Boys and Heroes

Celene and Gaspard walked through the streets of Old Lrial, the light fading early. The rain had ceased falling now that they were in a city, but the ground remained damp underfoot as if it still wanted to melt its way into puddles. Celene worried about the Kings procession taking them through what was left of the slums. The buildings seemed all the more ramshackle after she saw how even the newer structures stood on stable foundations. She wondered about the people who lived in the slums, and what sort of life they led. Did their homes look like this one? Would anyone try to protect them from the plague once they came down with it?

”I can understand why no one wanted to take up your offer, ” she said. ”They probably thought you were insane. ”

Gaspard chuckled. ”Some may have thought that. Others…not so much. We have been the centre of legend and wonder for too long, Celene. To most people here, it will just be another of the stories they tell at night around the fire. It is not uncommon for there to be as many lies told about me as truths. ”

”The king asked me to make a sacrifice to the Old Gods, ” she said. ”That sounds far out there. ”

”Perhaps, ” Gaspard admitted. ”But remember my people don look at their gods as man-made. They aren worshipped for their power. The gods are themselves powerful, but only because they exist. When we speak of sacrifices to them, we are talking about giving up something with great value to receive their blessing. However, we can see it as more than that. If your sacrifices do not come from the heart, your devotion is empty. Sacrifice to me, not from duty but because you want it. Think of the anointed priestesses on my fathers side—they sing and dance for hours for the Old Gods. They give everything to them willingly. ”

”You practise that kind of worship? ” Celene asked. She couldn help wondering what Gaspard would expect from her.

”Many of us do, ” he said. ”Others focus on meditation, which is something similar. You must feel their power coursing through you for it to be sincere. Regardless of what we give up, it must be offered in the spirit of devotion, not an obligation. ”

”So even though I might think making a sacrifice is insane, the Old Gods will reward me anyway. ”

”Perhaps. They are strange to understand sometimes. When the anointed priestesses begin the rite of chanting, they count aloud to keep track. Why? ” Gaspard shrugged. ”Who knows? And when it comes time to give up their offering, they must also chant numbers again and again. How they find this relaxing, I do not know. ”

Celene shuddered. It was one thing to speak of making sacrifices to the Old Gods as some sort of esoteric form of spirituality, but another entirely to talk about being a part of that. Gaspard certainly knew about it. Her mind reeled. Was that why hed brought her along? To test whether she had true devotion to him and the Old Gods? ”Ill have to do as you ask, ” she said. ”If all I n