Disclaimer: Unless today's diabolical plan to take over the world actually works, I don't own anything you recognize from outside of my story.
A/N: Okay, I'm going to get all my babbling out before the end of the chapter. First, an apology! I'm terribly sorry I haven't updated this (or anything else) in so long. Besides the normal bombardment of work, my muses also left me. Luckily, I now have a new one, The Mage mentioned in this chapter. Unfortunately, he went on strike almost immediately due to Evelynn's makeover. That brings me to my next point: Evelynn was becoming too much of a Sue, even for me. So, I gave her an "X-Treme" makeover. She's now chubby for an elf, has rather dull colored hair, and has fairly ugly green eyes.
Next, I'd like to thank Petalwing not only for her continued support, but also for her amazing research on the Gods of Good for me in this chapter. Now, for responses to reviewers:
Jade: Thanks for reviewing, and glad that cleared stuff up. And yes, Ylle Savath is related to Evelynn's mom (not quite sure how) and Ramalad is Dalamar's great aunt.
Guan: Glad this chapter brought so much feeling for you. No worries about the contest, its down as of this chapter anyway.
Petalwing: Thanks much for reading. As to answering some comments: yes, the Argent line does appear to have major problems with servitude. Sorry about not telling you earlier all the names were from my namesake's book. Ah, the dinner scene. I loved writing that part, because I too could imagine Ramalad's faces. And yes, Ramalad is Dalamar's great aunt. And I also agree that the Argents should all just leave Silvanesti immediately for some true refined society! The titles are a poem (and a song, where I got it from) called She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron.
Kenderling: Glad you liked. No worries about not reading Dalamar the Dark. I didn't find it nearly as good as the Weis/Hickman books anyway.
A last couple of notes: First, the contest is discontinued. Answers will be revealed along with the tally in the next chapter. Next, has everyone figured out who my Mage is? If you have at the end of this chapter, if you could put your guess in your review, that would be great. I just want to see how blatant or deceptive I was. Last, has everyone heard about the new book by Margaret Weis? Called Amber and Ashes, and takes place after the War of the Souls, for those of you who care. And now, I'm done babbling. So, without further ado, I give you chapter 5:
Meet in Her Aspect and Her Eyes
The last few days of Evelynn's life in Silvanesti she could barely remember. What was not spent in mourning Ramalad and the loss of their friendship was spent in a frenzy of packing and other preparations. That week, Evelynn saw her mother more than she had in the past year all together.
Constantly, the older elf was running in and out of Evelynn's room, fussing, packing, straightening, pestering. It took all of Evelynn's self control not to scream at her mother to get out, and even more self-control than that not to break down sobbing for the friend who would have undoubtedly eased her load.
Finally, she was ready. She would ride for days in a carriage with her mother, Lady Galacia, Andreana, and a gaggle of servants and guards. They left Silvanost with considerable pomp, and started the long journey to Istar.
Evelynn wasn't sure how long it took to get there; all of the days melded together as one in boredom. The inside of the carriage was hard and uncomfortable, and Evelynn would have much preferred riding. However, ladies don't ride long distances, and she was going to be a lady. For a while she occupied herself with trying to figure out how much of her freedom would be sacrificed for that purpose. When that was no longer interesting, she thought up tortures for the imbeciles who came up with the rules of 'proper behavior' for ladies.
After what seemed like an eternity, the Elven entourage arrived at Istar. When Evelynn stepped out of the carriage, she immediately felt that the whole ordeal had been worth it.
Istar was everything that she imagined it to be, and more. Though the building style was coarser than that of Silvanost and not as in tune with nature, it had a beauty all of its own.
The white, polished buildings had a magical appeal as though they were straight out of a fantasy story or a dream. The walkways were pristine and tree lined, and everyone smiled at one another as they went. The paths were filled with myriad clerics dedicated to the various deities of good, as well as mages of Solinari. It was one of the clerics who approached Evelynn's entourage first.
"Galacia! Wonderful to see you, my dear." The newcomer was a portly, elderly, human male. His long, flowing hair was a shade as white as pure as his elegant robes, and reached to the middle of his back. He had a set of bushy eyebrows, and a beard that any dwarf would envy.
Galacia took the aged human in a light enmbrace. "Oren, how wonderful to see you. Did anything happen in my absence?"
Oren smiled, a comforting smile that extended to Andreana Evelynn and her mother, as well as everyone passing on the street. It was easy to see how this man had become a cleric, and Evelynn couldn't help but smile back. "Save the droves of new believers streaming in every day to have a hearing with the Kingpriest, there are no changes. You have not been gone that long, Sister."
Andreana stirred a bit next to Evelynn, obviously miffed that the elderly cleric treated her mother as an equal, not with the heightened respect an elf deserved. Evelynn shot her an exasperated look. The other girl seemed to have no concept of the fact that all were equal in Paladine's eyes in the end, no matter what race, gender, or affiliation they might have. Though the Platinum Dragon obviously favored elves in this world, in death all were forgiven.
Oren, however, seemed either oblivious to the unspoken war, or just chose to ignore it, as did Galacia. "I am glad for that, Brother. Now, I'd like to introduce you to a young lady about to be inducted into our fellowship. Revered Father Oren, I'd like to introduce Evelynn Windglimmer of Silvanost."
Evelynn noted her peculiar use of titles, and then remember that clerics of the highest orders were given the title Mother or Father, rather than Son or Daughter. The higher title referred to the fact that they led the rest of the order in spiritual pursuits, as opposed to the lower title, which referred to both their lower rank and the fact that they were the children of Paladine. She noticed her own title was missing as well, but realized that among clerics, secular titles were meaningless, because all were equal to the gods. Even the two titles of the clerics didn't make one group superior to the other; they just separated those who had more time on Krynn to learn rituals from those who were newer.
She curtsied deeply. "No need for that, my Child." As she stood, Evelynn realized that she liked this man, possibly even more than Galacia, whom she respected immensely.
"Thank you, Father. I eagerly await joining with you in service of Paladine."
"That's good, Dear. We could use more youngsters with such faith as strong as yours obviously is. Now, I'd best be off, so you can get yourselves situated." Oren trundled away with a fond look to finish whatever task he had been starting.
After that, getting settled in to her new home was no more than a blur for Evelynn. She was put into a small room, one much smaller than her old one in Silvanost. In Istar, apparently, they held to the old tradition of clerics owning very little finery and living off of the basics. The room was sparsely decorated, with a small cot, a desk, and a chair. There was also a closet and a small chest of drawers for her belongings.
Upon looking back at those first few hours, she had a vague impression of she and her mother bustling around, attempting to get her settled in. Well, she was attempting to settle in, her mother was just bustling. The Lady Ansalath seemed distraught that her precious daughter was being housed in such 'common' quarters, and made Evelynn's job of unpacking a lot harder. However, finally it was done, and it was time for dinner.
Lady Ansalath had enchanted a bit of jewelry to show them the way to dinner, so they found the dining hall with very little effort. Through dinner, Evelynn was introduced to what felt like all of the clerics on Krynn, and could remember none of their names by the end. Luckily, Galacia came to her rescue, saving her from any embarrassing social situations.
"Come, dear. It's time for your tour of the temple complex here at Istar. There are some places that are off limits, but only a few. Otherwise, you'll be free to roam and explore in your free time." She started to lead the soon-to-be cleric around the palace complex.
Within several turns of the plane whitewashed walls, Evelynn was sure she'd be lost the second Galacia left her alone. For a while, Evelynn half tuned out the older cleric, just staring about her in wonder. She did listen a bit, though, so she came back to full attention when Galacia showed her the main chapel of Paladine.
Evelynn's breath was taken away as she entered the beautiful room. The walls, as the rest of the complex, were purest of white. On the wall directly behind the altar was a huge tapestry depicting the head of the Good pantheon in his form as the Platinum Dragon. On the altar itself were several artifacts that looked as though they were made from the holy metal, platinum, itself.
On two of the other walls hung several other, smaller, tapestries, each depicting another god of good. To Evelynn's right, a picture depicting Mishakal healing several elves hung, directly adjacent to the one of Paladine. A blue symbol for infinity hung like a sun above her. Next to her, the Warrior God, Kiri-Jolith was shown, riding bravely into battle, swinging a horned battle-axe. After Kiri-Jolith was his twin, Habbakuk. He was shown under water in a stunning seascape, a blue phoenix holding a branch of wheat skimming the surface of the water above his head.
On the left wall, Paladine's son Solinari hung, shown centered in a silvery moon. He appeared to be intent in casting some difficult spell. Opposite the warrior god, a tapestry of Majere fell. The Mantis was sitting in an empty field, cross-legged. He appeared to be deep in meditation, and a real praying mantis walked across his opened palm. A rose, the Elven symbol of the god, bloomed above his head. Next to him was a tapestry of Brachala, also called Astarin. The god of music was shown playing a harp as Elves, his sacred people, danced to his silent melody. Evelynn felt her heartbeat hasten to catch up his sacred melody of life.
Evelynn was robbed of breath temporarily. This holy room was the single most beautiful room she'd ever seen, on top of which, it contained a sense of peace and tranquility. This place obviously had divine support, as well as the love of mortals across all of Krynn.
Evelynn's reverie was broken when Galacia spoke once more. "This is where you will be singing the morning devotions to Eli every day after your initiation. I hope you find it satisfactory?" There was a slight hint of a tease in the head of the Elven cleric's voice as she watched Evelynn stare around, open-mouthed.
All Evelynn could do was speak nonsense syllables in pleasure as she looked about. Now that she knew singers would be there, she examined the room more closely. Its high, domed ceiling would catch the sound and spread it beautifully, while the tapestries would make sure that the resonant voices of the Elves would not reverberate overly much. There were large windows in the walls that looked as though they had slits that would open in the morning so that the choir's devotions would ring throughout the complex. On top of that, Evelynn would be willing to bet her mother's best dress that just out of the windows were magical amplifiers to be sure that everyone in the vicinity could hear Paladine's glory sung.
Finally, Evelynn got a hold of herself. "It's amazing, My Lady! I can't believe that I'll actually be able to sing here every single morning. It's just so wonderful. I can't believe I'm actually here. It's so..." Her exited voice trailed off as she remembered that clerics didn't babble, and neither did Elven ladies.
Galacia was understanding, however, not even giving her a look of disapproval as she usually might. This was the reaction of all who entered the Sanctuary of Paladine for the first time, and for some, even the second or third. Even she had been completely overwhelmed upon seeing the holy place. After allowing Evelynn to gape for another minute, she gently led the young elf out of the sanctuary.
As the two Elves continued down the hallway, neither saw the discreet shadow slip away in the opposite direction.
Galacia continued to lead Evelynn around the Temple complex. The next place of note was the Hall of Sacrilege. This was one of the places that Evelynn couldn't go without an escort of older clerics. "This used to be one of the Towers of High Sorcery. However, the Kingpriest determined that its inhabitants were marring the pristine atmosphere of the Holy Temple, so he made them leave. Afterwards, he turned their Tower into the Hall of Sacrilege to remind all the impure gods are not welcome in Istar. So far, it contains a collection of powerful artifacts of Takhisis and Chemosh, along with others."
Evelynn stared at the impressive Hall, and decided that she'd never try to disobey the older cleric's orders. In short, she was terrified of the old Tower. It was an imposing structure, and obviously mage built. Though she didn't agree with other gods being chased away, Evelynn would have no trouble staying away from the Hall herself.
Next, Galacia led Evelynn towards the sleeping quarters. The guest quarters, though not off limits, were pointless to visit unless she knew someone there. The next hallway was where the clerics' rooms where Evelynn herself would be staying. It was a fairly long hall, with several branches. Next were the nobles' quarters, which again, weren't off limits, but not anywhere that Evelynn would have to go.
The next hallway surprised Evelynn. It was slightly more secluded than the other halls of living quarters, being set further back into the wall. At first Evelynn thought it lacked the magical lights that illuminated the rest of the complex, but upon further inspection realized she was mistaken. Whatever the reason, however, the hallway seemed darker than the ones surrounding it. Though Galacia was about to pass it without explanation, Evelynn stopped to peer curiously into its shadowy depths.
When she saw her young charge had stopped to gape, Galacia turned around and abruptly dragged her young charge along. "Don't stop there. You never know when he might be lurking."
Evelynn was puzzled at this. Even the places that were off limits Galacia had let her see so that she would understand why they were forbidden, but she seemed especially reticent about this one. "Who? Why does it matter if someone sees us? Revered Mother, what's wrong?"
Galacia looked slightly pale after going past, and was clutching the amulet depicting her god. They continued to walk hurriedly, despite Evelynn's protests. "The mage. He lives there." She refused to say any more. After going through even more winding halls, they were back at the dining hall, where they'd started.
When she was sure Evelynn would be able to find her way to the dining hall in the morning, Galacia escorted her back to her own quarters. Galacia told her that she would be free of duties for the next week, though still expected to stay out of trouble. After that, she'd have her initiation ceremony, and then only three more weeks of probation before claiming full cleric status. Apparently, Galacia's stiffness from before had dissipated with time. She bid the younger girl a fond goodnight before continuing on to her own chambers.
The next morning, Evelynn woke up for an early breakfast. She found the dining hall with relatively little trouble. A wrong turn showed her the shortcut she and Galacia had taken back to the clerics' hall the night before. It avoided going past the mysterious mage's quarters, an occurrence Evelynn was partially glad for, partially disappointed.
At breakfast, a wide array of food was offered buffet style. There were things to tempt all, from the lightly eating, vegetarian Elves, to the meat loving, ravenous humans. Evelynn helped herself to a few pieces of fruit, eagerly snatching a heartfruit, the purplish, heart shaped sweet food that was the prize of the Silvanesti. She was delighted to see that there was also a pot of hot chocolate heating in the corner.
Evelynn hurried over to an unoccupied table. As she got older, she'd gotten more and more reticent, partly because she liked things others her age scorned. While other Elven maids might discuss boyfriends, she'd sooner discuss politics and the flaws of society. And so it was, she found herself going over to a corner table that was unoccupied. She never saw the odd looks shot her way because of her choice of seat, as she was eagerly looking around this hall for faces, both familiar and strange. Though she'd never admit it, she was mostly looking to see if she could find the mage that Galacia had mentioned the day before.
She looked around eagerly for anything out of the ordinary, anything that might mar the goodness of the atmosphere at Istar, but if the mage was there at all, she didn't see him. Mage or not, she enjoyed looking at the large variety of people eating at the dining hall. Many clerics filled the seats, accompanied by mages of Solinari.
People of all races also filled in the benches; people Evelynn assumed must fill positions for everything from government officials to servants. When she saw a large group of Elven clerics stand up, Evelynn quickly left as well. She guessed that they were part, if not all, of the choir, and she dearly wanted to hear the morning prayers sung in that amazing sanctuary.
What Evelynn did not notice as she stood, quickly trailing the other Elves, was that as soon as she vacated the corner table, someone took her place. This was someone who looked to be no more than a shadow, and it was his usual presence at the table that had made the others stare.
In her excitement, however, Evelynn noticed none of this. When she got to the chapel, she was not disappointed. The clerics had lined up on benches of different heights to be sure that no one's voice was blocked. Evelynn observed that everyone in the chorus was an elf. Not surprising because of their naturally beautiful voices, but something Evelynn had never considered before.
The morning devotions were just as beautiful as Evelynn had hoped and anticipated. She couldn't wait for the end of the week when she'd be joining them. It was all too soon that the beautiful music ended.
A couple of the Elves broke away from the main group, stopped for a second in the crowd, and made their way to Evelynn. They were both stereotypical beauties, one dressed in slightly finer robes than the other. "Oh, I don't think I've seen you here before." It was the richer one, who was also slightly taller, who spoke.
"Yes. I'm new. I'm joining the choir at the end of the week." Evelynn was delighted that they noticed her.
The taller one looked at Evelynn curiously. "I thought they only let in Elves. I wasn't aware there were going to be humans too. Oh, wait. You are Elven, aren't you? My apologies, you had a bit of a human look to you. Probably the cut of the dress."
Evelynn blushed to the top of her pointed ears, and smoothed her dress down self-consciously. She would've given the other girl a sharp retort, but saw Galacia out of the corner of her eye. "Of course I forgive you, Revered Daughter. Humans and Elves both are precious to Eli, so in the end, it doesn't really matter what race we are. Don't you think? Evelynn Windglimmer, by the way." She held her hand out to the astonished cleric.
The other woman recovered her composure quickly, surprised as she was at Evelynn's tactful reply. "Tevasirrinoras Moonshine. This is Rinni Starbeam." She shook Evelynn's hand lightly, as if she were afraid of catching some sort of disease. "I don't believe I've heard of your family's name. Are you a lesser cleric like Rinni?"
Rinni blushed slightly at the slight to her family. Evelynn, however, kept her face expressionless. Years of containing her personality and emotions from the public were already paying off. "I wouldn't say any are lesser clerics, Revered Daughter Tevasirrinoras. By the teachings of Eli, all are equal, just more or less experienced. However, in answer to your question, my family has recently gained favor with the Speaker. I was invited to this beautiful city by Revered Mother Galacia."
Teva seemed a bit put off by the fact that Evelynn used Galacia's name. "Well, in that case, I suppose I will see you around soon." She sounded distinctly less than pleased at that thought. Without giving Evelynn a chance to answer, she turned on her heal and swept away.
Rinni half turned to follow her, and then paused. "I'm sorry about Teva. She's not the most tactful. I hope you'll give both of us another chance." When she saw Teva look back with an irritated glance, she hurried off with a slight grimace.
Evelynn shook her head, their petty prejudices abruptly remembering why she always sought solitude or Ramalad's company, rather than that of her peers. Ramalad – she felt her heart squeeze painfully with the thought of the servant who had become friend, sister, and mother to her. She shook her head, attempting to clear it of those thoughts.
Not a moment too soon did she wrench herself out of speculation. "Did you enjoy the service?" Galacia's tone was approving, and Evelynn realized that she had overheard the conversation between the three younger elves.
"Yes, very much, Revered Mother. The acoustics in this room are even better than I'd hoped for. I cannot wait to join the ranks of the clerics next week." She gave the older cleric what she hoped was an unstrained smile.
"That's very good, Child. I heard how you handled yourself against Teva's interrogation, and I was quite impressed. By what your mother had said, I was lead to believe that you were still an impulsive child, but now I see I must have been mistaken. And Rinni spoke the truth. Teva has a hard shell, but a good heart. She is still learning Eli's lessons of kindness. Now, I must be off. Feel free to explore today." The head of the Elven clerics bustled away to talk to some of the other choir members.
Evelynn decided to take Galacia up on her offer to explore. She'd wanted to take a look at the open-air market next to the temple complex. She not only wanted to take a look around for curiosity's sake, but also decided that her sparse room needed more color. She was hoping to find a small tapestry or wall hanging.
Without too much trouble, she found her way back to her room, and picked up her money and cloak. It took a bit longer for Evelynn to find her way out of the complex, but she was finally able to do it. She looked around happily at the beautiful day. The market appeared to be every bit a fascinating as she'd hoped. People of all races were selling everything from magical trinkets to clothes to other beings.
She walked about for hours, simply admiring the waves of colors and scents of the market. Finally, she wandered over to the cloth sellers, and found a booth of beautifully woven tapestries. After much deliberation, she decided on a bright tapestry of a silver dragon set in a peaceful forest. It would give her a bit of home to look on, without making her terribly homesick through its likeness. She started to wander slowly back to the complex.
All of a sudden, up ahead she saw a man who looked exactly like Oren, the head of the White Robes. The odd thing was that he was coming out of a mageware shop. Evelynn shrugged, and hurried to catch up with him. She was hoping that the kindly old man would be willing to shed some light on that intriguing mystery of the mage.
"Oren!" she called to the man as she neared him.
He turned around quickly to the sound of the name, but Evelynn then saw that he actually was not the elderly human cleric. She frowned, because on closer inspection, his robe was actually a grey-ish form of the white robe of a mage. He was also a lot more slender than the portly Oren. Like Oren, he also had long white hair and a beard to match, but over his eyebrows sat a pair of spectacles. On his head was a tattered hat. Evelynn was puzzled, because she, like all other Elves, had very acute eyesight, and should have been able to pick out the individual strands of his long, white hair from the distance she'd first seen him.
She blushed as he looked her over, realizing he must've had some sort of cloaking spell over him that changed his true appearance slightly. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Grandfather. I must've mistaken you for someone else." She turned to go.
"Quite all right, Child." He reached out and caught her wrist, a gesture that would have disturbed her if it had been just any stranger, but from this old man, it oddly didn't bother the young Elf. "My name is... what's my name again? Furball, Foosball, Felt, Fireball... Great spell, that one. How did it go? Oh yes! I remember now!" Evelynn cringed at the thought that this batty old man might be casting a fireball spell, but he simply grinned benignly.
"Fizban! That's my name. Oren is a good chap, though. But about you, Evelynn. You should trust your instincts more. You have a good head on your shoulders, you just need to use it." Evelynn was more than a bit disconcerted that this slightly mad mage knew her name.
He finally relinquished control of her wrist, and began to walk away. As he was about to disappear into the crowd, he turned back to the dazed Evelynn. "By the way, young woman, not all of those who wear black are truly bad. Now, where did I put my hat?"