Hi, everyone! Back on Friday, as promised. Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, favorited, and followed. It makes my little heart so happy to see you guys enjoying this story!
But alas, I think it's time we focus on someone besides Jecht. Read on!
"Are you sure you've thought this through, Auron?"
Auron stared out the window of the temple antechamber, watching the people moving up and down the Highbridge below. This was the life he was leaving behind. This was what he was giving up. It seemed ridiculous, irrational even, but the alternative was much worse.
Auron faced Grand Maester Mika and nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."
Mika sighed and took a seat. "You've been a faithful servant of Yevon since you were a boy. We took you in at thirteen after your family was killed by Sin. Do you remember that?"
"How could I forget?" Auron looked out the window again. "It wasn't so long ago."
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his parents' faces. They'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time when Sin had attacked. Somehow, as if by a miracle—or, as far as the temple and the priests were concerned, by the blessing of Yevon—Auron had survived. He'd gone to the only place he knew he could go: straight to the temple to become a monk.
But as it turned out, Maester Mika saw him more fit to become a warrior, a protector in the service of Yevon. He had faithfully and dutifully followed the creed of Yevon since he was a child—at least until now. He could no longer do it.
"This is your life, Auron," Mika reminded him. "For your sake, I beg you: don't give this up. You're so close to becoming General. Do not refuse the high priest's daughter."
"I cannot do that, Maester Mika," Auron said. "I didn't come to Bevelle so I could marry—I came to serve Yevon."
"And you can still serve Yevon within the bonds of marriage," Mika replied. "The union between the daughter of a high priest and a warrior monk will make Yevon that much stronger. It is strength and faith that will allow us to defeat Sin. The people of Spira need to see union within Yevon."
Auron looked away. "Then…someone else must take my place. I cannot lie to myself and marry someone I don't love."
"Marriage doesn't always require love. People marry for many reasons, some honorable and some dishonorable. This, Auron—this is honorable."
"I'm sorry," Auron said. "I cannot do it."
Mika sighed and stood up again. He approached Auron's side and peered out the window with him. "You have so much potential. I really wish you would reconsider."
"My mind is made up. I've thought long and hard about this."
Mika looked down, his eyes filled with sadness. "Then you know what must be done."
Auron absentmindedly rubbed his wrist. "Yes. I know."
"It cannot be undone. Once you leave here, your name will be disgraced throughout Yevon."
It stung to hear that, but Auron already knew to expect it. Leaving the clergy—leaving Yevon—was no small thing. He would be welcomed in the temples only as a civilian. He could never again wander the temple depths, could never again carry on the same way. Hell, he had no idea what he would do or where he would go. He just knew he couldn't marry someone he didn't love, let alone someone he didn't even know.
"I understand," Auron said. "I want you to know that this was not an easy choice for me. But in spite of this entire situation, I appreciate all you've done for me. Without you and Yevon, I would've been just another hopeless orphan. So…thank you."
Mika nodded. Auron knew he was upset, so he didn't expect even something as simple as "You're welcome" from Mika. "I'll need to have you escorted," Mika said.
"I know," Auron replied.
"Wait here while I call the guards."
Mika left Auron alone in the antechamber. The silence was unnerving. He was so deep in the temple, he couldn't even hear the Hymn of the Fayth. Going anywhere in Spira, one was guaranteed to hear it. Not hearing it made him feel…off. Like something was wrong. He wanted to leave, but there was one more thing he had to do before he could.
Only minutes later, Mika returned with two armed guards. "Follow me, Auron," he said.
Auron hesitated. "You're coming, too?"
"Yes. I oversee all excommunications."
He could stand having two nameless guards watch him suffer, but not Maester Mika. Not the man who had taken him in to the temple in the first place. That was somehow worse than knowing Auron had abandoned Yevon.
Reluctantly, he followed Mika out the door and down the long, winding hall of the temple. The two guards stood closely by his side the entire time. It took them nearly ten minutes to reach the room Auron never thought he would see. At the end of various interconnected paths, they found themselves outside the Chamber of the Fallen. The name was so ominous, so damning. He wasn't fallen. Not by a long shot. Maybe according to the letter of the law, he had disgraced Yevon by refusing to marry, but he didn't see that as a crime. It was a conviction.
Mika led Auron into the chamber where a single stone chair sat directly in the middle of the room. The room was much smaller than he imagined, and much emptier. In front of the chair stood a fireplace with flames lit inside of it. An iron stake sat at the side of the fireplace, with a third guard at the ready.
"Have a seat," Mika directed. Auron did as he was told. The guards sealed the door behind them and approached Auron, one on each side. They took his arms and strapped him down to the chair, making Auron's heart skip a beat. He knew this wasn't going to be pleasant, but he hadn't expected to be treated like a common thief.
The guard on his right removed the glove on his hand, exposing the smooth flesh of the inside of his wrist where the symbol of Yevon had been tattooed over ten years ago. Auron swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched the third guard plunge the iron stake into the dancing flames. He removed it a moment later and approached Auron. "I'm sorry," Mika said somewhere behind Auron. "I wish this didn't need to happen."
Auron clenched his fist and grit his teeth. "Just do it."
The guard on his left moved behind Auron and gagged him. He knew he would need it. The third guard came toward him with the red hot poker and held it just above his skin. Even inches away, Auron could feel the heat coming from the iron stake. His heart thundered in his chest.
Then came the pain. He usually had a high level of pain tolerance, especially considering what he'd gone through during his years of training and the fiends he'd faced in his travels. But this—this was something else. As the guard pressed the hot iron against his skin, he thought his heart would stop beating. He screamed so hard into the gag, he wondered how he had any air left in his lungs to keep breathing.
The corners of his vision went black. He wanted to vomit. He wanted to cry. He wanted to do anything to make it stop. The only thing that kept him from passing out was knowing that once it was over, it was all over for good. He would be a free man. He came dangerously close to passing out several times, but his will prevented him from slipping.
At last, the guard removed the iron stake from his wrist. Auron slumped back in his chair, breathing hard through the gag. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his neck. The guard removed the gag from his mouth and unstrapped his wrist. Auron wavered in his chair, and would've toppled over if not for Mika's hand on his shoulder to steady him. "It's over, Auron," Mika said quietly.
Auron dared to look at his wrist. Where the symbol of Yevon had once been, there now was a patchy area of melted flesh. It was so ugly, so disgusting, that Auron almost lost his stomach completely.
He'd done it. He was now an excommunicated member of the Yevon clergy. Without Yevon, he was nobody.
"It's time to go," Mika said.
Auron gathered his remaining strength and rose to his feet. He emerged from the Chamber of the Fallen with Mika and the three guards, cradling his injured wrist into his body. He considered putting the glove back on to hide the branding, as the pain of embarrassment was much worse than the pain of the body. But no—he had made a choice, and he would have to live with it.
They stopped at the door just outside the main hall of the temple. Mike faced Auron but would not meet his eye. "This is where I leave you, Auron. I'm sorry it had to end this way."
I'm not, Auron thought. He wouldn't apologize for his choice—even if it meant complete disgrace. "Goodbye, Maester Mika."
With the last bit of dignity he had left, he headed through the doors and into the temple hall. All heads turned his way. He knew what they were thinking: here comes Auron, the defiler of Yevon. Auron, the traitor. Auron, the abandoner. He even had the burn on his wrist to prove it.
He kept his gaze straight ahead and walked with his head held high. He would give them nothing. As he took his final steps out of the temple, he didn't dare look back. He breathed in the fresh air as the doors to the temple sealed shut behind him.
Once outside the temple, Auron turned and looked up. Mika watched him from the window of the antechamber. Even though he was so far away, Auron could see the sadness in his eyes, the utter disappointment. He wished he could say he was disappointed in himself, too, but he wasn't. He'd chosen the lesser of two evils. He'd done what was right for himself. For once, he'd put his own wants and needs before Yevon.
The farther away from the temple he went, the lighter his heart felt. The pain in his wrist, however, wouldn't let him forget what he was leaving behind. He tried to think about anything else to distract himself from the agony.
He'd almost reached the Highbridge when he suddenly heard someone calling his name behind him. He turned around to find his friend, Wen Kinoc, coming his way. "Auron!" Kinoc called, catching up to him. Auron wasn't sure he'd ever seen Kinoc out of his uniform. He was a man of Yevon at heart—always had been, and always would be. "What in Spira is going on?"
"What do you mean?" Auron asked, although he knew the answer.
"Is it true? Are you leaving the clergy?"
Auron looked away. He exposed his burned wrist to Kinoc, who gasped at the sight of it. "Oh, Auron. Tell me it's not so."
"I'm afraid it's exactly as it looks."
"Where are your senses?" Kinoc demanded. "You were so close to moving up. Why would you give that up?"
"Because they wanted something from me that I could not give."
Kinoc shook his head. "Whatever it took, you should've done it. You could've been made General, Auron—and after that, maybe a maester."
Auron just shook his head. "You wouldn't understand, Kinoc."
"Who would understand better than me? We're brothers in Yevon."
"Be that as it may, you needn't worry about it. I'll be just fine."
"If you say so," Kinoc replied. "Where will you go?"
"I don't know. But I'll figure something out. Spira is a big place."
"That it is. Despite all this, I do hope you'll keep in touch. I like to think we are friends."
"I will," Auron replied. "We're bound to run into each other at some point. Where are they sending you now?"
"To Mushroom Rock Road in two days' time," Kinoc said. "They need someone to patrol that road to Djose Temple to stop the fiends attacking passing civilians and summoners."
"You'll do well there," Auron told him. "You've always been good at taking charge."
"Let's hope so. It could mean a promotion for me if this goes well."
"You deserve it, of all people."
"Thank you, Auron." He drew in a deep breath. "Well, I suppose this is it then."
"So it is. Goodbye, Kinoc."
"Goodbye, old friend. Take care."
Auron turned and finished the rest of his walk down the Highbridge, leaving Kinoc, the temple, and Mika behind.
Auron wanted to be angry with Mika, but he knew it wouldn't be right. He'd made the choice on his own.
He sat at the bar in Rin's Travel Agency just beyond Lake Macalania. It was the closest place to Bevelle that served alcohol—not that the distance mattered anyway. Since the clergy lived in the temple, and since he was no longer a member of the clergy, he was now technically homeless. He knew that if anyone spotted him in an Al Bhed establishment—especially right after his excommunication—they would have a field day with it.
But what did he care? They could talk all they wanted. Yevon was behind him now. He could do whatever he wanted, and go wherever he wanted. He would stay at Rin's overnight. Maybe the next day, he would have some sort of plan in mind for what he would do next. All he needed was a good night's rest.
The bartender, a young Al Bhed woman, replaced his empty beer mug with a full one. At the sight of Auron's poorly bandaged (and now bleeding) wrist, she winced. "That doesn't look so good. We've got some potions for sale that can clear that right up if you're interested."
Auron pulled his sleeve down over the bandage. "That's all right," he replied. Somehow, he felt like he deserved it, but that didn't mean he wanted to draw attention to it.
While Auron mulled over in his head where he would go from here, two men entered the travel agency and seated themselves on his right side. "I've heard he's passing through Macalania right now, looking for guardians," the first man said. "In fact, I heard he's going to stay here tonight! If I was in better shape, I'd apply for the position myself."
The other man snorted. "It takes more than just being in shape to be a guardian. You know it's not a glamourous lifestyle, don't you? Few guardians ever return, and the ones that do just aren't the same."
"But the glory of knowing you defeated Sin," the first man replied. "I think it would outweigh everything else, don't you think?"
"I don't know what to think. I'm not a guardian, and I never will be one. All I know is that it takes a steel heart and stomach to do what those summoners and guardians do. I personally hope Summoner Braska completes his pilgrimage. With what he's done for the Al Bhed, it would only make me respect him that much more. Those people have been persecuted enough."
"But it's because he married an Al Bhed that all of Spira looks down on him," the first man said. "I've heard he's a respectable guy, but why go through the trouble to save a world that scorns you anyway?"
"Because that's what summoners do," the second man replied. "They give their lives for us. And with the way you're talking, I certainly hope Lord Braska would reject you outright if you even had the nerves to ask him for a position as his guardian."
"Hey, now! I could do it!"
"Sure you could."
"You want me to ask him?"
"I would bet good money to watch you ask him and get shot down."
Auron sighed and rose from the bar, leaving his beer behind. He couldn't listen to this rabble any longer. He needed rest. He dropped more than enough gil onto the bar and turned away, heading for his room. As soon as he reached his bed, his head hit the pillow.
But he couldn't sleep. There was too much on his mind, and the throbbing, burning pain in his wrist would not subside. He had a place to sleep tonight, but what about the next night? And the night after that?
In hindsight, he should've thought this through better. But what was there to think about? Either he married the high priest's daughter or he didn't. Sure, marriage would've led to the eventual promotion as General of the Army—and perhaps someday, a maester, just as Kinoc had said—but he didn't want to earn it through marrying a woman he'd never met. He wanted to earn it based on his own performance.
Wherever he went from here, he knew he would be fine. He was adaptable. He learned fast. He carried out his orders with absolute attention and precision. He took nothing lightly. He would start at the bottom again and slowly work his way up. Maybe he would even join the Crusaders. Hell, they were just as disgraced as he was. Why not? At least he had one prospect now, whereas five minutes ago, he had nothing.
He rolled over, making it a point to keep his arm sprawled out at his side so he wouldn't roll onto it in his sleep. He felt good about tomorrow. Tomorrow would be a new day, and with it would come new opportunities. He was sure of it.
And there he is. Auron in all his glory...or not.
I'll be posting chapter 4 on Sunday, 7/5. Stay tuned, because we'll be meeting yet ANOTHER familiar face. In the meantime, I look forward to your reviews!
