3rd of Gaernus

Three seems to be my auspicious number. Three years from this very day I timidly walked across these well worn paving stones and requested, perhaps even demanded, an audience with the Abbess. How bold I was, a peasant girl with the dirt of the fields still between her toes, to ask for entrance into the Order of Aquae.

Three for principles I must remember as I leave the temple and begin my journey of service: duty, dedication and devotion. These three are entwined and wrapped tight as the rawhide hilt of my sword. These are simple words that expand into challenges that encompass a lifetime. And three for the manifestations of Erina’s own water: rain, mist, and ice. These the three blessings of healing, solace, and conflict. All three touch a priestess’s life and all three a priestess brings to those she serves.

I sit here now perched on the low wall surrounding the cloister garden in the half light of dawn. Even now, Erina’s mist surrounds me and her water sings a soft song in the coral fountain. Wood smoke scents the air; the temple chef is prodding the cook fires back to life and the temple stirs. Tradition dictates that a novice always leaves unseen with only the sound of her heels echoing in the cavernous temple gate. So, I must pick up my pack and leave my home of three years.

And, I must safely stow away this journal. Its heavy leather has warmed in my lap, and, even in the grey morning, the embossed gilt clam shell on the cover still glints warmly. The thick sheaf of parchment pages is empty except for this lone entry. I must fill every page with the story of my novice journey, of the people I help, the sights I see, the good I do and the mistakes I will make. Inevitable mistakes, my sister teachers have repeated. They warm me that I will fall many times, that I will hurt when I mean to heal, that I will be misunderstood, confused and occasionally maligned.

I would like to think that I will be strong and at least make a difference across these lands. No matter the outcome, only through my actions in the years to come will I earn my priestesshood.

The journey begins.