Kapitel 2: 1. The Abbey
In a dilapidated and broken house a woman sits in her bed. Sweat drips down her frail and tired body drenching the sheets and her night gown. Her coughing wracks the walls and floors with her wheezing breath escaping her dry and cracked lips.
Dark splotch marks spread across her pale skin and her eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep. But it is not her she worries for. But her little baby laying in his cradle. His worn and patched clothes struggle against him as he coos from his cradle. His little fists waggling about in the dank and humid air.
A knock echoes through the one story home. The bed can be easily seen from the door as the place has no walls. Only a single post struggles to hold the roof of the house aloft.
"Come in..." the woman calls out only for it to sound like a whisper.
The door creaks loudly as it slowly opens. Leather covered fingers grasp the iron handle as they force the door further allowing the cloaked figure to enter the home. His head almost touches the shallow ceiling with his height of 6 ft. A cane in his hand taps against the floor in one hand while the other carries a leather bag.
"I am Doctor Manning of the Order of Purifying. And I am here to see if you can be cured." A humble tenor voice fills the room. Calm, collected, maybe even sad could describe it. Though it was muffled slightly by the plague mask he wore.
The woman held out one of her hands as the doctor opened his bag flooding the air with the smell of herbs, spices, and alcohol.
His gloved hand reached for hers with a handkerchief covering his palm. She weakly placed her hand palm up before he took out a blade and scratched her hand with it.
Her body was too weak to react as dark black blood came out of the wound. Making the doctor let out a troubled sigh while he wrapped her hand in a bandage. "I am sorry. Your sickness has progressed too far for me to help. Only the gods can help you now. If there is anything I can do to help you be more comfortable, please say so." He said as he leaned in to put her hand to her chest.
She coughed a little before pointing toward the crib. "Can you bring my son close? Not enough to touch. But close."
The doctor nodded his head as he stood to approach the boy. The baby didn't bat an eye at the strange being picking it up or the dark mask that he was faced with which urked the young doctor.
He calmly brought the baby close to look at his mother who smiled lightly. If her face was less grimy and sickly she would be beautiful. But life was unkind and filled with darkness and hardship. "Oh my son. I am sorry to see you go. But I have no power to stay and see you live life. No matter how long. I pray you find your place and that life becomes your throne. My peace I give you my son. And my blessing..." her skin suddenly turned even more pale and her eyes sunken and dark. "No sickness may harm you. No death may take you unwillingly. And no blade or claw shall ever scratch they flesh. Because you are my son and noone will steal your birthright." Cough!Cough!
Blood seeped from her lips and onto her hands when she covered her mouth. The doctor was stunned by her transformation as she now looked like deaths bride. Eyes sunken and her body bony and malnourished. Like the blessing had stolen her strength from her.
"I ask you take him with you doctor. He cannot stay here. The abbot has already agreed to take him should anything happen to me. So I thank you for letting me see and bless him one last time."
Doctor Manning could only look down at the poor child and nod as he went to the door his bag and cane in his left hand with the baby in his right arm. "You are a good mother." He said turning to look at her. Only to find that her eyes were vacant and her breath stilled. She was gone.
The mask revealed no emotion as the man beneath turned back to the carriage and gave the driver the church address. "Puritors Abbey" which the coachman nodded and as soon as the man boarded the carriage started its rickety journey once more.
-14 years later-
A tall slim church stood not far from a cobbled road. A dark wraught iron fence wrapped it's yellowing grass covered lawn. A large iron symbol hung above the double doors. An eye with rays of light coming down from it. A symbol of the insight, and purifying power of the heavens.
Organ music could be heard from within. But as majestic as the music was the insides of the abbey were no more majestic as they were made of cold stones and rough wood. Little was done for decorations save the alter which was made of brass and redwood. Which though it stood out amongst the church, was not expensive or attention drawing.
A giggle escaped from behind the alter as a young boy went past it. Seemingly looking for something. Or someone. His eyes were the color of a stormy grey sky with bits of blue showing here and there. While his dark disheveled hair was noticeably that of a bedhead. His gown however showed that he was an alter boy of sorts. White robes with a black ribbon down the middle with a white eye emblazoned on it.
"Come on Em! I need my comb or Father Creedence will have my hide again for not being prepared for mass!" He growled as he peeked behind the alter at a girl dressed similar to him. She giggled as she passed it over. "If you kept it closer it wouldn't be so easy to take!" She said as she brought herself out from the alter as he combed his hair with some water from a nearby water bucket.
He slicked his hair the way he was shown dozens of times. But there was always the one that stood up like a tail at the front. Em giggled as he wrestled it into the other hairs and it eventually stayed.
"Seems about time for another haircut." Cade groaned out as he thought about the abbot with his shears. The same ones used on the sheep in their back pasture. "Ugh. I hope the abbot finally learned that hair doesn't need to be pulled like rope when he cuts it." He shivered even worse at the thought.
Em just shook her head at him. Her long blonde curls showed off her full face and green eyes. As she brought herself close.
"Well. I guess the abbot always does enjoy tormenting you the most. Wonder why that is?" She scrunched up her face a little at the thought.
Cade shrugged as he put the comb into the trousers hiding beneath his robes. "Dunno. All the old man says is that he owed my mother. And I should be a better boy. But I'm a kid. I gotta have a little fun eh?" He said as he lit the brazier he behind the altar before moving to light the incense in the censer he had to carry around.
The pungent smell of burning rosemary, sage, and thyme filled the air as he lifted a censer by the chain it was attached to and began to move about making the entire chapel smell of it.
"And heaven knows we could do something about what burns in that thing you swing. It smells awful" Em said as she waved her hands in front of her nose.
Suddenly a gentle, boney hand landed on her shoulder as an aged voice echoed through the chapel. "Though it may not smell as nice as flowers, the incense drives any evil away from this place. Be it plague, sickness, or devil. All are driven away by it. So I ask you put up with it and give thanks to the gods for our safety little Emily." The abbot spoke. His form was smaller for a man and his back was bent from age. An aged face of wrinkles and crows feet adorned his pale skin. Yet despite his physique, his voice was strong for his age.
"Cade understands his duty and does it without complaint. He could make a great purifier yet. Though you have the soul of a nun. Truly could learn a thing or two from him." The Abbott said as he strode toward Cade and patted the boys shoulders. "Good work. I expect you to keep the censer in motion during the service as well. Never leave a gap where evil can creep in." He grinned arrogantly.
"Yessir." Cade said with sweat coming down from his arms as people began coming in. The sermon would last half an hour. So Cade would have to swing the 15 pound censer for that entire time. A difficult thing to ask of any 14 year old. And Cade could feel his arms shaking. He already new today was going to be rough.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein