Clearing up after the midday meal Dawn was lost in thoughts. If she wanted to try for an early blessing she needed to be in the Temple alone. Neither Father Jergen nor any of the other villagers would allow her to go near the figure of the Goddess or any other Deity, unless she came with her parents for her Awakening.

Information on paths and skills was a closely held secret. All the village children learned what kind of stats they would see on their status screens on Awakening day. The villagers would sometimes talk about their stats and their general paths, but almost no one would tell details about their specific skills or their path and skill levels. Women mostly were blessed with some variant of the paths of home and hearth by the goddess. But details about levelling were hard to come by especially for the girls and women in the village. Some women would be more skilled in cooking or gardening, others in weaving or sewing. Dawn’s mother was obviously very skilled in cooking, but she hadn’t told Dawn much about her path. She said the Goddess had decreed silence about the paths, it wasn’t acceptable to brag about one’s skills.

So, she needed to get out of the cottage and enter the Temple at night, when no one else was there. Was the Temple even open at night? Dawn had never been very religious, just following along with her family to the usual masses. So, she simply would have to test if the Temple was locked or not. Though the villagers never bothered to lock their doors at night, who could say if the Temple was the same. And what would happen if she got her Awakening early, would anyone even be able to tell? Father Jergen might be able to. As a priest to the Allfather he took an active interest in the people belonging to his Temple. Surely Analyze and maybe even other information skills were a part of his path. What would happen if he realized she got a blessing before her Awakening day?

No matter, she thought impatiently. I wasn’t as if she had a blessing yet. It was very probable that she wouldn’t even be able to get one.

“Dawn! Dawn!”

“Huh, oh - what is it mother?” Lost in her daydreams Dawn hadn’t heard her mother calling for her.

“Come out, Beran’s here, you should talk with him.” Her mother looked her over critically. “All right, you’ll do for now.”

Grimacing, Dawn went to join the rest of the family on the porch. Talking to her ‘fiancé to be’ wasn’t exactly how she wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon.

Beran was talking to her father and Caleb. His children, Sara and Bran were sitting quietly with her mother. As she joined the family he looked at her seriously.

“Dawn, I take it your father informed you about our agreement. We are going to be handfasted at the temple directly after your Awakening. Please make an effort to get to know the children in the next weeks. It will be easier for all of us when you move in.”

“You will have ample time for that during the next week.” Cord mentioned. “Beran and I will travel to Atelang tomorrow, we will go to the shops, buy some necessities and sell a few of Beran’s tools. The children will stay with you and your mother. We’re going to leave at first light. Caleb is coming with us, it’s time for him to travel a bit and experience the city.” Cord proudly laid a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, who was dancing in place excitedly.

“Yes, I get to go the city Dawn. It’s fabulous! Father promised me we’re going to buy a hunting bow for me! Oh, and I need to pack my bag.” He promptly vanished in the cottage.

Dawn watched him disappear jealously. She was two years older than Caleb and had never been to the city, why couldn’t they take her too?

“Can’t I come too, father? I would love to see the city.” she cried. Cord and Beran both looked at her in surprise.

“No, of course not. Your place is at home. Your mother will need help with the chores and you should get acquainted with the children.” Cord frowned and turned back to Beran.

Dawn felt like crying. Of course, Caleb as a boy got to go along and she could mind the children and clean the house instead of seeing the city, she thought bitterly. It just wasn’t fair! Beran didn’t even pretend to be interested in her. He was talking to Cord about the prices he might get for his tools and what inn they would stay in once they reached Atelang. She looked at Sara and Bran who were playing a game with her mother. The children were very well-mannered, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk to them.

Quietly entering the cottage, she managed to get out of the front door at the other side unnoticed. She would go to the clearing with the little pond in the forest. It was her favourite place and she needed to be alone right now. Cord and her mother would no doubt be angry with her for leaving, but what difference did that make anyway?

Dawn ran down the river path and to the forest. Hurt and anger drove her to run without a care for her surroundings. She passed Marja’s cottage without entering, and shortly after the twin posts on the path that designated the declared safe area around the village. In this area, the village’s hunters patrolled and took care of any beasts that entered. The village children were forbidden to go outside the safe area, but Dawn didn’t care. It wasn’t the first time she secretly went outside the safe zone. Though usually she took care to have an eye on the environment. The dangers outside the safe zone were real.

She ran along a small path, more resembling a deer trail than anything else. Suddenly she tripped on a root and fell down hard. Stunned, she lay for a moment, then carefully picked herself up. Her palms were scratched and bleeding, her knees hurt and the skirt of her Templeday dress was dirty and torn. ‘Fantastic’ she thought. ‘Mother will be so angry.’ At least she was almost at the clearing.

Breathing hard she limped onwards and with a sigh of relief sat down on a rock next to the pool. The mid-afternoon sun was hot and a little breeze played with the leaves of the birch trees. Dragonflys were buzzing along the water and frogs were croaking. Slowly, Dawn calmed down. Her anger left her, despair rising in its stead.

Looking bleakly across the forest pond, she froze. In the shadows at the edge of the clearing a pair of yellow eyes lazily blinked at her. She tried to discern what kind of animal hid in the brush, but couldn’t make it out. Petrified, she didn’t dare to look away. After what felt like an eternity, the eyes vanished silently.

Dawn let out a deep breath and stood up. She was curious. Of course, it wasn’t safe to go looking, but today, she wasn’t in the mood to play it safe. Slowly and carefully she rounded the pond and entered the shrubbery, thorns dragging at her dress. All she found was a tuft of dark grey hair left on a quickthorn bush. Pushing through a gap in the thicket, she realized she stood on a small deer trail. Gathering her skirts so she wouldn’t get stuck in the brush, she followed the trail.

Until today she had never gone farther than this clearing. But maybe it was time to be more daring. Following the rules wasn’t going to help her. If she didn’t want to be a good wife and keep home, hearth and children for Beran, it was time to take some chances. She would explore farther today. And if some beast made a meal out of her, well at least she wouldn’t die of boredom.

Over an hour later, still following the deer trail, Dawn was sweating in the afternoon sun. Coming around a bend in the path in front of her, almost hidden by the underbrush, the trail went through a narrow opening between two rock faces. Rocks and boulders formed an irregular stairway down the steep slope next to a little creek, into a drawn-out narrow valley.

Carefully she started the climb down. On the bottom, the valley she found herself in was perhaps half a mile long and no more than 30 meters wide. The steep slopes were covered with firs, pines and bushes, the creek meandering lazily along the length of the valley. On the far end a tiny waterfall flowed down into a pool seamed with dark boulders.

Captivated, Dawn gazed at the idyllic scenery. The deer trail she had followed petered out at the banks of the creek before her. Taking a deep breath, she started to explore the hidden valley.

Quite some time later only the lengthening shadows reminded Dawn of the approaching evening. Startled, she realized it would take her several hours to return to her family’s cottage. She would scarcely make it home before darkness fell. Heavy-hearted, she hastily started to retrace her way, a little frightened now at the thought of facing her parents coming home late in a torn and dirty dress after running away without a word earlier.

Reaching the forest clearing where she started to look for the hidden animal earlier, dusk crept around her as she walked and before she had even reached Marja’s cottage full darkness had fallen. She didn’t stop at Marja’s though. It was time to face her parents and she wanted to get it over with.

As she entered her family’s cottage she found Cord and her mother waiting for her with grim faces. “So, you found your way home at last.” Cord stated coldly. “You’re looking like a dirty vagrant, where have you been and what on earth did you do with your dress?”

“I’ve just been walking in the forest.” Dawn replied quietly.

“Always the forest! I told you to mind Beran’s children. Instead you run off without a word to anyone, spending your time lazing around and daydreaming! Beran was disappointed and angry. You’re still an irresponsible child. But this ends now. No more walks in the forest, no more spending time with Marja. While I am gone you will help your mother doing chores in the house and minding Beran’s children. We will be back from the city in a week and during that time you will not leave the village. You will spend your time preparing yourself for your Awakening and being a good wife. Go to bed now, we have already eaten dinner.”

Cord’s voice had grown louder and louder, he had almost been shouting at the end. Her mother just stood next to him silently, frowning at her.

Dawn turned without a word and went up the narrow stairs to her little room. Grimly, she contemplated a week of chores without even the opportunity of taking a walk in the forest or visiting her mentor. Climbing into her bed tiredly, she lay down and quietly cried herself to sleep.

Early next morning she sullenly watched as Cord and Caleb left the house to climb onto Beran’s big wagon, drawn by two heavyset brown horses. Caleb chattered excitedly while Sara and Bran hugged their father and sleepily entered the cottage. Beran flicked his whip and the wagon started to rumble along. The journey to Atelang would take them several days, it was probable they wouldn’t return for over a week.

During the long day of doing chores and minding the children Dawn quietly chafed at her loss of freedom. Her mother kept an eye on her permanently and she had had no time to herself at all. Of course, as her mother always followed Cord’s rules, Dawn hadn’t really expected anything different.

When the children finally had gone to bed in Caleb’s room, she entered her own room and lay down. But during the day of stultifying boredom, she had made her decision. She would try to enter the Temple tonight. If she could get her Blessing without anybody else knowing, she might have the chance for a different life. She would take the chance.

Impatiently she waited for her mother to go to bed. The cottage had grown quiet but still she waited. Finally, she carefully left her bed and slowly dressed in the dark in a grey dress. Grabbing her shoes, she went barefoot down the stairs silently. Escaping the cottage through the backdoor, she went along the narrow backstreet to the Temple on the lookout for any of the villagers still around.

Greenriver lay quietly in the moonlight. Holding her breath, she slipped to the Temple door and quietly pressed down the handle. The door reluctantly opened accompanied by a little whine. Dawn slipped in quickly, closed the door with a click and pressed herself against the wall inside. Listening, her heart hammering furiously, she waited silently for a little while. At last, she took a shuddering breath. She was inside the Temple alone.