Disclaimer: I own it all! Oh, wait, I can only say that after I've taken over the world, right? Well, then, I guess that means I don't own anything I didn't create. Oh yeah, kudos to Andrew Loyd Webber, who inspired the further development of Teva's character.
Thus Mellowed To That Tender Light
The rest of the week flew by for Evelynn and before she knew it, it was time for her initiation ceremony. Her mother had returned to Silvanost in the beginning of the week, so Evelynn was alone in the sanctuary to face the board of clerics. She felt amazingly alone, standing there next to the alter of Paladine. Though there were two humans talking their vows as well, Evelynn still felt as though the whole crowd was staring exclusively at her. She felt stunningly inadequate and ugly compared to the splendor of the room.
After the crowd quieted, Oren stood. Walking slowly away from the table of high-ranking clerics, he faced the nervous young women. Evelynn forced her gaze upward from where it had landed at her feet. She attempted to look only at Oren, and not the crowd, but her gaze was like a moth drawn to flame. She stared up at the crowd of several hundred people, and suddenly a flash of white caught her eye. She realized it was actually more of a grey color as she looked. The old mage from the marketplace was standing quietly in the back of the room. He winked at Evelynn, but when she looked more closely, he was gone. Rather than feeling disconcerted, Evelynn somehow felt comforted by the mysterious old man's support.
The following ceremony was much like a marriage, and in a way, it was one. Though clerics were not sworn to celibacy, the vows to their god were supposed to be above all earthly vows. The ceremony itself passed in a blur for Evelynn, who was too nervous to remember any specific details. The rite consisted mostly of the board of clerics questioning the would-be clerics about their faith, and having them swear upon holy artifacts that they would be true. The artifacts served the purpose of binding the clerics to their word. Though it had not happened in centuries, there were tales of imposters being struck down on the spot by an irate god for swearing falsely on a holy artifact.
This ceremony, however, went without mishap. Finally, one of the head clerics approached each of the initiates with Paladine's medallion. This would be the final test, as sure as a mage's Test. The medallions were placed over each initiate's head, and were let fall to their chests. These medallions were infused with Paladine's essence and power, and would have even more volatile reactions to the unworthy than the artifacts would.
Rejections from the medallions happened far more frequently than with the artifacts, since Paladine's power in them was more intimate. The medallions would reject people in any manner that befit their flaws, from simply flying off of the neck of one who was not truly dedicated, to incinerating someone with evil intentions. As Evelynn felt the weight of the medallion settle on her chest, she was suddenly filled with the fear that she would be found wanting. She knew in her heart that any second, the pendant would fly back over her shoulders to the waiting hands of Galacia, who had given it to her. She winced as she felt it move slightly.
However, it seemed to just be adjusting itself to the natural shape of her body. She let out a relieved sigh of air at the realization that she was not unworthy. As she turned to the crowd with a broad smile, she could've sworn she heard a voice saying, "Now why would I think you unworthy?" She realized that she must have just been imagining it, partly because the voice sounded very much like that of Fizban.
Evelynn descended to the crowd on a cloud of happiness. Now would be a feast held in the honor of her and her fellow initiates, clerics, she corrected herself. Not really knowing anyone, Evelynn got a small plate of fruit and went to sit down. She grimaced as she saw Rinni and Tevasirrinoras come over, but made a decision to be as friendly to them as possible. She knew that she wasn't the most social of people, but realized that she could use a friend or two in the wonderful, but alien, city.
She stood up gracefully to meet the two other clerics. "Congratulations!" Rinni sounded genuinely happy for Evelynn. She plopped down in the seat next to the new cleric, and Teva sat beside her.
"So you passed." Apparently, Teva had not thawed at all for the other elf.
"So I did." Evelynn's tried to keep her voice cheerful and friendly, but could not help the bit of acidity that shone through. Suddenly, in a burst of homesickness, she wished that Ramalad were there. Ramalad would have known exactly how to get Teva out of the way without sacrificing a blooming friendship with Rinni. After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Evelynn decided it was time to try to generate some small talk. "So, what's it like, singing with the chorus every morning?"
"You've never sung with a chorus before?" Teva's voice was scornful to the extreme.
"I… Of course I did, in Silvanost. I've just never sung in an acoustically perfect room, with such a talented chorus. Does it ever get boring?"
"Oh, no. I love…" Rinni started to speak, but was cut off by the haughty Teva.
"Oh yes. After a decade or so, it becomes simply routine. Except when they begin giving out solos. Not that you'd be getting any anyway." She turned her nose up, and delicately bit into a strawberry. Evelynn thought it was rather supernatural that none of the juice so much as stained the other elf's lips.
"Well, you don't know, Teva." Rinni tried to cut into the conversation again. "You've never even heard Evelynn sing." She smiled slightly at Evelynn, careful to hide the glance from Teva.
"True, I've never heard her sing. However, with me here, why would they even imagine giving the solos to anyone else?" She started to get up to leave. "By the way, rehearsal for tomorrow morning starts at four this afternoon." She dragged Rinni away before the younger girl could say so much as "Goodbye."
Evelynn didn't trust Teva, however, Galacia and Oren had disappeared into the crowd, and she saw no one else she knew well enough to ask. With a shrug, Evelynn got up. Then, however, a band of previously unnoticed musicians started playing. Evelynn grinned as the first upbeat circle dance began. All elves seemed to innately love music, and Evelynn was no exception. Though she didn't have a dancer's form, or even perfect grace as most elves had, she'd always loved group dances.
She whirled around, feet moving in perfect time to the rhythm. With the sound of the music and the sway of her body, all inhibitions seemed to dissipate. Suddenly, all of her problems seemed meaningless, and her confidence increased. At that instant, she decided that she'd get to practice an hour early, and prove to Teva that she was as good, if not a better musician.
As the dancing wore to an end, Evelynn glanced out the window to see the sun. It looked to be about two o'clock. With a nod at nothing in particular, Evelynn headed off to her room, hoping not to get lost. As she was walking, she ran into Andreana, Galacia's daughter. "You heard about the four o'clock rehearsal today?" At Evelynn's surprised nod, she smiled and walked away quickly. Evelynn walked quickly to her room from there, arriving at her room with only one wrong turn in only a few minutes. Evelynn quickly took a bath, washing away the nervousness or the morning, and the exertions of both the social situations and the dancing.
Feeling refreshed, she climbed out of the tub and toweled off with one of the soft towels she brought from home. When she was dry, Evelynn put on her second best set of white robes, settling the medallion on her chest with a sense of pride. Though it could have just been the warm feeling people tend to get after a relaxing bath, she could've sworn the medallion gave her a slight feeling of warmth as it settled over dress. She smiled, because whichever it was, she enjoyed the sensation.
Tying her hair up so that it would not get her new robes went, Evelynn left her room for the chapel. Again, she found it with no trouble. She found that there was no one else in the chapel yet. She sighed with relief. Maybe she'd read Teva wrong, and the girl had been telling the truth! She decided to wait for two hours, though, because if the choir hadn't been early, it was possible that they were going to rehearse at five rather than three.
An hour went by fairly quickly, and Evelynn passed the time by taking in every detail of the beautiful tapestries in the room. The second hour did not go so quickly. She figured that the other members of the choir would be arriving at the end of that hour, though, so she stayed there. The third hour went even more slowly. Finally, it was after the sixth hour of the afternoon when her ears picked up the delicate tread of Elven feet on the floor outside. She rushed to the door.
"Revered Mother!" She was surprised, since Galacia was not involved with the choir at all.
"Sister Evelynn, what are you doing here? How long have you been here?" Galacia noted the wrinkles on her robe from first sitting for an hour, then pacing.
"I'm waiting for the choir, Mother. Teva and Andreana told me that they were rehearsing today." She kept her voice neutral, though she was worn out from waiting all afternoon.
Galacia shook her head disapprovingly. "Many of the older children of the choir take it upon themselves to test the new recruits by playing these kind of tricks on the new ones like you. Don't take it personally, they do it to everyone. There will be repercussions, however, do not doubt it." The older cleric's mouth formed a thin, stern line on her face.
At what she said, Evelynn jumped. "Oh, Mother, please don't tell them off for this. They'll think I told on them, and then I'll never be able to gain their respect."
Galacia nodded, and Evelynn realized that in her own way, Galacia had been testing her as well. "That is true. It will be as you say, but I will remember who it was, and watch to be sure they don't bother you more than is necessary. Practice really starts an hour before the morning service, and what music you don't know yet will be taught at the afternoon rehearsal, at two. Now, you should really go to dinner. Go on." She made a shooing motion with her hand, and Evelynn went off.
As she walked towards the dining hall, Evelynn realized that despite her afternoon of seclusion, boredom, and stress, she was not hungry in the least. She was reminded once again of the cruelties of her fellow elves, and why she'd always preferred solitude, or Ramalad's company, to that of her peers. One thing she could never understand was how the chosen people of good could be so petty. She figured that it was the way the most beautiful apples always have rotten cores, but it still made little sense.
When she got to the dining hall, she took a few pieces of fruit, and looked for a table. The one where she'd been sitting since the beginning of the week was unoccupied as always, so she went there to sit. On her way, she noted that the hot chocolate stand was still there, and decided that this was a chocolate moment if ever there was one. She added a mug of the steaming brew to her meal, and went to sit down.
As she slowly ate, she idly wondered why no one else ever sat at her table. It wasn't as though she minded, since it allowed her to continue to avoid social situations, but she still wondered. The table was perfectly normal, and save for it being in the most isolated corner, had no downsides whatsoever. However, even she'd started to notice the odd looks people gave her after a few days when she sat there. After a few more minutes of silent contemplation, she drained her mug and got up to go back to her rooms.
Evelynn walked back towards her room, no longer bothering to concentrate on where she was going. She was thinking of other things, and when she thought she saw a flash of grey robes, she immediately, unthinkingly followed. She had been wanting to talk to that old man again, and because of that didn't pay attention to where she was walking. She walked more quickly now, wondering how such an old man could move so quickly. As she reached the end of that hallway, she saw the flash again turning into another corridor. As she sped up even more, trying very hard to move quickly without being unladylike, Fizban turned around and winked at her.
Finally, she reached the hallway where she'd seen him and turned into it. She looked around in shock. The old man was nowhere in sight, and the corridor led to a dead end. Still not quite realizing where she was, she moved deeper into the hall to see if he was using that cloaking spell again to stay hidden in the shadows. Suddenly, a door, the only one she could see in the hall, opened into her face. She took a leap back as the door nearly hit her.
As the occupant of the room walked out, Evelynn took another step back. The man was wearing robes so dark they seemed to leech all of the ambient light out of the hallway. She looked around, realizing that her wanderings had brought her in front of the quarters of the mage that Galacia was so afraid of. She was paralyzed in fear and shock for a second, and that was all it took for the mage, still deeply entranced in some spellbook, to collide with her.
Evelynn squeaked in fright as he turned his eyes to her. However, when she saw his face, a young face of a perfectly normal human, her fear of the unknown turned to righteous indignation. "Excuse you!" Her voice was sharp, biting.
"Actually," the young man's voice was soft, deadly. "I believe it is you who should apologize, as it was you who were standing outside of my door." He looked down slightly to meet Evelynn's gaze, his eyes an icy blue.
Though rather intimidated by this avatar of evil, Evelynn would not let herself turn away. She was a cleric, and as such had Paladine's protection. She held her head proudly. Much as she wanted to smack him for insolence, it was not seemly for a cleric to do so, she reminded herself. "As you wish." Her voice was acidic, and her eyes flashed with a god's anger. She turned on her heel and stomped off to her room.
The mage walked to dinner, feeling slightly disconcerted. He took a plate of food, and sat down at his normal table, a corner one half engulfed by shadows. He had spent a very successful day deciphering a dificult spell, and then one little cleric had to make him feel completely baffled and idiotic. He was not used to feeling the fool, and she certainly did that to him.
He replayed the whole scene in his head. At first, the girl seemed terrified of him, but then she almost seemed to be flirting. With him! Even before he donned the black robes, the mage had never been popular with women. He shook his head, and tried to shove this mystery about women until another time. Hopefully, a time when he wasn't close to learning a spell that would drain someone's soul out through a bloodstone. With that pleasing thought, he had no problem going back to his spellbook as he ate in silence.
Evelynn got back to her room, head full of confusing thoughts. The way her teachers made it out to be, evil was either too beautiful or too hideous to exist. Either way, evil would seduce you and trap you. Both would as soon kill you as look at you. The young mage, however, was not either of those dangerous extremes, and seemed almost nice in a sarcastic kind of way. His hair was a wavy brown, and his eyes one of the most pure shades of icy blue that Evelynn had ever seen. She found herself admiring his looks and his volatile temper despite herself.
Suddenly, Evelynn chided herself. She was acting like a lovesick child, not even out of her forties! 'Almost nice, in a sarcastic way?' She shook her head. She was not going to associate with people of his type, no matter how innocent they seemed. However, as sleep overcame her, Evelynn heard Fizban's voice again, making that cryptic statement of the week before. "Not all of those who wear black are truly bad."
A/N: Wow, sorry for that delay. More from a burst of inspiration on everything else than a lack of it on this. Just wanted to say: in this chapter, and in all of those following, even though I took the basis from Daughter of Prophesy, there are a few discrepancies. This version is the more correct one, and I'll try to go back and fix the other when I have a chance. Also, the part about the cleric's initiation was completely made up, so if anyone knows differently as a fact, please tell me! Now, reviews are wonderful tools for improving a writer's writing, and (possibly) even more importantly getting her to update again quickly. So, you know the drill – push the button, and drop me a note! All comments are welcome, though I'll sic Fie on any flamers!
Guan: I tried to make it obvious, I was just making sure, since I have a tendency to write things I think are obvious, and then no one picks up on my little hints! Glad you enjoyed, and hope you like this chapter too.
Petalwing: Glad you liked how I put in Fizban. Also, thanks for the praise on the descriptions of Istar. I was worried that it was going to have some fatal flaw or something like that! As to Ramalad's reappearance, truth to be told, I don't even know. Translation: Fie has not yet deigned to tell me whether or not she ever reappears. Thanks for reading and leaving such a nice review, as always.
Jade Limill: Glad you like Fizban's entrance. I was surprised – all of my reviewers seemed to really like that! As to more kender – sorry, this is pre-Cataclysm. If you'll remember, in Legends, the reason it was so bad that Tas went back in time was that there were no kender back then. I'll keep the request in mind for my other stories, though. Thanks for reviewing, as always!