The Price of Knowledge

Sirius' conscience weighed on him, so on the very next day he asked Father Gregor for a punishment outside of the limits imposed by the Inquisitor. For that he was tasked with shovelling the streets from the snow for the remainder of the winter. The news of his interaction with the Silver Inquisition quickly spread through the village, quickly changing the attitude of people around him. Some were sympathetic and happy that Sirius survived, while others called him a sinner.

When winter ended, from time to time he would sill be called a heretic by the most zealous of the villagers, but no one tried to punish Sirius themselves. The Observer would often follow Sirius around the village, her presence unnerving everyone around and protecting Sirius from the most angry ones. Other times she was residing in the church, overlooking the order in the main hall. With no snow left, Sirius was relieved from his shovelling duties and, during the Inquisitor's spring visit, was allowed to read fairy tales and a small list of select non-religious books.

In the spring, with nothing more to do, Sirius was helping in the fields, planting the seeds and weeding out the gardens. The life of an ordinary villager was boring to him. Not just sometimes boring, but constantly so incredibly dull, he began thinking he was losing his mind. Every day he would work to the bone simply to spend his time doing something. He read every book on his allow-list multiple times, memorising them word by word, meditated every free minute he had and pondered about his future as a mage. He felt we was wilting. One day, when the forest was dry he went for a walk into the woods after gaining the permission of Father Gregor. This inevitably garnered attention of the Observer.

Sirius was strolling between trees, remembering the times when he was living here. He did not know anything outside this forest, spending all his time with Seth and Verden. He was walking along the known path, sometimes calling out Seth's name. Manasnake woke up from winter hibernation and was following him around scaring small wildlife and hunting for its pleasure. In his thoughts Sirius arrived at the foot of the tree. Bright spring sun was shining through the ever so green trunk, spreading the pleasant warmth around. Purple leaves mostly remained on the branches, but some of them fell to the ground, torn away by winds and snow. Out of interest, Sirius picked as many of them as he could in order to inspect them later. Near the very trunk, where his old home once was Sirius sat on the roots and reminisced in silence.

"What are you doing here?" The Observer asked, seeing that her target finally stopped. She was hidden using some kind of spell, her voice ethereal and coming from every direction at once.

"I knew you would follow me."

"You did not answer my question."

"I lived in this place with my Uncle. He adopted me, but I always called him Uncle. This tree appeared here when assassins came."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was nearly killed that night. By Order's people, as far as I am aware."

"Why?"

"If only I knew. In the end I am alive because Inquisitor allowed me to. But they took Uncle Verden from me."

"Why are you telling me all that?"

Sirius lightly smiled and looked at the canopy of the tree near him.

"To find out if every single person in the Silver Order has no heart."

Observer was... scared. This boy was looking directly into her eyes, his golden eyes shining with some mystical glint, peering into her soul. He was young, but faced death so many times, that he was not afraid anymore.

"For what I've seen, I am inclined to believe my notion." Sirius said.

Observer jumped down from the tree without making a sound. Sirius followed her movement with his cold gaze, like a snake following its prey. Observer felt a shiver along her spine. She dispelled the stealth and walked out in the opening, wearing the same black and white cloak of the Order and a white mask.

"How did you know where I was?"

"And why should I answer you?"

"I have the right to execute you if you will not answer."

"But will you? I know that you are not a senior member of the Order, you have no holy amulet on your neck and the robes are not as decorated as the Inquisitor's. This means that you are a novice in there, so you were sent to follow a country bumpkin who was too curious. I had a lot of time to study all the religious texts in my possession, that's how I know."

"... So... The answer?"

"The answer? I guessed. It's a kind of intuition I have, nothing more. It's not like I have anything else." Sirius chuckled and began laughing, tints of madness seeping out in his voice. "Whatever I find interesting, I am stripped of it right away! Do you even know how hard it is, when your whole world is destroyed!? When your family is killed in front of your your eyes!? When you are left alone and deemed unworthy of becoming a mage! The only thing I was fascinated about in this life, torn away from my future!" He screamed and laughed with teary eyes full of immeasurable sadness, all while looking directly into the Observer's black eye holes. "All because someone decided that I am unfit to live! Without investigation, just because of some damned prophecy, mind you!" Sirius threw a pile of leaves with a force to the ground, shattering them into pieces. He calmed down a little and whispered. "Nightmares of forest fire burning my home with my uncle inside still follow me..."

Finally he fell silent and turned away. Observer was stunned. She did not expect such madness coming from the kid, his outburst was shattering the mana around. It was not something ordinary non-mage could do. She was told this kid was simply a bit more talented, nothing more. Now she was thinking about what to tell her superiors.

"Are you going to give me out? Or kill right here and now?" Sirius asked weakly.

"You are wrong. Today you went to the grave of your adoptive father and I did not interact with you." She answered calmly, emotionless as always. With these words she turned around and hidden in the foliage, the stealth spell erasing her presence.

"Thank you..."