A Confession of Annana Rethan, Temple Priestess (Part 3)
"Your silence is from faith. Such faith must be rewarded. Tell me your name."
Vivec looked at me intently, like I was the only person in the room, even though I knew his mind was on all things everywhere. Though I felt like I was in free fall, I managed to find enough mind to answer,
"Annana Rethan, mi'Lord. From Balmora."
"Well Annana, I am Vivec and from this day forward your home shall be Vivec. I shall make you priestess of my Buoyant Armigers. You will bless them, pray for them, and heal their wounds. For war is coming and the need for healing will be great."
Before I could respond he had moved on to the next Acolyte in line. I wasn't really sure what had just happened. Yet one of the guards in glass, a Buoyant Armiger, approached me and said, "You will need to come with me. I will escort you to our barracks. You will be given further instruction soon." I nodded and followed obediently, somewhat in a daze.
As he led me over the bridge to the Palace of Vivec, I gathered my wits and started to really understand. I lived here now and I had a new job. In an instant, the plan for my life had vanished. I had envisioned going back to Balmora and continuing to aid the priest there, eventually replacing him when he retired. But now I had a new master, Mastery itself.
Over the waters, sparkling with sunlight, I could see the outline of Ebonheart's towers and could hear the call of the netch. I knew that I loved him and could not go back. I could not deny him. My face must have appeared anxious. "Don't worry," said the Armiger, "working for Lord Vivec isn't a bad gig. You're gonna be well taken care of. But know this: he always keeps you on your toes. You don't want to disappoint a god."
And indeed, the job wasn't bad at all. I provided healing and magical support to the Armigers in their quests and tasks. Frequently we headed off to the Red Mountain to deal with the abominations that have been materializing there of late. We found covens of the Four Corners and showed no mercy to their worshipers. Often, we were in simply in training, preparing for the war that was ever growing closer. We heard rumors of an Empire of men rising in the west under the banner of Tiber Septim. Lord Vivec seemed to be certain that conflict was inevitable. "Your skills will be needed in battle and, even more, in the peace afterward," he said. Yet, despite the dread that hung over our missions, I was happy. I was with Vivec.
I would try to find excuses to be close to the Lord. So I volunteered to be the one to purify and bless pilgrims as they came from all around Morrowind for a chance to meet the god-king. Whether or not they actually got to meet him was entirely at Vivec's whim. Sometimes he spent the whole day in audience chamber, speaking to the people, listening to their concerns; other days he was nowhere to be found (presumably in some other realm or far off continent).
His behaviors too, were inscrutable. Sometimes he was tender. Orphans and prostitutes would come to him, begging for food or shelter or protection. And he would always help them, allowing them to join the Armigers, placing them into the care of the Temple, or even bringing justice against the thug that oppressed them. Yet he could also be, forgive my words, rather demanding. One time he set a petitioner on fire for coughing while he was speaking. I have seen people cough in his presence many times before and since then, so I have no idea what made the difference.
But that is how he is and that is how he acted with me on two particular occasions. Such will I now relate to you:
We were in the audience chamber, the day having just broken. I was lighting the candles. He usually never spoke to me directly. But out of nowhere, he turned to me and said,
"Annana, come hither."
"At your service Lord."
"I have a task for you."
In the air materialized a small brush, the kind used for scrubbing dirt off dishes or tight spaces. "Annana, clean the puzzle canal with this brush."
I took the brush; I did not ask questions. Immediately, I left the chamber and dashed down the zigzagging stairs that ended up at the puzzle canal's entrance. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. My normal tasks would be taken over, probably by someone over in High Fane. These sorts of things happen often enough for certain protocols to exist.
The canal is vast, its passages wide and filthy. The water smelled of sewage, it was the same water that flowed through the rest of the city. Starting from the entrance, I worked my way down the halls and corridors, bent over, scrubbing vigorously. For two weeks I was missing from my duties as a priestess. It took a month for the smell to get out of my clothes. I would go back to my dormitory in pain and collapse into bed. My back ached and my knees bruised, yet I did it gladly. It was for Vivec. When he asked you to do something, you did it.
So when he asked another favor, I obeyed.
"Annana, come hither."
"At your service Lord."
This time, a chitin dagger materialized in the air. I noticed it was rather blunt and in bad repair, rusty even. "A daedroth from Coldharbour is in the city. Kill it with this dagger."
I did not ask how a daedroth got into the city in the first place. Or why the Ordinators weren't doing anything about it. Or why I, untrained in combat, was the one who had to do this. I see now that it was a test.
At the end of the bridge to the Temple Compound I saw it. It was far larger than me, at least twice my size. Its dark scales gleamed in sunlight and its eyes were red in blood-lust. It snarled at me, bearing its claws. Was I afraid? Yes. Terrified. My hands trembled and I clasped the dagger tightly just to steady myself. I had no armor and no idea what I was doing. It charged at me, opening its wide jaws, revealing teeth pointed and razor sharp. Yet I threw myself at it, madly, berserk with love for my god.
We collided. Its claws sunk into my sides and drew blood. I am certain that its teeth reached my front and back, marring half my body. I stabbed it though. I stabbed it over and over again. Gleefully, as though drunk, I stabbed. I stabbed until I could stab no further, until my body collapsed.