Chapter 115

The High Court of the Church of the Golden Lady in Landeck was a massive, octagonal room with a conical roof in stained glass that showered the room with a hundred rainbows of color.

The room was paneled in oak, stained a warm umber, with polished golden reflectors behind each lamp stand, illuminating the entirety of the room with a brilliant warm glow. In the center of the room was the massive judges’ bench, carved from granite and topped with a black stone table top that had been ground smooth and polished.

Katarina eyed the petitioner’s stand for a moment and ignored it. She wasn’t a petitioner, she wasn’t on trial. She’d have to speak quickly and perhaps be a bit more forceful than normal, but hopefully this wouldn’t take too long.

The woman who entered, frowning crossly at the trio of acolytes that had escorted Katarina to the High Court, wore the simple robes of a priestess, however over them was an intricately decorated stole indicative of her rank as a Cardinal of the Priests, Priestesses, healers, minstrels and bards of the Holy Churchs’ Arm of the Healer. On her left arm was a heavily brocaded and embroidered maniple which indicated the same.

The woman was shorter than Katarina, of a height with Armilla, but willowy and delicate. Her hair was a lustrous white, and her eyes were a rich, bold lavender. She spotted Katarina and gave her a puzzled frown.

"Excuse me, but this Church is consecrated to the Golden Lady." She announced as she approached Katarina and Armilla. "It is customary for you to remove any head covering while in Her sacred halls."

Katarina sighed through her nose and doffed her hat, letting her pearl-and-gold hair swing free. She smiled at the other woman, and bowed a fraction. "It’s been a while, Rika." She replied by way of introduction, eliciting startled gasps from those in the room, Armilla included.

"Dearest Kat!" Rika exclaimed warmly, approaching Katarina gracefully. She reached out with her and and touched Katarina’s hair with a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

Katarina nodded. "I honestly didn’t expect to see you." She replied. "I hadn’t heard much from you since I was raised to Justicar." She trailed off, and Frederika nodded. They had attended preparatory school together and shared a room, though Katarina had become a Witch Hunter and Frederika had become a Priestess.

The quiet moment was broken by Armilla’s shifting foot, which caused her armor to clink loudly in the hushed room.

"We should speak in my private chambers." Frederika suggested. "A reunion should not be in these formal halls." She offered, and then added, "But before that, I wish for you to clear up some confusion, Kat." She requested, and Katarina could sense the other woman’s mood shift to something more wary and alert.

"These acolytes say that you have named yourself a Living Saint of the Golden Lady." She offered, and turned her head slightly. "Yet there has been no proclamation from the Church of the Golden Lady in Darnell. I have to know if this is true."

Katarina handed over her Writ, and sighed. "I don’t know the reason why the Golden Lady saw fit to Bless me." She remarked absently. "Frankly, I’d rather attend to my responsibilities as a Witch Hunter." She paused, and then added, "Responsibilities that have led me here." She added, placing emphasis on the word.

Frederika’s eyes widened as she read the Writ. Katarina had been issued absolute authority with this document, and it wholly confirmed Katarina’s claim of Sainthood. Her head whirled with emotions, and she couldn’t figure out what to say. After a moment, she opened her mouth and surprised herself with what she said.

"Anyone that knows you would immediately understand why The Golden Lady would choose you for Sainthood, Katarina." She answered with a kindly smile.

She gestured behind her. "My chambers are this way. Let’s retire there and speak." She encouraged, and Katarina nodded.

Katarina followed the smaller woman through the short hallway and into the woman’s chambers and was surprised when she entered the room; Frederika suddenly embraced the taller woman tightly.

"It’s been so long!" She exclaimed, and then grabbed Katarina’s face in her hands and kissed her on the lips.

Armilla squawked in outrage, and Frederika released Katarina quickly and stepped back. Katarina turned and eyed her apprentice.

"It’s a greeting between close friends." She remarked dryly, and Frederika cut in and added, "Or sisters."

Katarina nodded in agreement. "I wish this were a social visit, Rika, I really do." She started, and Rika nodded.

"What do you need, Kat?" She immediately asked. "Anything you need, just name it."

Katarina took a breath. "Well, for starters, is this Landeck?" She asked, and Rika burst into laughter.

"What else would it be, sister?" She asked, and sobered up at Katarina’s look. "Forgiveness, Kat. It is an unusual question, though." She added.

"I came here by drake." Katarina began, "trying to pick up the trail of a Witch. I wanted to see if you’d heard of any unusual activity, beasts in the night, rumors of witchcraft, things of that sort." She added, but Rika shook her head.

Rika glanced up at the taller woman. "A drake? Ah, so it was you flying around above us a few hours before." She mused wonderingly. "But to answer your question, I’m afraid there hasn’t been any rumors like that." she replied. "The only rumor that I’ve heard of any significance has been a rumor of a tribe of savages south of us. Lumberjacks have reported spotting people hunting in the forests, people wearing furs and hides. They don’t bother us, so there were never any investigations."

Katarina’s eyebrows raised. "If they are who I think they are, there shouldn’t be any problems with them." she replied, and Frederika nodded in acceptance. "If you say so, Kat." She replied easily, and Katarina nodded.

After a brief moment, Rika chuckled. "You were always the bold one." She murmured. "You could never get me up on one of those things. Terrifying beasts." She shuddered. She perched on the edge of her desk and eyed Katarina carefully.

She glanced at Armilla after a moment. "This one?" She glanced back at Katarina. "You still haven’t introduced us."

Katarina’s mouth twisted. Rika was certainly energetic and excitable. "This is my apprentice." She replied.

Rika’s mouth twisted into a pout. "So secretive!" She chided, and turned to the former paladin.

"My name is Frederika Edelweiss. I am the Cardinal Priestess for the duchy of Nauders." She said by way of introduction. "You are?"

Armilla stood at attention, ramrod straight, shoulders square, eyes straight. "I am Armilla Chancy, apprentice Witch Hunter to the Living Saint Katrina." She said formally, and Katarina palmed her face.

Rika rolled her head languidly to eye Katarina with a bland expression.

"Don’t look at me that way, Rika." Katarina chided gently. "The Book of the Golden Lady decided that I needed an apprentice."

Rika sighed. "And they just happened to find the most boring and unimaginative girl possible." She remarked in a dead voice, and Katarina laughed.

"Just so." She replied, and Rika burst into delighted laughter.

At dinner, Rika kept her eyes on Katarina. "Was it all right for you to treat your apprentice like that, dearest Kat?" She asked gently.

Katarina rolled her eyes ostentatiously. "She doesn’t want to be a Witch Hunter. She wants to prance boldly through the streets announcing to everyone with ears to hear that I’m a Living Saint. She doesn’t pay attention to anything but that. If she wanted to be a Witch Hunter she would behave like a Witch Hunter and not like some... some trumped up herald." She replied.

"I am sure she is just doing what she feels is right, Kat." Rika remarked quietly.

"I am certain she’s not cut out to be a Witch Hunter at all." Katarina replied offhand, and picked up a tiny cup, which held a nearly clear liquid. "What is this?" She asked curiously.

"It’s a type of brandy, dearest Kat. Double-distilled from wine, and strained through anise for sweetness." She smiled predatorily. "It’s very potent."

"It’s practically just a sip." Katarina mulled, turning the tiny cup in her fingers. She knocked it back quickly and her eyes widened as fire roared up her throat.

"Potent, indeed." Katarina marveled, coughing.

Rika nodded with a smile. "It’s also worth fifteen steel per bottle." She remarked, and Katarina raised an eyebrow. "If there were ever a point where I should abuse my authority as a Witch Hunter, I have clearly reached it." She remarked with a wry smile. "Pour me another."

"Katarina, we can’t bathe together." Frederika argued gently. "It’s not proper."

Katarina snorted. "That’s just nonsense." Katarina replied. "I’ll wash your back and you can wash mine." She offered, and tugged on Frederika’s hands invitingly.

"I... suppose." She replied reluctantly and allowed Katarina to pull her into the bathing room.

"The Yamato bathe together, certain sects in Urthan do it, and I hear that brothers and sisters in Toledo bathe together until puberty." Katarina replied glibly as she casually divested Frederika of her clothes.

"You don’t understand, Kat." Frederika argued, "This may be all well and true for other parts of the Empire, but this is Nauders." She replied insistently, grabbing Katarina’s hands. "We are not children anymore."

Katarina pulled free from Frederika’s grip and captured her friends’ hands in her own. "Rika, it’s just a bath." She replied insistently. "You were never so prude before, we’ve bathed together before. We even slept in the same bed together for five years. I thought you’d be happy to take a bath with your friend." She remarked quietly.

Rika lowered her head bashfully. "You know I wouldn’t refuse you anything." she replied quietly. "I love you, Kat, I always have. You’re my sister and my friend. But I am a Cardinal Priestess, and this is Nauders. Relations between women should not be so... intimate." She finished.

She tugged on the lapels of Katarina’s shirt. "I already stretch the boundaries of impropriety by staying with you here in my private rooms." She whispered.

Katarina let out a sigh. "We’re going to take a bath, and I’m going to wash that lovely hair of yours." She insisted, and slipped the robe off Frederika’s shoulders. "I hope you’ll tell me everything you’ve been up to in the past ten years." She remarked with a smile.

Rika smiled up at her bashfully. "I should like that, very much." She whispered.

As they bathed, they chatted lightly about many things. Katarina told her about the places she’d traveled, and the people she’d met, and Rika regaled her with her own stories. They retired to Rika’s bedroom and Rika allowed Kat to dry and brush her hair.

Rika woke up after a couple of hours. Katarina twitched fitfully in her sleep, mumbling under her breath. Rika stroked Katarina’s hair, and marveled again at the strange mix of silver and warm, polished gold. When they had been in school together Katarina's hair had been a flat, lusterless white. Part of the Goddess’ blessing, she assumed. Katarina’s arm twitched and her hand clamped down tightly on Rika’s arm briefly. Katarina had always been a strong girl; in training she was relentless. It appeared that her years spent hunting witches had only toughened her up further.

Katarina mumbled again and Rika sighed. Katarina probably didn’t understand that her kindnesses could be cruel. In Darnell they had tried to impress on Rika the need to be separate from the common people. Rika, however, was of the House of Edelweiss, the family that had been the shamans, town leaders and mediators in times of conflict. They had been the ones that the common people turned to for understanding, fair judgement, wisdom, and compassion. Since becoming a Cardinal Priestess she had made it a point to live and dress as humbly as her staff would allow. When Katarina awoke, she would be compassionate.

When Katarina awoke, the bed was empty. She rolled out of bed and dressed quickly.

Katarina moved to the window and pushed it open, breathing in the crisp morning air. Summer was in full swing, but Katarina couldn’t afford to dally if she expected to catch her sister before winter sank its claws in deep. Down below she could see the city streets of Landeck and the wall beyond, the border of the town proper.

She closed the window and left the bedroom, looking for Rika, and ran into one of her acolytes instead.

"Your Grace, you’ll find your armor has been stored in the cabinet, along with your sacred weapons." The girl replied deferentially to her question.

"That’s fine. The Cardinal Priestess?" She inquired, and the acolyte nodded. "Her Holiness would likely be breaking her fast in the dining hall."

"She doesn’t do it here?" Katarina asked curiously, and the acolyte’s mouth tightened. "Her Holiness does not. She dines in the Common Hall along with the acolytes." She replied, an edge of exasperation in her voice.

"You disagree with her choice?" Katarina asked curiously, opening the cabinet and reaching in to retrieve Celestine’s sword. Her sword, Katarina mentally corrected. Sometimes it was still difficult for her to accept she carried around the legendary Galatine, Sword of the Sun, a weapon Celestine had made famous. As a sword, it was a potent weapon, said to be strongest at noon, when the sun was at its strongest. Unbelievably, ridiculously, simply raising the sword overhead would cause a small sun to be born overhead, casting the light of noon around her in a two-hunded foot circle.

"It creates tension where there should be none." The acolyte replied quietly. "It’s difficult to focus on one’s responsibilities if she is there."

Katarina raised an eyebrow and the acolyte quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

"Perhaps she is trying to lead through example that although we each have different responsibilities, we are all equal under the eyes of the Goddess." Katarina replied carefully.

"That... may be so, Your Grace." The acolyte acknowledged, and Katarina nodded. She eyed the acolyte as she weighed her words.

"The Cardinal Priestess is quite possibly the kindest woman I have met." Katarina described. "She overflows with wisdom, compassion, and understanding." She added. "You should 'ware that your frustrations with "how things should be" do not poison your kindnesses." She advised gently.

"Yes, Your Grace. I misspoke, your Grace." The acolyte replied, and Katarina rolled her eyes and finished with the hooks on her vest and pulled on her weapons belts.

"How to get to the Common Hall?" Katarina asked, and the acolyte stiffened. "I will escort you at once, Your Grace."

"There’s no need. Humility, remember?" Katarina replied casually. "Just tell me how to get there from here. I’ll not keep you from your duties."

As Katarina entered the Common Hall, there was a flurry of alarm from the gathered acolytes.

"You never did anything discreetly in your entire life, did you, Your Grace?" Rika asked with a warm smile, and Katarina shrugged indifferently.

"I expected we’d eat breakfast together." Katarina said by way of reply, and Rika made an offhand gesture.

"While Witch Hunters and I suppose Living Saints can set their own schedules and laze about in bed as much as their hearts desire, alas a Cardinal Priestess’ time is not her own." She replied with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye that suggested she was teasing.

Katarina rolled her eyes ostentatiously, and sat down to her meal, which was a large bowl of porridge with fruit and a tankard with milk, the sort of meal that was served to every acolyte.

"Katarina, I wanted to make our maps available to you." She said after a moment, and Katarina looked up from her food with a nod. "That would be helpful. I have no idea about the lay of the land besides what I’ve seen atop Marcela." She replied, and dug in with a will.

"Katarina, will you tell me of Olivia?" Rika asked quietly, and Katarina’s hands froze on her bowl for a moment. She tipped her bowl down and eyed Rika over the rim.

"I should like to hear about her, very much." Rika added. Katarina set her bowl down carefully and took a drink of milk and wiped her mouth casually with her napkin.

"She’s a Lady Cardinal of the Book." Katarina replied carefully. "Why?" She asked in a voice that strained itself to be casual.

"Are you and she... having some sort of..." She trailed off. "...disagreement?" She asked curiously.

Katarina shook her head. "How do you know of her?" She asked, and Rika raised an eyebrow.

"You talk in your sleep." She mentioned in a low voice.

Katarina let out a sigh and gestured at her. "Eat your porridge, Cardinal Priestess." She grumbled, and Rika nodded.

"As you wish, Your Grace." she replied kindly, and ate a couple of spoonfuls.

"I should want to know why..." Frederika began, but stopped, unable to say it. "...when you are so clearly in a relationship..." she paused, and added, "already."

Katarina glanced around; there was a significant gap between them and the acolytes, who crowded at the far end of the table, as far away as they could get.

Katarina set her bowl down and studied her hands. "I’ve never been very..." She stopped. "With the incident with Devon..." She stopped again, and blew out a breath. "Why can’t i say what I mean?" She demanded angrily. She let out an exasperated breath and sat back in her chair angrily and tossed her wooden spoon to the table indifferently.

"I visited Aston." She said by way of explanation. "I met a seer there that..." She paused. "...revealed some very uncomfortable truths to me."

She gestured at Rika. "She told me what I already knew in my heart; that you were in love with me from the very start." Her face twisted bitterly. "She told me that I would be unable to find love as long as I kept people out, and that I had hurt them for doing so." She added in a voice that Rika was sure was petulant, or perhaps sulky. Traits definitely unbecoming of a Blessed Saint of the Golden Lady.

"So...’ Rika trailed off.

"I fell in love with Olivia." Katarina announced quietly. "She’s a maddening, vexing woman. And her temper!" She exclaimed, and waved her arms dramatically. "Boom!" She added for effect, and then shook her head. "She was relentless in her pursuit, and in the end I pursued her just as strongly." She finished, and then grinned at Rika, her toothy, hungry, predatory, go-to-the-void grin. "And I..." She paused. "I worked a miracle for her."

Rika blinked a few times in shock. It was easy for her to treat Katarina as she had always, the friend she admired, the woman she loved, the whimsical and assertive girl that was strong and quick and determined, but she was a Living Saint now, Blessed by the Goddess and imbued with a portion of the Goddess’ own power. From anyone else, the announcement that she had worked a miracle would have been met with a swift retributive force. Anyone else making that claim would have met a violent and horrific end.

"And last night?" She prompted Katarina.

"I didn’t want you to think that I didn’t love you." She replied finally. "I didn’t want to hurt you anymore." She added.

Rika let out a sigh. Like she suspected, Katarina was unbelievably clumsy.

"Katarina, there was never anything to forgive." She replied quietly. "Have I ever said otherwise?" She asked curiously. "You didn’t need to betray your relationship with Olivia to show me that you loved me." She remarked quietly. "I have never made such demands on you." She paused, and then added, "but I am a selfish woman." She added with a smile. "Should I be a friend to you? A confidant? Or should I require you throw Olivia away for me wholly and completely?" She asked rhetorically. "I love you, Katarina, but I cannot allow myself to be simply ‘a woman that sleeps with Katarina when she has a mind to do so’." She scraped the last bit of porridge from her bowl and ate it. Katarina has a confused and stricken look on her face. "I think that the best choice for everyone is for you to love Olivia as you always have." Rika remarked carefully. "Love her and treasure her completely. I will be your friend and I will cherish you as dearly as my own sister as i always have." She set her spoon down and shook her head. "But I won’t sleep with you again. I can’t. It’s too much a temptation." She finished.

True to her word, Frederika provided Katarina access to what she called the Map Room, which was a simple octagonal room with maps of the entre Duchy of Nauders on seven of the eight walls. One of the maps was ancient, showing the homeland as well as the cities of Tannit, Begierde, and Einsamkeit. The long river that flowed from the Duchy down to the Sea of Mirras was called the Tems by the Anglish, but in Nauders it was simply referred to as the Great Mother River.

In the center of the room was a broad flat table that anyone could easily unroll a map; a handful of paperweights were available to weigh down the edges. The people that called themselves the Children of the Goddess were somewhat nomadic, moving between just south of Landeck, down past Tannit, and almost to Begierde, mostly on the eastern side of the river. on the western side, Landeck's maps pointed out several lakes, a ridge of mountains, several ruins, as well as the logging town of Higgenfal and the road proceeding towards the coast, where Aston lay.

Sifting through the maps, Katarina came across some of the newer Anglish maps that detailed Darnell, Norn, and Aston, as well as the southern coastline. Katarrina arranged them in more or less geographical order, and her mouth twisted. Too many gaps, too much unexplored, unmapped space. She started from Norn, marked off an estimate where she fought with mage that tried to burn down an entire forest just to kill her. From there, she marked north-northeast, as the tracks indicated. From there, she began calculating. Centaurs, like horses, could run travel pretty far, pretty quickly. However, a horse didn't have a centaur's stamina or their ability to see in dimly lit conditions. thus, someone mounted on a centaur would always beat someone on horseback. However, to keep up that stamina, a centaur would have to feed pretty often. They weren't particularly picky what they had to eat. Katarina moved to Begierde, and, recalling what she could from the maps from that Witch that called herself a 'Countess', marked off where the witch was seen.

Katarina frowned. The likely spot where she would find the witch that was likely her sister... was completely unmapped. However, the space north of it was, and was easily reachable from Landeck via drake. All she had to do was fly back south southwest, and begin her hunt there. She tapped the spot on the table where she suspected her sister was.

"I'm coming for you." She muttered.

She looked up; a young acolyte, a girl barely into her teens stood in the doorway, head bowed, eyes pointedly fixed on the floor. The acolyte had been standing there the whole time, twitching whenever Katarina grabbed a map, moved things around, or started drawing on them with her charcoal pencil.

"You there." Katarina called, staring fixedly at the map that marked off explored territory north of where she suspected her sister of being, burning the landmarks into her brain. Rivers. Lakes. A mountain ridge.

"Y-yes, Your Radiance?" The acolyte stammered. Katarina's face twisted at this. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Please have-" She cut herself off. Armilla should have been here, with her. Further, Armilla should have been with her at breakfast, but she hadn't seen the paladin at all. Where the fuck was she?

"Nevermind." Katarina replied. "Go see to your duties. I'm leaving Landeck."