An eventful cycle,’ Ki commented. ‘It makes it more interesting for whose blessing he’ll pick.’
Kayla raised an eyebrow. ‘Pick?’
Belna folded her arms, the current of her hair slowing down.
‘Is it right for him to choose? He hasn’t had the experience other visitors have in life.’
As Ki stood back up, armour clanging sweetly, he placed a hand on Belna’s shoulder.
‘Unfortunately, that’s the way of the ritual. The only way out is to decide on your blessing.’
‘Why does he have to leave?’ Kayla asked.
The silence swallowed the void whole.
She ran her fingers through Caleb’s hair before carefully rising to meet Belna’s gaze. The boy weighed little in Kayla’s gentle grasp.
‘He’s here now so we could keep him.’ She addressed the child. ‘Would you like to stay here?’
Caleb looked back to the symbol. ‘Pa?’ His lip began to tremble. ‘Pa?’
‘His father,’ answered Ki. ‘No doubt he has family who are worried about him.’
Belna floated to Kayla’s side. ‘Another reason for him to go back. The tricky part will be getting him to choose which door.’
Kayla stepped away. Her teeth sharpened. What started as a soft pur-like grumble soon mutating into a primal growl caused the realm to rumble beneath her, Caleb’s gaze widening. ‘We could bring his family here,’ she bargained. ‘There’s plenty of room.’
Ki shook his head, leaning his back against his door. The short clash of metal rang throughout the void.‘This realm wasn’t meant for mortals. They’d be sleepless, likely driven mad.’
Distress from Caleb spread to Kayla, soothing the harsher aspects away. She hugged him tighter, trying to find a reason he could stay with her. Caleb looked at her with wide quivering eyes. She wiped a tear from his face.
‘Do you want to go home?’
The boy nodded. ‘Kitty come to wif wright and armwer.’
Ki chuckled. ‘Light and armour, very good.’
Kayla’s expression pleaded for Belna to answer. She listened.
‘Sadly, no.’ Belna eased Caleb from Kayla’s grasp and back to the floor. ‘We have to stay here but one of us can give you a gift.’
‘That’s right,’ Ki joined in. ‘All you have to do is pick a door and your Pa will be on the other side. Whoever’s door you’ll pick will give you something.’
The three spirit knelt in front of their retrospective doors, trying to best reach something more comfortable for Caleb by shrinking the forms to match an average humans height.
In the centre of the room, Caleb’s excitement washed away leaving him panic stricken as his gaze darted between the spirits and their doors.
‘I…’ Caleb’s limited words stopped and started a dozen times under the patient eyes of Kayla’s siblings.
‘It’s all right,’ she spoke up, catching the boys attention. ‘Why don’t you pick your favourite door.’
‘Door,’ Caleb repeated. He sat down drawing a circle on the floor with his finger.
Kayla looked to Ki. ‘Couldn’t we just tell him which door to go through?’
Belna shook her head. ‘He must want to go through it or the door will simply place him back here.’
Kayla sneered. ‘But he’s a child, he doesn’t know what path he wants. He just wants his Pa.’
Ki nodded. ‘Agreed.’ The snap from his gauntlet shot through Kayla. ‘Unless there was a forth choice.’
Belna tilted her head. ‘I’m not sure I follow you. That would confuse him more.’
‘Unless the fourth choice was one door,’ Ki explained
‘Door?’ echoed Caleb.
‘Then that wouldn’t be a choice,’ Kayla agreed softly.
‘It would be all the choices,’ Ki’s tone grew slier. ‘A mortal comes here to choose which path to follow whose blessing to receive. What if we gave him all our blessings then he’d be free to follow any path he wanted.’
Belna hummed. ‘He’d have to find balance. Our paths can contradict each other.’
‘He would have the freedom later to set any as his preferred path, even a combination of all of them.’ Ki rose followed closely by Kayla. ‘When he left this place he would not just be a warrior, a leader, or a healer. They would see him being blessed by all, he would have more freedom than any of them.’
‘No,’ Layla clenched her fist in determination. ‘Not just our blessing, he should have our guidance as well.’
Caleb pushed himself to his feet. His feet stepped forward, changing direction to whoever spoke.
‘So no matter what path he decided, we would help him,’ clarified Belna.
They each placed a hand on their own door. Caleb’s reached out with wonder as their frames expanded into one another, their features cancelling each other out until a door of gentle white light lay before Caleb.
Kayla crouched beside him. ‘Would you like us all to give you a gift?’
‘Pwrease,’ he replied happily.
‘Just walk through the light and you’ll get them. You can show your Pa too.’
Caleb beamed before charging into the fourth and only door.
Kayla’s form dissolved into nothing, leaving her consciousness to follow him. Her siblings joined her. The energy of the void still entomb her but she saw the open world for the first time in centuries. Bitterly cold autumn air shrank away from her. As people walked through her she pressed down on theirs. Some shuddered at their own anger while others embraced it, their hot anger fighting back the chill in the air. Once away from her, people calmed, much to her displeasure.
Kayla recognised the presence of her siblings as they watched the scene from overhead. The beam of light appeared once more in a symbol identical to the one in the void. A crowd of races surrounded this one amidst huts of wood and stone, each varying in size with the large ones decorated in the runes of her kin. Mud caked the souls of a thousand shoes as the people frantically drew closer to the circle. Bonfires on brick alters dimmed with the arrival of Caleb back home.
Travis Gallagher, lines of tears streaming down his dirtied face, pushed passed the crowds. The beam of light called to him. Even as he hurried to it he called out Caleb’s name, voice hoarse with despair. Travis stumbled in his rush to get to the circle. Anytime he collided with the ground he brushed aside the pain and bolted back to his feet until he reached the edge of the circle. The light dissipated peace by peace. Caleb’s calls for “Pa!” broke through the vibrant hum of the shortening beam of light. The moment that his son’s eyes peered back at him, Caleb launched himself into his Pa’s arm, cheering about the “Kitty, wright, and armwer” he’d seen. With one arm, the Travis held his son closely while his other batted away the crowds eager to ask questions.
‘Leave him be,’ he bellowed, cracks of exhaustion showing through in his voice. ‘I can ask him later, right now we should prepare the ritual again for Julius to go through.’
The words “one per cycle” rippled through the people.
‘Which door did he pick?’ asked an elderly woman.
People close to her echoed her sentiment. As did the three sisters swimming amongst the crowd with the cloaks catching the attention of children hiding behind their own parents.
Caleb hugged his Travis tight, burying his head in his shoulder. Travis’ glare silenced only a few of them, others too overcome with questions. His son whimpered.
The wind growled as the bonfires burst with life, their flames blazing a deep green. The quiet that wrapped its claws around the people gave Caleb a chuckle. Each bonfire flickered in unison with his joy. As the crowd began to whisper, the flames calmed.
His son’s ease rubbed off on him until sister Morningstar sent a chill through his soul.
‘Kayla blessed him!’ She declared. ‘He is a warrior.’
A wind rushed around Travis and Caleb much to the boy’s delight. The fires dissolved into green ash.
‘Belna,’ exclaimed Jade, relief adorning her expression. ‘He chose our way of peace.’
Thunder roared without a cloud in the sky while the creaks and crackles on a single bonfire screeched. In a matter of moments the bonfire’s ash solidified. Cautiously, Travis approached it. As he ascended the short steps, Caleb reached out in excitement, fingers dancing for the right to grab something. He lowered his son down so Caleb could touch the now cool bonfire. The boy plucked a small medal from the alter. It held the symbol of a gold crown and the boy clutched it tightly to his chest.
Travis raised an eyebrow. ‘The King has blessed him? He’ll be a leader, I suppose.’ Doubt coated each word he spoke. The crowd once again took up chatter, their conviction bellowing throughout the town. Travis held up a hand to no avail.
A sharp whistle hushed the crowd as Gwen strode to his side
‘Look, we will see what symbol they gave him. Then we will know which door he chose, sound fair?’ She nodded to Travis
Clare approached, hands together in prayer. Jade and Gwen quickly followed suit.
Travis took a deep breath and turned to Caleb. ‘Pa is just going to check for a gift, all right.’
The boy nodded obliviously.
Travis checked the left arm first. His hand shivered more with the passing seconds, eyes scanning the appendage for any mark. He put it down and shook his head before searching the boy’s right arm. Travis’ thumb prodded Caleb’s palm who giggled. It glowed softly with his joy.
‘Whose mark does he have, the dagger, the eyes, or the crown?’ asked Clare.
Travis laughed nervously. ‘Yes.’ With his three hand he gestured for the woman to come forward. The crowds waited with curious conversations as the sisters inspected Caleb’s hand under the reassurances of his Pa that they meant no harm.
The trio chatting amongst themselves, anyone close tilted their head in hopes of catching any of their conversation. Travis grunted. He straightened himself before addressing the crowd.
‘My son’s mark holds the symbol of all three spirits!’ he announced.
The townsfolk erupted into debates, some fuelled purely by confusion.
Caleb’s attention darted from conversation to conversation. He shook in Travis’ grasp. Embers of the bonfire flickered, catching his son’s gaze. A nervous smile made his way onto his face. Caleb reached up to the sky and caught the first of the rain. It came down quietly at first before it could usher the crowd into shelter.
‘Wain,’ cried Caleb with glee as his Travis rushed him to their home. He waved behind him. ‘Bye Kitty, bye wright, bye armwer.’