The Price of Knowledge

At first Sirius was skeptical, but polishing metal turned out rather pleasant. Not a thought entered his head during that day, just calm glint of iron, illuminated by dancing flames, soothing his mind. These flames were so different from... those. Never could Sirius believe that fire was that scary. He knew that it could scald your skin if you are not careful, but now he truly understood the danger... Choking sensation sometimes stirred in his mind when he carelessly touched hot wax of a candle, but the calm atmosphere quickly dispelled his worry.

Eventually, all chandeliers were clean. Just now Sirius noticed that people were gathering on the pews. Some were solemnly whispering under the breath, reading a prayer, others were admiring the interior or reading a book, relaxing after a long day. In the end, Sirius decided that he deserved a bit of rest and picked a spot for contemplation on the last pew, closer to the exit.

Statues of Gods towered over people, easily thrice their height. Sirius began observing the towering figures, trying to understand what was opposite between them. Mythos, the black statue to the right of the altar, had a sword on his hip and carried a staff with a snake coiled around it. Mythra stood opposite him, sword replaced by herbalist's pouch and staff was coiled with vines.

Surprisingly, other details didn't match their characters. Mythos was gently smiling, his robes flowing like in water, and Mythra was frowning, her clothes creased and jagged along the edges.

"Let us start." Male and female voices sounded in unison. It was Father Gregor and some other woman in white robes, their outfits mirroring that of Gods. Both priests in high-collared shirts and flowing, almost weightless robes on top were holding hands, sooty-black garments of Father Gregor contrasting with snowy-white ones of a priestess.

They began reading the prayer. They thanked the gods for their gifts, thanked Mythra for the era of peace she upheld, and asked Mythos to postpone his reign. They praised both Twins equally, so as not to bring their wrath upon their homes. Sirius listened to the prayers, looking at the rhythmical pulsing of flames. The words said were filled with calm and bliss, and these intense emotions of all the people in the church unwillingly mixed into mana around them and seeped into the environment. Sirius began observing and feeling the surroundings with great interest. No wonder he felt so calm in here, over the years the whole building was overflowing with calmness and cured the minds of the people.

Suddenly, he felt a pull at his soul. His thoughts shattered in disarray. In panic he looked around. He was scared. Everyone chanted. What was happening? His soul is in agony. He needs to run. Now! In panic he falls from the pew.

The shake gave him enough lucidity to stand up and stumble from the church. He slowly went outside and sat on the bench. His clothing is soaked in cold sweat, as if he was dunked in a river. He tried catching a breath, but his body refused, like it was still running.

"You alright?" A female voice asked

"Huh?"

"Are you ok? You look pale." It was a girl, a couple of years older than Sirius, who walked out of the church after Sirius.

"I'm better..."

"You are shivering, do you need a coat?"

"No-no, I'm fine, really..."

"Nah, I don't believe you." She said and pulled a coat over Sirius' shoulders.

"Thank you..."

"Can I sit?"

"Sure..."

She sat beside him. Her long red hair swayed on the wind, giving off a smell of mint and lavender. The evening sun refracted in the facets of green crystal of a windy rope-like tree, its purple leaves soaking in the last sunlight of the day.

"Breathtaking, isn't it?"

"Maybe..."

"I didn't know a Cardinal was traveling in these places."

"Why do you think so?"

"Only the highest mages of His Majesty the King could pull such a feat? Whoever created this tree overnight must be a Cardinal, not less!"

"Why would he go such a places just to place a tree?"

"I don't know. But how can someone be this powerful without being a Cardinal?"

"The border of the Kingdom is that way. Maybe it was outsiders?"

"Pfft! Don't be silly! There are only barbarians to the east! Such a beautiful creation MUST be made by Kingdom's mage for sure!"

"Sirius, how are you? What happened?" Gregor was rushing towards the boy from the church.

"I'm fine. It's just... nothing to worry about."

"Melissa, thank you for checking out on him, what would I do without you."

"Yeah, he seemed sickly when he left the church. So you are Sirius, huh? Anyways, I should go. Nice to meet you!" Saying that she waved to Sirius and went home.

Sirius weakly smiled and waved back, still a bit uncomfortable from the interaction. At least he has finally calmed down from the earlier.

"She is a nice girl, helps here when she is not occupied in a bakery. Now that we are alone, what really happened, Sirius?"

"The flow of mana scared me and I panicked."

"The flow of mana? The one from all the people?"

"Yes..."

"Understood. I guess, something traumatised you that night."

They sat in silence for a minute. Eventually, Gregor made a decision.

"Let's go fetch Seth and come to a tree. I hope it will help you."