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A Pious Lady

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:01 am
by Astraea
A Pious Lady
1st of Glade, Year 124 of the Age of Steel


When she heard the sound of the door opening on the other side of the reconciliation room, Astræa looked up eagerly from the Radiant Chronicle she had been flipping through to pass the time. She closed the book with a heavy thud as her golden eyes landed on the woman who shuffled nervously toward the chair. An enchanted glass wall stood between them in that wooden box. The priestess would be able to see everything, but the devout would simply see a murky, faceless silhouette behind the amber and silvery glass.

The woman who came in was a moonborn elf. She took note of her heavy golden earrings that weighed down her lobes and the sparkling necklace bearing a hefty emerald. It did not compliment her looks, but they were effective enough in announcing her status. With their people, it was quite tricky to guess one’s age, but by how much she was fidgeting, Astræa would have guessed that she was still young. She cleared her throat nervously before finally speaking, “Domina, my name is Davena. I have come here with a humble heart for your counsel.”

Here we go.

“Of course. How can I help you, dear?” Astræa started in a soft, lilting voice that she rarely used outside the temple walls. “Tell me all about your woes,” she invited as her magic reached through the glass. Once she latched onto the woman’s symphony, Astræa soothed her worries, urging her to trust the faceless cleric sitting on the other side. Sometimes, it was easier to tell your deepest secrets to a stranger, after all.

The priestess listened attentively as Davena recounted her story, letting out words of encouragement at all the right moments. It was not the most dramatic, but it was enough to fuel her excitement. Despite his promises to stay monogamous to each other, her betrothed, Felix, had abandoned her for a servi girl. This slave, Lora, had been her companion since childhood. Davena had treated Lora as a friend, someone she trusted. The girl seduced Felix and slowly turned him against Davena.

Astræa smiled slightly once she finished. How predictable. “You are not entirely blameless in this, Davena. You’ve been too lenient, you allowed the girl too much leeway.” Most people had a habit of getting too comfortable and greedy when given the chance. Especially the ones who were the most desperate for their freedom.

“But I-”

“This also serves as a lesson to you. I can see that you are a kind girl, but you must remember, some people cannot handle too much freedom. It is our place who are above them to remind them of their place and guide them to the right path,” the young priestess explained. There was no judgment in her voice, no reprimand, just a factual statement. “You must take action now.”

Davena let out a frustrated noise. “I can’t even do that now. He won’t let me touch her since I got mad and raised my hand at her. But I stopped myself! I did not even hit her! Yet, she ran to Felix and claimed that I abused her! She is staying with him now.” Surprisingly enough, it was the truth. All that showed in her rhythm was the frustration of being accused falsely. “My parents won’t even do anything about it. They said it didn’t matter as long as I was his legitimate wife, but that’s not what I want!”

“Ah, that’s a shame, Davena. It would have been better if you had hit her. Perhaps if you did, things wouldn’t have gotten this far.,” Astræa finally chastised, tapping her fingers on the wooden desk in front of her. “But fret not, you can still fix this.”

“How?” It was easy to pluck out the woman’s desperation. She must still be quite smitten with her betrothed even after his betrayal.

“That servi, Lora, she had taken something you cherish. She will need a reminder that something she cherishes can easily be taken away too - if not easier,” Astræa mused as she started braiding her pale hair, just to occupy her hands. “Do you know that might be?”

There was a silence between them and Astræa watched the sunborn woman. She had started fidgeting with her fingers, opening her mouth and closing it again. There was guilt in her eyes as she finally spoke, “Yes, her younger sister. She’s still at my house.”

Astræa cocked an eyebrow. It was quite bold for the servi to leave her sibling at the house of a mistress she betrayed. Perhaps she had thought her mistress was too soft-hearted to harm someone else instead. After all, it was clear that Davena couldn’t even raise her hand to her directly. Or perhaps she might not even care about the sister as much as Davena would have believed. Whatever the case, it was a start at least. “That makes things much easier then. Deal her punishments to the sister, instead. It can be anything you’d like. Let everyone see until the word reaches that servi girl. And if you wish to be spared from repeating this misfortune, take the sister and give her to Our Mother Midnight. She will remind Lora of her chains and that she should kneel.”

It wasn’t difficult to tell that Davena was uncomfortable with the idea. The priestess dove into her symphony once again, slowly sifting through her mixed emotions until she grabbed hold of the anger. The Mesmer tugged at the memory of finding Lora and Felix in the dark corner of her own home and fed the melody with her aether.

She cleared her throat. “I understand, domina.”

“Good, but you still have one more person to teach a lesson to, dear.”

Davena looked puzzled for a brief moment as she sat back down, her eyes squinting as if she was trying to see past the glass wall. “You mean-”

The priestess interrupted her, eager to hurry her along, “Yes, your beloved Felix. He betrayed his promise to you too. For him, you should come up with a punishment yourself. You know him best.”

“I can’t. What if he hates me after all of this?”

Astræa hummed lightly, almost cheerfully. “Are you truly that desperate for someone who would betray you for the first piece of flesh that shakes its body at him? It is up to you, of course, but I think you deserve better, Davena.”

Despite her hesitation, it was clear from Davena’s face that the gears in her head had started turning. She sat there for a few minutes in silence and Astræa let her. It gave her the time to dive a bit deeper into the woman’s melodies. She could spot her worries that even if she broke them apart, Felix would simply repeat his behavior with a different woman. Tying in a few notes into it, Astræa brought that thought to the forefront of her mind. There was no guarantee but perhaps it would be enough for her to shake away her silly infatuation.

When determination finally settled in her expression, Davena stood from her seat and bowed in her direction. “Thank you for your guidance, domina.”

Even though there was no way for her to know for sure, Astræa had a good feeling that Davena would listen to her advice. Something told her that she would find the woman dragging in a blood sacrifice in a few days. The priestess smiled in satisfaction and finally stood. That should be her last counseling session for the day.

Re: A Pious Lady

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 3:20 am
by Astraea
Eager to make her way back, Astræa left the reconciliation room and quickly made her way down the hallway towards the main chapel. The place was empty save for a young girl kneeling down, scrubbing the stone floor furiously. She didn’t seem to notice the priestess’s approach until she was only a few steps away. The girl was startled by the realization and jumped to her feet. As she stumbled away hastily and lowered her head, the girl walked into the bucket and accidentally knocked it toward the cleric. Water splashed everywhere, dousing her shoes and the hem of her dress. The priestess clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Forgive me, domina! Please, I have made a grave mistake,” the servi girl said hurriedly as she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead down on the temple floor. Her entire body was shaking and her breath hitched as she started to cry.

Astræa smiled slightly as she looked down at the child. She hadn’t even said a word to reprimand her. The young woman could not blame the servi, though. The girl probably had no doubt heard of the rumors surrounding her habits. While the rumors were probably not wrong, she seemed to misunderstand it. The platinum elf had no interest in punishing something as inconsequential as accidentally sousing her with dirty water. That would waste too much of her time.

“Just clean it up,” Astræa said with a wave of her hand as she walked past the cowering slave and continued to be on her way.

Soon enough, her steps echoed throughout the empty chapel as she headed for the exit. There was a lone figure sitting at the last pew with his head lowered. Usually, the place would be empty at this late hour. It took her a few more steps to realize that she recognized the individual who had finally looked up, a playful smile playing on his lips. Not an unwelcome one, but certainly unexpected. These few days had been painfully dull and uneventful. Perhaps this was a gift from Varvara to cure her boredom.

“I have been waiting for you,” Artorius announced as he ran his fingers through his golden hair.

She had met the sunborn male almost a whole season ago in a cabaret in Umbrium. He had been with his fellow praevantores, clearly acting as their ringleader. Astræa had been with a few other priestesses to unwind. Unsurprisingly as the night became darker and the drugs grew stronger, the two groups had mingled together. Artorius had immediately zoned in on her. She could tell he was quite excited by the nature of her features. He was charming enough for her to give him a pass and let him spend his night on top of her.

Honestly, Astræa quite liked Artorius - at least compared to the many men who orbited around her. He was arrogant and callous, but he was handsome and rather impressive in bed. But the most important thing was he never tried to pry about her life - all through the dozen times they had shared a bed. The man seemed more than content to know almost nothing about her while he whined about the details of his married life.

“It’s late,” the female cleric pointed out as she approached him. There was only one reason for him to come looking for her. Deciding to play, Astræa sat herself down on his lap and his smile widened. His left arm immediately slithered around her waist, eagerly pulling her body closer to him. “Shouldn’t you be at home, eating dinner with your lovely wife?”

He shrugged. “It’s been more than a week since I had last seen you. I’ve missed you.”

The young woman cocked an eyebrow at him. “Have you sorted things out with your wife then? Does she know you’re here?” His shrug was enough answer and Astræa rolled her eyes. She made a big show of pushing him away and started to stand, but the man gripped her hips and firmly pulled her back into place. “Or do you want me to get in trouble again?”

Their last encounter had ended in quite a disaster. It turned out his wife had secretly had someone tail him. That day Artorius had brought Astræa to one of his family homes - the one he did not share with his wife - and at dawn, a woman had burst in to catch him in the act. Clearly, having other lovers was not something they had discussed before. Astræa had simply walked into the bathroom to bathe as Artorius dragged his wife outside the room, both screaming at each other. By the time she was dressed, they were still going at it.

Unwilling to waste time waiting for them to resolve their quarrel, the young woman decided to just quietly walk past them and leave. The man certainly was not worth the drama, so she would simply never see him again. At least it was what Astræa had planned. However, just as she touched the front door, the angry woman grabbed her and slapped her hard. That was more than enough to make the young priestess keep seeing Artorius just to spite her.

But he didn’t need to know that. Let him think that he would need to plead with her to keep her around.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you and Xandra will never lay hand on you again,” the man said firmly. “She knows that her family still needs more money from mine, so she’ll behave. In fact, if you want to, I’ll make her come and apologize to you.”

Astræa considered it for a moment. “No, I don’t need that.” It would certainly be entertaining to see that bitch struggling to spit out an apology. But it seemed like too much trouble. She didn’t want to change her schedule just for that. Knowing that Xandra would be seething in anger every time Artorius chose her over his own wife was entertaining enough. “But how will you make it up to me?”

“For starters, as a peace offering, I have brought news from the world above. Something you will be quite interested in,” he announced triumphantly. He knew that she liked hearing about the latest news. Sensing her piqued interest, Artorius leaned in to graze his lips on her pale neck - as if to reward himself already. She let him go on for a few seconds before pulling away. The man hadn’t done anything worth rewarding after all.

He chuckled lightly, knowing exactly what she was doing. Being the intelligent man that he was, Artorius laid out exactly what he had heard. Everyl Princeps Prætor had announced himself interim regent from Palatium Furarium earlier today. He would be in charge until the Conclave of Electors decided on a sovereign. It was speculated that four names would be considered, but considering that two of them were dryadalis platinum, it would be more difficult to predict the outcome.

It was something that intrigued her. “So, we’ll have a new sovereign soon.” Considering everything that had happened, it wasn’t unexpected news, but hearing that they had formally announced their plan for a selection still made her feel some type of way.

For most of her life, Astræa had been told that her brother would eventually take the throne. It was one of the many reasons Eudora had been so eager to shove her into Kaedryn’s and Vraedyn’s lives. Her mother was convinced if things went well, Astræa would be a sister to a sovereign. If things went really well, she could be a bride to a sovereign - which was a laughably big ambition for a woman who did nothing but beat her daughter. The thought of failing her mother used to terrify her, but now there was a warm satisfaction of knowing that Eudora was furious that her plans had failed.

“That’s quite a serious look you have there. Are you planning to abandon me and catch yourself a prince?” Artorius teased.

Astræa burst out laughing at his statement. He looked puzzled, completely unaware that he wasn’t entirely wrong. She did want to catch the attention of a prince, but not the way he imagined it. She always liked that feeling of knowing more than others. “You have to admit, I’d make a pretty good princess.” Placing her hands on his shoulders, she leaned in and looked right into his eyes. “Surely, that’s not all you’re offering me as an apology.”

“Of course not, but I’d rather talk with you somewhere else.” He brought his hand up to grip her chin, running his thumb across her lower lip. “There’s this lovely lounge not too far from here. They serve all the foods you will ever want. We’ll get some privacy there too.”

The young woman smiled innocently and slapped his hand away, startling the man. The priestess took the chance to leap off Artorius’s lap and gave him a smirk. As tempting as it was, Astræa had no interest in giving him what he wanted so easily. He would have to work for it after the trouble he had caused her. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to tonight. Get back to me with a proper time and date, then I’ll consider it.”

Without waiting for his answer, Astræa walked away and did not look back.

Re: A Pious Lady

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:59 am
by Talisman
Image
Review

Name: Astraea

XP: 8 Points, may be used for Mesmer
Injuries/Ailments: None
Loot: None

Notes: Welcome to Solunarium! What a great introduction to Astraea - I am looking forward to seeing more of her. I suspect she's going to fit right in.

If you have any questions, you know where to find me. :)