The next
two days Tolian saw only his two nurses, who were forbidden to talk to him and
those few people who moved in the city-like structure of the lower levels of
the temple. And, of course, the High
Druidess paid him a visit. She had
stopped by briefly, to assure him of Brythia’s release, as she was still
forbidden to go near Tolian until after the Ritual. He had hoped that at least they would have
had the decency, under the circumstances, to allow them a little time together
before... He tried not to think about
it. He had essentially shut down, from
the pain of his self-inflicted injury, from the psychological stress, from two
weeks of being in a coma. For, indeed,
Magara had advised him that more than a fortnight had passed since the Equinox.
He ate
some, slept a great deal, and brooded.
Before, it seemed possible to him, it was the morning before the new
moon. He was taken and led down through
the passages of the temple. In the main
corridor, they assembled into a sizeable procession. Scores of white-clad druidesses, marched
around him. No men, he noticed. Magara had told him that all of the male
druids had been stationed in the forest during the course of the Ritual, lest
the male energy spoil their work.
Tolian felt
rather self-conscious as he was still garbed in his bed clothes, but for the
most part he was simply numb. He viewed
the parade dispassionately. He felt
certain that Brythia had not been permitted to attend. They walked a distance through the courtyards
and gardens that comprised the temple grounds.
He realized, regretfully, that they had not given him any
breakfast. His stomach growled.
The
procession moved to a great open-air structure, a giant stone circle with huge
monoliths marking key points. A stone
altar large enough to hold two men sat in the middle of the circle. Beneath the altar steps led down to what,
Tolian could not discern. As he neared
the circle he saw Magara standing with twelve other women, in a crescent shape
opened towards him. By the time they
arrived there must have been over three hundred women escorting Tolian to the
standing stones. They stopped just short
of the stones which clearly indicated an entrance way.
Magara
addressed him in ritual formality, “Tolian, Son of Tolris, why seeketh thou
entrance to this place?”
Amristia,
who stood beside him, whispered in his ear, “You’re supposed to say `I seek my
destiny, I seek to be made prepared to be Champion’. Go, on say it.”
Tolian
sighed, and spoke, “I seek my...destiny.
I wish to be prepared...” He
couldn’t say it.
“To be
champion,” Amristia offered.
Magara
glared at him.
“To be
Champion,” Tolian said.
The woman
standing to Magara’s left addressed him, “Doth thou willfully seek entrance to
the Sisterhood of Woman, towards that end?”
Amristia,
again prompted him, “I do truly seek to enter the Sisterhood of Woman.”
He repeated
her words, nervously and with great hesitation.
They seemed unreal as they slipped over his tongue.
“I do truly
seek entrance to the Sisterhood of Woman”
With that
they took him and pulled off his bed robe, leaving him naked in the dim morning
light. He shook his head in
embarrassment, though he saw that several of the women seemed quite
appreciative of his body. Thirteen
buckets of seawater were dumped over the prince’s head.
One of the
women standing with Magara drew a five-pointed star in the air before
Tolian. She spoke in some arcane
language Tolian could not comprehend.
Tolian
shuddered slightly as they led him through the entrance into the circle.
The throng
of assembled druidesses began to sing with spectacular complexity and
harmony. He could not comprehend the
words of their melody, but it struck him as joyous and calming. Despite himself, he could not help but relax
a little. He was led up to the high
stone altar, just as the sun was rising, crowning one of the large standing
monolith stones positioned in the East.
Amristia,
who apparently was given the task of guiding him through the ritual, whispered
into his ear, “Don’t worry, we’re going to give you a potion to drink that will
make you sleep through the bulk of the ritual.
It will produce an unconsciousness, though one in which you will still
be able to perform basic functions as required.”
Tolian grew
curious, “How long is this going to take, anyway?”
“From the
New to the Full Moon. Thirteen Days. If this were a Lybric year, we’d be
finished on your birthday.”
The
druidesses were moving about the circle in complex configurations. Their song continued building as a choral
symphony, as Magara approached him bearing a cup in her hands.
She exuded
a cheerful friendliness that Tolian did not appreciate at the moment, “Tolian
of Lorm, Drink of the Waters of Change.”
She offered the cup to him.
He was shook
as he took the cup from her. She looked
deep into his eyes. It was as though her
soul was speaking directly to his. He
stared nervously down into the liquid the cup held. He sniffed it. It stunk .
He swished it around a little.
“Drink it,
Tolian, for Brythia, for the World. We
need your help so desperately. You
really do understand that, child. You
know you do.”
The moment
seemed eternal. He was just standing
there, looking into the cup, afraid as he had never been before in his
life. The druidesses and their song were
a thousand miles away to him. He looked
down past the cup at his strong and well-muscled body. He looked at himself. He wanted to panic, but the calming lyrical
rhapsody broke in on his indecision.
For
Brythia, for the World.
He drank
the potion down in one gulp. His throat
stung as it slid down. His insides felt
as though they were on fire. His head
grew light headed. His vision blurred.
Amristia
said, “Come, Tolian, Follow me.”
She took
his hand and led him around the inside perimeter of the circle. As he walked he grew less and less certain of
where he was and what he was doing.
After going around three times, Amristia positioned Tolian before the
altar again.
Magara
again addressed him, “Tolian, you have been purified. You shall be led into the
womb of the Goddess to await the transforming rays of the Moon, Our Lady of
Change.”
Amristia
was joined by Lira, and together they led him down the steps that descended
below the Altar. The way was lit by tiny
lamps, which glowed with purple light. A
large Stone chamber lay under the circle.
In the center of this there was a pool of water. They helped Tolian into the pool. He floated.
It felt refreshing. He could
barely keep his eyes open, as he watched each of the high council members come
up to him and throw flower petals upon him.
“Sleep my
child,” Magara said, “You shall awaken to a new life. Your destiny awaits you.”
Tolian
could struggle no longer against the powerful urge to sleep. It came upon him and took him deeply in. The song of the druidesses echoing
triumphantly in his head.
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