ALL NOVEL 5: Blind Faith
“She was interesting,” Astrid murmured as the door closed with a quiet bell chime. Adelyn, to Astrid’s disappointment, had seemed really nervous and on guard the entire time. After downing her tea like it was a life-saving elixir, Adelyn had slapped down her payment before almost running away.
It wasn’t quite a run, Astrid would’ve called it a fast walk if anything. Yet, seeing Adelyn’s long, billowing coat disappearing from the cafe windows, Astrid hoped Adelyn would come back one day—and that whatever was making her so nervous and rushed could resolve itself...
Drumming her fingers on the counter, Astrid uncrossed and recrossed her legs. Was it something in the cafe? How could she make the cafe a little more cozy? She didn’t want people stammering, shaking, and sweating anytime they entered the store.
Sipping the tea Valencia had made her, Astrid couldn’t help but think the city seemed... quiet. She hadn’t seen many people walk by—only Adelyn and a few others.
Maybe it was because it was still early? Astrid did remember hearing from Valencia that people in her hometown often lived on their own schedules.
“Bleh...”
Stretching across the counter like a cat, Astrid shelved her thoughts as she averted her eyes from the plants outside. Admiring Valencia who was working away in the kitchen, Astrid let out a long, content sigh.
Valencia always had the same eyebrow furrow when she focused on a task. Yet, every other part of Valencia moved like flowing water. Like an elegant dancer at home on a stage, Valencia glided through the kitchen as she made some pastries and cleaned some pots.
Feeling her heart flutter and mind wander as a faint pink tinge colored her cheeks, Astrid decided to examine the menu while hiding her face behind her tea cup.
On a different note, at least one thing was going well: Valencia’s tea!
Astrid was amazed at the improvement Valencia had made... it was actually drinkable now!
Though Astrid was still a little miffed she had gotten reprimanded by Valencia for healing Adelyn. She only coughed up a little blood! She had to practice to get back to where she was after all! Before her coma she had been getting close to regrowing limbs!
Valencia, contrary to the serene, tea-sipping Astrid though, was boiling with suspicion. She wasn’t stupid. She had done her due diligence during the past week in Marcen’s Cliffs and caught up with the major organizations and their members.
If Adelyn brought back any of the gods behind her, Valencia would have some re-educating to do.
Damn pipsqueaks, always trying to worm their way into her business...
And why did Astrid have no sense of self-preservation...
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---The Church of Eternity---
With a sharp gleam in her eyes, Adelyn’s boots echoed across the vast marble floors. Her previous plain cloak had been changed for a crimson one. Ignoring the gazes peeking and heads bowing towards her, Adelyn stared up at the ceiling as she made her way across the huge central chamber.
Looming far above the ground supported by towering arches were the mosaics depicting the pantheon of gods who governed the church.
With a small sigh of appreciation towards the artists who had painted these mosaics hundreds, if not thousands of years ago, Adelyn looked back ahead of herself and came to a stop in front two rich wood doors.
Pausing to inhale, Adelyn pressed her hands against the double doors. Tensing her body and channeling her powers through her veins, she pushed the doors open, slipping through the crack before letting the doors slam shut behind her once more.
Nodding towards the main altar basking under the morning sun, Adelyn murmured the Church mantra with an amused laugh. “An eternity of belief, an eternity of unity, and an eternity of dominance.”
In all honesty, nobody took the mantra too seriously when it wasn’t an official event. It was a fine line between church and cult after all, and as one of the premier organizations in Marcen’s Cliffs, they tried their best to stay on the Church side.
Walking through grand halls, Adelyn took her time, admiring the new decorations and stained glass windows installed since the last time she had swung by the main headquarters. For Marcen’s Cliffs, a city filled with innovation, the main church always managed to have a unique blend between the traditional ornate and modern futuristic decorations.
Rapping on a sleek silver door, Adelyn walked in with a hand on her chest and her head bowed. “Cardinal of Eternity, Adelyn Schild, greets the respected one.”
“I don’t care about that, only those stupid, lazy old goats do,” the red-haired woman muttered, pushing her glasses farther up her face as she looked up from her desk. “I say it everytime we meet, Schild. Just call me Vera. So what brings you here today?”
“Well, I swung by today because I found some critical information and felt like it was too urgent for a formal report.” Adelyn walked over and sat on one of the chairs in front of Vera’s desk.
Raising her eyebrow, Vera let out a small “Oh?” while motioning for Adelyn to continue.
“I went to visit a tea shop this morning,” Adelyn began, getting a surprised eyebrow raise from Vera, “And it was run by two deities. Which I know is... kinda common, not super, super urgent.”
“Yeah, they’ll probably get registered in the city’s system soon if they haven’t already,” Vera shrugged. “I’m sure you wouldn’t come to just tell me that. So what was special about the two?”
“Well, one of the deities was strong to a point where I couldn’t distinguish her strength at all.” Adelyn tapped her chin. “Which is quite rare for an unaffiliated deity.”
“True... especially so since you’re a cardinal...” Vera swiped her hand, bringing up an empty virtual note projection on her desk before entering Adelyn’s words using her keyboard. “Anything else?”
“And... yeah...” Adelyn sighed, knowing she was about to start a commotion, “The other deity, though weak right now... has healing powers. Very potent ones too. It functioned through contact alone, required no chant, and seemed to have no real limitations potential wise.”
Seeing Vera’s hands freeze and feeling her divinity become unsettled, Adelyn leaned back with a knowing chuckle. Pushing her hair out of her face, Adelyn reached over and expanded the projection just a touch. “You’re going to need it. The healing deity's name is Astrid. She’s a real ball of sunshine, not going to lie. Getting her to join us would make our lives a lot easier.”
“Truly,” Vera agreed, her slender hands blazing across the keyboard as the virtual note was filled with everything Adelyn reported. “More healing would definitely help us out. I’m glad you came to let me know. Anything else you want to mention?”
Getting handed a pen and a sticky note for the address of the tea shop, Adelyn added, “I’m pretty sure Astrid is recovering from something right now. She seems way more familiar with her healing powers than her skills—and divine energy—suggest. Of course, maybe that just means her potential is limited, but my intuition tells me otherwise.”
With the deluge of information and intuitional insight Adelyn was giving, Vera decided to scrap the virtual note and began transferring everything to an official report window. “What else? I can tell there’s something major you still have to say.”
“Well...” Adelyn scratched the back of her head, coughing a little after Vera’s eyes pierced through her, “I’m also pretty sure that her powers being contact-only is a just-right-now type of thing. A golden light emanates when Astrid uses her power. I’m pretty sure that’s the medium through which the healing is done. She could probably become our next saint and central figurehead if we manage to recruit her. She could recreate the miracles described in the past.”
Letting out a long sigh, Vera took off her glasses and massaged the bridge of her nose. “It’s too early for this... A divine healer though... the offer is too tempting to just wait on... We wouldn’t have to worry about our saint dying of old age then.”
Adding a multitude of stars and underlines to both the tea shop address and Astrid’s name, Vera pushed herself up, straightened her clothes, and put on her glasses. “Thanks for the info, I’ll go talk to the other deities, we’ll put together a group of us to try and invite those two, you can return to your work. Also, don’t fret, as the goddess of fealty, I'll ensure you’re rewarded for the information, even if we don’t manage to draw Astrid in.”
