Book One: The Apprentice

From Pascale de Montereu's "Story of Aethilia"

In the beginning, there was only a formless darkness, and it was all contained within Aes, She who is Mother and Father of all creation and all life. From the darkness She made the stars, millions of them, shining like beacons in the night. From the stars, beautiful Strella was born, with Her gown made of planets and Her hair streaming like tendrils of light in the sky. It was the task of She, Firstborn of Aes, to create from nothing, and this She did do: for She made the very world. She made mountains, and rivers, and plants and animals, and finally, men. But without care, and without purpose, they languished and withered. Strella was distraught, and went to her Mother-Father for help. Aes then created twins, Contado and Navale, the Landwright and the Seawright, who appeared as the most beautiful of men and they loved each other deeply. And from their love, They loved all things, and they nourished and cared for the land, the sea, and all of creation. Their love reflected back to the stars, and Strella was content. She could create, and Her creations would be cherished and raised with affection.

And so it has always been with the people of Aethilia. Those born under the starry skies of Strella would be given the ultimate gift, the ability to create from the very matter on which the universe was built; and those born to the soil of Contado or the salt of Navale would care for the land and the sea, and all the creatures upon it. In this way, the first two Castes were created.

Prologue

Lucelle Cobbler hurried through the night, one arm around her baby, the other holding her mantle in a desperate attempt to keep out the rain. She was chilled to the bone, the storm cutting through her finest clothing, and she tried in vain not to slide on the mud-slick cobblestones beneath her new shoes.

Hamill Cobbler reached out and steadied his wife, wrapping an arm protectively around her shoulders. He worried about the shoes. He'd finished them just this morning, wanting to be sure his wife had something beautiful for the ceremony– although only use would make them roughsoled enough to walk on mud. What use would it be to present yourself in all your finery if you arrived looking dipped in mud?

But the preoccupation with shoes only masked a deeper fear, one that had dominated their entire marriage. For nine years they had been trying to have a child, and after all that time of praying, making offerings every week, and even saving enough to ask a Landwright to help, Lucelle finally became pregnant with their daughter.

The birth did not go easily. After spending an anguished night waiting for word from the midwife, Hamill was presented with a ruddy-faced, green-eyed miracle. A miracle with a price, for he was also told that she would be the last child his wife would ever bear. Lucelle had been lucky to keep her own life. For that, he thanked Aes and all Her children.

Two months passed, and his child grew hale and hearty. Lucelle recovered most of her strength, and tonight they would see their daughter Named. With that thought, the knot of dread that Hamill had managed to suppress these many weeks blossomed a hundredfold. Hamill had no siblings, and as yet, no apprentices to teach his trade. Shoemaking was a worthy enough profession, but the shop he inherited from his father was in a shabby section of the city, and catered to Estrelline's poorer citizens. For years he'd pinned his hopes on raising a sturdy son to aid and eventually succeed him. Now he had adjusted his hopes to focus on a daughter he could train, and who might eventually marry a man who would also take up the trade.

Yet a dark spot loomed. By the caste system of Aethilia, a child was Named two months after birth. The priestess who performed the Naming looked into the child's eyes, and read her Aessence– and at the forefront of that, how the new citizen would serve the Gods. As a Namer, a Shaper, a Landwright, a Weaver (cobblers, making shoes from various materials, were weavers), or... Aes forbid, Starborn. The odds were in favor of a child being born into the same caste as her parents. But they were not absolute. The Gods choose who They will. If, by the dictates of fate, their young daughter was not a Weaver, Hamill's hopes, and his fortune, would be in dire jeopardy indeed.

He told himself not to worry. His fate, and that of his wife and his daughter, were in the hands of Aes and the Many now. He would love them no matter what the outcome of tonight's ritual. And yet... he offered up one final prayer to Aes that his family would be kept safe, and intact.

~~*~~

Nerinda Namer soaked her hands in a basin of sanctified water and sighed. She still had one more rite to conduct before the evening was over, and she already felt exhausted. From her stooped back to her shuffling gait, her sixty years weighed heavily on her. She dried her hands and reached for her cane, crossing the room to light extra candles on the altar to Nascere, She of many Names. She added a pinch of incense to the thurible already hanging in place, and felt the tension drain out of her shoulders as she inhaled the rich, pungent scent.

She settled down into her chair to wait, and reflected that this was probably the last year she would see in this beautiful old temple. She had an offer from a Mother in the country, a place to retire in peace and comfort, and each passing day made it more and more attractive to her.

The door in the vestibule creaked open, and she heard the sound of wet footsteps enter. One of her apprentices went to take the family's cloaks and ready them for the service. A fairly young couple, if Nerinda's memory served, who had finally birthed a daughter after years of trying. Cobblers, with the health of the business riding on what Nascere revealed to her tonight.

Nerinda sighed. The Gods' will was Their own, she was only the mediator of Their wishes. However, it was hers to hope, and for her part she hoped that this one would go in favor of the family.

The curtains parted, and the couple entered, the wife rocking the infant in swaddling clothes. Nerinda picked up her prayer shawl and faced them, noting the earnest hopefulness in the wife's eyes and the fear and exhaustion marking the face of the husband.

"In the name of Aes and all Her children, welcome to the House of Nascere. You bring a daughter to be Named tonight?"

The husband stepped forward first. "I am Hamill Cobbler. By the grace of Aes, I ask that my daughter be Named."

In a quiet, and shaking voice, her voice intoned "I am Lucelle Cobbler. By the grace of Aes, I present this daughter of my womb to be Named."

Lucelle held the bundle out to Nerinda, who took the child and laid her on the Naming table.

Nerinda pushed back the blanket and looked at the child. The baby girl was ruddy-faced, with a thick lock of black hair curling on the top of her head, and brilliant green eyes that beheld Nerinda with seeming curiosity and amusement. Nerinda was captured by the look, and the intelligence behind it, even before she entered her Naming trance.

The elder priestess settled her cane against the Naming table and rested her hands on the warm wood. She swayed back and forth, and a low hum gathered in her throat as she sang to Nascere the words that would open her to the Goddess' power.

For a moment, Nerinda Saw nothing, and then the heavens burst forth with the fire and majesty of the stars. She saw a young woman in a robe of red, surrounded by fire. She saw great power, and many, many shadows. Man-shaped figures with attributes of beasts, the like of which Nerinda had never seen, stood watch around the young woman. Nerinda saw a plethora of choices, and much journeying. She saw a hard land covered by sand, and she saw people dying in that sand. Suddenly, her vision withdrew, leaving only the imprint of stars-- and words, like a song.

"Eselle Vandros," Nerinda said, capturing the words before they too faded.

The newly-named Eselle's parents stood in mute shock, the words reverberating through their minds.

"She... she has a surname!" Hamill exclaimed.

Lucelle looked slowly from her daughter to her husband and back again. Finally, she turned to look at Nerinda, her face a mask of anguish.

"My daughter is Starborn?" she asked finally, giving words to a fear become real.

Nerinda, now fulling in possession of herself, nodded softly. "It *is* a great gift, you know. Eselle is much beloved of the Gods."

And much feared, as well, she added silently. She saw much that was troubling, but it would be a violation of both her vows and her compassion to add that to the weight of the family's grief.

Hamill nodded, raggedly running a hand over his face. "How long do we have with her?"

"You have two years, and then she is to be given to the Schola. I am very sorry, I can only imagine how difficult it is to bear a child and have to see her raised by others. Know that she has a destiny of much power, and that it is the will of Nascere that she belong to Strella, the Starborn."

Lucelle nodded mutely, and picked up her daughter from the table. She managed a wan smile before heading toward the door as quickly as she could.

Hamill laid a couple of coins in the box as the expected offering, and simply tipped his head toward Nerinda before walking away, shoulders hunched in despair.

"My daughter is going to be a mage," she heard him say, as he went to meet his wife.

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