This drabble was written for the Summer of Simoun prompt "childhood". As I recall, I did quite a few for this prompt because I have such fun writing the characters as children.
The first time she saw a Ri Majon, she could barely say the words correctly. Her father had held her up high and told her that someday, she would become a Sibylla, just like he and her mother had been. He had told her the history of her family as she had grown up; she knew that everyone in her family had been a Sibylla when they were a young girl, and that it would be her turn to follow in their path some day. Tempus Spatium would certainly choose her to become a priestess.
Neviril would never forget those lessons as she grew older. Her father taught her much about what it was to be a Sibylla. Her father, when he was home from the Council, would spend time telling her stories of his days as a Sibylla. Sometimes he would share other family members' stories. She learned about being a good leader, following the moral code under Tempus Spatium, and caring for others, all through the stories.
It was during this time that her father was promoted to Vice Chairman of all of Simulacrum. He was often away from home for weeks at a time, leaving Neviril in the care of her nursemaid. Neviril missed her father greatly, as well as his stories. Every time he came home to rest, he was too tired to tell her the stories and instead would teach her how to act for all of his friends. She was trained to act like a proper lady and her mannerisms slowly evolved to reflect this.
Each time he returned home, her father would compliment her on how well she was doing and how he spoke of her to his friends. Naively, Neviril thought he was proud of her. She didn't realize that he simply didn't want her to do anything that would bring shame to him or show him in a bad light. She was just happy that he was impressed by her changes.
The day Neviril left to become a cadet at the Great Temple was the last day that Neviril would ever hear her father tell her a story. He pulled her aside that day as she finished packing her suitcase, asking to speak with her. Together, father and daughter sat on her bed as he told her the story of her mother as a Sibylla and how she had been the finest Regina in any of the Chors, so much so that she had been promoted to Sibylla Aurea, the highest rank a priestess can obtain in the eyes of Tempus Spatium.
This was the story that Neviril took to heart, never forgetting as she moved through the ranks of cadet. It was the story that meant the most to her in the end, and the one that helped her to choose how she would act as a cadet and then later as a Sibylla. She would be just like her mother in the end; she would follow in her footsteps. Her goal wasn't necessarily to arbitrarily become the Sibylla Aurea, but rather to embody the traits her mother had shown as a follower of Tempus Spatium. If she could do that, then she knew that she could make her father proud.