Vaughn shot up from his slumber. He hit his head on the bed above him. Vaughn slumped back and winced in pain.

“Since when was there a bed above mi–” The events of last night flooded his memory. He was in the House of Males. The Priestess made him give his home to the Tevanese delegation. Gamila snuck into the temple, then vanished.

“Magic is real,” Vaughn whispered. “I can’t believe it actually exists!”

“Trying to sleep here!” a voice hissed from above.

“Sorry!”

Vaughn crawled out of his cramped quarters. Most everyone was still sleeping, their snores combining into one constant obnoxious background noise. A loaf of stale bread sat on the vacant table. The missing chunks torn from the loaf and the crumbs on the table signified there were no plates or knives for eating. Vaughn’s stomach grumbled.

Is that all they got here? Vaughn thought. His stomach grumbled again. I should probably get something to eat. He looked at the loaf again. Ehh, I don’t know.

Vaughn passed the table and went straight for the exit. As hungry as he was, seeing bits of dirt on the crust and the ripped nature of the bread just didn’t sit right with him. The thought of him eating in the manner of the guys who had already woken up swayed Vaughn against eating now.

Vaughn emerged from the House of Males to see the sun rising over the horizon. Not a single soul could be seen. Vaughn stood there for a moment and enjoyed the peaceful silence. Vaughn felt relaxed. He rarely got moments to himself away from prying eyes and whenever he had a moment like this, he enjoyed every second. Vaughn sighed and began his walk to the temple.

Vaughn found Rhia and Senga waiting outside the temple. A tense conversation could be heard from inside between the Priestess, Joiyan, and a third voice that carried a tone of arrogance to it.

“Morning,” said Vaughn, giving Senga and Rhia a hug. “What’s going on in there?”

“There was an incident with the Tevanese last night,” said Rhia.

“That is an understatement,” said Senga. “Those stupid yolks went in the river naked together. How dare they defy the will of the gods. I hope the Priestess evicts those heathens for their crimes”

“I’m not much of a fan, either, Senga,” said Rhia. “But we can’t go around saying such things aloud. Brigid says to welcome guests with open arms.”

“But Laima’s teachings say it is necessary to cull certain beings from the land in order for it to thrive.”

"Let’s not get into an argument now, Senga.” Rhia turned to Vaughn. “So, where were you last night? We missed you at the feast.”

“Oh, I was just tired! You know, long day. I called it a night after I had cleaned the ceremonial bowl.” Vaughn’s eyes darted back and forth. “Yeah, I called it a n-night because I was really tired.”

“We missed you last night,” said Senga. “If only you did not have fire watch duty tonight.”

“Yeah,” said Vaughn. “It’s gonna be a long night.” Vaughn looked toward the temple where the bickering was still ongoing. “So, shall we prepare for the morning ritual?”

Senga and Rhia nodded and went into the shed with Vaughn. Vaughn grabbed the kindling pouch and put it in his kilt. Next he went to the firewood pile next to the shed and grabbed three of the narrower logs. They would only burn for about an hour, so there was no need for the wider logs that were usually saved for Winter. Vaughn listened to the temple and heard silence. He walked towards the temple only to halt as he heard arguing once again erupt from inside. The last thing Vaughn wanted to do was walk in on an argument or a discussion of anything of importance. The Priestess never liked it when he did that.

Vaughn stood there, listening, for a good few minutes, hearing the Priestess complain about how openly the Tevanese had defied the will of the gods and how everyone was upset in the village about it. Joiyan translated Manjae’s rebuttal, that his guards come from a culture where such action was acceptable and that he would restrain them from doing it in public in the future. The Priestess wanted a formal apology, but the Tevanese would not budge on that issue. The argument went back and forth until Manjae threatened to take away their gift, which shut the Priestess up. Vaughn wanted to listen further, but a tap on the shoulder made him turn around to find Senga and Rhia waiting.

“Altar Keeper,” said Senga in a slightly raised tone. “Why are you out here and not lighting the fire?”

“They’re still in there arguing,” said Vaughn. “You know how mo- I mean the Priestess reacts if I try and enter the temple during an argument.”

“True,” said Senga, her tone at its usual calmness. “I will go talk to her.”

Senga walked into the temple. Vaughn could hear Senga alerting the Priestess to the upcoming ritual. A moment later the Tevanese delegation walked outside,

The Priestess came to the entrance and motioned for Vaughn and Rhia to join them. Vaughn built a fire in the firepit at the center of the temple. The Priestess entered the temple, bringing in the crowd of ritual spectators. Once the Priestess stood at the altar and Rhia and Senga sat around the pit Vaughn excused himself and joined the crowd gathered at the temple entrance. The Priestess and diviners began the ritual chant, Senga and Rhia joining their hands together for the ritual. The crowd, meanwhile, was silent. It was Vaughn’s job to keep them that way. Whenever it looked like someone was about to speak out, a mean glare from Vaughn usually shut them up. The ritual was short, ending with a thank you to Laima.

Vaughn ushered the crowd out of the temple and grabbed a bucket of water and shovel from the storage shed. He let the fire burn for a few more minutes before dousing it with water. cleaned out the firepit, dumping each pile of ash and charred wood over the cliff edge. On the penultimate dumping, Vaughn saw Kenna standing by the ash pile at the bottom of the hill. She was talking with her friends. Vaughn thought of dumping the ash straight on Kenna. Maybe some charred wood would knock some humility into her. Vaughn was ready to pay her back for yesterday. He so wanted to, but he hesitated. He didn’t want a repeat of yesterday, especially when his guilt would be obvious. The ash and charred wood landed in the pile below, Kenna’s shriek from the noise of ash and wood falling easily heard by Vaughn.

When Vaughn finished emptying the fire pit, he found Joiyan and two Tevanese soldiers standing at the temple courtyard, the former’s face lighting up as Vaughn returned the shovel to the storage shed.

“Hello, Joiyan,” said Vaughn as he turned around to face him. “The Priestess is inside the temple if you need to talk to her.”

“I’m not after her,” said Joiyan. “Envoy Manjae and I request your help, Altar Keeper.”

“My help? I really don’t have much to offer you. I’m sorry.”

Joiyan showed Vaughn a warm smile. “There is no need to apologize. You are just the guy we are looking for. I just need to go find the Priestess an-“

“The Altar Keeper will not be helping you,” said the Priestess as she stormed out of the temple. “He has duties to attend to for the rest of the day. And besides, you’re busy leaving.”

“Which is why Envoy Manjae has requested his presence immediately,” responded Joiyan in a disarming tone. “We only need him for an hour, two hours at most. I am sure you can carry on without him.”

“My answer is still no,” said the Priestess. “Now, please leave Laima’s Temple at once.”

A stern look formed on Joiyan’s face. “It would be a shame if we had to take our gift back. You can’t exactly preach on an empty stomach.”

“How do you plan on taking back your gift from our stockpile,” said the Priestess hostilely. “We have 20 guards plus a few hundred visitors who’d defend us.”

“With these two soldiers behind me,” said Joiyan. “Because if you try anything on us not only do we have soldiers of our own, but also the entirety of the Eastern Army to reinforce us. You really don’t have a choice here, Priestess Enid. Either we borrow your son for an hour or two or you bring war to all of Gwyrfydd. And I know you don’t want to start a war.”

The Priestess turned around and went into the temple. “Just have him back before noon.”

The Tevanese escorted Vaughn to their camp. A sense of uneasiness quickly overtook Vaughn as he was flanked on either side by the two soldiers with Joiyan holding the rear.

What do they want with me? Vaughn worried. I have nothing to offer them that they don’t already have.

Vaughn found the courage to speak up after they had passed the commons, where people engaging in merriment and small breakfasts had largely ignored them. “So, uhh… what do you need me for?”

“You will find out once we are outside the village,” said Joiyan.

Oh no! Are they taking me hostage? Vaughn thought. Should I run? I can’t let them take me hostage but if I try to run then the Priestess will get mad at me for further ruining things but if I go I’ll probably be taken hostage and never see my family again because I’ll be enslaved just like in the stories. What do I do? WHAT DO I DO!?!

Vaughn saw an opening for escaping as they approached the gatehouse. Enough people were around him that he could run off and they would make sure the Tevanese could not take him. Unfortunately for Vaughn, the two soldiers must have thought of the same idea; they grabbed his arms the second before he planned on executing his escape. People stared at this procession, but the soldiers and Vaughn’s presence seemed to be enough to prevent any hostile actions being taken against them.

As they passed through the gates, dread further filled Vaughn’s body. He was certain he would be taken hostage at this point, never to see Rhia again. His muscles stiffened as fear paralyzed him. The soldiers effortlessly dragged him further, Vaughn’s feet dragging on the ground. Vaughn was so paralyzed by dread and fear that he did not notice the group had already arrived at the tevanese camp until the smell of incense hit his nostrils.

The incense filled Vaughn’s nostrils with a calming scent of various flowers and herbs, calming him down enough to take in his surroundings. He was inside one of their wagons, having been set on one of its comfortable benches by the soldiers. Across from him sat Envoy Manjae, Joiyan, and Gamila. Joiyan removed the incense from under Vaughn’s noise.

“What do you want from me?” said Vaughn in a frightened tone. “I don’t have anything to give you that you don’t already have or could have found from the Priestess or the Diviners.”

‘What we want is someone who is not openly hostile to us,” said Joiyan. “That is why we asked you to come with us. We have some questions we would like you to answer and you seem like the most knowledgeable and approachable person we interacted with since our arrival yesterday evening.”

“Me, knowledgeable? I’m sorry, I’m not the most knowledgeable person in Penmawr. That would be Diviner Rhianon or the Priestess.”

“But the Priestess isn’t all that approachable,” replied Joiyan. “Today’s events were proof of that. In addition, she would never leave a Diviner in the hands of us. They are just too important and take too long to replace. You, meanwhile, are ultimately expendable to her. And that is one of the most perplexing things we have come across since our arrival. How is it your people have such a low view of men that one’s own mother would be willing to cut her son’s tongue out and then put him in the hands of people she most likely suspects are going to kidnap him?”

“How do you know of that incident!” Vaughn demanded.

“Women gossip as much as hens cluck,” said Joiyan. “That snooty Kenna and her friends wouldn’t shut up about how they were ‘denied justice’ in the form of your tongue’s removal.”

Vaughn sighed.

“So, can you answer the question?”

“Sure, sorry,” said Vaughn. “Women have always held power over men for centuries. The Conquests of Men lead to the ruining of the land and the sewing of chaos in the world. The gods realized men could never rule so they destroyed their empire and gave the women-led clans to overpower and lord over men.”

Joiyan translated the response to Manjae, who said something back in Tevanese. Vaughn looked over at Gamila, who was furiously writing stuff down on a wooden rectangle with a funny looking stylus.

“So, um, why is lady Gamila writing on a piece of wood with a stylus?” Vaughn said.

Joiyan chuckled. “The board is for holding the paper she is writing on. “It’s a more durable version of that parchment your Priestess used to message us. Back to the story. So, the men ruined the land, but it was restored. How was it restored?”

“Laima willed it into being,” Vaughn lied. “S-she just made it happen with her powers. That’s all I was ever told. She made Epona, the Champion of the Gods and the All-Mother of Gwyrfydd, unite the clans of women and overthrow the men. Then Laima came in and fixed everything.”

“All-Mother?” said Joiyan with a quizzical look on his face. “So she’s the mother of everything?”

“Nope. She just had a lot of kids who married into or took over all the clans. She’s everyone’s ancestor.”

“Interesting.”

Joiyan relayed the message to Manjae, who spoke, this time in a harsh tone, and Gamila, who wrote the information down. Joiyan responded in a slightly irritated tone.

“So it was just Laima who restored the land,” asked Joiyan. “Nothing like a wellspring, giant tree, or crystal?”

Vaughn froze at the word crystal. “N-no. Nothing like that, especially a crystal!” Vaughn chuckled. “How would a crystal even bring back life. Rocks are Drustan’s domain, not Laima’s.”

Joiyan translated that back to Manjae, who let out a sigh.

“Is there anything else you would like to know?” said Vaughn.

Joiyan hesitated. “Who is the central god?”

Vaughn responded with an expression of confusion.

“You know, the one you believe created the world. The one who rules over the other gods. That one.”

“Ohhhh,” said Vaughn. “There really isn’t a central god. Each one has an equal role to play. Except for Deargsgail, the god of the chaos and the night. He’s the one who made men destroy the land, so his temple was destroyed and he’s no longer worshipped. But besides him, the rest are equal to one another, sticking to their own domains and working in harmony. The clans and temples follow the same rules. There is no real central ruler. Each clan is its own thing, but we cooperate with one another heavily. For example, the temples are not the property of any one clan and tend to have people from all clans maintaining them.”

Joiyan relayed the information back to Manjae and Gamila.

“Thank. You,” said Manjae in a heavily accented form of Gwyrfyddish.

Joiyan got up and exited the wagon, motioning for Vaughn to follow him. Vaughn obliged. As he got up, he glanced at Gamila, whose eye contact made him feel uneasy again. He scurried out of the wagon in a hurry.

Joiyan lead Vaughn to one of the other wagons in camp. On their way there, Vaughn glanced at the camp and saw the dozen or so soldiers hurriedly taking down their tents, loading them up on top of the wagons. Joiyan stopped at the one closest to where their campfire had been and grabbed a rectangular wooden box. He presented it to Vaughn.

“Thank you,” said Vaughn, confused.

“You are very welcome, young Altar Keeper,” said Joiyan. “Envoy Manjae was supposed to present this to your mother at the end of the festival, but since she kicked us out, he decided this should be presented to the one person who wasn’t subtly or outright hostile to us. You have been a great help to us this past day.”

Vaughn opened the box. Inside was a well-polished pair of daggers. Each blade contained an intricate pattern, one of a wave, the other of a flame. Continuing the theme of opposites, the handles were opposite colors, one was black, the other the white. Both handles, however, were tipped with a gold base.

“Thank you very much, Sir Joiyan,” said Vaughn, “but I can’t accept such a gift.”

“There’s no need to be humble,” said Joiyan. “You’ve more than earned it.”

“It’s not that…” Vaughn hesitated. “It’s just these are weapons. I’m not a fighter so I can’t have them.”

“Surely you have raids around here,” rebuked Joiyan. “You’ll need them for self-defense.”

“Not really,” said Vaughn. “No one dares attack temples and disputes between clans are settled through competitions, usually horse racing or nonlethal combat. So there’s really no need for me to have daggers, according to the Priestess.”

Joiyan pondered. “Then they aren’t daggers. They’re fancy cooking knives that could be used in self-defense.” Joiyan closed the case and lightly shoved it into Vaughn’s chest. “Here you go.”

“Thank you?” said Vaughn.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Joiyan pulled a small coin purse from his side and placed it on top of the case. “If you’re ever in Caer Ffin, here’s some money to get you by. Farewell, Altar Keeper.”

Vaughn bowed to Joiyan and ran back to his house. He barged through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

“Who’s there” shouted someone from the bedroom.

Vaughn froze. He thought he’d have the house to himself for a bit. Rhia walked out from the bedroom.

“Hey, honey,” said Rhia. “What do you have there?”

Vaughn’s eyes darted back and forth. “Just some cooking knives and money the Tevanese gave me.”

Rhia stared him down. “Are you sure those are just kitchen knives?”

Vaughn stepped closer to Rhia. “No,” he said in a hushed tone. “They’re daggers. Still from the Tevanese. Apparently they liked me enough to give these to me rather than the Priestess, especially after this morning.”

“You should really give them to the Priestess,” said Rhia. “She won’t be happy if she finds out they gave you these.”

“What for?” said Vaughn. “They just gave me and you a set of cooking knives. For all she knows, they gave me an old, dull pair.”

Rhia gave a disapproving look to Vaughn.

“We never get anything nice, Rhia,” pleaded Vaughn. “Think of this as the gods rewarding us for doing good.”

Rhia paused. “You got a point. Good deeds are supposed to be rewarded. Anyways, drop those off and let’s get going. We have the midday ritual to complete.”

The rest of the day was uneventful. The ritual went on without a hitch, leaving Vaughn to his afternoon duties. During his rounds, Vaughn overheard several people relieved that the Tevanese had finally left. Eventually it was time for the evening ritual and second feast. Unlike the prior night, they had plenty of food courtesy of the Tevanese.

Some time past midnight, Vaughn stood in front of the bonfire with Berwyn and another individual named Cael, who came from one of the Eastern clans. A cold Spring wind brushed by Vaughn. Fortunately he had gone home and grabbed a jacket beforehand. The others had not been so smart, as evident by the shivering Vaughn heard. Other than the wind, the village was silent. Berwyn and Cael stood with Vaughn in a triangle formation around the fire, so no one could see the other two well. Vaughn’s mind tuned out for the third time that night. This was always boring. No one ever approached the fire at night. The only ones in danger were the fire watchers, but they’d never be provided chairs because that’d ruin tradition.

Vaughn’s tranquility was broken by a tap on the shoulder. He spun around but found Berwyn and Cael still at their posts and no one else. He turned around to his proper formation and came face to face with Gamila clad in a gray cloak.

“Hello, Vaughn,” said Gamila. “We still have much to discuss.”