Firebrand n. 1: a piece of burning wood, 2: one that creates unrest or strife (as in aggressively promoting a cause) : agitator
"And those are just some of the things our glorious deity does for us. Would any of you like to share something the sun has done for you personally?"
Several hands flew up around the room. They were most of the usual suspects, though Diana, for once, kept her hand down.
It wasn't that she didn't want to share a story. It was just that, at six, in this warm, sunlit classroom, she simply could not think of a time when the sun had affected her and her alone.
She bit her lip, teeth digging progressively harder at each new story. Leata told a story about how the sun had chased away her nightmares. Ulses shared a time he had fallen during a race and the sun told him to get back up and he won. Even that jerk Viola had a tale of the sun leading her to an injured rabbit.
Viola probably made that up, Diana thought bitterly. Diana had tried so hard, prayed so often, spent time outside she could have spent in the library.
If Diana were a liar she would make up a better story than Viola.
But Diana wasn't a liar.
The class ran out of stories and their teacher moved on to the next topic.
"If anyone has any questions about the sun, please ask! I know her ways are not always the most clear to us, but the better we know her the more we can appreciate her."
The class asked the predictable questions. Why does she set at night? Why does the sky turn red in the evening? Why did she favor the Solari over the rest of Runeterra? All questions that had been answered over and over in the many sermons they'd all attended, and during which only Diana had apparently been paying attention.
She raised her hand.
Miss Irgona smiled at her. "Diana, do you have a story you want to share?"
Diana felt warm and tingly. "I have a question."
"So long as it's about the sun, ask away."
Diana took a deep breath. "Why does it hurt my eyes if I look at her for too long?"
The titters were quickly replaced by mutters. So she wasn't the only one who wanted to know.
Bolstered by the response, Diana waited with bated breath.
Instead Miss Irgona gave her a stern look. "Diana, she hurts you for not remembering your place. You are just a lowly servant; it is disrespectful to look your master, your lord, or protector in the eye."
The room was dead silent.
Diana's eyes stung as she gazed up at Miss Irgona's disappointed face. She didn't understand. "But she loves us. Why would she hurt us for looking at her?"
"Diana, that's enough."
Her sharp tone made Diana shrivel in on herself, trying to hide behind her desk. The tittering was back now, and simply drove her deeper into her hiding place. Her face stayed beet red through the rest of the class. For once she couldn't wait for the class to be over so she could flee the scene of her shame.
Years later, in the library, Diana came across a study in light magic. Any bright light would do that to the eyes, but to the Solari, of course, it was a phenomenon unique to the sun.
Book in hand, Diana went to find Irgona. Her younger self may not have had the brains or the nerve to tell off that ignorant woman, but she wasn't going to let her get away with it now.
