Seek out a child from the slums who has lost his mother twice. Make him a Prion.
Prion Uther Pathos tried to quell the sick feeling in his
stomach.
How did people live like this?
He was standing at the entrance of Slumtown, a shantytown sitting in the shadow of the capital, Pyre. The houses ranged from wooden structures with more nails than was surely necessary to shacks made from whatever had obviously been on hand.
Yet, even in a place as wretched as this, there was life.
Children played in the streets, tossing rocks at handcrafted
bronze targets. Adults went about their day, looking for work or begging for
coin. Elders sat in the shade of the tallest buildings, waiting out the last of
their days with admirable serenity.
This was not a dump, as he had been told by his parents, nor
was it a den of evil, as he had been told by his teachers.
It was a town, just like any other…
Well, mostly… After all, it was surely the only town in
Vuria where you could build your own house in the span of an afternoon…
*
“Excuse me, child, but I have a favour to ask,” Prion Pathos
inquired, facing the young girl.
She couldn’t have been older than ten.
“Mommy said that I’m not supposed to talk to strangers…
otherwise I’ll end up like Old Man Crogan!”
“Do not worry, child, for I am a Prion. I come in the
service of Priarch, and I promise that no harm will come to you…”
The girl thought for a moment before replying, “Mommy said
that Prions are silly old fools who go around talking instead of doing… but she
also said that about daddy… so what do you need?”
Kneeling, Prion Pathos sought to keep the child at eye-level. He had been surrounded by the same Pre-Prions for ten years, so his social skills were somewhat… rusty…
“I am looking for someone, you see, and I was wondering if
you could help me? The person I’m looking for is a child, just like you… but
there is something special about them…”
“Mommy said that I’m special…” the girl replied, looking
thoughtful.
“And I’m sure that you are, but the child that I am looking
for doesn’t have a mommy…”
The girl said nothing for a while, before whispering, “There
are a lot of children like that… lots of my friends don’t have mommies or
daddies… or anyone…”
“I am sorry to hear that, child, I truly am… However, the
child that I am looking for has lost his mother twice. Now, does that sound
like anyone you know?”
The girl thought for a moment, before replying, “Well… I
don’t know if this counts but… there is a boy who lost his mommy twice. He lost
his real mommy around when I was born, and just today a bunch of guards came
and took away his second mommy…”
Praise be to Priarch, Uther thought, as a smile lit his
face.
“Thank you child,” he said, reaching into his red robes,
“Now, do you know where I might find this boy?”
“Of course!” the girl exclaimed, apparently happy to be
helpful, “I saw him sitting on the garbage mound down the street! I think that
he is still quite sad, so I hope that you’re going to be nice to him…”
“Do not worry, child, I bring nothing but glad tidings. In
fact, I hope to change his life, if he will let me…”
“That’s good…” the girl said, looking slightly confused,
“Maybe Prions aren’t like daddy after all!”
“I hope not,” Prion Pathos said, with a small chuckle, “And
here, for your assistance!”
Pulling out his coin purse, he counted out ten coins before
placing them in the girl’s hands. The look on her face told him that she had
never held so much wealth in her entire life…
“Wow! Thanks mister Prion! Just wait till I tell mommy!” she
exclaimed, quickly pocketing the coins.
Even at such a young age, she clearly knew how to hide her newfound wealth from the other residents of Slumtown… Hopefully, one day, a person with both wealth and wisdom would see fit to finally tear down this place and build something better…
The girl bowed low before turning to run. However, after ten steps she stopped and turned back, shouting, “I’ll never forget this, mister! And I hope that Attacus finds a new family soon, he deserves it!”
And then she was gone, back into the slums.
*
Prion Pathos approached the forlorn boy, sitting atop a pile
of garbage as if it were a throne.
He looked… lost.
From the sounds of things, he had just lost everything… for
the second time.
Hopefully he would be willing to try something new, even if
it wasn’t like anything he had ever experienced before.
“That must have been awful, watching them take your mother
away like that,” Prion Pathos said, approaching the unfortunate boy.
“She was my adoptive mother,” the boy said, with a sharp
tone, “My real one died when I was five.”
Coming closer, Prion Pathos said, with as much sympathy as
he could manage, “Then I am doubly sorry for your loss, both for your first
mother and your second.”
Prion Pathos extended his hand towards the troubled youth.
Predictably, it was ignored.
“My name is Prion Uther Pathos, and I have come for you, my
child,” Prion Pathos said, with a comforting smile.
“I don’t have
anything to give to the Church,” the boy replied, acting defensively. He was
clearly used to facing hardships…
“Ah, but the Church has everything to give to you, if you
would have it,” Prion Pathos said, moving closer.
“Yeah, and what’s that?”
“Food, a warm bed, and a purpose,” Prion Pathos said, speaking the truth. The boy would have seen through any of his clumsy lies, so the truth was the best way forward.
“What purpose?”
“The greatest purpose there is. I would have you enter the
Church.”
“What, as a servant?” the boy said, spitting.
“No, as a Prion. You would be like me, a real member of the
Church.”
Just as Prophet Imran had willed it. Although why Imran had
chosen a boy from Slumtown to be the Executor of his Will… well, only the
Prophet and Priarch knew the answer to that…
“I thought that they only accepted ten people each year into
the training?” the boy asked.
Indeed, and the boy before him was destined to become the 10000th
Prion… the last to receive a Holy Order from the Prophet. However, it was not
Prion Pathos’ place to divulge such information. Once he was safely in Origin,
his destiny could be revealed…
“That is correct, and we just so happen to have one more
opening. So, what do you say? Will you stay here, powerless and doomed to a
life of misery? Or will you follow me, and enjoy a life of purpose?”
The boy did not answer for a few minutes.
Prion Pathos could understand his hesitation. He was asking
him to leave his whole life behind, follow a complete stranger, and become a
Prion of the Church of the Priarch.
It was a lot to digest.
Eventually, the boy squared his shoulders and, with
determination flaring in his eyes, said, “Alright, I’ll become a Prion.”
*
The words that came to Prion Pathos’ lips then were pure in
their intent. He had not meant to say them, and yet they came all the same.
They most likely came from his soul, if he was any judge.
“Praise be unto Priarch, for he is father to us all. Praise
be unto Priarch, for his light shines down on all. Praise be unto Priarch, for
he shall guide us back into his radiance,” Prion Pathos said, gesturing for the
boy to come closer.
After a moment’s hesitation, the boy hopped down from the
garbage pile.
Together, they left Slumtown.
Together, they started the long journey to Origin.
Somehow, Prion Pathos knew that this was a special moment.
Somehow, he knew that the boy would go on to do something great.
And he had been the reason for that, in a way.
He had Prophet Imran to thank for that…
As they walked together in silence, Prion Pathos felt the
words come. Technically, it was a bit early to say them, but it felt… right.
Staring at the boy, he uttered, in a low tone, “My guidance has ended, and yours, my child, has only just begun…”
Read Be Good to find out what happens next!