Broken Soul

Sola

The temple in Reen was a quaint little thing. The surrounding city was quickly outgrowing it, and there were plans to expand it, like most things in the growing city.

In a comfortable room, on the chair opposite hers, sat a thin and tall man in his forties, who always had an easy smile on his face, while his eyes seemed to see all the pain people tried to hide.

This man was Father Gustave. Sola didn't have the time to care for the theological needs of Reen next to her other duties as the city grew, and it was decided that a priest was needed who could dedicate his entire day to the flock, so Father Gustave was poached from a small town to the north of Reen.

"I just don't want it to happen before being married, but I know how the church looks at members of the clergy having relationships," Sola said to her fellow priest.

"Yes, it isn't common to enter the bonds of marriage as a priestess, but I think we both know that relationships aren't as uncommon," Gustave replied with a sad smile. "I personally don't think that committing yourself to another person lessens your commitment to Lord Idas, but that line of thought is not widely supported in the church from my limited correspondence with some of our fellow holy men and women."

"It would certainly stop me from ever advancing in the priesthood, not that I am sure that that is what I still want." Sola hesitated while looking for the right words. "I just cannot help but feel like we are on the wrong path, the church, I mean."

Gustave sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You get no argument from me here, sister. Our conversations over the last two years have only deepened my concern. When I was a priest in Hurlsfort, I could preach my understanding of the teachings without much of a care about what was happening around me, but since I moved to Reen and can see and hear the extent of the struggle people have with our institution, things have been harder to ignore."

Gustave and Sola had quickly become friends and often met to discuss theology and how the reforms around them fit into the framework of their faith. They agreed more often than not, which was nice, but even on the subjects they didn't, it was always a constructive discussion rather than what Sola was used to from her time at the Holy Mountain. The church was so accustomed to condemning any opinion that differed from its dogma that finding a priest with genuine skill in constructive discussion was difficult.

"Did you know that many of the attendees of the Mage Academy have joined the congregation?" Gustave perked up and suddenly got excited.

Sola blinked at him in surprise. "Truly? They are the last people I would have expected to come to a service."

"Yes, I thought the same, but after our last conversation about how mages are being deliberately ostracized from the community to maintain the general fear of them, I had a thought. No one ever invited them to join us. Through my inaction, I have perpetuated that tradition of keeping them out, as they believed that was normal. So I went over to the academy and invited them to join us," Gustave explained proudly.

"And that worked?" Sola asked, not quite believing that that was all it took.

"Oh no, it didn't," Gustave laughed. "But I came back and offered to hold a service at the academy if they would rather do it in private. They declined again, but on my next service, the headmistress was among the attendees."

Now Sola was really baffled. "Rayakan? I would have expected her to rather burn a church to the ground than enter it voluntarily. She didn't catch fire or something, right?"

"She is not a demon," Gustave scolded her, good-naturedly. "You would be surprised, Miss Rayakan is a very spiritual person. She just has her problems with the clergy, not with our god, which isn't surprising. Well, either way. After that, more and more families of the academy came to the service. I think they appreciate that I treat them no differently from any other faithful in my halls."

Sola now felt a little guilty for never considering that the mages just needed someone to reach out to them. She had just assumed that they would be heathens who hated the church and Idas similarly.

That's what you get for making assumptions, Sola scolded herself.

"An interesting fact is that many of the mages still practice the old Remurian faith rather than praying to Lord Idas alone. I was thinking about ordering some of the older scriptures and including the old gods in my sermons," Gustave just continued talking.

"Hm, that is not surprising as they were basically thrown out of the church when the pantheon was shattered and the Remurian faith evolved from a pantheon to a monotheistic path," Sola concluded. "I think it is a great idea. From what I remember, the older scriptures are much lighter on the fire and brimstone approach."

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"They certainly are," Father Gustave agreed and then smiled. "Oh my, we have really gone off track again. Back to your marriage problem. I would be honored to bind you to your chosen partner, tradition be damned."

"Thank you, Gustave. I will let you know after he comes back from the trip to Lionsgate," Sola said, thankful that the priest had her back.

"Lionsgate, huh? I assume you are still staying away?" Gustave asked, carefully studying her face.

"I... No, I am not going back there."

"Facing your past is the first step to overcoming it," Gustave noted sagely.

Sola scoffed with a smile, "I said those same words more times than I can count, but it is so much harder doing it yourself."

Gustave returned her smile and patted her hand, "One day, sister."

Geron

"The position of a Castellan or High Castellan should be just that, a position, not a rank, like quartermaster or master-of-arms. Not every officer will take a position like that, so it shouldn't be in the main officer's path," Samuel said.

"Hmm, I agree. Having the Castellan as a necessary position to reach higher ranks would stifle promising soldiers with a lack of administrative qualities. On the other hand, do we want soldiers with a lack of those in the truly high ranks?" Geron asked, and Samuel fell silent while thinking.

Geron smiled as he watched the younger man think. It had only been a couple of hours, but Samuel had already impressed him with his swift thinking and openness to argue against his superior's opinions. It probably stemmed from the many discussions he had had with Michael and the fact that he was a noble.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I stand with my argument. If we want to make administrative skills a requirement for higher ranks, then that is fine, but I still believe that the lack of available Castellan positions would make that rank a bottleneck we do not need," Samuel finally replied. Before Geron could reply, a knock interrupted him.

"Enter," Geron said, and Sola did so. She seemed tense, and Geron instantly got to his feet, quickly followed by Samuel. "Sister."

"Can you give us a moment, Samuel?" the priestess addressed the squire first.

"Of course, sister," the man said and quickly left he room.

Geron grabbed the priestess and pulled her close the moment the door fell into its lock.

"What is the matter?" he asked and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"You know this kind of behavior is exactly what got us into this situation," the small woman replied. Geron hesitated, not sure if she was teasing him or actually mad at him for something. He spent the next few moments trying to think of anything he could have done when she continued.

"I have news," she said and looked him in the eyes.

"Just spit it out, woman," Geron said with an amused expression.

"I'm pregnant," Sola announced.

Geron stared with wide eyes and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure," Sola replied, but the end of the sentence turned into a yelp as Geron swung her around while laughing.

"This is great news," he exclaimed loudly and pulled her close.

"Do you always swing pregnant people around like a sack of flour?" Sola huffed at him, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Geron blinked. "Oh yeah, that probably isn't the best idea," he admitted and put her down.

"We have another problem, though," Sola said, still holding onto him.

"What?"

Sola sighed and shook her head. "We aren't married? Our kid would be a bastard?"

That was obviously true, not that Geron had found being a bastard to be overly troublesome. It might be worse for someone being raised somewhere that wasn't the bottom of society, though. Either way, he was smart enough not to voice his opinion after Sola had brought it up as a problem.

Geron let go of Sola and took a little step back. She looked at him curiously and then with surprise as he fell to one knee.

"Sister Sola of the Order of Purity, I have no ring nor anything else prepared, but I have known for a long time that you are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. So, I make it short. Do you want to marry me?"

Sola smiled with tears in her eyes. "This is not how I imagined this, but of course I wanna marry you." Geron got up, and they fell into each other's arms.

Another loud knock, followed by Michael pushing his head in after being called on.

"Everything okay in here? I could feel you from my office," the young lord asked, carefully keeping most of his body protected behind the heavy wooden door. Geron hadn't noticed that both his and Sola's mana had gotten quite rambunctious through their heightened emotions.

"We aren't fighting. You can come in safely," Sola laughed, which caused Michael to relax.

"So what has you guys so emotional. Sorry if I am intruding on something," Michael seemed to notice in the end that he might have come at an inopportune time.

"We are getting married," Geron announced, and Michael's face lit up like one of his spells.

"Oh god, congratulations. Show me the ring," Michael exclaimed, and happily bounced into the room.

"Ehm, well, there is no ring. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision," Geron explained, scratching the back of his neck.

"What? That won't do," Michael said, and pulled the silver ring he had received from the dwarves from his finger. It could adjust to the wearer's finger to a small extent and was probably more expensive than any other jewelry his knight commander could find. "Here, take this until you can find a proper engagement ring."

Michael handed Geron the ring and then turned around. "I am gonna get out of your hair now. Sorry again for intruding, and congratulations again."

"Wait, Michael, this isn't the only news." Sola stopped him from leaving.

"Oh?" Michael looked at her with a curious expression.

"I am pregnant!"

After that, they weren't able to get rid of Michael so easily. Quite the contrary, and an ad hoc party was organized, which went deep into the night. Unsurprisingly, it was quickly decided that Geron would not accompany them to Lionsgate but rather focus on planning for a wedding.