Desiderius Erasmus
It was morning once more and we had gathered for breakfast. I’d never really thought about it but the morning as the sun rose around 6 in the morning every day and we lost the light every day around 6 in the evening. I guessed this must mean we lived on the celestial equator of the world. The fact that we had 16 months but as near enough as I could tell 24 hours to the day meant that the world must be spinning a little quicker or had a slower orbit around the sun. I was not sure how to work that out exactly. I had learned a lot in my life but how to calculate the paths of the stars and complicated astronomical calculations were not something I had ever looked at before.
It was moments like this that I missed having the internet to look up how to do so. Recall helped immensely in remembering esoteric information I had once seen but if I had never looked at it before I had no way of remembering it without working it out for myself once more. My knowledge was enough for me to realise that we must be close to if not directly on the equator and wonder why I had never noticed it before. In retrospect, it also meant that any solstice celebration was no different to any other day with us living perpetually in an eternal equinox on the equator.
This fact had never impacted on our lives before. However, the fact that we were the furthest western island on the edge of the known compass continent. Added to the fact that we were on the equator meant that for a religion based all on cardinal gods, the light of the lodestar against the darkness of the lodestone meant that Wester Ponente was actually on the path of the pilgrims. Our place on the path all added up to a surprise visit. Or rather a visit that would be a surprise to some and not so to others.
An Archbishop of the Lodestar church was taking a sabbatical to circumnavigate the compass kingdom and had decided to visit our humble island on his journey before attempting to be raised to either an ordinal or a cardinal. His ascension was not guaranteed especially as there were only the four cardinal positions available in the whole church. Though there were also four ordinal positions as well but that was not a lot considering that the church covered the entire continent. It was difficult to accurately describe the Lodestar church, partly because we had never really attended, but also because it seemed to be a mix of so many different religions to me. As far as I could tell it seemed to be a mix of Catholicism, Mysticism and Buddhism with a ‘divine’ mandate to protect those who lived in the light of the lodestar from the creatures that might come out of the dark depths of the lodestone. It focused on helping the people to live balanced lives in the light of the Lodestar.
Our only warning of the event was a messenger pigeon that had been sent by the mayor of Wester Levante last week leaving us a short time to prepare for his arrival. If there was any consolation in his unexpected and unannounced arrival was that due to the petty politics between our family and the current priest meant our local priest Aravan would be completely uninformed of the Bishop’s imminent arrival. I took an inordinate amount of glee at imaging his face when the bishop arrived, and it was one of the few pleasures that would hopefully keep my spirits buoyed because his arrival would cause some personal problems for me.
Our peaceful morning breakfast with us waited on by Cora and Baldric had been broken by the message Des and Sinis delivered. They had all left to give us privacy for our discussion. They were trusted with a lot even though they were not family, but not everything by a long shot.
“The Light of the Lodestar, his four Cardinals and Ordinals will all be able to see your status.” Lady Acacia had informed us upon receiving the news that morning. The information once more changed my understanding of the world. I had grown used to the idea that you could not truly know a person’s strengths just by looking at them. It seemed that for some that was not the case.
“That is a given, what is questionable is whether this Archbishop will be able to do so too. Some can and some cannot but the fact that he is attempting his Compass Continent Circumnavigation with the hopes of being elevated does not bode well for us.” She continued. The message that the pigeon had brought was not long by any length but it had given us the following information. “Bishop Grigori aspiring Cardinal and entourage. Compass circumnavigation on Pilgrim Path, arrival 7 days.”
But she was not finished. “Generally, half of Archbishops can see or get a sense of your status while maybe a quarter of bishops. I have not brought this up before because nearly all priests have not raised themselves sufficiently high enough in either skills or levels to be able to do so and certainly not Aravan.” She said dismissively.
“However, as an Archbishop, Grigori could be anywhere between level 30 and level 70 and very possibly has such an ability with or without holding a shard of the Lodestar.” She cautioned.
“How do you know his approximate level without meeting him?” I asked, everyone had been so secretive about their levels.
“The traditional progress within the ranks of the Lodestar church is to first take up the métier acolyte which is much like a monk. You forsake worldly possessions and leave your old life behind you. Now if you take this route straight out of childhood then . . .” she paused, “It is easier to draw out a table for you than to explain.” And she quickly drafted a table explaining the process of promotion within the church.
As part of the laity or as a child - up to level 10
As an acolyte – up to level 20
As a deacon – up to level 30
As a priest – up to level 40
As a Bishop – up to level 50
As an Archbishop – up to level 60
As an Ordinal – up to level 70
As a Cardinal – up to level 80
While the Light of the Lodestar is rumoured to be approaching Level 100.
“Now you do not have to wait to get to level 10 before taking up a new métier but you will not be able to return to your old one. So, the standard advice within the church hierarchy is to aim for level 10 before taking on a new métier. There is obviously also politics involved that might not allow you take up or progress your new profession but on average that is their progression. Furthermore, there is no reason that you cannot have a métier prior to joining the Lodestar Church as an Acolyte in the first place. I fully expect him to be around Level 60 and capable of wielding the skill, Inspect, Observe or Analyse. This could be a problem for at least two of you.” She looked pointedly at myself and surprisingly enough Grandfather.
“I’ll say he’ll take one look at Kai and shout monster.” Aleera tried to make light of the situation. “Why would this be a problem for Grandfather?” she asked after she noticed Lady Acacia looking at him as much as at me.
“For much the same reason.” Lady Acacia replied without explaining. Grandfather seemed grateful for her silence on the matter.
“Why do they even have these skills?” she continued to quiz our resident expert on the compass continent.
“Ostensibly they have them to be able to help balance the citizens of the compass continent. In practice, it is an extra layer of power that the church can use to balance out the power of the nobility. It is harder to be duplicitous when they can see your secrets. It keeps them a little more honest in their dealings. But it is a skill exercised cautiously and judiciously.” She answered. “However this far from the continent there are far fewer witnesses to check that he will observe the civilities of the Compass Civilisations.”
“I doubt the nobles are happy about that check on them. How do Bishops get the skills and can we?” Aleera asked intrigued by the possibility of being able to judge a merchant’s levels and skills before she attempted to fleece them.
“Indeed, nobles are not generally known to allow an advantage for others that they cannot monopolize for themselves. Ultimately this is the reason for their chapels. It is not an unexpected case of faith in the Lodestar but rather the benefits that a shard can give them in training their scion’s skills. This is the main reason I was hoping to get our own chapel built here although it appears we have need of it far sooner than I suspected.” She frowned. Perhaps frustrated that she had not predicted our current predicament sooner and planned appropriately for it.
“How would a chapel and a shard help us?” Aleera asked confused, though she was not the only one.
“The shards are how the bishops gain the skills.” She answered succinctly.
“What?” I asked surprised. We had not received such a skill from visiting the Lodestar although I had faced more than enough changes during my last visit.
Lady Acacia took a rather large breath before beginning to explain, “When you selected your métier, the very first thing that will have happened on touching the shard of the Lodestar will have been a judgement of your essence. An assessment of who you are in the Light of the Lodestar. It was precisely this assessment that caused your recalibration in my opinion, although as I said previously, I have never heard of such a thing happening before. In the light of the Lodestar your traits you were deemed to be no longer merely human. Now a while the Light lands on us all equally with a shard of the Lodestar you can see much more than our surface reflection, you can see far more of everything, you can see deeper into reality.”
We all sat in silence listening to her revelations. This it appeared was not common knowledge, or at least not to those in my family who sat still in rapt attention.
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“This was the main reason why I wished us to have an uninterrupted and private selection of our métiers. While you were all focused on choosing your métiers it would have been possible for a priest to use that moment to see your status provided he or she were to be touching both you and the shard of the lodestar at the same time.” She finally explained and the reason for her blocking the priest seemed suddenly more sensible than merely catering to the understandable aversion my mother had to the man.
“This is also why nobles build their chapels. By having access to their own shard of the Lodestar they can practice holding both servants and items in contact with the Lodestar until finally through repeated practice they are able to learn to inspect them, ultimately gain the skill and one day use the skill independently without a shard. This is also the same method for how the bishops over time and the many instances of supporting children and adults in the selection of their métiers gain the skill.”
We winced in realization that a Bishop on the edge or becoming an Ordinal or Cardinal would have more than likely have the skill. While Mother seemed to have her own epiphany that Aravan would have been able to see our own status’ naked in the light of the Lodestar had he been able to gain access. It also for me at least was a pleasant surprise that Lady Acacia had respected our own privacy in the matter and had not pushed to see or rather confirm what she had already been told about our statuses. Despite my less than complete honesty on the matter it was nice not to have been called out on it.
However, she was not finished, “The solution would have been to build our own chapel, gain our own shard of the Lodestar for the Silversea house, learn one of the three skills, then and only then would we have been able to attempt to learn either an obfuscation, counterfeit or substitute skill to hide, conceal or falsify your status to the outside observation the Archbishop is probably capable of.” She delivered.
We sat in silence considering the problem. Aleera and I were too surprised by the new information to be able to think of a way out other than hiding once more. But that was not really an option anymore now that we were Lord and Lady Silversea. Father had settled for squeezing my mother’s hand in support or either her or himself. Even Lady Acacia seemed to be looking up to the ceiling as if searching for inspiration to our situation.
In the end, it was Grandfather who broke the silence shrugging, “Seems simple enough to me. We simply have to steal our own shard of the Lodestar, so these two can gain the skill. It is less of a problem for Aleera true but Kai should pick up the skill easily enough and I can just stay out of sight. I mean he can probably pick up the skill in a day if he puts his mind to it I doubt it will take the week it will be before the Archbishop arrives.” He said his piece and waited for us to respond.
Lady Acacia gasped at his audacity but didn’t decry the idea immediately. Mother looked thoughtful, while Aleera and I looked at one another to check that we had both heard Grandfather suggest we steal the solution. Many of the skills we had learned from him were perhaps a little dubious in their nature and the method in which he had nurtured them, but he had never had us attempt anything more than mild shenanigans. What he was suggesting now was a step further than anything that had come up before, it was crossing a line, it would be straightforward theft.
“We’re not stealing from the faith.” Father’s objection was surprisingly vehement and he had let go of mother’s hand to make his point. But he was alone in making it.
“I’m not saying we have to take the whole thing. A slice of a shard should be enough, right?” he turned to Lady Acacia for her to confirm his idea. To which she merely nodded her head perhaps equally surprised that she too was contemplating the idea.
“We can’t steal for the guardians of the light the defenders of the Lodestone. That would . . . just be wrong.” Father seemed to struggle for words and be appalled at what he seemed to consider immoral behaviour on our part.
I had never realized that he was so religious. It was not part of what we did as a family but I supposed that if my parent’s objection was more to the current priest rather than the institution then that could explain a stronger held faith by my father than I had noticed or realized. Some beliefs were held more firmly than others. My parents might project a united front for the majority of the time but they were individuals too.
“Don’t think of it as stealing Kaius. Think of it as spreading the faith. I will only take a slice and they grow back don’t they? In time Wester Ponente will have two Lodestars instead of one!” He justified his solution beyond the solution it might provide us.
“This is more than just us . . . the light of the lodestar shelters all of us.” Fathe seemed unsure how to argue his position and returned to quoting catechisms.
“I’ve sheltered those of us living here far more than this branch of the church ever has.” Grandfather muttered under his breath. “I’d consider it fair payment for services rendered.”
Father unlike Lady Acacia and I could not tell precisely what Grandfather had muttered but knew that he had not convinced anyone by his objection, “Would it really be unharmed Lady Acacia?” he turned to her for wisdom on the matter.
“The Lodestar would be unharmed by taking a slice off it, indeed this is how new branches of the church are formed.” She answered Kaius before adding to Grandfather, “Provided your father-in-law is suitably careful in collecting it.” Then when she saw the excitement on our mother’s face she continued to caution, “Though collecting and keeping the slice functional is a little more complicated than Arawn is implying it might be.”
“What are the complications? Seems simple to me, I take a knife, take a slice of the shard and bring it back here for you to use to learn your skills.” Grandfather shrugged. He appeared to be happy to solve yet another situation with the judicious application of a knife.
“While I am sure that with the appropriate skills a knife would a suitable enough instrument in removing a slice from the shard of the Lodestar. No, the complication is that when spreading the Light of the Lodestar the shards that are cut to form the seeds of a new Lodestar must be constantly supplied with Mana before being located once more on either a leyline or fount or simply just in an area high in mana density. If the seed of the Lodestar loses mana for even a single moment it becomes merely an inert crystal with the Light of the Lodestar lost forever. How do you expect to accomplish that?” she asked pointedly.
“I can be exceptionally quick when required to be. Are you implying that I don’t have enough mana for the task?” he asked and it was difficult to tell if he was actually offended or merely playing the part he had come to inhabit after years in the role as the gruff old grandfather.
It was Mother who came to mediate between the two. Not that they required particular mediation it was more to continue the conversation and possible prevent any more objections from Father. “Assuming that Grandfather can take a slice of the Lodestar unnoticed and without causing any harm to the original or any people.” She placated Kaius and added the qualifier to ensure Grandfather did not go overboard. “Then the next step is keeping it supplied with sufficient mana while it is moved. Yes?” she turned to Lady Acacia for confirmation.
“Yes.” She confirmed.
“Then we will accompany him in this heist.” She added determinedly.
“No, no! No that is not going to work.” Grandfather objected immediately. The geas might have been removed or ameliorated but a lifetime of protecting her meant that he still preferred her out of harm’s way or at least any harm that he was not directly in control of. “I can get myself in and out unseen and take a slice unnoticed. I am not going to be able to do that if I am dragging the entire Silversea family with me. I could manage maybe one person and that is if I am carrying them but no more than that. I am going to be moving at speed and my skills will only extend so far beyond my body to include my clothes and maybe a packback but that is it.” He continued to object.
But mother was not to be denied, “Very well then we will wait in the boat ready to supply mana for its journey to the island while you carry Kai to provide the mana for when it is first removed.” The possible threat to our family had galvanized mother into organizing the heist. We were after all still her children and anything that might be a threat to our futures was fiercely fought against.
“Putting aside the completely sacrilegious nature of the act we are contemplating. That will still leave us sitting on our island having to supply mana to our sliver of the Lodestar day in and day out. Where are you planning to place it? We have no chapel built or area high in mana here.” He had not quite given up on convincing us that this was a bad idea.
“The Blue grotto would be good. We are constantly spending our mana there in order to raise the pearls wouldn’t there be enough for the slice of the Lodestar to grow too?” I asked unsure if that would be enough to keep the light of the Lodestar alive and growing.
“No that would not be enough for the seed of the Lodestar to live let alone grow. Remember the majority of your mana is going to the pearls and they keep it to grow. No actually I believe I might have a solution to where it should be placed.” She answered seemingly surprised with herself to also be a providing a hiding place to facilitate our theft.
“You do?” Aleera asked the question I was sure we were all interested in hearing answered.
“The Lodestar Church might cover the Compass Kingdoms. But although wide in its spread and devotion that does not mean that each race celebrates it equally. We have no churches within the Elvish woods but that does not leave us without the Light of the Lodestar. Our shards of the Lodestar are hidden within or below the trees we live on and there is a reason for this.” She once more left us in suspense as she took another sip of her morning tea.
Aleera despite her levels in etiquette was too frustrated to wait patiently and honestly neither was I. “And?” we chimed in together.
“And . . .” she paused once more before relieving our frustration with an answer. “Your garden is not growing so spectacularly simply due to your large infusions of mana and fine fertilizer. Wanda’s skills are helping certainly but the one of the main supports for your garden is the tree. An Elendil tree is not called elf friend for only the leafy shade it provides us or the fine wood we can sing from it. No, the Elendil tree can both absorb and produce mana, it both gives to and takes from its surroundings. Its roots have been digging deeper into the mountain with each passing day searching for the ley lines that run through the earth as well as producing its own mana which due to the nature of the caldera stays within your garden nurturing your fruit, vegetables and herbs with greater growth than they would have achieved with just your infusions of mana.”
“It is?” Aleera asked excitedly.
“Of course. I was not merely suggesting you plant it to bring a little piece of home with me.” She answered.
“There we have a place to locate the shard. All the elements are there. The Thief and support,” she nodded to Grandfather and I, “The ship to sail away in and more support,” she gestured to Father, Aleera and herself, “Finally a place to hide our stolen item?” She inquired of Lady Acacia double checking that the tree suggested would suffice.
“It will take me a day to sing a heart grotto beneath the Elendil tree but you and Kai could help me in hollowing out some of the stone to speed up the process.” She explained the next steps we would need to take.
“Then it is decided, we will be stealing our own shard of the Lodestar tomorrow night.” Mother declared for the family.