I had returned to my room, but I longed for Aurora. Her eyes, her persistence. She was the woman I followed blindly into an abyssal's lair, but I stopped short of inviting her back to my room. That was feeling increasingly foolish.
Chiki was out of the picture, but plenty of other men would be willing to make a move on her, too. Maybe even Kenten? I wasn't sure what the two of them were doing together before they arrived in the garden.
Chiki… My thought lingered on that last discussion. To think she would cut him off… She wasn't a member of our unit, and she was a woman, yet she did her best not to cause trouble amongst us. I could only respect that. Just like with Chiki, would she cut the others off, too? Or was that only because he and I are close?
I was lying in my bed, my face buried in the pillow, trying to find sleep when I felt a hand on my back. I was so lost in my thoughts that I had not noticed her… She had entered my bedchamber… That hand caressing my back was hers. That aura was hers. For a moment I refused to believe it and thought that I was driven to folly by how much I wanted her.
Her hand caressed my back slightly and without a word, she hugged me from behind. Her head gently pressed against the linen of my shirt. I could feel the heat radiating off her body. I couldn't speak if I had wanted to. My throat refused to let out a sound, not even that of the desire I suppressed.
I think I could have stopped breathing.
The night was long and passionate. Neither of us had a care for how soon the morning would come. We were wrapped up in one another, and nothing else mattered.
She was probably too tired during the mission to do so, but I was surprised when Aurora used magic even in this circumstance. She traced runes that enhanced every physical sense and even seemed to make time slow down. I probably would have objected if she had given me the chance, but after the fact, I was happy she had just gone for it.
After, as we leaned near each other, her fingers lingered on my back, calming me from the intensity of our moment.
Neither of us could fall immediately asleep. Aurora collapsed onto the mattress, pulled me close, and tugged the blanket up to cover us both. We lay there for a long while as she traced distracted circles on my arm.
"I think your room is nicer than mine," Aurora said, looking around.
"This is your temple," I replied. "Shouldn't you have the nicest room?"
"It's too big. I don't like it," she said.
I laughed.
"You probably wouldn't like my room back at the guildhall then," I said. "It's rather spacious."
She looked at me and shook her head. "I prefer my cozy guildhall room. I know where everything is, it's easy to clean, it holds all my essentials…"
"Okay, okay, I get it," I said, smiling. "But if you keep up the good work, they'll make you an officer and upgrade your room."
She shook her head again, faking a pout. "I'd refuse."
"But think how many more essentials you could store," I said as I poked her in the side. She smacked my hand away. "More weapons, more clothes…"
"Weapons maybe," she said. "I don't need any more clothes, though. I've got all the armor sets I need."
"You're kidding, right?"
"About…?"
"Surely you have more clothes than just sets of armor?"
"Why would I? I'm a fighter." She gazed at me quizzically. Suddenly, she sat up in bed, her eyes beaming.
"Okay," she began, "so I have one set exclusively for frigid climes. It's lined with fur and even has this cute fur frill sticking out around the collar."
She motioned excitedly around her neck, but then noticed the sour look on my face.
"It's not real fur," she said. "I like animals too much for that. But it has magical properties that make it so warm!"
"You'll have to show me your collection when we get back, then," I said. I held my hands out and motioned for her to lie back down. She fell back onto the mattress and snuggled up against me.
"We should probably get some sleep," I said.
"Probably…" Aurora agreed. "Or…" I felt her hand grazing down my side, along my hip, and down my thigh.
It was a long night, indeed, but a memorable one.
Hours later, we fell asleep, and in the morning, I was overjoyed to find her still by my side. The pace of her breathing was calm, and her scent was all over my bed.
There was no coming back now, our relationship was no longer just that of casual mates, but did I even want to? Since we first met in the forest, I had only grown more interested in her. I don't think that it was a question of coming back, but of how far it would go. Now, she was lying in my bed, and my only wish was that she would never leave it.
Of course, the moment couldn't last forever. She eventually woke up, and with my arms locked tightly around her, I pretended to be asleep. She figured out my ruse quickly though and shook me until I laughed and had to give up pretending.
I opened my eyes and looked at her for a few seconds before leaning in to give her a tender kiss. "I'm not letting you go, ever," I muttered. As our lips parted, she told me I would have to because we had to get breakfast, at least. With a playful grumble, I relented.
She got ready quickly, using magic again. Although her use of magic had been tantalizing the previous night, I must admit I still found it somewhat strange to see her use it for such everyday tasks. I opted for a more typical, common method, of course. It didn't take me very long to get dressed, although I did have to fight with the covers to find my pants. Amused, Aurora watched me struggle and giggled from across the room.
I gave her a wry smile as I tugged my pants on. "Yeah, yeah, I know it's an uncool and much slower method than yours, but magic isn't my forte," I said with a sigh before grumbling about how this was abnormal. "Let's go get some food."
I accompanied her to the dining hall. We received a few curious looks from some of our guildmates. It was our third day in the temple, and this was the first morning we had appeared at breakfast together. I don't think it was any kind of secret before then, but if anyone still didn't know, they certainly figured it out then. Aurora's face was glowing.
As we took our seats at a small table, I caught glimpses of some of the Holy Guard casting me sideways glances. Dejection was written all over their faces. Aurora smiled at me and cheerfully drank my orange juice, and I counted myself particularly lucky at that moment.
I caught sight of Kenten peering our way, too. He returned Aurora's smile and went back to his breakfast. The Saint Guard members looked happy for us, at least.
As we were finishing our meal, Isander approached our table and took a seat. "I've already told Kenten and the others about this, but I received word from King Asami today. Saint Shen has identified the heretic in King Asami's court." His face looked grave.
"Well?" I said. "How bad could the news be?"
"It's the Queen," Isander said.
"Oh…" I replied, pausing to find words to express my shock. "Well, that's certainly bad."
"Not many people know," Isander continued.
"Have they detained her yet?" Aurora asked.
Isander shook his head. "No, for now, they are simply keeping her busy and away from the Prince as much as possible."
"To think she would corrupt her own son…" Aurora mused. "It's terrible."
"Yes," Isander agreed. "And she wasn't exactly popular with the King's subjects already. This information must remain a secret."
"Of course," I said.
"We'll help King Asami once Master has a plan," Isander continued, "but keeping the people from demanding her blood will be difficult, at best."
"We'll be ready when called upon, that's certainly going to be a juicy mission," I said. "Though, not sure if Kayuki will ask him to pay for it since it's about heresy…"
"Definitely," Isander said. "And you'll certainly be in as well, Aurora." Isander chuckled. She shook her head and shrugged, which was a little strange for the situation, but how are you supposed to react when you find out a Queen is betraying her kingdom and committing heresy against the very gods?
"I'm glad your mentor was on the case," Isander told Aurora. "I don't know what we would have done without him. Many people of the guild were on that mission and could have fallen because of her." Aurora only smiled and nodded in response.
"I can't imagine someone better suited to the task," Aurora said.
"Agreed," Isander responded. "Well, I believe Kenten wanted to get back to the guildhall as soon as possible. I'll leave you two to wrap up your meal."
With that, he excused himself and went about the room to assemble the Holy Guard. The High Priest announced to the room that the temple would be arriving at the border of the Silvermore within the hour. Kenten nodded our direction, and we took his cue to leave to gather our things and prepare to return home. I was looking forward to being back in my own room.
Aurora had to gather a few things from my room, but then she returned to her own to collect her other supplies. I finished packing and left the temple's room for the last time. I found my other guildmates in the antechamber just inside the temple's entrance. They were again surrounded by priestesses who were wishing them farewell. Kenten was speaking to one of them about the purification we received on our first night in the temple.
"Thank you very much for your attention to detail," Kenten said.
"You are welcome. In this temple, we learn the purification rituals of each and every God, and unravel the mysteries of purity... so may I ask if that was efficient? Besides our own believers, we have never heard any feedback on our skills from outsiders."
"It's hardly believable this wasn't done in one of our temples," Kenten replied. "The ritual was perfect. I thank you very much and am most satisfied."
"Oh, that's a great honor," she said, bowing.
She asked what he felt, and he took a bit of time to think about it before responding. I thought back to the group blessing Aurora had performed that first night here. I recalled emptying my mind and watching images of my happiest moments float by. There had even been images of times I thought I had completely forgotten.
I remembered the warm feeling of wellness and security that enveloped me. I recalled situations from my past when I felt that I didn't have the answers I needed. But during that blessing, those memories appeared differently to me. I felt like in fact I knew the answers. Some of my mistakes that I still had trouble forgiving myself for, I began to see in another light. Neither positive nor negative. I felt like the facts helped me to accept the outcomes.
I enjoyed lingering in that state of wellness even beyond the length of a regular prayer. My life had been a long streak of events, and that prayer made me feel well. I was glad that I was still able to draw on that contentment even days later.
The prayer had been different than my God's prayer, and at the same time, it wasn't so different. My God gave me bravery and courage, and the God of Mysteries gave me acceptance of myself.
Before visiting Aurora's temple, I had never prayed to another god, and never thought it would grant me anything. I had probably missed a lot of different blessings such as the one I received there. Thinking back to the prayer, I again thanked the God of Mysteries with my whole heart. He had blessed me greatly, and I the least I could do was recognize his grace and power from time to time.
A short while later, the temple had arrived just outside of Silvermore. We said our last goodbyes, thanked the High Priest and priestesses again and marched out of the temple. It felt good to walk out of there and to finally wrap up this mission.
I was happy to be back in Silvermore. We passed by familiar sights, sounds, shops, and people. The citizens stopped to watch as the Saint and Holy Guards proceeded through town. Many people cheered us. They didn't even know what mission we had just returned from, but they didn't need to. They had full confidence that we were out there protecting them in one way or another. Several women swooned just from Ijil smiling in their general direction.
We passed by a number of guildhalls on our route, and while they were impressive, none of them had that welcoming feeling the Sanctuary Guild would always hold for me. We walked past several temples, as well, and after my visit to the Temple of Mysteries, I made sure to whisper a quick word of thanks to the god of each temple as we passed.
Finally, as we approached the massive wooden and metal gate of the Sanctuary Guild, a warm flush of familiarity rushed over me. The gates swung open, beckoning us inside. We were home.
As soon as we made it inside the guildhall, a messenger appeared to tell us Master Kayuki expected an immediate report.
Not two seconds later, Genji, another member of the Faith of Nature appeared. He ran straight at Aurora, threw his arms around her, and started obscenely rubbing against her under the guise of a simple hug. Aurora twisted her lips into a look of revulsion.
I drew my blade and swung it at Genji, stopping just as its edge grazed his throat. He froze, focused his eyes on the sword, and gulped loudly.
"Uh, did I, uh, miss something?" he asked.
"I've seen bravery before," Isander said, shaking his head, "but no one brave enough to put his hands on a Saint Guardsman's woman."
"Ain't no bravery about it," Tenshi said. "That's just flat stupid."
Genji slowly backed away from the sword's edge. He kept a good, safe distance from Aurora as he apologized repeatedly. He followed sheepishly behind us before separating from the group and disappearing elsewhere into the guildhall.
Shortly before we reached the stairs that would take us to Master Kayuki's floor, Aurora tried to sneak off to her room, but I grabbed her and told her the report wasn't something she could skip. She had vital information to share.
"But I've already given a speech at my temple," she whined as if reporting was the most annoying task of the world, "and I really just want to go back to my room."
"That speech was for your High Priest. It doesn't count as a report to Kayuki," Kenten said. "And you had better get used to doing this. It only becomes more common the higher up you move in the guild."
"Great…" Aurora said sarcastically.
The full Saint and Holy Guards went upstairs and straight to Master Kayuki's office. I had joined in on enough of these meetings that I knew the drill. Master would ask questions, and he would expect any of us to chime in as necessary. Staying silent wasn't really an option, either. If Master Kayuki even suspected you had something useful to add, he would call on you in front of everyone. Even Chiki had learned to accept that he might have to speak more than he would like.
As we were making our way into his room, Kayuki, with an impatient wave of his hand, bid us enter. We filed in and formed a semicircle before him. An attendant, whose name I've never been able to remember, left the room and closed the door behind him.
"Well?" Kayuki said. "Give me the full report. Don't leave anything out, but be quick about it." This explanation was probably for Aurora since that was her first time doing a report of a mission of this importance.
Kenten reported everything from the moment we departed Silvermore: Aurora suddenly joining us in advance, the events in Esperia, slaying an abyssal, and visiting a Temple of Mystery. Kayuki nodded solemnly as he feverishly scribbled notes of our report. None of the news seemed to surprise him. The only part that made him raise his eyebrows was when Aurora interjected that the abyssal was at the fourth stage of awakening.
Aurora let him know that defeating the abyssal had pushed her to the limits of her ability and, even then, the battle required a rather involved divine intervention. As Aurora clarified that abyssals could advance through eight stages before fully awakening, I shuddered at the thought of facing an even more powerful and entrenched one.
After that, Isander gave Inoio a formal commendation for his service as interim second-in-command. I had expected as much would happen. Again, Kayuki didn't seem surprised, but his congratulations sounded genuine enough. He told Inoio he would be reassigned to command another unit within the month, and Inoio thanked him repeatedly. I only hoped that Isander would continue serving as a hands-on mentor to him.
Before we departed, Ijil blurted out, "Oh, before I forget!" He paused for a moment to make sure he had Kayuki's attention. Kayuki looked right at him and twirled his finger in the air as if to tell Ijil to get on with it.
"Before this mission, Aurora wanted to make a Claim of Work," Ijil said. "Perhaps you could hear her out since we're all here to judge it?"
"A claim of work?" Kayuki asked, looking puzzled. "Has there been a problem in your jobs? I always receive spotless reviews from your employers."
"Ijil…" Aurora said, looking both annoyed and embarrassed.
"I don't have the time to spare," Kayuki said. "So spit it out immediately."
"Yes, sir," Aurora replied while shrinking. "All I said was that some of the jobs I've received were very degrading to my faith's ability, and it bothered me that my God's skills were looked down on that much."
"My," Kayuki said, now looking genuinely baffled. "Can you explain what you mean?"
It took Aurora a moment to find the right words, but Kayuki seemed uncharacteristically patient this time. None of us wanted to offend a god, so it was worth hearing out whatever Aurora had to say. After a few awkward starts, Aurora explained in detail what was asked of her in the case with the Duchess and the wayward daughter. Aurora insisted the case easily could have been solved by anyone trained in proper investigation skills. It was a waste of time and talent to rely on the investigative prowess of a follower of the God of Mystery.
When Kayuki didn't immediately respond, Aurora quickly added that she didn't mind continuing, as long as it was made clear that she wasn't being assigned just because of her faith, but because of her specialty in solving a given case.
After considering for a moment, Kayuki agreed. "Would you be willing to train novices in these investigatory skills?" he asked.
"I'm certainly willing to try, but it's more like an apprenticeship program than a teaching lesson," she answered.
"So training won't go quickly, then?" Kayuki asked.
"I'm afraid not," Aurora admitted.
"Request for Claim of Work denied, then," he said matter-of-factly. "But I will also be assigning new trainees to you. Expect to see your first recruit in the near future."
Aurora stood there with her jaw hanging wide open while casting an extremely dark glare at Ijil. I could hear Tenshi snickering under his breath.
"You seem dismayed, Aurora," Kayuki said. "Are you not excited about increasing the number of investigators? It will take some time, of course, but I think the effort will be worth it in the end."
"Of course, sir. I'm happy to help," Aurora said convincingly enough, although the edge on her voice certainly betrayed her frustration.
"I'm glad to hear that," Kayuki said. "And I suppose congratulations are also in order for your ascension to exalted status."
"Thank you, sir," she replied.
"Did your temple do anything to honor you?" he inquired.
"They recognized me. Mostly, the High Priest just wanted me to deliver a Deciphering speech," she said.
"Well, the Sanctuary Guild won't be outdone," Kayuki responded, bowing out his chest. "We'll hold a party in your honor, and we'll have you deliver a speech here, as well."
Aurora's eyes looked moist, as if she was on the verge of crying, while she made what she probably thought to be a smile, thanking Kayuki for his care.
"Any other reports or requests?" Kayuki asked. A moment of silence passed. A few people shook their heads. "No? Excellent. Great work, everyone. Thank you for your impeccable service. I constantly boast that I have the best teams among all the guilds, and you'd better never make me look like an idiot. Dismissed!"
As if he was the type to ever boast, I thought as I let out another long sigh. Inoio was first to the exit. He had the look of a man who was going to accept his good fortune and get out before Master changed his mind and reassigned him elsewhere. As he tugged the door handle, the doors suddenly flew open as the attendant formally let us pass.
Out in the hallways, Ijil rushed to Aurora's side and apologized profusely. "I didn't think he would outright deny the Claim of Work and then pile even more work on you. I'm so sorry, Aurora!"
"It's nothing," she grumbled. "Maybe eventually it'll lighten my workload."
"Yes, definitely!" Ijil agreed. "Always look on the bright side!"
"It's a pretty long, dark tunnel to get to that bright side, don't ya think?" Tenshi added with a grin.
"Thanks for the reminder, Tenshi," Aurora said.
"No problem," he replied. "Hey, plus you get a party in your honor. And y'all can dress up nice, even!" He pointed back and forth to Aurora and me, snickering all the while.
"Yay… An opportunity to wear a dress," Aurora said in a monotone. "And another speech, too. Aren't I lucky?"
"Ain't ya, though?" Tenshi said. He didn't stick around for another response, but trotted off to his room, instead. The rest of us took our leave as well to get some well-deserved rest before the party. Aurora and I agreed we should go to our own rooms. We weren't likely to get any sleep if we shared a bed, and the day was far from done.
I went back to my room and crashed on my bed. My perfectly-cushioned bed and soft, down-stuffed pillow. I lay sprawled on my stomach and stretched my arms and legs out, splayed scissor-shaped across the bed. I must have dozed that way for an hour before I woke up long enough to put aside my weapons and armor. Then it was right back to sleep for another few hours.
I woke up well after the sun had gone down and it was about time to get ready. I took a quick bath and put on clean clothes, opting for formal wear for the evening. My hair was determined to stick straight up on one spot in the back, but with enough water and determination, I mostly made it behave. Maybe Aurora would have some magic trick to make it stay down.
I left my room and walked through the halls. Along the way, I passed Yoten and Ino, also in formal wear. They greeted me, and Yoten pointed out that wild piece of my hair. I told him it had a mind of its own, and I would just have to make do.
Genji greeted me apprehensively as well, and then he jumped to the side of the hall, flattening himself against the wall so I could pass. There was plenty of room without him doing that, of course, but I wasn't going to stop him. At least he was smart enough to show some deference after his lewd greeting for Aurora earlier. I didn't look his way, but only gave the slightest of nods as I passed him. I could hear his breath escaping once I had gone by.
Finally, I reached Aurora's room. I knocked, gently at first. When that didn't elicit a response, I knocked again, harder this time. On the third attempt, I called out to her, as well. Eventually, I heard movement inside the room, and the door swung open as a groggy Aurora greeted me.
"Good morning," I said, smiling.
Her eyes shot wide open. "Oh! It's morning already!? Did I miss the party? Good, time to get to work then," She said with a hint of hope while she spun around and rushed to grab some random clothes. Outfits came flying out of her closet and landing on the bed. "What about my speech!?" she shouted. "Was I excused?"
She seemed so relieved to be off the hook for the speech, I felt a bit guilty about my joke.
"Uh… I'm sorry. It was just a joke. I didn't think you would take me seriously."
She looked at me, perplexed.
"It's just nighttime. The party is starting soon."
"Oh…" she said. She held an outfit loosely at her side and then let it drop to the floor. "So I still have to give the speech?"
"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry about that. I was only kidding you. I should have realized you were still half-asleep."
"Damn," she said.
I cocked my head sideways and gave her a quizzical look.
"That means I still have to wear a stupid dress, too," she said. "Maybe I should have just slept through the night."
"Oh, it will be fine," I assured her. "You killed a stage four abyssal. Surely you can make it through one formal evening."
"I'll do my best," she said. She reflected for a long moment, staring into the closet. Eventually, she turned and contemplated the outfits now strewn across the bed. She looked down at the one on the floor but didn't bother picking it up.
"So which one should I wear?" she asked, pointing vaguely in the direction of the bed.
"Hm… Let me see…" I said. I stepped closer to the bed and took a good look at each outfit. They were almost exclusively different armor sets. She had thrown softer cloth ones on the bed. Those were more for stealth or light combat. Her closet housed heavier armor sets.
"Don't you have any… you know… nice… clothes?" I asked.
She glared at me.
"These are very nice armor sets, but they're not…" I trailed off. Her incisive stare did not let up. "Do you own any dresses?"
"Uh…maybe?" she said. She riffled through the clothing in the closet and pulled out a blouse and short skirt. She held these up with one eyebrow raised.
"No," I said. "I mean, maybe later, when it's just you and me, but…"
"Noted," she said with a grin as she replaced the outfit. She picked through the closet some more before producing another option. "What about this one?" she asked.
This one was a full-length dress with a brilliant sheen. Aurora grabbed the dress and clipped its bottom to her drepant, then she picked out some top-accessories and attached them onto her drepant's top.
"That will do," she said, nodding. "If anything happens, I can get rid of those and be ready to fight in seconds." She cast an illusion on her shoes and then frowned as she inspected all her handiwork.
"You don't seem very pleased..." I said.
"I can bear with wearing a dress for you, don't worry. I usually only wear this as a disguise on missions, but I can get used to pretty much anything if I put my mind to it. Is that all I have to do to get ready? Wear a... a dress?" she asked.
"What do you normally wear to ceremonies for your faith?" I inquired.
"My full armor and arms, of course," she answered. "I'm always the High Priest's security detail, so I don't have to rack my brain over how to dress and such."
"And when you go to parties?" I asked.
"I never do that. Crowds of perverts drooling over indecent women showing off their bodies for the highest bidder…" she trailed off. "Not a very pleasant sight."
"Then what do you do for fun?" I asked.
"Spiritual Dancing," she replied. "But it's been two years since I've had the time for such things."
"Is that different from dancing?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.
"You don't have to bear with a partner whose only thought is that you'd look better naked than in a dress," she answered with an air of annoyance. "That said, my passion is gardening. But I've had even less time for that than I have for Spiritual Dancing."
"I see... do you need time to put on makeup?" I asked, trying to move away from subjects that seemed to make her irritable.
"Oh, right there's that..." she said absently.
She walked over to the mirror and examined her own face for a few moments. Then she focused, and an illusion of make-up appeared on her face. She applied some sort of ointment, as well and then asked me if that look would do.
"It's perfect," I said. "You really use magic for a lot of things."
"This is just much more practical. No smell, no greasy sensation on the face. Plus, I like things simple, and magic is the simplest way of getting such things done."
"You must the only living being who thinks so," I laughed.
We left her room and went downstairs to join the celebration. Aurora seemed nervous at first, which I must admit I found kind of adorable. Master had reunited most of the guild for this event, and everyone had a sincere happy smile as they greeted us. After we entered the ballroom, I left Aurora's side to join the Saint Guard, and Grandiel, Aurora's High Priest, coughed and led her to the seat of honor. Kayuki probably told him to come and force him to accept this last-minute request.
"I have today, the honor, and joy, to present to her community of fellow guildmates, the most active saint of the Faith of Mystery..." Grandiel announced to the room.
What followed was the list of Aurora's feats completed on her god's behalf and the proof of each of those accomplishments. As he went on, from her first kill of a fallen demon to the Abyssal we had recently slain, I watched the faces of many of our guildmates turn pale. Grandiel then enumerated the wish Aurora had made to the gods. He seemed most impressed as he even announced the wish she had made to protect the guild. Aurora had wanted that to remain secret, but Grandiel decided it was too selfless to not share.
"... but I think that all of this is nothing out of the ordinary to her. This is a ceremony about her sanctity, so I guess I should tell you about the grandest dream of this comrade of yours, and pillar of our faith. You probably all know that the Shard Holder, as leader of a faith, judges right from wrong. So let me tell you about what the arrival of Aurora-sama as the head of our faith will lead to..."
And he went back in time, all the times she had fought, even with Shen, the only Saint in her faith, to open the doors of the Faith of Mystery to the other faiths, and to welcome everyone. He spoke of all the times she withstood reproach when a temple opened its doors and was pillaged for it. Still, she argued that there should be no such temple where a child of the gods would be unwelcome.
He explained all of the duties toward others to which followers of the Faith of Mysteries were obligated, and he said that he had already begun preparing to fully open their temples' doors to all children of the gods. Judging by the look on Aurora's face, she had no idea how much of her vision Grandiel had been accomplishing all this while. I was impressed by both her dream and Grandiel's tireless efforts. It was refreshing to see someone work so hard to make that dream a reality.
"And such is the person who considers you all as a family. Aurora-sama has never considered one soul as lost before it had fallen into the abyss, and I believe, with certitude, that she would never stop fighting for her brothers-in-arms until there is no breath left in her body."
Everyone applauded. Grandiel thanked everyone, but his voice was inaudible over the roar of applause. After the noise died down, he moved off to the side. Master Kayuki took center stage and said it was Aurora's turn to speak for herself, in recognition of all her great service to her faith and her guild and in recognition of her promotion to exalted status.
Aurora looked as if she would faint, but it passed quickly. She stood up, carefully balancing, and walked to the front of the crowd. Master Kayuki welcomed her and stepped aside to join Grandiel, whom he nudged and thanked.
"A Speech... well I'm no good at that," Aurora said nervously. She paused for a moment to collect herself, looking down at her enchanted shoes. The room became deathly quiet in anticipation. After a few seconds, Aurora collected herself and looked up.
She said, "So I'll speak my mind instead. We all know that there are two sides to Silvermore. One is the smiling face of our Mayor, though I think everyone here has done at least one mission that proves how much this smile is just lip-service, we have to remember that it's this smile that makes us a friendly entity to all the kingdoms and empires who'd gladly take over our lands. And then there's the other side: the one that keeps the people in the light of the gods. It's not the Priests and Priestesses, though their effort is certainly no small contribution to that either. It's us. By us, I don't just mean you, me, or the members of our guild. By us, I mean all of the soldiers, all of the people who work in the shadows in service of our city-state, and all of us, god-touched fighters of any kind."
That awkward silence returned. I'm sure most of the guild members didn't understand where she was going. She continued.
"The terror we strike into the hearts of our enemies is exactly what makes the civilians safe. And this safety allows them to believe wholeheartedly in the omnipotence of their gods. Why's that? Because unlike us, who are trained to face adversity and see in each coming mission a new challenge, the people see adversity as a punishment from the gods. So the better we do our jobs, the more we eliminate adversity before it reaches the public, the more confident and faithful the people will remain. And the more they will follow the gods' teachings."
A few approving nods began as Aurora paused for another moment.
"As fighters, as god-touched, we know the limitations of our gods' interventions, but the civilians should never, for as much as we can prevent it, doubt the gods' omnipotence. Be they followers, adepts, exalted, or even Saints — Yes, my comrades-in-arms, those who are not required to fight should never suspect the gods have any limitations at all. To them, the world must remain safe and under control. Nothing is more important. We are the extension of our gods. We reach into those dark crevasses where they cannot, and we purge the land of whatever filth hides therein."
"Even in our own guild, the same rules apply. We may never know how many times Master has demolished barriers the Saint Guard might have faced, how many times he led the way without so much as whispering it to a soul. But we all know that it's done, proof enough, we are following him blindly because it's how it is..."
Some eyes opened wide as she began to speak of our guild. It seemed to be dawning on some of them that the order of society really did run bottom to top, and ever our guilds were no exception.
"And in return, how many times has the Saint Guard has taken care of threats we couldn't handle or we couldn't even be allowed to know about? It's because they have that power, the power to fearlessly face even the most daunting tasks, that we can be the guild we are. And since they have such power, we don't question that they'll do what's necessary. That's how you, and you, and I, and all of us can even sleep at night and effectively deal with whatever mission is in front of us. Remember this debt we owe. And remember your duty."
Aurora fell silent, but people were still looking at her. She closed her eyes and with surprising quickness, performed a blessing on the whole assembly. This time it seemed to come to her more easily. She manifested ten pearls on everyone's wrists, except for Master Kayuki's. I noticed only six pearls appeared on his wrist. It seemed Aurora still had more to learn to fully bless someone as powerful as Kayuki.
"May the God of Mysteries unveil a glorious future to you all," she said.
Master Kayuki clapped his hands and took to his feet, and the rest of the guild followed suit. I caught Aurora's eye as she bathed in their applause. She was smiling wide, pleased that her message had been so well-received. It was a message we would all keep with us as we carried on. And sometimes, in the heat of battle, in my darkest moments, as I stared down and defied death, I would remember that responsibility Aurora called us to, and I would find the strength to dig deeper, to fight harder: "for My God and the City-State!"