content notes: violence

Iberto spent an afternoon lazing in the gardens with Hannu, called of the Green. She shared with him knowledge of the plants she tended and her frustrations with being restricted to the temple grounds. “The Green’s power isn’t meant for gardens,” she told him as she strengthened the roots of a young sapling. “The Green is meant to spread over the whole of the land, forest and marsh and plain.”

“Why are you trapped here,” he asked, curious. “Is this something else those blasted monks have done?”

“No, just… the Green — none of the goddes — are powerful enough any more to manifest outside the temple.”

Frowning, he rolled over onto his back. Was he, too, trapped in the temple then? That… didn’t sound right somehow. “Are we not able to leave our goddes?”

“What?” she asked, and her voice reminded him of himself when he caught the first sign of a trail. He felt the Great Goddess perk up, alert as well, and sat up to fact Hannu.

“Are we not able to leave our goddes?”

“Leave… you don’t mean renounce the calling, I know that much, but how else would we–“

Her words cut off as if severed by a knife.

“Those misbegotten children of diseased /rats/,” she said after a moment. “Those plague-ridden pustules. Those–“

“They did do something.”

Hannu growled. “Oh, if we had the power the very oaks would rouse against them!”

Iberto smiled sadly, “If we had the power, many things would be different. What did they do?”

Hannu growled again. “You were raised outside the temple network, or you would not have been called by the Great Goddess. That, oh I think they will come to regret that. I think they already do.

“That is how they explain the lack of priests at the smaller temples and shrines. They try not to talk about it, but if you push, if you are curious, they say there are too few priests, that the priests must stay close to their goddes. They don’t say it, but they imply it, they suggest it, they… blight their gardens!”

Hannu stood up and stalked away. Curious, Iberto followed her. “Three suns,” she said. “We don’t know for sure, so I will go for three suns. If petitioners come… well…”

Many of the called spent significant time dealing with petitioners. Their goddes were still remembered and sought. None came for the goddess, of course. Not with the way the monks had sown hatred against her and her people. So Iberto never needed to deal with them.

In the back of his mind, Iberto felt his goddess’ agreement even as he spoke. “With your permission, perhaps I may stand for you a few days. I doubt I can help those who come for the Green, but I can at least tell them that the priestess has gone forth to work his will and come back in a few days.”

“Would you!” she turned back and pulled him into a brief hug. “That would be perfect. Oh, I haven’t left the temple in years. Even just for a few days would be…”

The Green did not speak so Iberto could hear, but it clearly approved. Hannu took time enough to pack some food from the kitchens and a change of clothes. Iberto and his goddess spent the rest of the afternoon stalking monks — which distracted them enough Hannu was able to slip out without notice.

“Well done, my Iberto,” the Great Goddess murmured to him that night. “It had not occurred to me that the remaining called felt they could not leave. The Green and I shall spread the word among the goddes. When the Green’s called returns, you and she can speak among the other called. Perhaps if the called can begin going out among people, there will be changes, and faster, than we dared hope.”

~~~

Iberto spent most of the next few days in the gardens. The Green had several petitioners each day, but Iberto feared he did more harm than good.

For the first time, he saw how those from outside the temple avoided looking at him and became uncomfortable if he approached them. Iberto had never been gregarious, but he had never had people cringe away from him before.

Most of the petitioners didn’t even give him a chance to explain that Hannu would return shortly. They apologized for disturbing him and left, their questions unasked.

When he shows the Great Goddess his confusion and, yes, also some hurt, she comforts him and says, this is my fault, called. “You were prey as much as predator, hunted. That was why you came here. Now you are pure hunter, outside and above the hunt games they are used to and play with each other. They sense this. As they should.”

He sighed and shook his head as one more petitioner turned away without even entering the gardens. “I knew I had changed, and if this is the price of being yours I pay it willingly.” She purred and he felt her essence wrap around him, though she was nowhere in sight.

When he was not inadvertently frightening away Hannu’s petitioners, he was thinking. That was why he had initially come to the gardens — letting his body rest while his mind wrestled with finding a called for Han the Sun. Iberto was confident he had figured out what would make a suitable called for Han the Sun but wasn’t sure how to go about tracking one down. For lack of better ideas, he started tracking the trails left by visitors to the temple. Most of them were simple trails, into the sanctuary and straight back out. Some were more convoluted as the person explored the open parts of the temple for whatever reason.

But nothing in the trails gave him any clue as to whether or not the person would suit Han the Sun. Or have any willingness to be called.

Iberto let as little of his frustration leak into his thoughts as possible. If he wasn’t careful he would inadvertently ask for help. (He wanted to ask for help.) Once he did that, he would get none. He still didn’t understand that aspect of his goddess, but he didn’t need to understand to abide by the restriction. She could guide him, or not, when she was ready.

He just hoped he received some clue soon. His hunt trail was growing cold.

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