Eleein
Eleein
Shila looks a little surprised at your decision to stay, but looks pleased
to have you around. After searching the room for a place to sit, you
manage to locate a chair. Shila keeps looking down at her book as
though she is trying to study from it, but can't quite manage to do
so convincingly. Finally she looks up at you.
'Yes?' she asks. It occurs to you that you haven't said anything-
you haven't been able to think of anything to say, you've just been
watching Shila try to study. Thinking quickly, you come up with a
response.
'Shila, why are you not in the temple like most of the clerics?' you ask,
saying the first thing that comes to your mind. You had noticed that
the few clerics you had spotted all appear to be about Shila's age-
which is to say, slightly younger than you- and all of them were
at the temples.
Shila looks toward you curiously. 'Well, it isn't a great story...' she begins.
'No! Go ahead, tell me.' you say, honestly wondering.
'Okay. You've probably noticed the other clerics around here like me,
doing cleric things. You've also probably noticed there's also no clerics
like me hanging around in cities like I do. So, there's got to be an
explanation, right?'
You just smile. Knowing Shila, there's a very interesting explanation.
Shila sighs for dramatic effect. 'Well, I am a fast learner. The magic
aspect of the discipline came naturally to me. The only problem was
that the discipline part didn't. I didn't... adapt well to the strictness
of temple life. But I was a very advanced student, and the Order
didn't want to lose me. So they promoted me.'
You raise your eyebrows. 'Promoted you? They moved you off to
a remote city, and that's a promotion?'
Shila laughs lightly. 'Well, not exactly. They sent me out to get more
experience, scout... and not cause any trouble.'
'I see! Sounds interesting!' You comment, trying to keep from
laughing. 'So how long has it been since you've been in the temple?'
Shila looks thoughtful for a moment. 'I haven't been back here in...
five years!' She looks surprised at the idea. Doing the math, you
realize that she had left at the age of fifteen.
'You left when you were only fifteen years old?' You ask, incredulously.
Shila nods. 'Yeah! You knew that. We've only known each other
for a few years, you realize. It just seems like much longer.' Shila
pauses for a moment, and then looks at you. 'What about you?
Have you seen the tapestries that we have for you?'
'Tapestries?'
'Tapestries. You're a hero here, you know. I don't know much about
what happened, but apparently there was a big fight in this vicinity
a while ago?' Shila's tone indicates that she wants to learn more.
You sigh- this wasn't exactly one of the stories that you wanted to
tell. 'A few years back- I believe that you were in Okems at the time-
there was a disturbance in this region. A group of clerics of the Eleein
order defected. Over what, I'm not sure. They were dubbed Fanatics
by the Order and excommunicated. The fanatics fought back, though.
The fanatics themselves were relatively few, but they had saved
a great deal of money and had hired a respectable amount of
mercinaries. The order asked for our help, and so I was sent with
a battalion to take care of the situation.' You pause, taking note
of Shila's rapt attention. It wasn't the reaction you were hoping for.
You try to convey what it was like.
'Shila, it was no heroic battle.' you try to stress. 'The fanatics possessed
as much, if not more, magic than the clerics who were attempting
to defend their temple. The moment my forces arrived, we were under
heavy attack. The mercinaries fought hard, but the knights of Okems,
as you well know, are among the best trained fighters there are. It
was the magic of the Fanatics that kept us in check.' You sigh.
'The battle wore on for hours, and neither side would give.
Casualties ran high on both sides.' You avoid going into details,
less to spare Shila the horror than to spare yourself having to relive it.
'Finally, we managed to bring the fanatics to bay... The clerics, who
han't fought well even after our forces showed up, thought I was
a hero.' You pause, shaking your head. 'I didn't want to be a hero.
The clerics weren't fighting well because it wasn't their job. None of
them wanted to fight. Most didn't even know how. It was my job,
and so I did it. Your order might think me heroic, but I'm not.
I'm just a man doing my job.'
There is a moment of silence before Shila speaks again. 'Wow...'
she says in a reverent tone. 'Spencer, now that I know how you
feel, I won't treat you like a hero. You're a man doing his job.'
'Shila, you never treated me like a hero.' you point out.
'So? Maybe after hearing about your valor in battle I would have!
But you don't want that, so I won't. You're just you.'
'Shila?'
'Yes Spencer?'
'Thanks.' You say. Shila smiles slightly and nods her approval. A
moment later, there is a knock on the door.
'Um... Come in!' Shila says after a moment's hesitation. You get the
impression that she was still thinking about your story. The door opens,
and another cleric, slightly older than Shila, enters the room.
'Christopher!' Shila exclaims
Home
This page hosted by
