Ummm, here. Posted for the first time ever, the last bit of S&S that I was too depressed to post in my NaNo journal. How's that? It's the best I can do on short notice, I'm afraid, since I don't do drabbles or whatever. [laugh/flail]
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Arden looked at him for a moment, then nodded and relayed what he'd said to his aunt.
She gave them both a sharp glance, then said in accented Ruvori, "So tell me, what in this room has been touched by the goddess?"
Arden started looking around, but Luka said, "I don't think it works like that, holy lady. Things in Dereno's temple were the same as things in Ashti's. It's not particular to which god, or... I don't know, maybe it is sometimes? But if you've things in here which have been touched by different gods, I don't think I could separate out the ones from your goddess."
"That's fine, boy," she said with an impatient hand-wave. "What do you see?"
"The gold sun on the shelf," he said. "Altar? On the wall." He pointed to a golden sun-disk on Aunt Gerra's altar niche, which Arden privately thought anyone could have guessed and made a poor first choice.
Apparently his aunt agreed because she said, "Any fool would've guessed that right off, the Sun and Sword and Plate. Try again or stop wasting my time."
Luka bowed and said, "Your pardon, holy lady, but only the sun has been god-touched. The plate and... knife? The blade? They're ordinary."
"Ridiculous!" she snapped. "I use them every day. They've all been consecrated!"
"Maybe consecration isn't the same as being touched by a god, though," Arden put in. "If a priestess has dedicated an item to the goddess's service, that's not the same as the goddess herself touching it."
Aunt Gerra frowned for a moment, thinking. "Perhaps. I was assuming all truly holy things would look the same, but yes, there could be a differentiation there. Go on, then. What do you see? Both of you."
Arden pointed out two of the polished stone markers on her counting board, and one of her rings. "Not the whole thing, just this one piece." He pointed to a single curling strip of gold in the filigree design.
"Interesting." She held up the ring and frowned at it. "The gold must have been taken from some other object. More than one other object. I'll have to find out where it came from originally, before I was given it." She looked up at Luka once more and said, "So? What else, boy? Anything?"
Arden didn't see anything else and thought it was a trick, to see whether Luka would point out something at random. He didn't think Luka was that stupid, so Arden was surprised when he said, "There, these two dots on this painting."
Luka walked over to an illuminated painting on the wall opposite the broad, sunny window. It depicted Orlana and Baruno in balance, sun and moon, in a forest-girded meadow which shaded from day to night. He pointed out two of the tiny meadow flowers, which had been picked out in gold leaf. The shine of the polished metal in the sunlight from the window had nearly washed out the tiny sparks of god-glow on the dots, but now that Luka had pointed them out, Arden could see them too.
He nodded and said, "You've sharp eyes. Strange that it's just those two flowers, though."
"Different source of gold?" Arden asked. "Like the one curl in the ring?"
"Probably," Arden began, but his aunt interrupted him.
"In that case I doubt it was an accident." She stalked over and glared at the painting. "This was a gift from Jeron Ripavo, upon my elevation to office. A symbol of the natural harmony between Orlana and Baruno, he said."
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Ummm, here. Posted for the first time ever, the last bit of S&S that I was too depressed to post in my NaNo journal. How's that? It's the best I can do on short notice, I'm afraid, since I don't do drabbles or whatever. [laugh/flail]
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Arden looked at him for a moment, then nodded and relayed what he'd said to his aunt.
She gave them both a sharp glance, then said in accented Ruvori, "So tell me, what in this room has been touched by the goddess?"
Arden started looking around, but Luka said, "I don't think it works like that, holy lady. Things in Dereno's temple were the same as things in Ashti's. It's not particular to which god, or... I don't know, maybe it is sometimes? But if you've things in here which have been touched by different gods, I don't think I could separate out the ones from your goddess."
"That's fine, boy," she said with an impatient hand-wave. "What do you see?"
"The gold sun on the shelf," he said. "Altar? On the wall." He pointed to a golden sun-disk on Aunt Gerra's altar niche, which Arden privately thought anyone could have guessed and made a poor first choice.
Apparently his aunt agreed because she said, "Any fool would've guessed that right off, the Sun and Sword and Plate. Try again or stop wasting my time."
Luka bowed and said, "Your pardon, holy lady, but only the sun has been god-touched. The plate and... knife? The blade? They're ordinary."
"Ridiculous!" she snapped. "I use them every day. They've all been consecrated!"
"Maybe consecration isn't the same as being touched by a god, though," Arden put in. "If a priestess has dedicated an item to the goddess's service, that's not the same as the goddess herself touching it."
Aunt Gerra frowned for a moment, thinking. "Perhaps. I was assuming all truly holy things would look the same, but yes, there could be a differentiation there. Go on, then. What do you see? Both of you."
Arden pointed out two of the polished stone markers on her counting board, and one of her rings. "Not the whole thing, just this one piece." He pointed to a single curling strip of gold in the filigree design.
"Interesting." She held up the ring and frowned at it. "The gold must have been taken from some other object. More than one other object. I'll have to find out where it came from originally, before I was given it." She looked up at Luka once more and said, "So? What else, boy? Anything?"
Arden didn't see anything else and thought it was a trick, to see whether Luka would point out something at random. He didn't think Luka was that stupid, so Arden was surprised when he said, "There, these two dots on this painting."
Luka walked over to an illuminated painting on the wall opposite the broad, sunny window. It depicted Orlana and Baruno in balance, sun and moon, in a forest-girded meadow which shaded from day to night. He pointed out two of the tiny meadow flowers, which had been picked out in gold leaf. The shine of the polished metal in the sunlight from the window had nearly washed out the tiny sparks of god-glow on the dots, but now that Luka had pointed them out, Arden could see them too.
He nodded and said, "You've sharp eyes. Strange that it's just those two flowers, though."
"Different source of gold?" Arden asked. "Like the one curl in the ring?"
"Probably," Arden began, but his aunt interrupted him.
"In that case I doubt it was an accident." She stalked over and glared at the painting. "This was a gift from Jeron Ripavo, upon my elevation to office. A symbol of the natural harmony between Orlana and Baruno, he said."
[Continued on Next Rock...]