Two weeks had passed since the winter solstice and today marked the last day of the year. After the festivities of the solstice passed, people stayed inside, and Will walked emptier and sparser streets. On the solstice Will and Rebecca exchanged gifts. He gave her a red card filled with silver coins and she gave him a hand-knitted scarf. Seeing the amount of effort she put into his gift, he was surprised. Rebecca accepted coins saying, "I know how much you love money, to think you love me enough to share your coin," and then attempted to kiss him on the mouth for the next hour before, Will could run away.

Two weeks ago, Will had managed to set all building blocks in place. After the new year, the Thompson twins Seamus and Stephen would begin remodeling the charred warehouse. They would officially begin construction on the third day of the new year. Will figured he would stop by periodically to check in on their work. Earlier this morning the carpenter had sent over the reversi model, which Will approved, but made suggestions to the commoner board. Will asked her to send him six noble boards for which he could distribute to dignitaries, one superficially for the king. The vendor woman sent the menu a week ago, which Will approved. He was happy to see she had coffee. Will learned from Will that coffee was a common crop in Albania and tasted similar to Arabic coffee from Earth. Both the coffee and chocolates listed on the menu were imported from Beast Tribes. Since everything was moving along, Will had nothing to do.

After the mage duel, Elder Thaddeus paused Will's lessons for the rest of the month. Furthermore, Elder Thaddeus left for the capital, leaving Will and Archimedes home alone. Even those his instruction was on pause, Will still Tai Chi, mediation, and spellsword practice every day, otherwise he'd be bored to tears.

Will sat at the table counting his money, the one thing that brought him happiness during the chilly weather. He had 1,624 gold left from his original 10,030 gold. Accounting his expenditures for the warehouse, remodel, carpenter advancement, three months advanced salary for the clerks, trade route, and chef; had taken a considerable sum. Will sat, passing a gold coin through his fingers, which thanks to his dexterity were surprisingly easy. Thinking, how best to invest this money. Money was meant to be invested, saving money was smart when interest rates were high, but there were no interest rates because there were no banks…at least not yet. How to invest? That question plagued Will.

He first went to the Merchant Guild to find ways to invest the coin, but Mr. Murphy told him it was enough to purchase more trade routes, but that was unnecessary and brought Will no dividends. Next, he went to the Adventure's Guild to place a request in hopes of increasing his money but was left unsure of what to request. Then Will thought about gambling but quickly decided against it. Sitting there stumped an idea popped in his head. He could donate money to the church for a boon.

Yes, in every medieval era religion was an aspect of life. This world was no exception, Will thought to Rebecca's light mage duels. The more he thought about donating, the more excited he became. Patrons who donated to churches received a priest's blessing. Will didn't care about the blessing, as much as he cared about the increased reputation that came from patronizing a church. Yes, his mind was made up. He gave Archimedes a head pat and left the tucked-away cottage.

As Will walked out the ornate Mage Academy gates, he waved to the guards. Will knew each guard by name and chatted with each.

Stopping by the fountain, Will jammed his hands into these coat pockets and adjusted his scarf tighter around his next. Today, turned out to be a particularly chilly windy day. The sunset behind thick clouds, causing the temperature to feel much colder.

Now, he had to find a church. Would the church matter? The problem with religion was that it divided an already divided population. Furthermore, Will knew nothing else about these religions besides their name. He didn't know their church polity. What if a church was against usury, and he unknowingly joined the church, he could lose face.

No, he had to investigate the church before he joined. He needed to know everything about that church before he donated coins. Now, which church to investigate first. The Church of Aether was the largest, most prosperous church in the kingdom. Most nobles, merchants, and commoners joined that church. The second-largest church was The Church of Gaia. The only thing Will knew about that church was several crafters had statues of Gaia. When he walked through the crafter's district, some people wore necklaces with upside-down triangles with a line through, representing the alchemical symbol for earth.

As a terramancer, Will thought it best he first investigates The Church of Gaia. Stopping a guard near the fountain, Will received directions to the church. The church was in the center of the city, near the administration building. Will was here two weeks ago but failed to notice two large cathedrals. The first was a gothic cathedral, which spires reached the heavens. The cathedral was massive, and that word could be an understatement. The building spanned city blocks and had intricated depictions of gods and children of the gods, it resembled the Sevilla Cathedral in Seville, Spain with beautiful stained-glass windows, flying buttresses, and ribbed vaults. The other church looked like a massive mosque. Large domes, intricate patterns, and bright colors made the church look like an earthen landscape. The church looked like the Sultanahmet Mosque or the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

The cathedral belonged to The Church of Aether and the mosque was The Church of Gaia. Will walked towards the mosque church, staring at the beautiful craftsmanship. How long would it take to construct something this magnificent? Will remember the ancient wonders of the world from Earth's history. Both churches would certainly make the list. As Will approached the building, he heard a voice call out, "First time?"

Will slowly brought his head level to the ground and saw a short fat man standing in front of him, with his arms held wide.

"Welcome sir, William vont Ballard, or can I call you Will? I was hoping to see you. You can call me Bishop Lang," the fat priest said with his arms open and a smiling face.

Bowing deeply, Will replied, "Thank you for receiving me, Bishop Lang."

"There is no need to bow, your greeting is enough," he said. "Now, I wonder what finally brought you here?" Bishop Lang questioned.

Will was stunned by this man's sense of familiarity after only just meeting, "I came to learn more about The Church of Gaia.

"Well come in, and I'll give you a tour," he said extending his hand, smiling.

The sense of familiarity and friendliness was palpable. This man talked to Will as if they had been ancient friends. Walking through the door, Will was stunned.

The inside of the church was more beautiful than he could imagine. Landscape scenes adorned the walls, a giant tree decorated the floor. The tree spanned the entire length of the floor. Hallways crisscrossed and traversed, Will was lost this friendly man could be leading him to his death, Will did not know.

Bishop Lang never stopped talking. The tour lasted for two hours, and during that time Bishop Lang introduced Will to master, adepts, apprentice priests. Each priest greeted Will like a long-lost family member. The tour finally ended in a beautiful, manicured, garden. An adept, Bishop Lang's attendant, brought them poured darling-like tea in the garden. The tea was exceptional.

"So, Will did you enjoy the tour," Bishop Lang asked sipping his tea

"Yes, very much I found it quite informative," Will answered.

"Wonderful, we'd be happy if you become a member. I particularly enjoyed mage duels. You even managed to impress the Cardinal Silvia vont Gaius," Bishop Lang said in admiration.

"I am honored to have impressed Cardinal vont Gaius," Will said, amazed he caught the eye of a cardinal.

"I had the honor of hosting and attending Cardinal vont Gaius at the duel," Bishop Lang said proudly.

"Before I join the church I wish to church, I wish to inquire about church polity?" Will asked,

"I assure you we have no rules against merchants," Bishop Lang said quickly understanding Will's meaning.

Hearing this answer, Will handed Bishop Lang 600-coins gift wrapped in a red box with a green bow, "Bishop Lang thank you for the tour, it would be an honor to join The Church of Gaia. As a symbol of my faith and piety, I would like to donate 600 gold to the church," Will said bowing to Bishop Lang.

"As I said earlier there is no need to bow, and this gift is commendable for a 13-year-old boy, from a country barony. Even after spending all that coin two weeks ago, you saved money to donate, how commendable indeed. Cardinal vont Gaius was certainly right about you," Bishop Lang said. Bishop Lang thought Will waited this long to save up a sizable donation. Yet, Will preferred to let the bishop think what he wanted.

"The cardinal and your praise honor me," Will said surprised Bishop Lang knew about his property purchase. At this point, he figured every noble in the city was aware.

"No, you honor us as a new parishioner. Welcome Will to the faith of Gaia! As a terramancer you are afforded special privileges from the church and given your fame, the church wishes to aid you in any way we may, we certainly look after our own," Bishop Lang said laughing and hugging Will. Tolerating the hug, Will was happy to know he earned privileges with the church.

"I am unworthy of privilege, my only wish was to become a member," Will said.

Hearing his humbleness, this only excited Bishop Lang more. "Humble and generous, you sir are better than advertised," he laughed more. He handed Will a document to sign, Will signed the document officially stating his desire to become a member. After signing the document, an adept priest handed Will a gift box filled with dense mana-infused herbs, pills, and a green mana stone which Will had never seen before.

"Terramancer is afforded a range of privileges and offices within the church, for example, priests, clerics, paladins, etc.," Bishop Lang continued to list other church offices and describe each. None of the jobs, sounded interesting, least of all being a paladin. Being a church member was enough of a "job" for Will. According to Bishop Lang, paladins were holy knights, champions for their church, a symbol of divine justice. None of those adjectives described Will.

"Bishop Lang, thank you for your generous gift, but my only wish is to be a parishioner and nothing more," said Will, seeing the disappointment in Bishop Lang's eyes, he knew he was in the clear.

"Well think on those offices, who knows what the future holds for you yet? Let us at least schedule you a baptism," he said dejectedly, hoping to achieve at least this result.

"That is acceptable, I would be honored to be baptized," Will responded showing face to the bishop.

"Adept, bring the calendar," Bishop Lang called. Looking through the calendar, Bishop Lang settled on the first day of next weekend, after classes had started back.

Agreeing to the date, Will thanked the bishop and they continue to talk for an hour longer, before hugging farewell. The hugging alone was reason enough not to come back.

Walking back to the cottage, for lunch, Will decided to write his family about the past two weeks. Opening the door, Will saw Elder Thaddeus sitting at the kitchenette table, speaking with Elder Li. Both stopped talking when they saw Will and Elder Thaddeus replied, "You have been busy Will in my absence, let us talk." Will closed the door and joined the duo pouring more tea for the elders and a cup for himself.