The Mother of Books
Chapter 1
Prologue
Destruction of the Sun Temple
Summary: A/H: Mature: Supernatural/Drama: Canon to a point: Bella and Edward are in training in the School of Alexandria when events that would shape history begin to occur. Esme, The High Priestess and Head of the School takes Bella as her student to train to become the next High Priestess.
Disclaimer: Ms. Meyer started it all. I've borrowed her characters, but this storyline is mine.
~o0o~
Chapter 1
Prologue
Destruction of the Sun Temple
Disasters are easier to remember … as anything negative in nature seems to be.
~o0o~
I was no longer a novice, but a Priestess of the First Grade, and had been moved from the House of the Moon Virgins to the Temple of the Sun. My last night in the House of the Moon had been confusing.
The High Priest had come to me early in the hour of the full moon and escorted me to the Temple of the Moon. There the offering of my virginity was made. We had all been instructed in what this ritual was, but the actual performing of it was not quite as uplifting as I thought it should have been. It had been very dark and I could not see who the officiating Priest was.
I was striped naked, taken to a pool of water for the ritual bath. The pool itself was in the center part of the Temple of the Moon. It had been built so when the light of the Full Moon was upon it, the novice was instructed to immerse herself fully into the sacred waters and then to swim around the pool seven times, to then rise and dry off with the clothes left for that purpose. Once dry, I was instructed to put on the white robe and the silver sandals and to sit and wait for someone to come take me on to the next part of the ritual.
Soon after I was once again clothed, a priest dressed all in black came to lead me to the place where the next step in the long ritual would take place. No words were spoken to me and I was afraid.
The priest or priestess, I never knew which, lead me down long hall ways into a different part of the Temple. There I was handed over to yet another priest and lead into a small room in which the air was made heavy by the smell of sandalwood and another almost cloying scent that made my head feel strange. I was unable to really focus on anything.
I was instructed to strip off my robe and to lay in the center of the offering altar to wait. Those were the last words I heard until the following morning.
What happened to me next was terrifying and it wasn't until much later that I truly understood what had happened to me.
A man, and I only knew this because I could feel his naked body as he'd laid on me and thrust himself into my body. I wasn't sure at the time what it was he'd done, I only knew I was filled with pain. I tried to scream for help, but one of his strong hands pressed down on my mouth. When he was done, he disappeared into the darkness. I curled in upon myself and cried.
A priestesses came to me then, instructed me to once again put on the robe I'd been given to wear and to follow her.
After the ritual was completed, I was hurriedly escorted out into the Moon bathed Temple courtyard and taken into the House of the Priestess of the Sun. The Priestess in charge gave me a drink to insure that I would not bring to term any child that might have found a place in my womb. That was not to be my function. I would now be drawing down the forces of the Sun and that was not conducive to pregnancy. I was secretly glad of that. That honor would have been given to a Priestess of the Moon.
The weeks that followed were filled with ritual training and classes in other duties. I was taught how to find my way from the open ocean to land and how to make sure that I would end up where I needed to go. I was also taught how to bring fire from my hands to create Yule Fires. I thought at first that this task would be beyond me, but once I knew the basics, it was easy.
I was born to create Hearth Fires which were the center of all village lives.
There were discussions among the Priests and Priestesses that perhaps I should be taught how to bring down the other fires, so I was then taken to a much older Priest who welcomed me warmly.
I never knew the Old Priest by any name...it was not important. He knew how to teach me his magic, and he called me "young one." Everyday when the Sun was at it's highest, I was escorted into the Temple of the Sun's court yard where the Old Priest met me and we began our lessons. Before long, I could call forth a pillar of fire and control it. It took a great deal of effort and I was always exhausted afterward. I thought I was doing something wrong and feared they would remove me from the training, but they were all very pleased with me.
It wasn't until much later in my life that I discovered that I had been one of the very few of the Priestesses who were able to do this. I think I was the last to be taught by the Old Priest as he died one afternoon right after I had finished my lessons for that day.
It was my task that night to light the fire that burned his old body. I was very sad that my teacher was gone. I would miss him greatly... He was a kind man, for a Priest, and I'd always called him Old Man.
Several years into my dwelling in the House of the Priestesses of the Sun, the calamity occurred.
We had all just finished our morning breakfast when the ground shaking began. It became stronger and the sky was filled with ash. Those of us who'd been taught to navigate upon the seas, were hurried to sailing ships and made ready to sail to the East. When the boats were filled with as many other priestesses and priests we could get in them, we got underway.
The sky became filled with fiery ash and then the world seemed to explode and our Island was gone. The volcano, we were told, is what had exploded. Our Temple, the Temple of the Sun, was gone. It became our task to sail to different lands and establish Temples of the Sun for those who would follow, or for those who already lived in the lands we were to find.
We did not have much time to gather supplies and they ran out very soon. Finally we found the lands we were intended to go to. It was a dry, sandy land. The only green was found near the river that ran through the country.
The natives called it Kemet.
We were greeted by those who'd gone before to prepare a place for our arrival and were taken to our new home. The people cheered us and brought us flowers and other offerings.
We were very happy in our new home.
Not one of us would have believed that another day of Fire and Death would happen once again to our Temple of the Sun.
~o0o~
A/N: My undying thanks to my Beta JoanOfArt; buggins74, AnakinsRealMom and NanStew who pre-read for me, and Gabby1017 for her back up on the psychic stuff. Wouldn't be able to do this without you! I have a great team helping me bring this weirdness to you! Go! Team Steel!
The Prologue for my newest fiction, The Mother of Books, is now posted below.
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