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Anton relaxed as much as he was able to. He was in a small private bath reserved for Holy Brothers of a certain rank. It was by no means the best, but it was better than the public baths shared with the acolytes. He had felt an overpowering desire to clean the filth of Baradia and the Bly-nnar off of his body.
Much time had passed now since he had left the Soryan behind on the other side of the world.
The warm water and steam was soothing, but the things he had discovered today were very troubling. The Soryans had proven themselves to be not unintelligent. They had made a discovery that had eluded the Holy Order for centuries, even though it was there for the seeing! What else had they discovered? There was no telling.
Would the Most High applaud his discovery? Would he be afraid, as Anton was?
Suddenly, there was another presence in the room with him. Shocked, Anton prepared to unleash his fury, but then his shock turned to fear when the steam parted and he saw that it was Oman - a member of the Most High's personal bodyguard, the Wrath of Aeremon.
Naked and up to his neck in water, Anton felt like a child again, caught out at whatever misdeed he was up to. The man was tall and powerfully built. The robes he wore could not conceal the intimidating muscle of the man's body. His bald head was pointed down at Anton. He spoke and his voice was rich with authority - and contempt.
"Anton Marryn, you are sent on a mission of utmost importance by the Most High himself...and when you return from that mission, instead of reporting to the Holy Master, you come here and pamper yourself like a woman!?"
Anton could feel the incredible power of this Brother of Wrath. "Please forgive me, Brother Oman! I made a terrible error in judgement! Please...allow me to get dressed and I will report to the Most High immediately!"
With that, Anton began to move, but he was stopped when he saw the senior Brother's hand raise. Oman said one word.
"No."
Then the water around Anton disappeared. A moment later, Anton disappeared.
Oman was left alone in the room. He shook his head slightly, then the Brother of Wrath grunted in disgust, and he disappeared, too.
***
Most High Duraine sat at his desk and scrutinized the latest ledgers presented to him. The church attendance drop off was still very troubling. Something more would have to be done.
Suddenly, in the center of the room, a wash of water appeared from nowhere, and with it tumbled the naked body of young Holy Brother Anton Marryn.
He collapsed onto the hard stone floor, then jumped up and looked around frantically. Realizing where he was, and seeing the Most High before him, he instantly dropped down to his knees. For a moment, the Most High thought the boy was going to speak, but his training served him well.
It appeared Oman had taught another one of his lessons.
"You may stand. You may also clothe yourself."
Immediately, the boy stood and chanted quickly. He dried himself, and the robes of his station appeared on his frame.
"Boy, you were to report to me immediately. There will be time for punishment later, have no doubt. But now I need to know what you learned with the Soryans. Speak."
Anton spoke. In his desire to please the Most High, the words tumbled out sometimes incoherently. He endured for as long as he could, but finally the Most High had enough.
"Stop. Your words mean nothing. Calm yourself, and open your mind. I will view it as it happened in your memories."
Although Maethias Duraine had already learned much from Oman's report earlier in the day, his Brother of Wrath had missed some important knowledge, it seemed. It would be best to get that directly from the boy's mind.
Anton had no reservations about allowing the Most High to enter his mind. This man was as close to Aeremon as you could get in this world, so to Anton it was like opening up to the God, himself.
Anton felt a presence, a weight, in his mind. It was like his own self was pushed aside. It was not done in a harsh manner, but with a sense of some disdain. Anton felt a slight irritation that he was set aside in such a way, but then he remembered his place and banished the emotion.
If the Most High noticed it, he said nothing.
Indeed, Most High Duraine was very skilled at telepathy. He knew the difference between emotion and fact. Anton's feelings were of no regard to him, so he discarded that portion of the memories and only focused on the events themselves.
No words were said, and it only took a short span of time for the Most High to find, review and distill the memories he needed.
What skill he has, thought Anton. He was very impressed, even as he felt his memories shuffled about by the Most High.
The Holy Master was impressed, as well. "Anton, these Soryans are very impressive, very brave...fools." Then he threw back his head and laughed. "They wish to share with us. Were it not so unseemly, I would weep for joy!"
Anton was glad to see the Holy Master was pleased with his performance. Perhaps he could escape punishment after all?
"You do realize you were not supposed to engage the dragon, of course?"
Anton felt his cheeks burning. He began stuttering, but the Most High held up his hand to silence him.
"Young Brother Anton. You will work with the Soryans and we will accept their offer of sharing their knowledge."
"Of course, Master Duraine!", Anton agreed. "But, to what end?"
The Most High sighed. "Ahh, naive youth. Anton, you will learn to read the dragon's auras, and we will study them until we learn even more than the Soryans. They say they can't control them, but perhaps we can."
Anton felt a little queasy then. He felt that dealing with dragons was not something he cared to do any longer, but he couldn't very well refuse.
"Yes, Holy Master."
The Most High turned his attention back to his paperwork. "That is all, for now. You may be dismissed when you've cleaned up this mess."
Anton then looked around and saw what was once his bathwater pooling into the cracks in the floor. He began to chant but the Holy Master interrupted him.
"Without magic.", He said, not even looking up.
Anton felt deflated then. He had not avoided punishment after all.
"Yes, Holy Master.", He said dejectedly. "I will go retrieve the necessary cleaning utilities..."
The Holy Master still did not look up, he merely waved Anton away with his hand.
Exiting the room, Anton started slowly down the long hallway leading from the Most High's office. He was sure this was only the beginning of his punishment.
Although, this might finally be the beginning of punishment for the Soryans, as well, he thought.
Then, his mind squarely back on his own troubles, he continued on his way.
Click to read Chapter 9 - INTERLUDE: THE SORYAN ORDER |
