Ilias Temple and its village (Part 1)
"Hrmm, Hrmmmmm", Peter groaned in his bed of cloth and straw. Although it was of a much lesser quality than what he was accustomed to, it wasn't the first time he slept on a low quality mattress. Although his parents were swimming in dough, they insisted that their son experienced some aspects of a simpler life, a homage to their own rural and austere upbringing, arguing that it would be good to build a "humble character" and other things along those lines. Though Peter normally wasn't enthusiastic about their pedagogy, this was one of those things he actually thanked them dearly for, since it would almost work as a vacation of sorts. They would bring him to their hometown, a small rural city deep in the countryside, and he would live like they had lived.
Peter also thought that it certainly helped him not actually become one of those insufferable spoiled pricks he often had to deal with during parties.
Since the rest of their family wasn't exactly wealthy, he often had to make due with whatever was given to him. Not only were the sleeping arrangements pretty low quality, but the food was also a slow cooked stew of whatever was available, the broth was nice but the long cooking time guaranteed that whatever they put in there would loose its flavor and become goop. The free time was definitely nice, and more than made it worth it; Mother even convinced Father to at least let him bring some books along. No electronics though. Not that it bothered him that much, he was plenty fine with his books, exercises and walks.
"Speaking of those", though Peter, "I think it's time I do some exercises. It's still kind of dark, so there's some time before breakfast."
Pausing for a moment to stretch, he looked around the room and mentally calculated the space he had.
"If I do that form I'll bump into the table here, and if I do that other one... no that wall won't let me".
"Not much space, huh? Then basic calisthenics, stance shifting, techniques and a few Naihanchis (Karate form) will do."
Taking off his shirt, Peter started his calisthenics. Push ups, sit ups, squads, planks, lunges, and for something more exotic, resistance training in deep horse stance. Phew. Now onto the next ones. As he executed the stances and techniques with practiced precision, Peter had the time to think about the events of the other day.
"Just saying my name was enough to get me into trouble, huh". He had tried his best to make a good impression and it had backfired spectacularly, now he had a deadline hanging over his head and if he didn't find some way to sustain himself soon, eviction. But besides that, what was up with that damn priest?! That guy, father Klaus if he remembered correctly, had cornered him just moments after Peter had regained his thoughts, barely any pleasantries or small talk also. He just went up, said his piece and then left him to his devices. Why had he done that? If that guy wanted to have him as a servant or something, he hadn't done a pretty good job of it, at least not yet. In fact, he gave Peter an opportunity to get himself together, instead of exploiting him completely.
Peter analyzed their conversation again, now in more detail, trying to find any clue as to the priests intentions. "Illiasville is not unknown for helping people wanting to escape from trouble. But he needs an official reason to keep me here. Because "I already have an idea why you're running away". And if this official reason cannot be given, he'll throw me out into the wilderness. And that official reason is that sob story he made up on the spot".
"The official reason is a lie, a fake identity. He either does this often or he doesn't. If he does, this guy is even shadier than I had thought, if he doesn't, then that means I'm a special case. But he seems used to this. So maybe I'm not such a special case after all.", Peter speculated.
"... He supposedly has an idea why I'm here. I doubt that he knows the truth, so who does he think I am?"
"Maybe he thinks I'm some sort of nobility? He did say that my surnames make me sound like a noble. And he definitely thinks I'm really from Natalia, if his leading question from back then says anything.".
In the first place, why had Klaus given him such liberty when he obviously was dealing with something that could get him into trouble? Even if he "would know" if Peter had done something stupid, the way he threatened him during that conversation definitely sounded like he REALLY didn't want that to happen. Moreover, he had allowed Peter to have him make up the entire fake identity thing instead of putting on more pressure and possibly gaining even more leverage.
He was either doing things half way or...
No, there's definitely something more going on. "But I don't have the full picture yet, better make use of my time and gather information personally", decided Peter, having finished the sequence of exercises. Making sure not to make much noise while doing so.
Sensing the heat coming from his back, Peter took a moment to enjoy the solar rays and their soft, silky heat.
Inhale.
Exhale.
"Haaaaaaa"
Closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, he again made himself calm in order to fully appreciate these little things. De definitely needed to in order to stay sane here. Also, not gonna lie. Despite the many horrific things about this world. Peter was equally as excited to know more about it. His childish explorer's instinct flaring up, just like when he was exploring the country city.
"I could definitely take some banger walks around this place, the weather is cold and humid and perfect. Just the way I like it!", laughing to himself. He though how funny it was that now that he wasn't in immediate danger, he remembered appreciating colder climates more than hot ones.
"You can put more clothes on if it's too cold, but you can't take your skin off if it's too hot."
Leaning on the window, he let the cold air dry the sweat off his face, making he remember that he had to take a bath before going eat breakfast. Yeah, going, this time he was eating in the canteen together with the adventures. The nun said the shady priest thought that was the most appropriate place for him to eat, because he wasn't a temple employee and that it would have been a bother to the young man to go to the inn every time to have a meal. Peter knew better, Klaus probably just didn't want to pay for the damn inn.
As Peter opened his eyes and took a look through the window, properly this time.
"Huh, this is pretty high up"
About three stories tall if he's right. In fact, this place looked more like a fortified palace than a temple. Not a castle. It wasn't nearly as militarily oriented for that. And not a regular palace either, since it was relatively high on the fortified side, with high walls, towers and arrow slits.
"Is it because of the monsters? But I read the only monsters living here were slimes. slugs and imps. Nothing that needed this sort of thing. And are they even organized enough to attack something like a town?"
Turning his mind away from the temple to the natural ambient. Peter saw an amazing view of plains followed by a brief mountain range stretching but a few miles in the distance.
"Whoah, it looks like one of those picturesque places in Italy!"
The mountain weren't very big, but their dense green and gentle slopes that every now and then jolted sharply, topped simply by the white of snow at the top, a reminder that it was winter, it made for a magnificent view and an awesome contrast. Regretting that he didn't have his phone with him. Peter made himself satisfied by observing and trying to engrave the landscape into his mind.
"I definitely have to take a walk there someday!", he said, excited at the prospect of walking at a mountain in another world.
Then, a sudden shout broke Peter out of his reverie. He then looked down to see, in a dirt field right below his window, soldiers doing combat training with swords. The swords themselves were wooden and the participants weren't wearing much in the way of protection, in fact, simple cloth shirts and loose pants of brown and dark blue, respectively. Now, it might because of the lack of protection and fear hitting and being hit that they were having an inferior performance compared to what they would under real combat, after all you don't actually want to hurt your partners. But still.
"That's some piss poor swordsmanship. No, scratch that, it's piss poor fighting in general". Peter muttered under his breath.
Lack of precision, speed and strategy in their attacks. Non existent lateral movement and slow and clumsy linear movement. Blocks and dodges too extended and not followed by disengagement or by a threatening movement. Sluggishness in general.
Clear signs of noobies.
"At least they try to aim at each other and not at their swords", Peter tried to give them the benefit of the doubt.
But that didn't last long.
The more he saw, the more annoyed he became. There was one time two of the soldiers engaged in a pushing match with their swords.
A PUSHING MATCH.
They don't even know the basics of fighting from a bind! Wrestle, half-sword, go to the side, ANYTHING BUT A PUSHING MATCH!
Thrusts out of range, wimpy swings.
Even their body mechanics are out of whack.
And…
Was that…
DID THAT GUY JUST FALL OVER FROM THE WEIGHT OF HIS OWN SWING?!
OH MY GOD!
Traumatized by this exquisite show of incompetence, Peter quickly closed his window.
"These aren't the ACTUAL guards and soldiers of this place, of course! They must be beginners, trainees! That's why they suck so much.", rationalized Peter.
Peter laughed weakly.
"They wouldn't ACTUALLY be the ones the people rely on for they safety in case some monster decides to attack some traveler, OF COURSE NOT", desperately thought Peter.
"Hahahahaha".
"Wow, that was such a cool move captain! You and Ben look so awesome when you clash and push against each other like that!" said a damned voice from the field below.
Peters' right eye twitches.
"This world is gonna give me a brain aneurysm"
…
He decided he would go to the public bath now. Some cold water was well needed.
Having dried a bit since he started looking through the window, Peter put his clothes back on and exited his room. It had a somewhat narrow corridor that, to one side went straight into a common room of sorts, furnished with some basic benches, a fireplace, small tables and a big round center table. It looked like a place that the people who lived in these rooms used to talk between themselves. He had heard from a nun yesterday that these were rooms to welcomed adventurers. The soldiers barracks were on the first floor.
To the other side were the stairs to the second floor, where the library was and where political guests were welcomed.
For now, everything Peter wanted was on the first floor.
The young man calmly descended the stairs, passing straight through the second floor and directly to the first. He did not want to meet some important diplomat and cause any trouble. Trouble that could likely get him thrown out into the wild.
And so he walked straight past it with his head down, trying not to look at anyone. A pity, he would have loved the design of the place.
But his architectural sense was not to be ignored today. After all, there still was plenty of things to see.
Because when he descended, he saw the actual temple.
Corinthian pillars of navy blue supported a heavily decorated ceiling in a leaf pattern of red and white, with squares with golden triangles in them, segregated by linear projections in the shape of swords and arrows, encasing the squares in bigger squares. Colored frescoes adorned the walls, telling tales of heroism, wisdom and sainthood. And in the pathway leading to big Illias statue, there were many silver pillars, each topped by a colored statue of a man or woman in armor or in robes. What each held was varied. Those in armor held a weapon, spears, bows, swords, all in many designs and shapes, heroically holding them up and presenting them to the skies. Those in robes held books, scrolls, feathers, compasses and many other types of instruments. Those were probably heroes and saints, though Peter.
"Even the doors and floors are beautiful", he said in awe.
Half domes made noble each door, carved to perfection with images of golden angels, pomegranates and many types of flowers. The floor had an intricate pattern of colored rhomboids. White, red and blue. Each figure containing its own image in a different color. Thin golden lines separating each shape.
Stunned, Peter slowly walked to the only thing he couldn't see perfectly from his angle.
The Ilias statue.
If everything else was this amazing, he wondered what kind of masterpiece that statue would be.
Peter was not disappointed.
Her beauty competed easily with any Venus there had ever been carved or painted. Her semi nude image in silky pink skin, flowing golden hair and dainty sapphire eyes had an instant enchantment. Her pose was modest but welcoming, not erotic in the least. Looking down with caring and gentle eyes. Her robes flowing upwards as she descended.
If the feel of the masterpiece could be described in a sentence, it would be: A perfect fusion of Mary and Aphrodite. As strange as that sounded, this seeming paradoxical existence coexisted perfectly in the shape of "Ilias descends to baptize", the name of the piece.
His mouth dropping almost to the floor, Peter stared at the statue for a few minutes, with stars in his eyes and open admiration.
"Simply beautiful, isn't she?"
The voice had come from beside Peter. He was so engrossed in analyzing the patterns on the statue, he barely noticed Klaus approaching from behind him.
Instantly recognizing the voice, Peter tried to put the best poker face he could, somewhat ruined by the fact that his excitement still shone through.
"What will he try to do now?", he wondered. "And right after the day he cornered me.".
Klaus stood in silence for a minute. Both men staring at the statue for a few instants.
The old priest then decided on what to say.
"Are religious, Peter?" asked the father in a soft voice, his loud tone from yesterday substituted by a palpable reverence.
"A little bit, my parents much more than me though.", deciding to test his theory on the priests intentions, Peter tried to lead him towards mentioning his parents.
Klaus sighed through his nose.
"It seems even in traditional Natalian families faith in Ilias has weakened. It's no surprise though, with the way things have been going. It must have been hard for you.". Said Klaus as he looked into Peters face.
Bingo. The young man smiled internally. Peter looked to the side faking that he had been caught and made a complicated expression. Now he knew the priest definitely thought he was the son of some old house. Not noble necessarily, but it definitely implied people of some importance, if we take into account his other actions. And in the unstable country of Natalia, too. Where merchant clans and noble houses competed for influence in the church. But that's still far from completing the picture. "I should wait for him to talk some more.". But... "It must have been hard for you.", what does that mean?
Father Klaus then smiled at Peter, and suggested something to calm both their heads:
"How about we pray then? This is a temple of Ilias after all, and it seems we both need her wisdom and peace in order to surpass these troubling times.".
"Us both, huh?"
Peter then turned to again look at the father, some of his tiredness genuinely showing. It was true, his situation, although interesting, was not enviable. If there was a moment he needed divine intervention, it would be now.
Both men then turned to their knees and solemnly hung their head in prayer. For a moment forgetting their animosity.
Silently, Peter did the Lords Prayer.
And then, he asked the heavens.
"Please, bring me to the home where my hear is. Where I can fulfill the deepest and truest wishes of my soul".
That had been something he had always asked for, even before coming to this world, even before he was even a teenager. It was a prayer his mother had taught him, it was a complete and heartfelt wish, humble and honest. It always remembered him the most essential thing in life, and what he had engraved in the deepest crevices of his spirit.
"Be true to yourself, don't let others dictate who you are. That is the most essential freedom that was given to humans by God. Be a slave to nobody, be free to be a wonderful person. That's the only thing I wish for you". He remembered his mother saying that to him when he was 7. It had made a deep mark in him.
…
…
…
"Mom, Pa, please help me.". They had always been there when he fucked up, so in a moment of instinct, he called on their help.
But reality isn't always how we want it to be.
For a moment, his positive mask cracked.
His reality came crashing down on him.
…
…
…
Sniff.
Wiping tears from his eyes. Peter looked to the side.
He saw Klaus looking at him with what seemed to be shock.
"FUCK, did I say that out loud?!", Peter desperately though. Quickly scrambling to regain his composure, he wiped his face with his hands. He had shown great weakness, and had made himself sound like a spoiled mommy's boy! Now his reputation will definitely plummet!
...
While Peters' mind wandered to thoughts of eviction and having to sleep on grass and eat rats. His clear panicking had a different effect on Klaus.
"This boy, he doesn't seem to have any ill will", the priest's mind more and more getting closer to the theory that the boy had been banished. In his many years working in Natalias' court, he had picked up the basics of body language, so he definitely knew. The boys' sadness was genuine. Peter looked completely lost.
"And I contributed to it"
Klaus didn't like to play this role, but it was necessary.
One day, he would be free of this cloak and dagger business.
But to do that he needed an agent, someone he could trust.
In Natalias' court.
Looking at the lines engraved below Illias' statue, Klaus opened his mouth.
...
"Peter"
"Huh?", halting his internal embarrassment for a minute. Peter looked at Klaus, his face showing genuine empathy. And was that a little bit of regret?
"I… I'm sorry for pressuring you that much the other day. My point still stands but… I think I should have broken it to you in a gentler manner".
"…"
"Here, some dracmas to get you started". Klaus hands him a leather pouch, not shocked by the boys' silence. From the metallic sound it made, there seemed to be coins inside.
"…Thanks"
"I'm being honest here. I don't really want to throw you out or anything like that. It's just how things work."
Peter sighs. Now what, should he give the priest the benefit of the doubt. Was he honest or was that just a trick to get him to trust him. Or maybe it was something in between. He didn't really know.
"It's okay, just your job right? What you did doesn't take away the fact that you did help me survive", decided it was best to return the pleasantries. Peter, with a half true sentiment, expressed his thanks.
"He did give me some money though", though the young man as he looked at the old man's back receding towards the stairs to the underground level.
Peter looked back at the statue, this time noticing some words engraved below it.
"Follow thy path, with mind dignified and with good intentions filled"
Heeding these words, he decided his path headed towards the bath. One with cool water.
…
"Haaaa"
As our protagonist entered the water, though cold, his stress induced feverish state made such a temperature pleasant. He could already feel his muscles relaxing. Again, trying to be positive and appreciate what he had. Peter observed the bath.
Not nearly as decorated as the temple, it was actually quite simple. They probably wouldn't have enough money to sustain more than one room like that, since the temple only rules over a few small villages. Even with money from adventurers...
And the apparent cut costs in security.
Shaking his head to forget the guards' horrendous swordsmanship. He saw in the bath only one painted wall, no ceiling and simple doric pillars. On the painted wall was the image of a quaint village and what looked to be Illias temple in the back.
"The village itself looks German, but the temple looks Roman or Greek."
Green and dirt roads, only a few houses and plenty of farm land around it. The image of a small rural town.
But there's something strange about it.
Trying in vain to think, Peters' stress wouldn't allow him to think of more than the past days. Ignoring his gut feeling, he redirected his attention to those same days.
"I've been on edge for two days straight with few pause. That and the anxiety from encountering a monster and almost dying must be taking a toll on my head. I wouldn't normally be so unfocused and careless with my mouth", thought the young man, remembering what he had said and did just a few moments ago.
"Hopefully Klaus will leave me alone for now. That should give me some time to take a breather. But knowing this world, it will surely send more surprises my way". Thinking that, Peter could already feel another headache coming. Deciding it would be best to just enjoy the bath and calm down, he took the opportunity to do a few breathing exercises and meditate.
Yes, meditation, that would certainly help with his mood.
It was the most sure fire way, besides drinking, that Peter had to calm down. His parents had urged him to do it since he started attending those pretentious parties, knowing full well that it would help with the boredom. Heck, he could even do it with his eyes open and while doing something else, he just needed to be comfortable enough. Often doing it during parties while eating, it would help a lot with the enduring of such events.
And so, Peter focused on his body, trying to feel every nook and cranny of it. From his breathing to his heart. From his muscles to his organs.
"Huh? That's something new"
After a few minutes of analysis, Peter noticed something peculiar. In his lower abdomen, heart and brain, he felt... pumping?. Not the same kind of pumping the heart does, no, this feels different. It felt more like… electricity? The numbness and heat of an electric shock, it felt intense, but somehow pleasant, and "right". Following this feeling, he located what looked like "pathways" that transported that "weird electricity".
The heck is this? In his many years of meditation, he had never felt anything like this.
Wait... could this be...
"Is… is this mana?"
Remembering the terminology he had hear briefly about in the books he had read, his curiosity intensified.
He didn't have enough time yesterday to go into magic theory, only reading about it tangentially through other books. So he didn't have any concrete knowledge of it, besides a few key words like "aura" and "mana".
Now fully immersed in this mysterious phenomenon. He followed the winding and whimsical "vein-like" pathways.
Some of them stopped at certain muscle groups, some at certain organs, and others became so subtle he couldn't go any further at all.
Maybe he could manipulate it? That was how magic worked right?
"Pyr! Fuego! Fire!", with his hand extended. He pointed at the middle of the bath, hoping in vain that he would somehow summon some fire.
Idiotic Peter had, in his childish excitement, barely noticed the trouble he would cause had he actually summoned some fireball on accident. But his mind, addled by stress, being constantly on edge, and with wondrous curiosity, barely acknowledged that as a possibility.
"I'm just some noob. Even if it works, it won't be something big, right? It'll be no problem". These excuses passed through his mind.
After repeating incantations for over 2 minutes, he decided he would stop looking like a retard and actually try.
"Of course just saying fire in different languages won't work. It's probably more complicated than that". Still not giving up on casting a spell, he tried to be more imaginative this time.
Focusing his mind on his right index finger, he imagined fire sprouting from it. He tried to see it with his eyes mind, giving it every sensory detail he could, up to how it would vanish when touching the water on the center of the bath.
"Pyr!"
Sensing some of that weird electricity rush to his finger, Peter almost let out a girly scream, thinking he had done it.
…
…
…
Nothing happened.
"Damn, looks like I've got to actually read some books about it". Said the fool as he angrily looked at his finger. He felt the energy concentrated there, and it had definitely taken the shape of a flame. But it just accumulated there, like a bubble, and no matter how intensely Peter visualized the flame coming out of his finger, the energy just didn't want to leave his body. Putting his hand back in the water, Peter sighed loudly, his dreams of incredible cosmic power crushed.
But as soon as his finger touched the water, a blue spark was seen on its' surface. Surprised, Peter didn't have the time to jump as this spark spread like electricity through the water and hit his body, numbing it and making it spasm for an instant before returning to it's regular state.
Strangely it didn't feel bad. It was quite pleasant actually.
Rubbing his neck slowly, Peter got out of the water as fast as he could, afraid that he would explode in case he stayed a second more inside the water.
He remembered what Klaus had said.
His blood ran cold.
"I fucked up didn't I?". This could likely cause some problems with the old priest if he ever found out about it. He better get out of here quickly before anyone realizes something.
As our protagonist ran with his tail between his legs, he noticed something interesting.
The pain in his muscles, his headache. They had completely vanished!
"Did that shock heal me?".It hadn't felt unpleasant. In fact he had never felt better! It was like the quickest and most efficient deep tissue massage ever. Considering his potential success in performing magic. Peter got gitty again. Deciding he would try it again someplace nobody went to, a great smile formed on his face.
The dog ran away, but it did have a pretty big bone in its mouth.
…
..
.
Hello! John here.
This chapter is actually part of a bigger one. But while I was writing, I noticed it was already getting pretty long, so it was broken up into parts. And since this part is already pretty dense, it would be easier to digest if the temple part was separated from the village one. As always, your opinions are precious!