Tear of the Goddess - 1. I

The Goddess of Dawn saw the world;
And what it had become,
She shed a tear,
For its pain,
Its suffering,
Its corruption.
The tear fell to the earth,
Into the depth of darkness,
And formed a crystal,
Radiantly shining,
Waiting for the one to come and wield its power;
She left it to fate whether it will be for its downfall,
Or its salvation.

Village of the dawn, Einia, Estel.

The sun shone brightly that day, believers would say it was a sign from the Heavens giving blessing to the young cleric's holy mission. A small group of people had gathered to see him off, devotees of the church of Dawn.

"Please do take care!"

"May the Goddess light your path always."

Raphael gave a smile, his heart warming at the words. Even in times like these, there was hope. He liked to believe in the Church, Father's teachings and that dawn will one day break over this dark era. He felt blessed to have been brought up here and that now he had a chance to repay this world back for all the kindness he had received.

"I will be going, Father Sorel."

Seeing the old man nod, with a small smile Raphael started to walk away, waving at the children from the orphanage who came to see him off as he passed.

Did Father always look that old? Or maybe it was because he himself had grown older now that it seemed that way...

He had been half surprised Father had let him go on this mission, seeing as there were a lot of risks and chances of failure and Raphael was well aware that he was an important asset to the village- he was set to become the next leader of their church, a vital role for the village to survive. His white magic was second to none and he had by the time he was 16 surpassed even Father Sorel at it. Now 22, he was aware that there were voices of disapproval from the village for him wanting to embark on such a lofty and ambitious mission that only had a slim chance of even succeeding when he was meant to look after the village but he was thankful to Father for letting him go without a word.

I have to succeed.

Legends told of a crystal, send from the Dawn Goddess herself which would grant the person who touches it first any single wish; as time went by, people started to dismiss the story as a simple wishful rumor in these dark times but the most devoted of the Goddess's followers still believed it true. It was said to lie deep in the mountains far north, now known as Xarbar.

It was a long journey- around 200 days in total traveling, if weather was fair. Raphael hoped to get to an inn two villages north from Einia by sunset. It wasn't an impossible goal and he was making pretty good progress.

Admitidly it was the first time he was venturing out so far on his own- familiar surroundings were getting smaller and smaller behind him.

I can do this.

I must do this.

Sundown and Raphael had reached his goal for the day, a small village close to the Forest of Anza, also known as the forest of secrets. Admitidly it was the first time Raphael had ever been in a Tavern- as a cleric he did not drink so usually never had business in one, but as it was also an inn this was going to be his bed for the night.

He looked around a little amazed by the foreign surroundings for a few moments before he walked up to the counter, paying for his room. He guessed he should eat before going to bed so ordered food also and took a seat at a table in the corner. He could feel eyes staring at him and subconsciously pulled his cloak a little tighter around him, hoping his blue, gold and white robes did not show too much. He was sure these people were not bad or anything but he didn't want to attract too much attention either. His plan was to eat as fast as possible, bathe and retire to his room.

Come on Raphael.... Get yourself together.

"What's a cleric doing here?"

"Beats me, maybe we should go and ask His Holiness for a blessing!!"

"How about we get more ale instead?"

"Waiiit isn't that Raphael of Dawn?"

"What the young master of that church?? What's he doing here? Maybe he needs to let off steam too sometimes!!"

The men's words and laughter made Amon look up- it got his attention alright. He looked in the direction of the attention and saw a cloaked figure taking a seat in the corner far away from the others.

Male, around his age, element aura reading light, high amount of mana energies. His elemental aura was very strong. A bit too strong for an average cleric.

Amon profiled the other from what he could make out. He squinted to try and see the other's face but couldn't really see, it was obscured by the hood of the cloak and soft blonde waves of hair.

"...who is that?" Amon asked the man on the next table to his. Even though his voice was low and quiet, it seemed to cut through the noise of the tavern.

"Wha- Ah... Uh... You don't know? That's the young cleric from a few villages south."

The man Amon spoke to replied, looking his way a little startled. Since when was this person next to him..? Sharp green eyes stared back at him as if looking into his soul. The local shifted a little uncomfortably. This man made him feel uneasy, like he was prey. What was he? An assassin? A rogue? Either way he didn't really want to find out. This outsider seemed dangerous so it was safer to answer his questions and hope he leaves him alone.

"G-gifted at doing stuff like you know healing and stuff...apparently..." The man was starting to blabber a little, trying to fill in the awkward silence with words "M..Man of the Goddess...y..you know them types of people....f-fancy seeing him here....m..maybe he had business h..here or somethin..."

"I see." Was the only reply the man got from the hooded figure before he turned away back to his meal and the man let out a nervous sigh of relief and he stood up, pretending to go over and buy another drink to avoid having to talk anymore.

Raphael stood up the moment he had finished his meal, gripping the keys to his room a little tighter than he normally would. He didn't want to admit it but it was.. a little scary. Unfamiliar surroundings, alone and his future was rather uncertain.

He felt like a lost child.

Goddess please guide me...

He made his way to his room, taking off the outer-layers of his clothing and putting them down on the chair in the simple room that was going to be his for the night. It had a small window near the bed and a single chair. He didn't really mind, he didn't need luxury. He took out a flannel from his bag and left the room to use the baths down the hall.

Amon had followed the blonde all the way to his room and hid in the shadows at the other end of the corridor until he saw the man leave the room again.

He didn't even lock the door....is this some kind of trap?

Maybe he had been noticed already? With doubt and a hand at one of his concealed daggers, Amon turned the knob. It opened. No trap waiting for him.

....is this guy for real? Talk about unguarded...

If Amon had been a common thief all of the cleric's belongings would have been gone by now, but even if it was doubtful whether it was fortunate or not, he wasn't so instead he took a quick glace around the room to remember the layout and went over to the window to unlock the latch,hopping out and landing on the small ledge below it. He carefully closed the window after himself to make it not look obvious it was still open.

Amon closed his eyes, pressing his head against the wall next to the window. He could faintly hear footsteps coming closer to the room and from the elemental aura the approaching person was giving off he could tell it was the cleric. Fortunately for him the moonlight wasn't so bright that night, obscured by clouds making it terribly easy to look into the lamp lit room but unless one looked really hard, outside was a pitch black.

Raphael had rushed drying off in the baths, not used to having to bathe with other people. It made him feel a little uneasy and thanks to that his robes were now wet.

Great...

He pulled them off, stripping down and draped the damp garments over the single chair in the room to dry and started to dry himself properly now he had privacy. He had a small symbol, a bit like a crest on his hip, on the right of his tailbone. It wasn't a brand, nor was it a tattoo but...he had it ever since he could remember. Father had told him never to show it to anyone and he had never really pressed on why, the serious tone Father had said it in made him unable to. He didn't like causing trouble to people and avoided it as much as possible. He hoped no one saw it at the baths.... how was he going to bathe from now on?

Amon had been watching the man undress and dry himself to make sure his target didn't have any concealed weapons. It seemed not. His eyes stopped at the mark on the man's hip and his brows furrowed. It looked...familiar somewhat. Looked a bit like a clan or family symbol of some kind. Maybe he had been hired by them sometime? But those sorts of symbols were usually used by noble families not clerics...

Whatever... Doesn't matter.

Raphael had decided he would worry about this issue when it came to bathing next time.. Maybe he could find some rivers to bathe instead... He planned to get up early the next day so decided to go to bed, putting on his under clothes and slid into bed after putting out the lamp. Now he was laying calm in bed he could sense all around him energies of everyone else in the inn- some felt so dark in element it gave him shivers.

I must sleep.... block it out....I am safe... The Goddess will protect me....

Amon made sure the target's breathing had switched to a deep one, signalling he was asleep before he silently opened the window and hopped in. He was an expert at doing things like this and today was no different, though admittedly he did it for work normally rather than his own interests. He wondered if he was going to be damned for doing what he was going to do to a man of the cloth and immediately told himself that was a dumb thought. He had done far worse before and one more sin wasn't going to do any harm.

Walking over to the sleeping man, he held out his hand over the blonde's head and a dark purple glow emitted, the light starting to move as if alive, crawling over Raphael's face until it had covered it. Raphael did not even stir, his breathing slowly getting more and more shallow.

You'll be coming with me. For Anna.