They spent the following days in rehearsals under the guidance of his excellency Milko. With very little time in furthering his training and studies, Konnor couldn’t voice his opinion on the matter and Mars didn’t share the same sentiment since he enjoyed every moment.

Neither did Yvrel, who followed the words without hesitation and didn’t even bother to cast a glance at him whenever they crossed paths at the rehearsal and Maui shared the same attitude, only greeting his friend as a fellow member of the trinity church.

When the day finally came, they were escorted to a balcony by the wrinkled deacons, except they weren’t in a hurry like before. Instead, they walked at a comfortable pace until they arrived at a large metallic door.

After crossing it, a large open balcony with a fantastic view of the city, but that was a secondary thought as Konnor’s full attention was on the enormous creatures resting on carriage sized straw nests. The big gray eagle head looked straight at him as it slowly stood up from its nest, revealing the sharp claws and feline forelegs before it spread a pair of wide feathery gray wings and let out a screech that woke up the rest of the Gryphons.

Immediately people dressed with black tunics and thick leather gauntlets rushed towards the creatures and pulled their reins in small groups as another rubbed below the mandible, action very well received by the griffins, which slowly lowered themselves to return to their rest with a satisfied expression.

Konnor, despite the small outburst, stepped closer to inspect the griffins as he remembered watching them when he first arrived at the capital. However, one caretaker stepped in front of him with extended arms, preventing him from getting closer.

Soon after the doors where they arrived were thrown open as five soldiers walked in clad in a full set of armor not leaving a spot open making it impossible to distinguish any of them, but compared to the holy knight he has been accustomed to, those five in comparison looked like they were wearing light armor as they lacked large broad shoulder pads and the design was of their armor wasn’t flashy but plain.

However, that didn’t matter, as the caretakers quickly made way to the group while a select few became guides to the soldiers. Each one went to a specific griffin who woke up and nuzzled their heads into their riders’ chest as the caretakers placed a large saddle on them.

Konnor couldn’t help but imagine himself in their position. One day he would have a griffin or at least a majestic creature as a companion who he would travel with around the Empire.

However, he was pulled away from his daydreaming by a hand, pulling him from his wrist towards the griffins. Konnor saw the person responsible was the caretaker but didn’t complain and let him do his thing.

The riders were already on their griffins with their reins in their hands, occasionally pulling them to keep their mounts in check.

He checked his surroundings and saw the other Yvrel and Maui already on a saddle behind their respective rider and strapping a leather belt around their legs for security measure.

Soon after, those two gryphons let out a screech before running towards the railing of the balcony and gave a long jump as they extended their wings and took flight, rapidly disappearing in the distance.

Konnor’s attitude had a drastic change as he understood it was his turn and he would ride a flying creature for the first time in his life. The caretakers had to pull him back to avoid his overexcitement, startle the gryphon and cause a tragedy.

However, after calming down, they helped him to get on the saddle and strapped a couple of leather belts around his ankles and thighs before handing him a pair of leather goggles, which he quickly put on.

Almost immediately the rider lightly kicked with his heels the gryphon’s chest, and dashed off towards the end of the balcony, using the momentum to take flight.

The sudden change was drastic. His whole body went stiff as they pushed the air, except for his upper face, as the goggles protected it. However, he endured and even ignored the cold as he watched the city below him slowly diminish in size as they kept flying up to the blue sky, trying to reach the cotton clouds.

Konnor extended both arms, his hands feeling the sky and the wind caressing his hair.

But that soon changed when the gryphon took a dive, catching the blessed boy off guard. The thrill changed as his stomach churned, his veins pumped his head full of blood as he couldn’t hold his screams, his mind believing a death was imminent.

Yet that scare ended when the rider pulled the reins of his mount upwards, causing the flying mount to adjust trajectory.

Konnor rubbed his belly and his head trying to ease the dizziness the plunge into the abyss caused him, but it died down as he looked below again and saw lush grasslands and vast fields filled with wheat and people already working on the fields.

He became lost in the vast scenery below him, even ignoring the cold of the wind on his limbs.

Only when he saw buildings coming into view, his mind reacted and his arms trembled while his hands furiously rubbed his upper body hoping the friction would keep him warm. Yet he didn’t need to wait long as the griffin took a deep dive, the sudden action causing him to let out a yelp.

It was almost instantaneous, when he checked his surroundings he was already on a balcony that looked exactly the same back at the Capital along with the caretakers dressed exactly the same. They quickly rushed to help Konnor to get down from the mount and groom the gryphon’s feather who laid down on its nest and fall asleep.

“I-I am fre-freezing.” Konnor stammered with his hands furiously rubbing his arms to create some warmth to fight back the cold.

“A small price to pay after flying on a majestic gryphon!” Mars exclaimed as he placed a long mantle around his friend.

Much to his surprise, the mantle was very warm, calming his body and rapidly returning it to a decent temperature. He was sure that the piece of cloth was magical in some regard.

“Still…” Konnor’s ears picked up strange sounds from the distance. The only comparison he could draw was the sound of a whip. With his curiosity piqued, he approached the railing and looked below a very busy avenue filled to the brim with people wearing the same white cloak that hide all their features, making it impossible to differentiate anyone.

The noise became clearer, and he was absolutely sure that it was a cattle whip in action, and every time it echoed, the procession moved one step forward.

“What are they doing?” He asked his friend who came looking for him.

Mars gave a single look at the scene and showed barely any surprise on his face, “Oh, is the daily public penance.”

“What?”

Mars grabbed Konnor’s wrist and pulled him away from the railing, in direction to the doors at the other side, “Is better if you don’t see it, it is not exactly a beautiful sight.”

The blessed boy still couldn’t understand his friend’s short answer, but didn’t resist as he dragged him back inside until two men, who had a strange outfit, stopped them.

They were wearing a single white tunic with a white belt, but they hid their faces behind a golden mask with an uncanny smile and hollow eyes, their hair unknown to them as they had a large, circular black hat at the top of their heads.

“Ah! They have arrived!” The shorter man extended both arms in a welcoming gesture while the other followed suit.

“My brothers, please follow us to your room.” The other turned around and took the role as a temporary guide.

One of them extended both hands at Konnor, who called his head and then turned to his friend, who took the mantle away and handed it to the awaiting short man. The other was already with the door open, waving to the group to hurry.

After passing the door, the building interiors were almost identical to the inner sanctum back in the capital. The only difference was the color scheme on the walls was more bright gold and silver decorations as well.

But Konnor was glad that the two men weren’t as pushy or impatient as the old deacons who always dragged him around or didn’t respect his personal space.

As they moved through the hallways, he also saw other groups exactly like his, two strange dressed guides and the candidate accompanied by a priest. However, everyone but him seemed more focused on reaching their rooms rather than checking the surroundings.

When they arrived, they opened the door for them to reveal their new room for the stay. Just like the hallways, it was almost to his room back at the capitol, but there was an additional bed and a very large altar giving homage to a portrait representing the holy trinity.

“These will be your ceremonial clothes.” The shorter man handed a pure white tunic to the duo.

Konnor let it unfold, revealing the simplicity of the tunic. It was odd, as everything he had seen until that point was extravagant or luxurious. Such humility was a surprise with mixed feelings.

“It’s only a tunic.” He turned to the masked man, staring at him with the same hollow eyes.

“Correct.”

“Do I wear it above my clothes?”

“Of course not. You must be as open as possible in the presence of our messenger, but if you truly desire. You can assist naked at the ceremony.”

Konnor’s eyes widened at the outrageous suggestion, “I don’t…”

Mars lunged at his friend in time to cover his mouth entirely and prevent him from finishing his sentence.

“Thank you for your generosity brother, we will be ready.” He smiled at the odd servants, who gave one cordial bow before leaving the room.

Konnor quickly pushed away his friend, his expression hardening, “Mars, I won’t go outside practically naked. I will just put it over my clothes.”

“Don’t do that!” Mars shouted and frantically looked at his surroundings for a short while before releasing a long sigh of relief, “Konnor, I explained to you the sanctity of this ceremony. Anything that isn’t these clothes is sacrilege in the presence of the gods. They will kill you on sight if you dare to set foot inside the Basilica wearing anything else but this purified tunic.”

“That’s extreme.” The chosen boy was taken aback. A simple warning was enough so he couldn’t see the reasoning behind that kind of consequences.

The priest’s joyful face darkened and pulled his friend close to him to be at whisper range, “Konnor, we are in Santiò. Swift death is mercy.”

“Can you at least turn around?”

“Of course!”

Konnor removed every piece of clothing from his body and shuddered as skin became sensitive to the cold.

“It feels cold again.” His bare feet were accustomed to rough terrain but not the pristine and cold surface of the marble floor and, despite the tunic covering all his body, having nothing under it allowed the air to play with his body.

He turned to see his friend already dressed in his own tunic and placing his clothes packed together on a chair.

“It won’t take much time, I promise.” Mars walked up to the door and gave three firm knocks.

Soon after, the same men from before opened the door and looked inside before giving a nod of approval.

“Your hearts are open. Now we must go through the purification.” The taller servant spoke with a higher tone and stepped aside, giving the due space to leave their room.

Both servants quickly led them through the hallway and turned to the left, a new hallway with a single door at the end. A wooden door with a carved image of an angel pouring water.

As soon as they approached, the door was opened from the other side, revealing more people dressed as their guides, with the exception that their masks weren’t smiling, as they had no expression at all, only hollow eyes.

Konnor instinctively stepped closer to his friend as they approached them. When they passed the entrance, one of those strangers pulled inside them and led to the center of a big symbol of the trinity church drawn on the floor.

The new room, unlike the rest, was barely illuminated. Only a few of those crystals were placed near the door where they entered, making it impossible for him to see any details unless they were very close to him.

Soon after, the masked people came into view, each one carrying a silver chalice filled with water with a relatively large object inside.

He turned to see his friend for any help, but Mars had his head lowered and eyes closed. He quickly followed the set example, but didn’t close his eyes.

From his position, he watched as the people began circling with and raised their chalice in unison before grabbing the metallic object. They sprinkled the water at them, then they shifted to taking turns who would sprinkle next.

Konnor glanced at his friend, who didn’t move an inch, but had a long smile on him. He checked again the mysterious people who somehow closed the distance at an imaginable speed that almost made him jump in fright, instead only his heart jumped to his throat.

The masked people were very close to them, surrounding the duo. He couldn’t see anything but the tunics. But that became the least of his worries as cold water poured on his back and head, completely drenching his tunic and sending shivers all over his body.

But that didn’t matter, as the big symbol below him glowed with the same golden light he had been seeing the last couple of weeks. The strength of the light illuminated the entire room, but he couldn’t see it as he had to close his eyes or risk blindness.

Konnor couldn’t judge the time but he kept his eyes closed for a while until he felt a hand on his shoulder, it was the signal he needed to open his eyes again and check his surroundings only to drop his jaw in shock as they weren’t inside that dark room anymore.

Instead, they were surrounded by more servants wearing those smiling masks. Everyone quickly dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves, but soon after, all of them slowly hit their heads on the floor repeatedly.

Konnor couldn’t understand or make any reasonable explanation for the sudden turn of events, he was getting oppressed by the aura everyone was giving as they looked like lunatics to him.

Only his friends looked unfazed by the development of events.

“We have purified your souls of sin.” The same duo from before was standing in front of them, “We can proceed to Saintiò’s Basilica.”

The servants took the lead again, leaving all the people behind with their strange ritual. Unlike the many hallways they have been passing through, the walls didn’t have any design or crystal that provided illumination since they made the walls of glass supported by pillars, revealing the outside world from a higher point of view.

Below it was a vast sea of people, everyone wearing the same outfit that he had seen before. However, everyone was looking up. They glued all the eyes on his small group crossing the bridge.

It was when Konnor saw that, just like the people in the last room; they had their faces covered by a white sad mask, a complete opposite to the duo that had been guiding them through the religious rituals.

He was uneasy with so many eyes on him from faceless strangers, as he had never was the complete center of attention before. He quickly leaned closer to his friend’s ear, “There are too many people.”

“Of course there would be. This isn’t any ceremony, but a recognition of your new status. The people are excited to know who the gods have chosen.” Mars answered without turning to look at him.

Konnor gulped and glanced down. The crowd had their arms extended as if they were trying to reach for him despite the considerable distance, “Don’t say it like that, you are making me nervous.”

Mars didn’t reply and kept walking in silence until they finally crossed the glass bridge, leaving behind the supplicants once again and returning to the scenario they were accustomed to.

Yet it didn’t last long. After a right turn, they arrived at a lush grassland. At the center, it had a built road surrounded by large bushes with the various shapes of animals. The grassland was filled with flowers organized by color, and off in the distance, he could see the faint shape of a wide, shiny circular building.

They followed the stone road and appreciated the artwork that was put in the bushes. Konnor didn’t know that he could create art with plants in such imaginative ways. It was definitely something people back in his hometown could try to do to give more life to the town.

He was so lost in appreciating the garden that his friend had to grab his shoulder to stop him from crashing against another person.

It was only then that Konnor could see the Basilica of Santiò in its full glory. However, he wasn’t able to appreciate the design or the architecture, as he soon discovered that there were people outside.

Naked people walking on their knees towards the entrance.

What shocked him the most was that between the naked crowd he could recognize Yvrel brown fluffy tail and long crooked ears, what surprised him the most was that she had an athletic body thing he couldn’t see back at the capital thanks to her clothes being rather loose.

The scene made him avert his gaze in respect, as his cheeks became flushed trying to ignore there were more people doing the same with no shame, but it was clear to him that they were the same as him.

Chosen to carry a blessing from the gods.

With his gaze low, they approached the entrance to the Basilica and stopped at the signal of their guides.

“We have arrived. Follow the path and seat in the empty places. Don’t you dare to utter a single word when you aren’t asked to.” With the last warning given, both bowed and left their sides.

Konnor took another look at the giant silver doors before stepping inside the holy building. Just like the doors, the scale of the interiors was gigantic, as he felt smaller than a dwarf. Unlike all the churches or religious sites he had the opportunity to visit, the basilica walls were painted with gold and silver, the building supported by six thick pillars arranged in a star shape. When he looked up, he could see the dome interior. It had painted a representation of the heavens and earth and right below it, there were carved statues of winged humanoids carrying shields similar to the ones the holy knights carried with them.

Being lost in the exaggerated design of the basilica, Mars had to grab his friend’s wrist and drag him towards the nearest empty bench, where they took their seats and waited in silence for the rest of the blessed people to arrive.

Konnor checked more of his surroundings. He was quick to pick up a pattern of all the guests, either naked or not. There were more members from the beast folk than humans, and orcs were even in lesser numbers. Despite being rather far from the altar, he could still see the shape of a person resting on a marble throne. He couldn’t see more of that person’s features besides the golden staff and the silver robe that covered everything but the head, as it was hidden behind a helmet with a single eye.

Konnor had no doubts that the person sitting on the throne was no other than the pope many have spoken highly of, when he turned to see his friend, Mars had his face drenched with tears as he had his eyes fixed on the pope’s holy figure.

He heard the sound of doors closing behind him.

Almost immediately, light descended from the dome and landed directly on the single eye of the pope’s golden helmet, the body slowly glowing a silver aura enveloped the entire body. At that moment, the pope stood up from the throne and tapped the golden staff on the solid floor twice for every step.

“I can see. I envision a present.”

“Children. My children.”

“Please speak to me.”

Konnor couldn’t believe his ears. The pope spoke in multiple voices with perfect synch. But even then, all of them carried the same warmth as a parent, addressing their children for the first time. He glanced at the others and saw them kneeling with their hands, assuming a position to pray, and all the practice he did back at the capital kicked in and followed suit with his eyes closed.

“Eternal Mother, my keeper, I need to relieve my heart of darkness.

Magnificent Mother, light of our lives, I wandered from your path and come to confess my sins

Illustrious Mother, infinite light of the world, I need you in my troubled hour

Gracious Mother, my shepherd, your humble child, calls to you. Show me the way, so it may fill me with joy.

I beg you, anoint me with your almighty light.”

There was silence. Konnor risked a small peek. The pope was closer than before, with both arms extended and looking at the painted roof as more sunlight was touching the body, increasing the intensity of the glowing aura; it was shining as fire in the middle of the night.

“My children, my youth.”

“You have the future in your hands.”

“Guide them, bring justice.”

“Show us.”

“We are bare in your presence.”

“We have nothing to hide, our hearts are open.”

“We plead for acceptance.”

Everyone finished in perfect unison and only then they lifted their gazes to see what was in front of them. The pope was slowly returning to the throne, tapping the holy staff twice for every step.

“Oh, little ones. So full of life.”

“Protect them, go forth.”

“No hesitation. Only action.”

With the last spoken words, the holy figure sat down on the marble throne and lost all light that the body was exuding. Konnor would even dare to say that the pope looked devoid of life.

However, he had no time to wonder as a very loud church bell rang, and the doors were open.

And the dome shone a blindly light.