The memory shifted again, This time the arena was gone. We were in a small bedroom.
Veneri and I hovered near the wall as we looked around. The room was far simpler than anything belonging to a noble child. The bed was narrow, the sheets were white but wrinkled and a small wooden table was placed beside it with bowls of herbal paste and rolls of fresh bandages stacked carefully.
On that bed sat Elyonari. This memory was only a day after her mother nearly killed her.
Her body looked so small that for a moment I felt sorry for her. Bandages were wrapped her arms, shoulders, ribs and even parts of her legs. Some were stained faintly pink where blood had seeped through earlier before being replaced.
Nexus injuries didn't fade easily, especially when inflicted by someone as powerful as Arthrea. I knew she held back greatly but still even in memory I could feel the violence that had carved those injuries into her flesh. Her mother's power unleashed without restraint could kill an adult, let alone a child whose Essentia had only awakened a year earlier. It was honestly surprising Elyonari had survived at all.
Veneri's voice slipped gently through the memory.
"What memory is this?"
I opened my mouth to answer but the door creaked open. Both of us turned our attention toward it.
A small figure stepped inside. Apparently if was High Priestess Aria.
She was eight years old here but the way she carried herself made the difference almost meaningless. There was a strange composure in the girl's posture that made her seem older than both of them combined.
She closed the door gently behind her before walking toward the bed.
Elyonari didn't move. She was staring down at her lap with her fingers clenched in the sheets. She was crying softly. To me, it felt like the kind of crying when someone has already exhausted themselves from screaming earlier.
Aria sat beside her without saying anything for a moment. She then spoke after an uncomfortable silence.
"Ely…"
No response. Elyonari didn't even lift her head. Aria tilted her head slightly, studying her friend's face before asking again.
"Are you doing okay?"
Elyonari's fingers tightened further into the blanket. Aria sighed softly. Then, without hesitation, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Elyonari. For a moment Ely froze in surprise, clearly not expecting it. Her shoulders began trembling harder.
"I don't know if this will make you feel better but… I probably won't ever see my family again."
That made Elyonari pause. She finally lifted her head slightly, confused.
"High Priestesses are chosen the moment we're born. The World Tree chooses us when we come into existence. The temple senses it immediately. Usually within a day, sometimes even within hours."
She leaned back slightly, resting her hands in her lap. I could feel Veneri paying close attention now.
"The next day, the temple sends people to wherever the baby was born. They take the child away and parents don't have a say in the matter. I don't know who my parents are."
Ely was silent.
"I tried to find them once but it's not that easy. Mintheris is enormous, Ely. There are tens of thousands of villages, thousands of towns and hundreds of cities. Even if the temple doesn't hide their identities, finding two people somewhere in all of that is basically impossible. And besides, most parents wouldn't say anything anyway."
"Why?" Elyonari finally whispered hoarsely.
Aria leaned back on her hands.
"The temple gives them compensation. They get a large large sum of money that most families can live comfortably for the rest of their lives. But that's not the real reason."
Aria looked at the ceiling for a moment before continuing.
"If people knew their child was a High Priestess, other Elves might try to use them. They might kidnap them, threaten them or use them as bait to force the High Priestess to obey them. So, most parents keep quiet. They take the money and they pretend that child never existed."
The room went silent. Elyonari stared at her for several seconds.
"You're lucky."
Aria blinked in confusion.
"Lucky?"
"If you found them, you might have ended up like me."
Aria didn't respond immediately.
"Ever since I was born my mother has been…"
She hesitated, searching for the word.
"…abnormal."
Elyonari's fingers clenched slightly.
"Having parents sounds nice but for me and my brother, it wasn't. A year ago, our Essentia awakened and ever since then, we've been training nonstop, day and night. We had barely no breaks. My brother succeeded the harsh training but I didn't. And Mother…"
Her fingers tightened around the bandages.
"…was disappointed."
Aria stared at her for several seconds. Then she gently reached out and grabbed Elyonari's hand.
"Then you can stay here. If you don't have a home, then this temple can be your home. After all, the World Tree chose you to be the assistant of the High Priestess. That's the third highest position in all of Mintheris."
She counted casually on her fingers.
"The Dynasty Monarch, who is your mother, the High Priestess who is obviously me and then…"
She tapped Elyonari's chest.
"You."
Elyonari stared at her. For several seconds she didn't move. Then, she smiled. Even though it wasn't a bright one, it was sincere.
"Thank you."
Aria smiled back.
°°°°°°
The memory did not change gently this time.
I found myself standing once more in the arena where everything had begun to fall apart for Elyonari. It was the same arena where her mother had nearly beaten her to death and then walked away like she was nothing more than a mistake except now, the ground was soaked. Rainwater dripped from the stone walls and fell in shallow places across the arena floor.
In the middle of it, Elyonari stood alone. She was still only seven years old but the child standing there looked like something much older.
Her hair clung wetly to her face. The bandages around her arms and torso were soaked completely through. They kept turning darker because blood had begun to seep back through the cloth.
She held a bow. Her hands trembled violently around the grip. Her fingers were bleeding and it wasn't light. The bowstring had torn the skin open along the inside of her fingers, the flesh split raw from hours—maybe days—of relentless practice. Each time she pulled the string back, blood smeared along the wood and yet she kept doing it.
The targets across the arena were simple wooden discs mounted on rotating posts. Normally they spun at controlled intervals. Now they were barely moving and still, Ely missed. The arrow flew past the target and clattered uselessly against the stone wall.
She inhaled sharply through clenched teeth and she grabbed another arrow.
"She's… not okay."
Beside me, Veneri said nothing.
Elyonari pulled the bowstring again. Her arms shook violently now. Her breathing came in ragged gasps. Rainwater dripped from the tip of her chin.
She released the arrow but struck the edge of the target and ricocheted away. Her body swayed but she forced herself upright again. Her fingers slipped as she tried to grip the string. Blood mixed with rainwater, making the bow slippery in her hands. Still she forced the draw.
Her muscles trembled violently now and this time, Elyonari's shoulder dislocated.
The bow fell from her hands as she collapsed onto the soaked ground, clutching her arm as pain surged through her body. Blood began to spread through the cloth around her ribs and arms where the earlier injuries had torn open again under the strain.
She was bleeding badly now. It was far too much for a child already weakened from days of punishment and exhaustion. For several seconds she just lay there, crying quietly into the mud but then, she forced herself up.
Her arm hung uselessly at her side, clearly dislocated but she staggered back toward the bow anyway.
She picked it up. With one working arm she tried to nock another arrow. Just as she tried to draw the string—
"ELY!"
At the entrance of the arena stood Aria.
Her white ceremonial robes were already soaked from the rain. Strands of her dark hair were plastered against her face as she stared at Elyonari with pure horror. She ran across the arena toward her.
"Ely, what are you doing?!"
Elyonari blinked weakly. For a moment she looked almost relieved.
"Aria?"
She tried to smile but didn't even get the chance to finish the greeting. Elyonari's head snapped sideways as Aria's palm struck her cheek. The sound cracked sharply through the rain.
Both Veneri and I froze.
Aria stood there trembling. Her hand still raised and her entire body was shaking. Her voice broke as she shouted.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO YOURSELF?!"
Elyonari stared at her in shock. Aria grabbed her shoulders roughly and yelled at her.
"I was gone for a few days for a ritual and THIS is what I come back to?!"
Her eyes darted over Elyonari's body. She saw the bleeding bandages, the dislocated arm and her t torn fingers. Her face went pale.
"Gods, Ely… what did you do?"
Her hands began glowing faintly as she tried to stabilize the bleeding wounds but Elyonari suddenly shoved her away. Aria stumbled backward and fell into the mud.
For a moment the rain was the only sound between them. That's when Elyonari screamed.
"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!"
Aria froze. Elyonari's chest heaved as tears mixed with rainwater on her face.
"You don't understand! The Priests and Priestesses here laugh at me! They say I'm not a Princess anymore! They call me useless! They call me a broken daughter! They give me stale food! Food that's already gone bad!"
Her voice dropped to a whisper full of humiliation.
"Sometimes they… hit me."
Aria's eyes widened in horror. Elyonari laughed bitterly.
"You didn't know, did you? Because you're never here."
That one sentence hit harder than anything else. Aria looked like she had been stabbed.
"When you're here… things are better. They stop. But when you leave, they remind me exactly what I am."
Her gaze dropped to the bow in her hands.
"So I decided something."
She lifted it again weakly.
"I'm going to become an archer."
Aria stared at her.
"But your Pinnacle Tether—"
"It's useless Aria! My elements only last ten seconds! Ten! They're not even strong enough to hurt an Essentia Human or a Therianthrope!"
She looked down at her trembling hands.
"My body constitution says I'm supposed to be a mage but… I can't even do that right. So I'll ignore it. I'll become an archer instead. I'll shoot arrows and I'll train, even if it kills me."
Aria's face crumpled. She shook her head desperately.
"I'm sorry Ely. I didn't know… I didn't know they were hurting you like that…"
Elyonari looked at her quietly and gave a small, tired smile.
"It's okay, After all…"
She looked back toward the targets.
"I'm just the abandoned Princess. I don't have status anymore. The World Tree hasn't even recognized me as your assistant. Just leave me alone, Aria. Get some sleep. You have rituals to do tomorrow, don't you?"
Aria looked like she might cry.
"I'm sorry."
She stood slowly. The rain swallowed her footsteps as she left. Elyonari stood there alone again. Slowly, with shaking hands, she grabbed her shoulder. She snapped the joint back into place herself.
Her body trembled violently from the pain but she didn't scream this time. She just picked up another arrow, drew the bow and kept shooting.