Twelve Graces

  Where am I?

  Dreamless dreams. Darkness. Walking along, all throughout the night.

  He was in a tent. It was dark, but a pinprick of light pierced through the mesh-like fabric at the top.

  He looked down. A blanket was half draped over his stomach, half lying on the floor beside him because the not-too-comfortable bed under him wasn’t that tall, likely made of some kind of soft layer, fluffy filling, followed by something hard.

  Every muscle in his body ached; his skin felt like it wanted to slough clean off his bones.

  “You kinda look tired, sis.”

  Theo immediately turned his head toward the voices and found himself face-to-face not only with excruciating pain, but the tent fabric separating him from the outside.

  “Thanks. You look like shit, too.”

  “Aw, rude. Didja get the news?

  “Yeah. I’m gonna go meet with the matron as soon as they’re done morning blessing.”

  It all came back to him as he surveyed the rest of his surroundings. His bag was next to his blanket on the floor, there was a shelf of shoes was in front of him with blankets next to it, and beside him were two sleeping students. Faris, sleeping soundly in the bed to his left. Elias, also in a deep sleep in the one after. At the other end of the room, a neat and unoccupied bed that must have been Darius’s.

  With a small groan, Theo got to his feet, making a concerted effort to ignore the pain that shot through every bone in his body as he bent down to pick up his bag and loop it over his head.

  This isn’t even as bad as an Araise. I can do this.

  Spotting his shoes on the shelf, but—by some miracle—remembering from the day before that they shouldn’t be worn here, he left them and sluggishly shuffled over to the entrance.

  The cloth partition acting as a door for their room was light in his hand as he pushed it to the side and walked out to the main walkway of the tent, which, now that he could see properly, was a substantial size. If they had occupied the first room on the left, and the girls had occupied the first room to the right, then there must have been at least four more rooms. Considering each partitioned section had four beds, then each tent fit twenty-four—that was more than he expected.

  Do the other members live here? he wondered to himself, recalling that at its prime, the Circle of Graces’s population was recorded to be at least greater than a hundred and fifty.

  “Good morning, Theodore.”

  From the corner of his eye, Theo watched the lady who had guided them to their beds walking into the tent, mind completely blanking. “Oh, uh…good morning…um…”

  “‘Priestess,’” they replied with a polite smile, bowing. “Now please, follow me.”

  “Ah. Thank…thank you, priestess,” he uttered hoarsely before doing as he was told, bewildered and with a plethora of questions on his mind as he stepped onto the deep green communal threshold.

  “How…how long did I sleep for?”

  “Slightly less than a day. We are preparing for morning blessing.”

  “Did anyone else wake up before me?”

  “Yes. Darius and Selene are already helping with preparations. Calliope and Elias woke up yesterday evening, but they are currently asleep.”

  As Theo followed the priestess, he could see that there people were convening in the huge center point of the tents. Since the members of the Circle of Graces were all wearing their neutral garb, it was very easy to pick out Darius and Selene from the group. From far away, they looked like they were doing fine—that was all that he could hope for given the circumstances.

  “You’re not going?”

  His guide did not respond, walking over to a tent with what he swore was the Ancient symbol for the Grace of the Water Sepicas above the entrance before stopping and gesturing inside. “This is the Washing tent. You must get washed first. Left for males, right for females. Towels and a change of clothes, should you desire them, are also inside. Afterward, you may proceed to the Food tent behind us.” She gestured to the tent separating their living quarters and the one they were at presently. “Any questions?”

  The patronizing tone accompanying the simplified tent names was not lost on him. “No, thank you, priestess.”

  She nodded and disappeared without another word.

  Trying to keep himself grounded with Darius’s words, Theo took a deep breath and entered the tent.

  Aside from the curious overhead light source that shone far brighter than a typical spell-candle, the inside of the Washing tent was mind-numbingly unremarkable. Again, thick cream cloth for partitions, and black to signify the entrance to another room. Sturdy, wooden rods held them up.

  He walked into the tent a few paces, then through the left entrance.

  “Oh, you’re up?”

  Theo stopped mid-step and regarded Seth sitting at a table, fully clothed and looking like he was dressing his face. The bathroom did not look terribly different from their one back at the Academy—there was a section by the side cloth “wall” with shallow tables to sit at and wipe oneself down while getting ready, and there were separated sections on the other side with baths. “Yes, I…are you not doing morning blessing?”

  He stopped mid-application, eyes questioning. “No, I’m not a follower.”

  Theo blinked, trying to think of how not to sound rude. “They…didn’t force you even though you were born here?”

  Seth turned his head to the pocket mirror on the table in front of him, nonplussed as he used a finger to dab at the small container in the center of his palm and applied the mixture on his bottom lip. “I mean, I did it as a kid because my parents did, but after growing up, I realized I didn’t care for it. There’s plenty of people here who are like that, even nonbelievers who just need a home. The Circle of Graces helps everyone.”

  “That’s very kind,” murmured Theo absently with a nod, locating a shelf with clean linen and towels before examining himself. His new tactician’s garb…it was one of those long sorcerer tunics he hated, and its black fabric had already gotten dirtied. Though washing and re-wearing the outfit wasn’t an issue, another crucial question he had to consider was how ill-fitting it would be to wear it in a peaceful place like the Circle of Graces. And it wasn’t like he didn’t have plain clothes to change into.

  “By the by, heard today from Cass—I mean, Pia—that the Academy’s doing okay. Sorry, full-name traditions and all over here, Theodore.”

  Picking up a towel, Theo perked up. “Really?”

  “The main forces have been repelled, so the battle has been fought, but the Academy is still expecting enemy reinforcements to arrive in the coming days—they’ve maintained their state of high alert, fixing up what they can before the enemy has the chance to attack. Lots of MATS officials around—some were deployed in the direction of the forces, which came from both the south and the east. All main offices so far are safe, too. HQ is still on friendly terms with the Faluntides—they’ve got control over their people. For now, at least. Anyway.” He capped and slid his containers and mirror into his bag and stood up. “To be on the safe side, we’re keeping you all here until we get the all-clear.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Theo turned his head to an empty bath, nodding with disappointment written all over his face. It wasn’t much information, but it was better than nothing. “Any other news?”

  “Nothing that I can tell you, unfortunately.”

  “Unfortunately?”

  But he was already gone.

  * * *

  Leaving the tent around twenty minutes later, feeling much better after taking a hot bath and putting on clean and comfortable, unassuming plain clothes, Theo yawned while admiring the sun rise from the east. It was a beautiful, intense yellow that flooded the dark blue sky with a light orange and pink, casting light on the heavy shadow of night and dispelling the terror that lurked behind the darkness. He felt all the thoughts weighing on his mind suddenly lighten as he stared at it steadily rise.

  Another day to be thankful for, he remembered what Darius would say in the mornings when he joined him at the workshop.

  And then the priestess from earlier returned. “Hello again, Theodore.”

  “Priestess.”

  “On your way to eat?”

  He looked behind him, at the core of the community. Those who had been waiting for morning blessing were no longer there. “Yes. Soon.”

  “Very well. Excuse me.”

  As he was preparing to leave, Theo glanced at the person behind the priestess. “Oh, you’re awake.”

  Tired, dull eyes stared back at him. “Yes. By some Grace-forsaken miracle.”

  “Try to remember where you are, Faris,” the priestess chided kindly with a smile. “Please refrain from taking the name of the Graces in vain.”

  With far more courage than Theo had, Faris shot Theo a derisive, dry look before addressing the priestess again. “Okay, I won’t. Now, where is this?”

  She gave Faris the same rundown before bowing and leaving.

  “You feel okay?”

  Theo shot him a skeptical look. “Do you feel okay?”

  “No, but that’s nothing new.”

  I should have expected that, Theo thought while letting out a sigh. “Are you going to eat breakfast after?”

  “Yeah, are you?”

  Theo nodded. “Mhm. I’ll see you there later, then. I’m going to do a quick scan of the place.”

  “Sounds good, lead.”

  And then, as if he hadn’t meant to say those words, Faris’s usual deathly pallor turned a slight shade of pink before he disappeared into the tent.

  2-A’s class lead couldn’t help but smile as he walked across the dark green communal threshold spanning the entire settlement. The surface felt pleasantly flat, yet soft and bouncy, like it was molding itself to fit his feet. It was likely the reason they were asked not to wear their shoes, and why he was asked to bathe himself first thing after waking up—many seemed to sit on the floor and perform their morning blessings on it. Back at the Academy, Darius had his own little mat that he would sometimes roll out in the morning for morning blessing, too.

  Darius’s mat…didn’t it show the Graces?

  Stopping to look down at the intricate, unblemished gold designs at the core of the Circle of Graces, he realized it had the same Ancient symbols as Darius’s mat and the plaques on the tents. Twelve total for the Graces, six forward and six backward facets…with two remaining that he did not recognize on the northernmost and southernmost tips of the diamond-like constellation connecting the Graces together.

  On the leftmost end, the top symbol was for Grace of the Light Eslah, forward facet. Under that was the backward facet, Chalsis. Moving to the right was the same pattern—forward was north and backward was south. Thus the Graces of the Fire would be Sephec and Uphes, respectively. The column after that for the Graces of the Land were Lycea and Noa. That brought them to the middle two unrecognizable symbols that were the furthest away from each other. After that were the Graces of the Wind, Hythe and Ethy, the Graces of the Water, Caspos and Sepicas, and the Graces of the Dark, Anasot and Thaon.

  Intricate as the designs were, he was well-versed enough across all the magic scripts that he could tell the difference between the symbols for the Graces. The unknowns were definitely not duplicates.

  He turned around in his spot, garnering weird looks from the three remaining people sitting in the communal circle while he took his notebook out and penned down the symbols.

  One, two, three…seven tents in the first row closest to the center. Seven? He stopped and examined the odd one out before realizing that it was their tent. The one they had slept in.

  He jogged back to the Washing tent and checked the ones in the back row. One, two, three that corresponded to the Graces. That made ten.

  Continuing walking across the back row, he made it past three more until he arrived again at an odd symbol, right behind his class’s tent.

  That’s eleven. There should be three more around the back row, then.

  Sure enough, by the time he ended back up at the communal circle, he had counted fourteen tents.

  Fourteen Graces.

  Ty told me that there were twelve Graces, twelve sanctuaries to destroy. What—and where—are the last two?

  “Good morning, Theodore. You look like you need some help.”

  Theo turned to one of the priestesses who had stood up from the center to talk to him. It looked like the lady from the first day, the one who had greeted them. “Good morning, um…” He could not believe that he was having the same conversation again.

  “You may call me by my title, Head Priestess.”

  “Head Priestess,” repeated Theo before speaking his mind again. “Is there a reason why you don’t…use names for yourselves?”

  If the question was an impolite one, she made no mention of it. “Names show a form of closeness. Outsiders on our land are expected to be respectful and address their hosts by their titles, and in turn should expect themselves to be addressed by their names, if not their titles.”

  Though the custom differed from the commoner’s lifestyle he was used to, it was obvious the power dynamic it established put his people’s treatment of the Ancients to absolute shame. “I see.”

  The Head Priestess relaxed slightly before returning to her original question. “Anything that I can help you with?”

  “I…did not know there were fourteen Graces.”

  She regarded him peculiarly. “There are twelve Graces.”

  “But…those symbols on the ground. On the tents. I thought they were for the Graces?”

  That same bewildered look. “What do you mean?”

  He pointed to the northernmost and southernmost symbols. “Those—I don’t recognize those.”

  The lady’s curious look immediately turned into a knowing smile. “That is because the Earth Mother is not a Grace.”

  The shock and ignorance must have been plain on his face, because she continued, “Those two are for the forward and backward facets of the Earth Mother.”

  “But she doesn’t have sanctuaries?” he continued to insist, feeling a mix of stupid but also about to burst.

  “Of course she has sanctuaries. One for life, one for death. Forward and backward facets, just like the Graces.”

  “Why haven’t we heard of them?”

  Her piercing stare went straight through him. “You must know, after traveling with members of the Circle of Graces yourself, that we are reclusive people who serve no one but the Earth Mother and her Graces. This is not information that we freely give out, and certainly not to members in the employ of sorcerers, dear Theodore, bearer of Mother’s sins.”

  “How do you know that?” he replied measuredly, trying not to be bothered by how she spoke his given title so menacingly.

  “How does the Circle of Graces gather any information? Our people are everywhere.”

  He didn’t have to think hard for an answer. “It was the twins.”

  Instead of giving him anything resembling affirmation, the Head Priestess asked again, “Anything else you’d like to ask?”

  Not wanting to pass up the chance to interrogate someone who did not seem at all fazed by his incessant questioning, he replied, “If there are sanctuaries for the Earth Mother, does that imply that She once lived, and that there were two of Them?”

  To his utter disbelief, she nodded. “Of course. After the Earth Mother entered seclusion, she separated herself into two parts and sent one half—death—to continue overseeing Chloris. I am certain They once lived, They continue to live even to this day, and They will live long after we are gone.”

  “What?” he blurted before catching himself. “I-I’m sorry, but I…I find it hard to believe that the…”

  In the corner of his eye, he caught Faris leaving the Washing tent.

  “I understand.” The priestess nodded compassionately. “You may not share our views, but we believe that the Earth Mother has always been with us. She may die, but She will always come back to us, even if it is as a specter, an Ancient, or a commoner like you or me.”

  How do you kill a god? Ty’s voice whispered to him.

  You can’t. Not unless you’re one of them.

  “W-where are the sanctuaries, then?” he asked unsteadily, trying to run through the consequences of such a discovery. “Surely we would have heard of them, or seen their trees…”

  The straight face she kept while answering his question was humbling. “Contrary to the sanctuaries for the Graces, the locations of the Mother’s sanctuaries are such a well-guarded secret amongst the Ancients that it is said that they cannot physically speak of its location to any outsiders. It is a feeling. As such, you can imagine that we of the Circle of Graces know nothing of its existence, only that it may exist.”

  Ty. Does she know?

  “You’re…” Another realization suddenly hit him as he stared at the Head Priestess, unable to believe that he hadn’t made the connection earlier. “That is to say that all members of the Circle of Graces are commoners, right?”

  “Save for the princess and her mother, correct.”

  Selene…that damn royal.

  “Hey, Theo.”

  He turned to Faris, whose hair was wet and tied up in a ponytail. His eyepatch was plain for all to see, no longer covered by his hair.

  For some reason, Theo felt the world stop for a second as he watched him.

  Chuckling behind her sleeved hand, the Head Priestess shattered the silence and gestured to the tent for Thaon. “Why don’t you both head to the Food tent? I’m sure you must be famished.”

  What about Darius? Does he know? Or the Headmistress? Someone must know. She can’t—she can’t be chasing a dream that’ll never come true. There’s no way.

  “Come on,” called Faris, walking away first, his ponytail swaying from side to side as he walked.

  “Coming,” he called back weakly, giving one last look to the Head Priestess before catching up to his classmate. “Coming…”