{"id":1215,"date":"2022-11-03T14:41:55","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T14:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aratheon.com\/?p=1215"},"modified":"2022-11-04T15:36:14","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T15:36:14","slug":"broken-souls-chapter-33","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aratheon.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/03\/broken-souls-chapter-33\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken Souls – Chapter 33"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lura Syllana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the way back to our room, we run into three other girls. Two with red hair and one with blonde. They stop as soon as they see us. \u201cOh look, it\u2019s one of the strays, and it looks like she found a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t listen to them,\u201d Chalia says. \u201cThey\u2019re just stuck-up nobles who think they\u2019re better than everyone else because they come from wealthy families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are better than you,\u201d the blonde-haired one says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure, Irlinda. If that\u2019s what you need to tell people to secure your ego, go right ahead,\u201d Chalia says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSays the bastard child. Did daddy not love you enough?\u201d the taller of the redheads says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chalia clenches her hand into a fist. The blonde one named Irlinda looks at me. \u201cLet’s see\u2026 Copper skin and yet you have pure golden hair\u2026 Odd. You have the skin of a low-born and the hair of a noble. Are you another bastard? If you\u2019re a noble, you certainly don\u2019t want to be seen around with the likes of bastards and low-born filth. I don\u2019t understand why we let the gutter trash in here to dirty the purity of the church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClearly you know nothing about grace and humility,\u201d I say, and that gets a laugh from Chalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irlinda lets out a huff, tosses her golden blonde hair over her shoulder, and pushes past us with her friends on her heels. We enter our room and Chalia helps me get settled in. I have little, so it doesn\u2019t take long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, what did she mean about bastards?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho knows. Irlinda is always trying to belittle others.\u201d Chalia avoids my eyes as she walks over to her bed and starts to straighten it even though it\u2019s already pretty smooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, here\u2019s the basic life of a Novice. We have classes every day except for the days of rest, and they\u2019re all about the holy sacred texts, the core beliefs, the history of our church, and all this other boring stuff. We also have to learn different languages, especially dwarven and human languages. Then we have chores we have to do on top of that because, apparently, hard work builds character, or something like that. Then, many unfortunate souls are assigned to help a Sister or Brother do such boring monotonous tasks. Thankfully, I\u2019m with Damaris. I doubt you\u2019ll be so lucky,\u201d she says as she opens her drawer up and pulls out a bag of dried fruit, and starts chowing down on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t supper soon?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shrugs. \u201cThey like to feed us small portions because, apparently, it builds character.\u201d She says sarcastically. \u201cYou\u2019ll want to avoid getting caught doing anything you shouldn\u2019t be. Punishments suck. They\u2019ll take a switch to your bottom and then you\u2019ll have to do a lot of monotonous manual work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll also get buried underneath books upon books to read,\u201d she says as she pulls out a giant book with a dusty green binding. \u201cHopefully you can read and write because if you can\u2019t you\u2019ll have to waste time you could use for advancing in the levels to learn those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can do both,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood, now get comfy. We\u2019ve got a little while before supper,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan I borrow a book?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy all means, have your pick. You\u2019ll get your own soon enough,\u201d she says without looking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grab a book called Creatures of Aratheon<\/em> and open it up. As I skip through the pages, one in particular catches my eyes. On the parchment sits a rather hideous creature with antlers that has long arms and crotches on his hindlegs. Its eyes seem hollow and its flesh is rotted with nasty patches of fur covering it. It\u2019s called a Wendigo, and it\u2019s a creature of the dark. The light hurts it. It feeds on anything living. Its teeth and claws are vile and can poison the flesh, but there is a cure in the Luminescent Emerald Mushrooms that can enhance the senses and heal the body of almost any poison, cut, and even broken bones. They\u2019re found deep in caves of mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book also has several rumors about these Wendigos. That they\u2019re created by a Witch of the Dark, or witches. It\u2019s not clear whether there is only one or many. These witches, or witch, are rumored to be very powerful and live in total darkness. Of course, these are just rumors and there\u2019s no evidence of such witches or witch. Some think the creatures are from the Dark Realm itself. Of course, many think the Dark Realm doesn\u2019t exist. I snap the book shut as another catches my eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grab one that says Known Artifacts <\/em>and dig in. It’s a thick book, and there are loads of different artifacts. It talks about the Divine Sword, Jophiel\u2019s Holy Everlight Staff of never-ending sunlight to shine away the darkness, an Amulet of the Sun, the Dagger of Dread, a Pendant of Strength, and several different hammers, one being the Sacred Hammer that\u2019s important to the church. It was once the hammer of Lord Angel Akrasiel, and only the pure of heart or Akrasiel himself can use it. There\u2019s also a hammer from some dwarven pagan builder god, a Hammer of Justice or something, and of course, it talks about the specific ways you can use them and the requirements for each of them. Like the Hammer of Justice can only be used in seeking justice, to no one\u2019s surprise. Why are there so many hammers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also mention these orbs of energy which I find truly fascinating. There are several different kinds of orbs for different types of magic. These orbs contain a nearly unlimited amount of magic that can be drawn upon by the wielder. Of course, even though they have an extraordinary amount of power, there\u2019s a limit to how much you can draw at once, but, over time, the orbs actually replenish themselves through some kind of fusion process that I don\u2019t quite understand. There are blue orbs that use Arcane Magic, white Divine orbs, red Demonic orbs, purple void orbs, black dark matter orbs, elemental orbs, and so on and so forth. It states that one only needs a trickle of magic within them to use these orbs, which nearly all life has. In order to channel one, you have to have a high level of concentration on the orb and focus on what you want to do with the flow of energy from it. I would love to get my hands on one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I skip to the rings to try to find one that resembles mine, but before I can really dig in there\u2019s a knock on the door and it opens with the girls from across the hall barging in. The darker-skinned girl, I think her name is Inhepireth, speaks up. \u201cYou two coming to supper?\u201d Chalia snaps her book shut and practically leaps off her bed. \u201cYep, let\u2019s go, Lura! I\u2019m starving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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