CHAPTER 2

Date: February 8th, 110 P.A. / 2114 C.E.

The girl strode carefully behind him, her arms slightly out at her sides, her eyes on the ground before her. Walking was becoming easier, yet her legs still struggled on steps, her feet slapping down onto the cold stone floor. When she seemed to get her bearings straight, she lifted her eyes, which darted about the hallways she and her escort weaved through. There were such wonderful tapestries and tiny ceramic art pieces…sculptures of seraphic figures, wings or talons outstretched, tails unbelievably long and whip like, coiling about the creatures. The fabrics showed strange scenes, of storms of monstrous proportions, of oddly shaped mountains which perfect square patterns of ice about their faces. Shadows undulated around the edges, and occasionally she spied a figure of black light resembling that of the god ahead of her.

He had called her Arei. She…liked the word. It flowed like the wind through the open windows that allowed the light of the…sun, it was, into the halls. Warm and sensual on her god's tongue. His voice was so strange…ringing in her mind instead of her ears. Somehow, it was soothing…no increasing the headache that had been pounding on her brain since she had risen.

The priestess took a moment to pause at one of the windows, shielding her eyes to the glare, gazing out upon the strange city below them. A flock of birds flew by, their feathers beating the air like her own quickened heartbeat. She stumbled back and raced towards God Abaddon, nausea clutching her. Yet her remained steady, so she trailed behind him, listening to his words, chirping to them….

"As my High Priestess, your duty is to attend to me, to be my voice in the Council, and to be a figurehead for the people. In turn, you shall have your Handmaidens to prepare you for the various tasks we will be needed to complete—ceremonies and the like. Your servants are to be loyal to you and follow your commands. If you told them to drown themselves in the sea, they would do it, so attempt to curb my desire you may have to abuse your power, as it may lead to—"

"Drown? What is 'drown'?"

They stopped walking. She did not comprehend most of what he was saying, but she obviously meant this question. Abaddon was deeply surprised—after all, on many basic cases a new priestess could recall such…but this creature did not know what drowning was.

"It is death by the inhalation of water instead of air."

The girl only seemed more perplexed. "Death?"

How was he to explain it to her? It was imperative she knew, for her own safety. He sighed. "Death is an eternal sleep. You can no longer interact with others…you have no senses functioning. It is nothingness…you simply cease to be. Cease to live."

Her eyes widened…the idea seemed to disturb her. He let the idea sink in, seeing her tremble. They were close to the stairs that led into the grand hall. He decided that now would be the best to give her his warnings.

"If you want to avoid dying, then there are some procedures you must follow. Yes, though you have great power now, there are those who would want to use you to control that…or, if you don't cooperate, deprive you of it so as to tempt the next priestess. First, eat and drink nothing that has not been checked by myself or those loyal to you. Second, go nowhere outside the Temple grounds and avoid being led anywhere to meet with someone—even if it is supposedly with me. Third, do not climb into ceremonial baths without checking the waters first—I shall show you how later. And last, do NOT allow yourself to be touched by anyone. Rumors of scandalous behavior can be just as dangerous as a live explosive.

"So be cautious, High Priestess, and trust no one, save myself…and you may just live."

He turned away from her, beginning to walk away…sensing her distress at what she had just been told. Nervousness clung to her as she caught up, nearly stumbling as she did so, her shakiness not helping her in walking. Abaddon slowly led her into the grand hall, pushing away the curtains with his telekinesis as he went. Arei's eyes grew wide with surprise, but it was quickly replaced by timid nervousness at the scene before her.

A dozen wizened elderly men in matching pale grey robes, woven with violet scrawl of some long dead dialect, stood about a massive mahogany table, all peering at them, at HER, as they stepped into the vast, majestic room. Servants, nobles, peasants, merchants, and numerous other spectators crowded about the edges of the room, all cramming their necks to see her. She hid from them in a scared, shy manner, trying to stay in God Abaddon's shadow. But he shifted aside, sitting upon the marble throne on the dais they stood upon, motioning her to sit on the rug at the highest step, the one nearest to him. She obeyed, her eyes roaming to anywhere but all the murmuring people who now bowed with both respect and fear to their god and his chosen.

The room, the size of an ancient-times football field, was made of mostly salt and pepper quartz, one end the common entrance, holding large iron-wrought doors that took over a dozen men to open, the other their entrance and elevated platform that overlooked the rest of the room. Like the steps that led down to the floor, the other edges that bordered the walls had a couple short steps to lead to the floor. Various doorways, standing open now, led to different parts of the Temple, on either side of the room. Like them, tall pillars, etched with feathery designs, supported the hefty, painted ceiling above them, and the balconies that overlooked the room.

"There are scribes up there who shall write down the transpiring events of this formal occasion. Your name will shortly be added to the list of the priestess who came before you."

She heard the words distantly. The ceiling attracted her eyes. It was like the night sky…a brilliant crystal moon at its center, the star constellations clustered around it. The dark firmament swirled with a dark rainbow of colors. Black opal and diamond, she would later learn. Worth more than all of the kingdom's income combined in a decade.

A purposeful cough alerted her to the present. A young man, his hair of chestnut, his eyes hazel-green, stood before them, bowing low, and glancing at his God, he asked Abaddon if this was the woman that he had chosen. Abaddon have a curt nod, placing his tail to the small of Arei's back. The touch reassured and soothed her.

The young man gave her a friendly smile. "Well then, my lady, my name is Byron. I am your Attendant. Now tell me, by what name do you go by?"

Meekly, the girl said, "Arei." But she immediately liked him. He seemed king, caring…and while Abaddon was the one she clung to, he was blunt and cool. She might find a friend in Byron. Giving her another smile, his eyes twinkling, he bowed again, and turned to face the audience, his mood sobering, his voice becoming strangely powerful and somber as he announced, "God Abaddon, the seraph of death and rebirth, of the archive of souls, has chosen his new High Priestess. The new empress of our lands, hollowed by the will of God Abaddon, is named Arei, the Twenty-Seventh Rule of our Holy Order, and…." Byron continued with what sounded like a well-practiced speech.

"This is all a formality, High Priestess. Suffice to say you are the second to no on in this country, save to me. You have the power to do what you wish—you need not do what anyone else suggests of you. So do not bow back to him, as I'm sure you think would be respectful. Just nod and smile a bit. Then we may leave."

Byron continued to ramble, and one by one, the priests came before her and bowed, swearing their allegiance to their new superior. Essentially the crowd of priests ran the financial aspects of the country, of the military and religious divisions, and ran the country in governmental aspect with a religious spin. They were equal to the High Priestess only in those ways—the final decision making went to her God—essentially to her to share with them. She was ranked higher, but it depended on the situation of who had the greater amount of power—or really, if truth be told, in interest.

But, as Abaddon explained to her, she was to especially avoid them, save in business matters that were unavoidable. Unlike the long line of Attendants, the occupation passed down from father to son in a single-family line, the Priests were elected to office, and highly ambitious, power-hungry social-ranking climbers. It was rare for them to like a Priestess, as they saw her as a step between them and true divine power. Decency was not common among them, or morality. If they could not use her, they'd try everything they could to dispose of her. As assassination was undesirable, he calmly suggested she avoid them, or be betrayed. She took the message and their faces to heart.

Soon enough, her stomach was growling. As the ceremony drew to a close, Abaddon stood suddenly, with a glance indicting that Arei stand. Telling her she was to come with him, not to linger, having no need to get to know anyone just yet before the system was instilled in her, or cause herself embarrassment, he led her away. Later she would learn that only when they left could the others go as they pleased.

"Let us get something to eat, shall we?"

The faint scowl that appeared on her face as he'd instructed her against social misdemeanors faded as the prospect of food entered her mind.

She must indeed be hungry.