Lisryn sighed, dropping bato the much too soft bed. It hadn’t hit her earlier, but now all the stress suddenly crashed down, almost suffog her. Uo do much else, she rexed as best as she could and began to meditate.

  Once she had calmed down again, she got up and began to explore the room she had been informed was her’s. Aside from the rge bed, there rivate bath, a fancy writing desk, several chairs around a table, and an armor stand holding an impressive suit of crimson armor. To the side opposite the private bath, she saw a kit rge enough for several people. With a little more poking around, she found a small bathroom with the missing utilities from the private bath, and beside the kit was a rge walk-in pantry. Most iing, however, was finding that the closet was actually up a small set of spiral stairs behind a privacy s, rather than attached directly to the bedroom. Going dowairs , she found herself within a rge library, taining all manner of books.

  Remembering she was supposed to e up with a new symbol, she headed to the writing desk, quickly log everything she needed. For the several minutes, she id down lier line, keeping in mind her experierying to draw the one she had been shown, trying to keep it simple to draw, even if it was intricate.

  After she was satisfied with the drawing, Lisryn sat bad focused on the feeling she had when she had heard the voice she was now fident was her god, flibsp; Momentarily, she felt a presen her mind, aally asked what she should do. Surprisingly, there was not much of a response, simply stating that she should talk with the Padins for information and then e up with how she wao run things, with a feeling of fideowards her, as well as that she would be told if she acted out of line. Finally, she was also told that she would o appear before the members of the church soon, and would be given more information then.

  Shrugging to herself, she headed towards the door, opening it up to reveal the back of one of the Padins, this time without a helmet. The man turned around calmly and gave a small bow before speaking, “Hello, since you didn’t see our faces before, I am Narath. It is a pleasure to meet you properly. Was there anything you needed?”

  Nodding, Lisryn replied, “I was told to speak with the Padins about the state of the church, and that I was trusted to make ges, so I o uand how everything here works currently.”

  “Ah, yes, that would be rather important, indeed,” he remarked. “Let’s sit down inside and we go over it all.”

  After going inside and sitting at the table, the two spent several hours discussing the current state of the churbsp; As she listened, Lisryn became more and more displeased with what she was hearing, being ht furious once she heard the st, celed order of her predecessor.

  Calming down took her quite a while of meditation, helped by the knowledge she could ge things once she took on her role publicly. She already had quite the list of ges she wao make, ing up with more as time passed. To her joy, she felt approval from fli the back of her mind, making her more fident in her choices.

  Some of her ideas she discussed with Narath, finding that he approved of them as well. He also gave her several good suggestions that she inteo follow. Eventually, however, she became tired, and Narath left to allow her to try to sleep in her new room.

  While it took much lohan she preferred, she did finally bee tired enough to overe the differeo her prior home and fall asleep.

  Upon waking up, she decided to write a letter to her vilge to let them know of her success, though she was unsure how to go about getting it delivered. Opening her door, she saw another person guarding the door who turned and introduced themselves, “Greetings, High Priestess. I am Raelis, assistant healer of the third cycle. We are still preparing everything for your appearance, is there anything you need before then?”

  Nodding, she queried, “Would it be possible to have a message sent to my vilge? And would it be too much to ask for a firmer bed? I would also like to know when I should expeeet with the rest of the church.”

  “Of course, you will be able to stop by a messenger post tomorrow, after you make your first appearanbsp; We ’t repce the bed immediately, but it will be arranged. If you would like, I take you to some of the servant’s quarters and you point out what sort of firmness you want,” Raelis answered.

  Lisryn nodded, replying, “I would like that, it sounds much easier than hoping a guess is accurate. But servants? I thought no one was allowed here except the Padins and High Priest, given the whole ‘succeed or die’ irial.”

  Raelis frowned before tinuing, “You are correct, in a sense. No oside the sanctuary is permitted to know how many of us there are. This means that we ot allow anyone else who eo leave alive. Many people are willing to accept that restri and sider it an honor, however, and sometimes the High Priest would demand someone serve him. Most of us disagree heavily with that st part, but we serve, not and.”

  Frowning heavily, Lisryn asked, “Are there servants like that currently? I don’t like the idea of people being forced to serve, especially not for life.”

  With a nod, Raelis responded, “There are indeed, if you will follow me, we go meet with them.”

  Lisryn nodded and followed as the woman led her back down the corridor, and into the rge room she had met them in. As they passed through, she noticed one of the Padins sitting and watg the door as they drained a mana stone. Curious, she inquired, “Why is he doing that? Isn’t it dangerous?”

  In response, Raelis answered, “We all require far more mana to survive than we aturally gather, as a result of spending years strengthening ourselves as much as possible. You are expected to do simir, to a lesser degree, as you o be as healthy as possible, which will also extend your life. With so many mages here, it is no trouble to manage your mana overload and keep it within safe levels. We have had plenty of practice, after all, and uand quite well how to find the thresholds.”

  By the time she finished speaking, they had crossed the room and gone down another corridor, ending in a door that Raelis opened. Beyond was a reasonably rge room with multiple couches, chairs, and tables, a handful of people resting in them. Upon hearing the door open, all of them stood and bowed, only returning to sitting once Raelis sighey could rex.

  “As you seem to have guessed, this is our new High Priestess, Lisryn. She seems displeased with you all beiricted to being here, so I assume she would rather you not treat her as someone special, I believe?” Raelis spoke, turning to Lisryn with a questioning gnce as she finished.

  Lisryn nodded before expining, “I didn’t realize anyone was required to stay here, and I would prefer we all get along as well as possible. I do not see myself as beier than anyone else, and don’t need ao serve me. If there is anything I do to help make your lives better, please let me know.”

  Several of the men chuckled before one spoke up, “Most of us are quite happy here, High Pri–I mean Lisryn?” he paused, gng at her, tinuing once she nodded, “There are a few women the prih Priest maniputed into being es, you should speak with them, as they did not volunteer as we did. We won’t be too obtrusive, but we will still serve you by ing and preparing food, as we already do that for the Padins, and it is easier to just do it for everyone. It will be o not have to do everything, however, and I, at least, thank you for that.”

  Surprised by the willingness of those before her, she shook her head for a moment before asking, “Where would I find them?”

  The man who had spoken before stood up and waved for her to follow him, saying, “They are a little ways within the plex, sihey didn’t choose to be here, they tend to stay to themselves unless summoned, and we didn’t know you would be visiting.”

  After entering another hall, the man began knog on doors, three women emerging from their rooms. As they saw the group, their gazes turned wary before the man spoke, “This is Lisryn, our new High Priestess. She just finished speaking to us, and I think you will like her.”

  Seeing that they were relut to speak, Lisryn expined, “While I may be the new High Priestess, I am not happy with the whole servant thing, especially not your situation. As I offered the others, is there anything I do to help make your lives better?”

  Gng amongst themselves for a moment, one of the women stepped forward, replying, “We are treated well, but we were forced into this by that bastard to be part of a harem. It may be too much to ask for, but could we just be left alone for a while?”

  “Of course, I have no iion of making you do anything you don’t want to. While I do like women, I like WILLING partners, so you need not worry, I will treat you the same as everyone else. I am sorry I ’t undo what has already happened, but at least things will be better now. Please, do not hesitate to ask if anything would help,” Lisryn responded with a sad smile and a nod.

  She then surprised the women by bowing slightly to them before heading back to the servant’s on room. Ohere, she asked about cheg the firmness of beds, and was directed to a wing of empty rooms, gd to find she didn’t have to intrude on anyone’s personal space.

  After several rooms, she remarked to Raelis, “This bed is almost perfee, could you try to get something just a tiny bit softer than it for me?”

  Nodding, Raelis replied, “We certainly do that, it will just take a few days to get a proper bed produced and delivered. Was there anything else you oday?”

  After thinking for a moment, Lisryn shook her head, and headed back to her room with Raelis trailing behind. Along the way, she asked, “I uand the need for prote, but isn’t it a bit much to have a guard even ihis area where no one else is allowed inside?”

  Raelis shook her head and answered, “While it is unlikely, there is the possibility that one of the servants, mostly the unfortunate women, might attempt to kill you. This is much less likely now, I believe, but any possibility is too high. Additionally, if anyone mao break in a beyond the entry room, I am another yer of prote. There are plenty of us to hahis, that is why there are three groups of us, and every group has at least one healer. You will never be without a healer at your side now. On a reted note, when do you want us to fix y? It looks pretty bad, and might take a few hours.”

  “I suppose that does make sense. And actually, odd as it may seem, I’d prefer to leave my leg as it is. I’ve growo having to deal with it, and it is a firm remio not uimate anything or think of myself as better than those I’ve protected,” Lisryn responded as she shook her head.

  Nodding, Raelis remarked, “I see the reasoning in that, and respect it. I will make sure to inform the others. If you ever ge your mind, just let us know.”

  Lisryn asked, “What is that odd se of wall iryway? I didn’t notice it until now, but it looks like a rge seam in the wall.”

  “Ah, that is the main way we transport things in or out of the sanctuary, it is ected to another room that has a door simir, both of whily open if the other is fully closed and secured. Due to this, we order shipments of supplies, and anyone deliver them despite the rules regarding who enter and leave the sanctuary,” answered Raelis, stepping aside as they reached Lisryn’s room again.

  After thanking the woman for her help, Lisryered her room again, i on preparing for some of the ges she intended. She headed to the writing desk and began drafting a letter asking to meet with as many of the senies as possible at a time and pce of their choosing. With luck, this would allow her to spread awareness of her ges as rapidly as possible, and she might eve some of her own desires met as well.

  Upon finishing the letter, she sat ba her chair and tio think of what she wao annouomorrow, unaware of the time passing until her stomach growled in protest. Surprised she had lost track of time, she stood and headed to the door, finding another woman standing guard.

  “Hello, Lisryn, the others have informed me of your preferences, and we will do our best to use your her than rank, though we may mix it up occasionally. I am Yurania, healer and leader of the sed cycle. Was there anything you needed?” the woman remarked.

  Lisryn nodded before answering, “I lost track of time and am quite hungry, would it be possible to get some food? And thank you for using my name, I am not fortable with being referred to by a title.”

  Waving for her to follow, Yurania brought her through the entry room and almost directly inte dining room where several people were already eating. Upon seeing her, one of the men stood and headed into another room. She was directed to sit, and the man quickly returned with a pte of food, setting it down oable for her.

  Thanking the man, she was gd to see him smile in appreciation. Seeing his rea, she felt she must be doing well so far in how she treated them. Fog on her meal, she found that it was a rge steak of some sort, along with sides of several vegetables she did nnize, as well as fish. Starting with the fish, she found that it was salmon, one of the types they occasionally caught at her vilge. She couldn’t identify the steak, however, though she could say it wasn’t from a cow.

  Almost before she k, she had finished everything oe a stuffed, having ehe meal immensely, though it was far higher quality than she was used to. After requesting that the cook be thanked and hearing firmation that someone would do so, she returo her room once again, looking forward to sleeping.

  Shard