Morgana kissed her beloved teacher's brow softly, embracing her close to her heart. "I will miss you, please be careful, armed or not you are a woman and there are many a man out there that would take advantage of that."

Daphne smiled. "I am aware, but I must do this. The Disir... you do not ignore them, even if I were to not wish to be a Priestess, I would not be dull enough to ignore their summons. That was one of the first culture lessons my teacher ever passed onto me."

"And it was one of the first you passed onto me. I know what they mean, you taught me well."

"That I have. You have been my student for only two weeks but to call you anything but a prodigy and a blessing in my life would be a lie beyond reason. I will miss you as well, my friend. Now... It is time we part. If anyone asks, I am going to collect flowers and herbs and mushrooms."

Morgana nodded. "I will do as you ask, but again please be careful."

"I will. To prepare for this, My teacher and I forged a talisman to ward off attackers while I sleep. It will give me some peace at least, and that is worth everything."

Hugging once more, with her basket in one hand and her sword on her back, Daphne hopped onto a horse Morgana had arranged for her and rushed off to the White Mountains, off to her destiny.

""

The trip was not hard on Daphne physically, the coin led her like a magnetic pull towards the Disir and her talisman protected her from harm, but the waiting... that was misery. She was terrified, that she had offended the Goddess in some way, that saving Morgana was a strike against her... there were a million things that ran through her mind and she could not silence them no matter what she did. Still, despite that fear, there was a monumental sort of pride that she drew such powerful attention in any way. It felt nice to know her work had an impact beyond Camelot proper.

The trip to the Disir took about a day, reaching the White Mountains and making her way up to their cave combined. The closer she got, the stronger the magic in the air got until her very body trembled with its majesty, she was at full capacity just by breathing in the potent air. She had never felt so much magic, not even in Kilgarah. This was the majesty of the Triple Faced Goddess, and it was beyond potent. It was life changing, she knew somehow that just by breathing this air she would never be the same again. What that meant was unclear, but she knew that for a fact.

As she entered the caver. she saw various sigils and artifacts of the Old Religion, for protection and defense and other things. She was respectful while moving past them, moving them out of the way carefully instead of knocking them aside. She could feel their power, their defensive magic that inspired her to create similar things for her own home. It was amazing that they could be so simple but so potent.

Eventually, she made her way into the main cave and was greeted by the sight of the three Disir, their hoods down, smiling at her. " Hello." She said, merrily. "I would bow, but I have this feeling you hate that."

They all laughed as one, Neide stepped forward. "You are right, we do. Normally we act dour and serious, people would not believe us if we did not. You understand the acts one must put up to be taken seriously. As a woman, you are forced to act merry and joyful, as a healer you have to act as if all will be right no matter your stress. You can see through that veil better than most, hence why we have decided to pull it down. Please, daughter, come forth and know we will never harm you."

She approached, happily. " It is an honor, thank you for allowing me into your sanctum."

"It is a joy, my dear. Now... there is much to discuss. You need to know the burden of being a Priestess, even if you never become a High Priestess, you are expected to lead your people. To protect those with magic and those without. Nimueh, the Priestess whose evil comes against Camelot, is much disgraced. She abuses her powers and harms the people, adding to the lies and fear Uther has spread. She will not have an easy transition into the Afterlife."

"I figured as much... I am no match for her, but I would like to knock her on her ass for harming my people."

They laughed more. "I am sure you would, you are a strong woman, it would hurt immortal or not."

She nodded. "I know the burden of ruling, it is not much different than being a healer, taking on the stresses and misery of the people, acting in their stead at your own suffering... I am prepared to do this."

"Good... now, before we can tell you what you will be learning, you must bare yourself to the Goddess and step into this pool behind us. When you rise, you will be marked as a servant of the Goddess and your path will be revealed but be warned. If you bear evil will, you will be killed... and even if you do not, you will not suddenly become stronger. Priests and Priestesses are not imbued with power, they must earn it. Dedication is a constant for our people, however you will be permitted access to certain types of magic, and given the knowledge to use them. For example, the Catha are taught mental magics that you will never master due to their training and dedication to their Lords."

"I understand..." And as she spoke, Daphne freely bared herself. " So... do we start now?"

They nodded and she walked into the pool of water behind them. It was small but deep and very cold. She shivered horribly as she entered it, the magic heady and so potent she wanted to scream as the water washed over her. Then she was entirely under... and all went black... but only for a moment. Light and life returned to her instantly and she saw a woman, ancient and beautiful in a blue cloak, holding a staff expertly carved.

"You are the Calliech? The Gatekeeper to the Spirit world?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, that is what I am. However, I am more than that. I am Goddess of Winter, Lady of Death and Mistress of all those spirits of the Otherside. Kiligarah was right when he told you that Healing magic falls under my domain, to fight death is to embrace life and accept that death is a part of all things. That is the key that magic, and why many fail to master that branch of magic. That and they fail to understand that as a healer, part of your power is to ease pain when healing the body is not possible.

It is your understanding of this that allows you a skill for healing and makes you worthy of following my path. Do you accept this, following my path and acting in my stead on this Earth? I a goddess of balance, life and death, healing and harming... you will be expected to follow and honor that balance, serving the living and the dead... can you accept that? Using your healing touch to ease the pain of the dead as well as the living?"

Daphne nodded. " With all my heart... I am a healer, as long as I am not healing evil, I think all deserve my help."

The Callieach smiled, tenderly. "Then I bless you child and accept you into my service... you are night Daphne, Priestess in Training to the Goddess of Winter!"

Light and Life returned and Daphne threw herself from the water as the need to breathe overtook her. "That was terrifying." She said, looking at the Disir who smiled at her.

Neide pointed at her breasts. " Look, child, look."

Looking down, Daphne was amazed to see her skin was no longer pure white. starting at her collar bone and moving down to her cleavage was a symbol etched in magic. It was simple, a straight line with a v splitting the line a third of the way from the top. " What does it mean?"

"In another land, it is a rune for death, you have been marked as a Priestess in training for the Callieach, and so you are a Priestess of Death itself."

"Wow... so what does that entail, she was a touch vague."

As she dressed, they explained. "Well, you see, you will be trained in healing the dead. Most use Necromancy as an aggressive art, but you will be taught to speak to the dead, to free trapped souls, to invoke peace and tranquility in haunted spaces. Camelot is full of Ghosts and those that suffer from misery. You wish to save those harmed by Uther's evil. Many are dead and stuck in a cycle of pain, you will be able to help them pass over."

"Wow... that is amazing, scary but amazing."

They laughed. " You will also be taught to ease pain and heal through the magics of Life and Death, as well as without that power. As a Priestess in general, you will be taught to harness the powers of Old relics, curses, hexes, mental spells, dark and light magic, defensive spells and countless other branches of magic. To aid you in this, as we cannot go with you, we have prepared a new Grimoire for you to study along side the one you already have. This tome must be honored, it is spelled to destroy itself if Uther ever tries to take it."

She nodded. "Good... that... I am not without flaw, there is always that risk... which is why I ask that I learn defensive magic and wards first, too easily the Knights can break into our homes, plant or find evidence... I need methods to protect myself and my people."

"We thought of this, it was a great failing of all magic wielders that we never considered this, it allowed Uther's evil to go unchecked. We included much on defensive magic in this tome, learn it well and turn your home into a safe haven... "

"Can I teach Morgana any of this?"

"Yes and no... she must be blessed before she can learn our arts, but you can teach her certain things. the book will mention what you can teach her. However under no circumstances can you teach Merlin or Gaius."

She nodded. " That's fair... Oh and one more thing. I plan on enchanting my sword, layering it with enchantments to free Kilgarah, is that something the book will help with?'

"Yes, it will take time, the magics holding him are very powerful but you can break it with time and magic. We foresee that Merlin is not a true ally to magic, despite his many blessings... in this you may be Kilgarah's only hope."

"Then I hope that I can fulfill his wishes, less he be a prisoner forever..."

The Disir smiled as one. "You must leave, collect your herbs and whatnot, there are many herbs in a glade near here, then go to your home and act as a healer as you always have. The world will be in great need of your talents soon, that we sense."

Those words filled Daphne with nothing but dread.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a joy to write. I think that Merlin fanfics are so dry and repetitive... they need some spicing up, taking things from many seasons...

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.