[The Temple of Seven — Continuation]
The High Priest Nerath Zair’s golden eyes remained fixed upon Seyra; for several heartbeats, the vast sanctuary fell silent.
Something flickered within his gaze.
It was subtle at first, a faint shimmer of gold, followed by the deep blue of water and the burning crimson of sacred flame. Three colors seemed to circle within his eyes before disappearing beneath his calm expression.
Then Nerath looked toward Vaerun and froze because the sight before him was almost absurd.
Azram Vaerun Veyrath was holding a child.
He was simply standing there with a four-year-old girl resting comfortably against his chest. To an ordinary person, the sight might have been strangely beautiful.
To those who knew the Silent Tempest? It was unsettling and chilling.
Several priests discreetly exchanged glances. Nerath stared for another heartbeat, then he cleared his throat.
"Let us first enter Lady Seyra into the family tablets."
Vaerun’s silver eyes remained cold. "That is wise."
Nerath nodded and turned toward the inner sanctuary. Vaerun followed, still carrying Seyra.
The deeper they walked, the older the temple became.
The polished stone of the outer halls slowly gave way to enormous blocks of black and pale sandstone. Ancient inscriptions covered the walls, their symbols so old that even Seyra couldn’t understand them.
Seven pillars stood around the inner sanctum. They were different from those outside; these were enormous. Each pillar represented one of the Seven Elements, and faint Aether currents moved through the carvings upon their surfaces.
Seyra stared as she passed them.
Then she noticed something: a tiny creature peeked from behind the pillar of air, a little spirit made entirely of swirling wind.
Seyra blinked.
The spirit disappeared, then another peeked from behind the pillar of water.
Seyra slowly turned her head. Seven elemental spirits were watching her; some were tiny, some were larger, and some carried only a faint trace of elemental power. Others radiated enough Aether to make the surrounding air tremble.
Yet none approached her; they simply followed from a distance.
Seyra looked at each of them, then she waved. The spirits froze; one tiny wind spirit bobbed in the air. Seyra waved again, and the little spirit drifted closer.
Then another followed. Soon, several elemental spirits were quietly trailing behind her.
Nerath noticed, and Vaerun noticed too, but Seyra seemed completely unbothered. She simply turned forward again. As though having strange elemental creatures follow her through an ancient temple was perfectly ordinary.
After a moment, she looked up at Vaerun. "Do you slice people’s heads in the temple too?"
Nerath stopped walking. Ravian’s shoulders stiffened and Kharzen slowly looked toward the ceiling.
Vaerun didn’t even blink.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because killing people inside the inner sanctuary is forbidden." Seyra stared at him, and Vaerun continued walking. "I wait until they leave."
Silence.
Seyra thought about that for a moment, then she asked with complete innocence, "Why is it forbidden?"
Vaerun considered the question; his expression remained perfectly serious, and then he glanced at the polished stone floor.
"It must be because...the stain would not come out."
Seyra’s eyes widened with understanding and nodded. "Oh, that makes sense."
Behind them, Kharzen lowered his head. Ravian pressed his lips together, but neither man dared laugh. They had apparently become accustomed to this.
Nerath, however, had stopped moving altogether; he slowly turned his head toward Vaerun.
"You teach her strange things."
Vaerun’s expression remained indifferent. "She asks strange questions."
Seyra immediately protested. "They are important questions; he is just too lazy to answer."
. . .
. . .
Others nodded with agreement, and Vaerun glanced at them codly. Nerath sighed quietly and continued toward the deepest part of the sanctuary.
There, the walls were no longer decorated with statues; they were covered with books. Hundreds of ancient tablets and sealed manuscripts rested within stone niches carved directly into the walls.
Some were bound with bronze; others were sealed with Aether markings, and at the center stood a large stone altar. Nerath approached one of the sealed sections and placed his palm against the wall.
A faint golden symbol appeared, and the stone shifted.
GRRNNNN...
A hidden compartment opened. Inside rested a single ancient book. Its cover was dark, almost black, with two intertwined dragons engraved upon it. One dragon was golden, its head turned toward the moon.
The other was white, its head raised toward the heavens. Nerath carefully removed the book.
Seyra stared at it, and Nerath placed the book upon the altar. "This is the Family Tablet of House Veyrath."
Nerath rested one hand upon its cover.
"Once your name is entered into this record, you will be recognized not merely by the nobles of Eshkaran..." His gaze became solemn. "...but by the Imperial registry and the Seven Elemental Gods."
Nerath looked toward Vaerun.
"And once the record accepts her, there will be no simple reversal."
The sanctuary became silent. Nerath’s golden eyes remained upon Vaerun. "So I will ask you once more, Azram Vaerun Veyrath."
His voice echoed through the ancient chamber.
"Are you certain you will take this child as your daughter?"
Vaerun didn’t hesitate as his silver eyes hardened. "I made my decision yesterday; stop wasting time, and let’s start."
Nerath studied Vaerun for several heartbeats, then he nodded. "So be it."
He opened the ancient book, and the moment the cover separated—WHOOM.
Golden and white light erupted from its pages. Seyra’s violet eyes widened. "Wow..."
The light floated above the book like two streams of liquid fire. Seyra instinctively reached toward it. Vaerun looked at her, and then Nerath reached beneath his robes and withdrew a ceremonial dagger.
The blade was narrow and made of dark metal, its edge glowing faintly with Aether. He handed it to Vaerun.
Vaerun took it without hesitation; he lowered Seyra carefully onto the stone platform beside him.
She looked up.
"What are you doing?"
"Blood acknowledgment."
"Oh."
She watched him calmly cut the tip of his finger, and a single drop of blood fell into the small bronze bowl placed beside the book. Vaerun took the ceremonial quill; he dipped its tip into the blood, and then he wrote.
SEYRA VAERUN VEYRATH.
The final stroke was completed, and for one heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
WHOOM!
Golden light erupted from the pages, and white light followed. The two streams of radiance spiraled around Seyra. She stood perfectly still as the light circled her tiny body. It moved around her hair.
Around her arms, around her chest, and then it disappeared into her.
. . .
. . .
Seyra blinked as she looked down at herself; she touched her chest, then her arms, and then her stomach.
"...It entered me." She looked genuinely concerned. "Am I going to explode?"
Kharzen couldn’t hold it anymore; a short laugh escaped him. Vaerun remained completely calm.
"The light was not poison; it was recognition." He crouched slightly so they were closer to the same height. "It marks you as a member of House Veyrath."
Seyra nodded, and Vaerun continued.
"It also means that when you eventually form a contract with an elemental spirit, the oldest spirits bound to House Veyrath may recognize your bloodline."
Seyra listened carefully, then she looked toward the ancient book and then at Vaerun. Her cheeks slowly turned pink.
"So...am I really your daughter now?"
Vaerun looked at her; for once, there was no teasing answer, he simply nodded.
"Yes."
Seyra stared at him, and a small smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Then..." She reached out and grabbed the edge of his sleeve. "...you’re really my father."
Vaerun looked down at her tiny hand; his expression remained unreadable, but he did not pull his sleeve away.
Behind them, the seven elemental spirits remained gathered in silence, and deep within the Temple of Seven, the ancient statues began to glow as he said, "Yes, so...start calling me papa from now on, okay?"
"I will try."
***
[The Temple of Seven — High Priest’s Office — Later]
Azram Vaerun Veyrath stood beside the carved window, one hand resting against the stone frame.
Below, the courtyard of the Temple of Seven stretched beneath the afternoon sun.
Seyra was there; she sat on the edge of a low fountain, completely unconcerned with the sacred nature of the temple. A small Fire Spirit in the shape of a cat had wandered toward her, its body glowing like a living ember.
Seyra reached out and poked its tiny nose; the spirit blinked, and she poked it again. Then she scratched the top of its fiery head.
The Fire Spirit purred, and behind Seyra, Ravian and Captain Kharzen exchanged a look. Neither man understood what they were witnessing.
Meanwhile, at the opposite side of the chamber, High Priest Nerath Zair finally broke the silence.
"That is a Level Four Fire Spirit."
Vaerun didn’t turn.
"I know."
Nerath’s golden eyes narrowed.
"She touched it."
"I saw."
"It allowed her."
"I saw that too."
Nerath stared at him, and Vaerun finally glanced over his shoulder, and the High Priest folded his arms.
"Are you certain she is four years old?"
Vaerun’s gaze returned to the courtyard.
"She speaks with words that would make some grown nobles reconsider their education." A faint curve appeared at the corner of Vaerun’s mouth. "She must be intelligent."
. . .
. . .
Their Azram sounded...proud, and Nerath stared at him in utter disbelief. "Intelligence is not what concerns me."
Vaerun’s expression returned to its usual stillness. Nerath stepped closer to the window.
"A child possessing enough Aether sensitivity to touch a Level Four Spirit without fear is unheard of." His golden eyes remained fixed upon Seyra as his voice lowered. "And she did not merely touch it; the spirit approached her first."
Vaerun said nothing. Nerath turned toward him. "It never happened before."
For several heartbeats, neither man spoke. Then Vaerun slowly walked away from the window and took his seat upon the wooden chair.
"Her eyes." Vaerun rested one arm against the carved armrest. "You saw them."
Nerath nodded.
"I did." The high priest’s golden eyes darkened with thought. "As you said, they changed, not completely. Only for a heartbeat." Nerath’s voice became quieter. "When she became excited, they changed again. When she touched the Fire Spirit...they carried the color of fire for a brief."
Vaerun’s silver eyes sharpened, and Nerath continued.
"Eye color reflects elemental affinity. It is the first mark of a person’s spirit." He looked toward the courtyard. "Air bears silver. Fire bears crimson. Water bears blue. Earth bears green. Light bears gold. Shadow bears violet. The seventh element carries black color."
Nerath looked directly at him.
"Her eyes do not belong to one element; they move between them."
. . .
. . .
Vaerun remained perfectly still as Nerath studied him. "Did you see the same thing that day?"
"I noticed her eyes the moment I saw her." Vaerun looked through the window again. Seyra had abandoned the Fire Spirit; she was now trying to catch a tiny stream of water created by a Water Spirit floating above the fountain.
The Water Spirit circled her fingers willingly, and Seyra laughed. Vaerun watched her. "She seems used to them."
The room fell silent.
Nerath lowered his voice.
"A four-year-old child whose eyes respond to more than one element has never been recorded in the tablets of the Seven. We need to discover how far her affinity reaches... and, more importantly, how many elemental spirits can answer her call."
Vaerun said nothing; his gaze returned to the courtyard below.
Seyra was still there, and her violet eyes met Vaerun’s through the distant window; her entire face brightened as she raised both hands and waved enthusiastically.
Vaerun’s expression remained unchanged, but his eyes softened for the briefest moment. He lifted one hand in acknowledgment.
"That is why I am here."
Nerath studied him for several heartbeats.
There was something he still could not understand.
Vaerun Veyrath had never been a man who acted without reason. Every decision he made carried weight. Every alliance served a purpose. Every enemy he destroyed had earned their fate.
Yet yesterday, in the middle of the Imperial City, he had looked at a nameless beggar girl and called her his daughter.
"So..." Nerath’s voice became quieter. "You adopted her because you saw what she could become?"
Silence settled over the chamber. Outside, the distant laughter of a child echoed through the temple courtyard.
Seyra’s laughter as Nerath’s gaze remained on Vaerun.
"So you saw a rare power in her... and decided that such a child would benefit House Veyrath. Did you adopt that child because you found a benefit in her, Azram?"