Bruis poured Kyren another drink. It was her tenth of the evening, and as usual the only indication that she’d had any was the slightly larger than usual smile she was wearing. That day her smile seemed strained. Bruis had been doing his best to help her relax and put her mind at ease, but she’d been throwing herself into rising in the church with such force that she was exhausted. She had dark bags under her eyes from not sleeping and she’d been fasting most of the day.

Bruis had asked his grandmother, Kyren’s mentor, what exactly she was doing, but he’d received a swift slap on the back of his head for his trouble along with a stern lecture on asking after church secrets. Luckily he had other sources. A chat with a priestess of Jeiri had let him know that Kyren was at this point in constant commune with Sidi. If she could maintain the level of focus and dedication she had been then she would reach a new stage of priesthood both within herself and within the church.

Next to Kyren on the bar sat Old Osric. He was a gray tabby cat with black stripes and green eyes. As far as most were concerned, Old Osric was the cornerstone on which the church in the capital had been built. There had always been an Old Osric, even before his grandmother’s time, and his line had produced an unbroken chain of Osrics for as long as anyone could remember. He was a source of comfort by all those seeking their vestments and he’d been particularly close to Kyren since she’d begun her rededication to the church.

Kyren finished her ale and Bruis poured her another.

“So, have you learned anything?” he asked.

Kyren looked around, making sure the bar was empty. “Have you ever wondered why the gods aren’t as active here as they used to be?”

“What do you mean? We experience the gods every day.”

“We experience them through priests, through visions, and some of us through direct conversation, but they aren’t ‘here’ in the way they used to be.”

“You mean, not walking among us?”

“Exactly. In histories and stories the gods would physically appear. They would influence things directly. They’d even have children with mortals.”

“Is that what you learned? Why they stopped?”

Kyren sighed, exhausted. “No, the only thing I learned was that the question exists. I have a theory, or maybe just an inkling of what happened, but it’s on the edges of my awareness, never solid enough for me to grasp. I know it’s important though, and I know it will help me find the answers I seek.”

Bruis thought for a moment, absently scratching behind Old Osric’s ears. “Do you think it’s that the gods don’t live as close because they won’t or because they can't?”

Kyren perked up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean are we assuming that they don’t want to be closer or is it that they can’t be? Is something keeping them from here? If so, what could stop them from doing what they wanted?”

“Well, for one of the major gods it would likely take two or more to fully restrain them. Though there are some gods that are more major than others.”

Bruis took her now empty mug and put it to the side for cleaning. “What about an agreement? Something between all of them.”

“That would be possible, but why? What would make them limit themselves?”

Bruis shrugged. “I’m not sure.” He’d spoken with enough drunken clerics to have picked up the skills needed for a philosophical conversation, but he rarely had answers to questions. Even if he did he was fairly certain the questions were meant to be rhetorical.

Kyren rubbed her eyes and yawned. “I should try and get some sleep. Thank you for the ale, and the conversation.”

“Anytime,” said Bruis.

Kyren got up and went to her room. Bruis had upgraded her from the communal room she’d shared with her companions to a small suite of her own. Aside from two short trips she’d taken to and from her estate, she’d basically made it her home. Bruis was happy to have her company, but he was worried about her. Men had been into the bar multiple times asking about her, wanting specifics on who she’d spoken with and where she was going. Luckily Bruis was able to be honest thanks to the care Kyren was taking, but what he’d been able to infer made him scared for her. He’d prefer to pretend he wasn't involved even as he was actively assisting it by assisting Kyren.

“She’s getting very close to some real answers. It’s quite impressive.”

Bruis startled, looking around for the source of the voice, but he saw no one. “Hello? Is someone there?”

“Nope, no one’s here,” said a voice behind him.

Bruis jumped and whipped around, but saw only Osric perched on the top shelf behind the bar, the top shelf being where cats naturally belonged.

“Osric?”

“That’s me,” said the voice, but Osric’s mouth didn’t move.

Bruis thought for a moment. Talking animals weren’t unheard of. He’d even met a talking dog once, though it didn’t have much to talk about aside from the joys of herding sheep. Still, he’d known Osric, or Osric's dad for his entire life.

“Osric, are you talking?”

“Not technically, no.”

“Uh, huh… then what would you call what you’re doing?”

“Telepathy.”

Bruis leaned on the bar, “Am I hallucinating?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Bruis took a deep breath to collect himself. The cat could talk, and it had an attitude. “Could you always ta-er use telepathy?”

“Yes. I can also talk, but not in this form.”

“This form?”

“Yes.” Osric stretched and leapt down to the bar. “Though I’m unable to change shape at the moment, too risky.”

“Well, if you could always talk, why haven’t I heard you do so before now?”

“I talk quite frequently actually, just not usually to those outside the mysteries.”

“You mean, you only talk to those in the high clergy?”

“A few of them through history, none recently.”

“Well, why are you talking to me, now?”

Osric began cleaning between the toes of his left foot. “Because I see an opportunity with our mutual friend.”

“Kyren?”

“Yes. She is young, and brave. I think she may be just the one I need to move the church or at least some of it, into motion.”

“Into motion of what kind?”

“Open conflict with the crown, and others.”

Bruis blinked, shook his head, left the room, splashed some water on his face, returned, and gave himself a pinch. “What was that?”

“Open conflict with the crown, and others.”

“I think I may need to go lie down.”

“I’m afraid I need you to sit down and listen.”

Bruis found himself doing just that, and wondering why he was planning on leaving in the first place.

“Good, thank you. Now what I’m going to need you to do is take this.” Osric pushed a small bundle of plants that hadn’t been in front of him before into Bruis’ hand with his nose.

“What’s this?”

“Godroot.”

“What do you want me to do with it?”

“Put some into the next drink you serve her.”

Bruis went red. “I would never serve a patron a drink with something they didn’t agree to in it.”

Osric’s eyes flashed. “Listen to me, little man. You putting that into her drink may be the difference between my freedom or my death as well as the death of thousands of others. You will serve it to her.”

Bruis found himself cowed by the small old tabby in front of him. “What does it do?”

“It will completely restore her energy and allow her to briefly channel the god whom she’s closest with directly. This is the last piece in existence. It’s been extinct for quite some time. Humans apparently took it until it was gone from this world.”

“How will that help? Kyren can already talk to Sidi.”

“She can commune with her. Channeling is completely different. To channel a god is to become them.”

“Gods! Why would she need that?”

“She's in danger. The kind she needs divine intervention to save her from.”

Bruis inhaled. “It won’t hurt her?”

“No, in fact, she’ll feel better than ever.”

“Is there some way I could help to protect her? Why don’t we just warn her?”

Osric shook his head. “She won’t trust me when I communicate with her, and I can’t play my hand that way. There are limits to what I can do and even this is stretching them. This is the only way.”

“Why doesn’t Sidi interfere herself, or talk to her?”

“Sidi is limited in what she can do here. You and Kyren already figured out why. This is a way to very temporarily bend the rules, one I’ve saved for a thousand years.”

“A thousand!?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you just put this in her drink yourself?”

“The intent matters with an ingredient like this. She needs to trust who gives it and the one who gives it to her needs to do so out of benevolence.”

Bruis looked at the plant in his hand. “Fine. I feel like you're telling, or thinking, me the truth. I’ll do it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to lie to her when I give her the drink though. She knows me well, she'll probably realize something is up.”

Osric licked his paw and began cleaning his face. “Don’t worry about that. Now that I have your agreement, I’ll make it like we never talked. You’ll perform the action you’ve agreed to without even realizing it.”

“Wait what?”

“Thanks again, you’re saving lives by doing this, mine most importantly.”

…

Kyren felt strange. Not bad strange, good strange. She’d been exhausted for the last several weeks as she went through a cycle of fasting, meditation, and prayer with only brief breaks that weren’t nearly enough to allow her to recover. Today though, she felt as if all of her energy had been restored. More than restored in fact, she felt better than ever. She felt as if she could tug at the very essence of the power she borrowed from Sidi and send it out of her hands as raw energy. She chose not to test it, but she was tempted.

The tasks set out to her by her mentor were complete and now was the time to present herself to the leaders of the temple and hear their determination as to whether she would be welcomed into the high mysteries. Even before she started feeling better this morning she’d already begun to feel a new level of closeness with not just her goddess, but the world around her as well. The contemplation she’d lost herself in had made her feel like she was beginning to understand questions that tugged at the foundational elements of the universe. It was just a feeling of course, but it still felt like progress.

She arrived at the temple a little early, taking the time to scratch Old Osric under the chin as she passed him. Some initiates nodded or waved at her as she passed and when she reached Serah, her mentor, they shared a brief bow to one another.

Serah looked her over. “You seem in remarkably good spirits.”

Kyren nodded. “It’s strange, I feel very refreshed. Is that typical for disciples when we reach this stage?”

Her mentor laughed. “Absolutely not. I was so tired and hungry at this point that I told one of the priests at my review to go jump off the roof.”

“Really? You?”

“I was a fiery young thing once, Kyren. Not all of us are born with old souls like you.”

Before Kyren could respond a man in a grey robe opened the door and gestured them inside. The room was made up of a semicircle table at which sat four chairs. Serah left Kyren’s side to go sit at one of the chairs while Kyren took her place in the middle. Aside from Serah was Iomed, a priestess of Jeiri, Jun a priest of all gods, and Priyap, a priest of Krish. They varied widely in age with Serah being the oldest and Jun the youngest. They were all as different a group as was possible. Priyap was a half elven man with a shaved head, tan skin, and sharp features. Jun was a young dwarf with no beard, but long lustrous brown hair and a kind smile. Iomed was a middle aged human woman with a small wine glass in her hand and curly hair that tumbled past her shoulders, her eyes were nearly closed and she’d clearly been in her cups. Serah was wearing her usual white robes with nothing out of place, her dark skin was wrinkled with age and her hair was gray, but long and well maintained.

Kyren bowed and waited. It wasn’t her place to begin the conversation.

Jun stood. “Kyren, welcome. We are gathered here today to discuss whether you should be allowed access to the higher mysteries of our temple. In order to honor Dur we of the council prefer to have the discussions in front of the supplicant in order to give her the chance to defend herself in honor of fairness.”

“I understand.”

“Excellent. From here we’ll be moving along the table giving our votes and why we believe they are justified. Priyap?”

He stood as Jun sat. “Good morning Kyren. It’s a testament to your will that you are not shaking right now. I know that when I was before the previous council I was trembling from the lack of food and spiritual preparation.”

“Thank you.”

“I vote to allow her access to all sacred knowledge. Unlike many among the clergy she has spent her time out in the world and I believe that experience will be invaluable and that she has rightfully earned a place among us.”

Priyap sat and Serah stood. “My vote is the same. Kyren’s dedication to Sidi is equal to my own and her work has always reflected the will of our goddess.”

Jun stood. “I’m of the opinion that Kyren needs the access more than anyone else. As I’ve been advocating to the rest of you I believe now is the time for the church to take a more active role, particularly with the information that has been coming to light. I vote to allow her access.” Jun sat.

Iomed stood, took a sip of her drink, and gave Kyren a long look. “I have said it time and time again. We should not be involving ourselves in the affairs of state. I have kept us from this precipice dozens of times and I intend to continue doing so. I vote that Kyren not be allowed access to the mysteries. I believe she’d be disruptive and could damage the reputation of all members of the clergy. If we were to be more active, I would not be surprised if priests are barred from towns, their assets seized, and perhaps even their lives taken. We need to consider what acting against a king would entail, not just for us, but for all priests and clerics across the country.”

That surprised Kyren. Iomed had been on her side in the past. Still, she had a chance to argue and chose to take it. “I would think that now more than ever the church should be involved in what’s going on. We stand at the brink of war and there are powers at play that directly involve us.”

“Powers that you know nothing about. Just what you infer.”

“Which is exactly why I’m here. To learn the truth. I just want to know about Aurum, about why we put out the edict to hunt dragons. Why are there prayers to him in old books? What was his place in our church? I don’t even need access to all the mysteries, I just want the truth.”

“The truth?” Iomed smiled and her inebriated state seemed to abruptly end. She opened her eyes fully, revealing discs of gold. “The truth is that a new god is coming. One who will be real on this earth even while the other gods fester in the ether. I tire of playing church politics to keep you fools from interfering. Now, you die.” Iomed began to glow with golden light, growing in size and even seeming to grow younger. Heat filled the room and she inhaled clearly intending to bathe the room in fire.

The priests all began quick prayer spells and Priyap drew a blade and lunged for Iomed, but it was clear they would all be too late. All of this passed in front of Kyren in slow motion and she felt herself drift completely out of her own body as it happened. Suddenly she felt a sense of enormous calm and warmth. It reminded her of reading under the old sycamore tree on her grandmother’s estate. The feeling filled her, expanding her into something that could house it and suddenly she was not herself, she was Sidi.

She lifted her hand and all the heat that was building faded immediately. She waved her other hand dismissively at the others in the room, cancelling their spells and teleporting Priyap back to his chair.

“You will not prevent the church from doing what it is intending to do, Iomed. No matter what Aurum promised you, it is all for naught.”

Iomed screamed, building energy again, but Sidi stopped it with another dismissive wave. Iomed then began shifting and struggling against invisible restraints, her body contorting. She sprouted fangs, a tail split from her dress, her body covered itself in scales, but nothing could break the grip Sidi had on her. Finally, all sanity left her eyes and she grew silent for a moment before her body burst into flame.

A voice spoke from her that was not her own. “It won’t matter Sidi. You have banished yourselves in order to keep from becoming like me, but I’m still here and there will never be another like me. My will can exist on this plane even while you attempt your petty interference from the outside. I won't be denied.” After that the fire burst upward, incinerating the body completely.

Sidi turned her attention to a window through which sat Osric, watching the scene. “Your interference is noted. I forgive you this time as it was in service to my purposes, but tread lightly.”

Kyren felt her goddess thank her for the use of her body, and found herself alone in her body, in control once again.