Cynhesrwydd's eyes shook with horror as she and three other Mending Sisters cast [Healing Touch] on the corpse of the champion of the Sun.

  Kalokaíri had just been brought in by the Goddess of Light, who demanded that Cyn and her sisters heal the headless champion. However, several sisters had already run out of Willpower, leaving them as husks of their former selves. Their minds forever lost to their own bodies.

  Cyn held her shaking hands up while trying not to look at Kalokaíri’s disfigured head which was placed just above her body on a pedestal of polished white marble.

  “Enough!”

  Cyn turned her hazel eyes to the brightly lit chamber’s entrance to see an elderly woman clad in a gown of pure white cotton and intricate golden embroidery.

  Much like most others in ílios, her skin was darkly tanned and her gown had a hood but even that wasn’t enough to protect her fully from the glaring rays of light that washed into the chamber from the tall windows above.

  The elder’s weary brown eyes gave Cyn and her sisters a turn and she eventually sighed in defeat.

  “We have done what we can. Alas, the champion is dead. We have been instructed to preserve her body but that task will be given to your sisters. You three should get some rest for now.” The elder spoke softly and kindly as if she empathized with their fatigue completely.

  Cyn and her sisters deeply bowed before leaving the chamber which was at the heart of the largest Prism in all of Mahali. Prisms were places where people gathered to worship the Cycle and its life-giving light.

  People also revered the dutiful Goddesses although Prisms in different provinces revered a specific Goddess over the other two with ā??al being the most loved in ílios.

  Cyn and her sisters made their way to the dormitory section of the Prism of Apollon, their home where they silently entered their shared bedchambers.

  Cyn sat on her bed as her younger sisters looked at her with concerned eyes.

  One of them, a little girl, walked up to her and offered her a sunflower.

  A common but adored plant in ílios.

  Cyn accepted the flower with a smile before placing one of its petals in her tightly braided golden blond hair.

  The little girl bowed happily before doing a little spin and returning to the sisters who were closer to her age, leaving Cyn to contemplate her life and everything that had led her up to this point.

  While healers were fairly common in Mahali, Mending Sisters were orphaned girls who were taken in by Cyclist Priests for the sake of charitably healing the injured and the sick.

  Life in its totality was the most valuable thing to Cyclists and so the orphaned girls were taught medicine and chemistry along with healing magic which they were able to access thanks to the Cycle Shards charitable knights who would donate to their local Prisms, as rare as they were.

  When Mending Sisters weren’t healing the wounded, they were tending their own personal gardens which were part of a collection of gardens behind every Prism.

  Whenever she was stressed, Cyn would think about her garden and the time she’d spent with it.

  It was said that a Mending Sister’s fate was tied to her garden but, for as long as Cyn could remember, her garden always consisted of a few dandelions and various weeds.

  Weeds which the Priests ended up letting her keep since she struggled to keep anything else alive.

  Cyn took a deep breath before standing and making her way to the gardens behind the Primism which stood as a monument of marble and glass that was ten stories tall, consisting of tall, vertical slabs of stone that got progressively tall towards the centre, creating a sleek tower that rose as if to pierce the heavens.

  Cyn knelt by her garden and watched as her plants meekly drank the light of the sun.

  Their silence would be her only comfort since the sorrows of a Mending Sister were never to be known since they were supposed to be the ones who comforted.

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  Not even among each other could they lament or give voice to their woes.

  Cyn sat for what must have been thirty minutes before eventually returning to the dorms where she laid her head to rest.

  As she dozed off, she thought about everything that had happened.

  The arrival of an actual Goddess.

  The corpse of the champion.

  The Oath of secrecy she and her sisters were made to take.

  And the dozen sisters who had lost their minds in trying to resurrect a corpse, something that was unthinkable, even if it was for the sake of a champion.

  Cyn prayed for a peaceful resolution to all of this as she fell into sleep.

  She prayed to the ever-churning tides of the Cycle that all would be well when she next awoke for that was all the helpless could ever do.

  Pray.

  .

  ..

  The next day arrived tiredly.

  Cyn had barely managed to sleep as every waking thought was filled with the anguished screams of a god.

  After visiting the bathroom where she tried to wash the dread from her pale skin, Cyn made her way into the main atrium where she, to take her mind off of everything, tended to those in need.

  The main chambers of most Prisms were shaped like a U which allowed people to enter and leave the building in a single file to pray with the Mending Sisters who knelt along the path.

  Those who were injured would be healed and those who were crestfallen would be comforted.

  Cyn did this for a few hours but found herself constantly thinking back to what she had witnessed.

  She had seen countless injuries but had never seen an actual corpse before.

  Focusing was getting harder and each breath was shorter than the last But she managed to make it to the end of the day without completely falling apart.

  The sun finally set and the doors to the Prism were closed, allowing Cyn to stand from her marble seat.

  Se then made her way to the medical ward where injured sisters were taken along with those who had unfortunately depleted their Willpower.

  These husks of women were bound to their beds, covered in their own drool and other body fluids which brought Cyn endless Agony as she stood by the entrance to the ward.

  “Oh- Sister Cyn. I was just about to look for you.”

  Cyn turned around to find one of her sisters standing behind her with a sneaky expression. Her eyes were narrowed and she was hunched forward.

  “What is the matter, Sister Nhanga?”

  “We have been summoned back into the heart of the Prism by the elder. She says she has something she wants to tell us and us alone.” Nhanga whispered while trying her best to be inconspicuous which made Cyn smile a little.

  “Alright. Let us see what she has in store for us.”

  The two made their way back into the chamber where the Champion’s remains were being held and tended to by a single Mending Sister. Next to her was another sister and the elder priest of the Prism.

  “You summoned us, Madam?” Cyn asked after giving the elder a curtsey.

  “A terrible development. According to the Goddess ā??al herself, the one responsible for the murder of champion Kalokaíri was a wretched being known as Haki. A remnant of ancient malevolent forces that seeks to establish itself in our world wielding the corpses of those it kills.”

  The elder’s words made the sisters’ expressions stiffen.

  “That being of darkness is now amassing a force of terrible others that will soon descend onto the world of men but rejoice for the Goddess is mobilizing the forces of both ílios and Ardania to form a host that will be led by the Great Generals of each province who will face It in the den it has chosen in Qaya.”

  Cyn’s brows furrowed a little.

  “The combined forces will be fifty thousand individuals strong and while they will have their own healers and Mending Sisters, I want you to go there, not just to heal but to comfort, guide and inspire those who will surely rise as champions of their own in the coming days.” The elder warmly smiled.

  “So… does that mean we’re going to Qaya?” Nhanga asked with widened eyes.

  “Yes. You, Cynhesrwydd and Zǎochén will represent Apollon in the delivery of justice. The forces are amassing in Qaya but I’d rather you prepare your things so you may begin the lengthy journey there before nightfall. You should be there in two days and worry not, you will be accommodated well.”

  Cyn bit her teeth.

  Too much was happening.

  She and her sisters were essentially being sent to war but war was a thing of ancient history since most Emperors resolved all disputes single-handily and without question since they held the ultimate power.

  But the Emperor of the current age had long since died, meaning the denizens of Mahali had to resolve this on their own.

  “I look forward to hearing from you soon. The Prince Regent should make a declaration soon so you needn’t worry about maintaining secrecy in your travels.”

  Cyn joined her sisters in curtseying the elder before they left the chamber.

  The three walked to their dorms silently even though each knew that the others’ minds were racing.

  They then packed their things, a second gown, her dried washcloth and a bronze pendant which depicted the Cycle, and met by the front entrance of the Prism where they were bathed in the harsh rays of sun that always poured over ílios.

  They then entered the carriage that awaited them at the bottom of the grand marble staircase and set off for Qaya which was about three hundred kilometres to the west.

  The three rode in silence but wore different, telling expressions.

  Cyn was visibly apprehensive, her brows knotted and her eyes sharp. Nhanga was excited for some reason, staring out the carriage as they rode out of the clean and illustrious city that was also the seat of the current Emperor. And Zǎochén seemed angered for whatever reason.

  Cyn chose not to ask and knew her sisters wouldn’t tell her their thoughts any time soon.

  She took comfort in the fact that whatever was causing so much trouble was going to be swiftly dealt with so all she'd have to do is perform her normal duties until it was all over and return home.

  She leaned back and sighed.

  A smirk played on her face as she pitted whatever entity that had chosen to face the might of man.

  After all, they had the backing of a god.

  Who could possibly oppose them?