Starting the Routine|Autus

[Kender Bard]

At the crack of dawn, a bell tolls within the temple, jarring the lighter sleepers out of their dreams. The dormitory is filled with female acolytes of varying ages, thought he vast majority of them are Jya's age; some younger, some older.

The Headmistress, Mistress Clara, was an old woman. Once a fine priestess, she had been more or less retired to the less demanding temple duty of overseeing the female acolytes. She was slightly short and still lithe from a lifetime of work. Her short, curly gray hair still had faint traces of dark brown in it, stubbornly lingering. A pair of spectacles perched at the end of her nose. She went around the room, shaking and rousing the heavy sleepers. "Wake up, ladies," she called out in a sharp voice.

Sleepy-eyed acolytes moved to their trunks, dragging out their priestly robes to don.

[Skittlebug]

Jya jumps up in a half panic at the bell, not remembering where she is for a moment. She slips out of bed and digs into her own chest, peeking around to remember which outfit to put on.

[Kender Bard]

Once the acolytes are dressed, Clara moved around to inspect everyone, though not too thoroughly. She paused now and then to straighten an outfit, inspect any robes that are showing signs of wear, and in one case to berate an acolyte for allowing their robe to become wrinkled and messy looking.

"All right, dismissed," she said and lead the way out of the room. The acolytes all headed en masse to the great central altar room which can hold all of the priests and a good number of devotees. There were a number of Autians already in attendance as priests from all over the temple filed in. There were no chairs--everyone stood, with a vague order of seniority. The exception to this were the acolytes, who, being smaller children, got to stand in the front with the senior priests.

Ava managed to locate Jya and wriggled her way through the crowd to stand next to her new friend. "Good morning," she greeted with a smile.

[Skittlebug]

"Mornin',"Jya gives Ava a small smile and rubs at her eyes, the night hadn't been an easy one. She looks around a bit, surprised at just how many people are crowding into the room.

[Kender Bard]

"There's a lot," Ava agreed, correctly guessing Jya's look. "You usually only see this many people this early in the summer. Who knows why there's so many."

Small, thick books were handed to each of the acolytes, though a couple declined, to an approving look from the headmistress.

"The Maturation Compendium," Ava explained. "Our holy text. We're expected to follow along and chime in on the group recitations."

At the front of the room, standing before the altar, a middle aged woman in ornate robes took her place.

"That's High Priestess Summer," Ava whispered. "Avalon Summer."

[Skittlebug]

Jya eyes the book she's handed warily and peers up at the front when Ava points out the High Priestess, a bit more curious about one than the other.

[Kender Bard]

Avalon cleared her throat and a hush fell over the temple. "Today we turn our minds towards our Lady Lord and the lesson of strength of courage."

The sermon went on, not too long but for a reasonable length, as Avalon preached the virtues of courage, its part in the growth of the human spirit, and the vices of imbalance. Every now and then, the priests would chime in with a light sing-song choir on particular keynotes, only a few lines long but which reinforced points that Avalon made and which were generally uplifting to hear.

"Go now, blessed in the watchful gaze of Worg," Avalon concluded at the end. People began filing out of the temple and the prayer books were collected from the acolytes.

Ava took Jya's hand in her own. "This way," she chirped, leading Jya to the communal dining hall. "It's breakfast time. I already ate, but I wouldn't mind another bunch of grapes."

The breakfast consisted primarily of fruits, though there was leftovers of dinner for those who preferred a meatier breakfast.

[Skittlebug]

Jya happily follows, she'd done her best to follow along when she was supposed to, by miming from the others more than reading. She wasn't about to admit it, but most of the writing just looked like so many lines to her.

Once in the dinner hall she gives the fruit barely more than a glance and heads for the leftovers, picking out some of Eshe as well.

[Kender Bard]

Ava was happy to help herself to a plate of the fruit and some warm toast to go with it. Settling on a bench next to Jya, she munched away at a storage apple. "After this, we'll all go back to our rooms and change into our work clothes," Ava explained. "And then your mentor will give you some kind of job. Right now, my task is to go to our food gardens and pull weeds. Boring." She sighed.

[Skittlebug]

Jya ponders that over a mouthful, wondering what she'd have to do, "Sure it's boring, but it could be worse, couldn't it?" She pokes Ava teasingly.

[Kender Bard]

"Oh yes," Ava agreed with a laugh. "Acolytes who have displeased their mentors tend to find themselves doing laundry and washing floors and things like that. At least I get to go outside! And if you have a very nice mentor, you can put in a request for what to do."

[Skittlebug]

"What kind of things could I ask for, do you think?" Jya chews thoughtfully, it hadn't occurred to her that she might have a say in things.

[Kender Bard]

Ava gave a little shrug, nibbling at her toasted bread. "What is it that you like to do?" she asked. "There are acolytes who like to work in the gardens, like me. And there are others who like the mundane housework cause that's what they're used to. Others want to work under a specific part of the temple.."

[Skittlebug]

'Hmmm, maybe I can work in the training areas," Jya muses, if she wasn't training she might at least be able to watch others train.

[Kender Bard]

Breakfast was ending--the other priests began to disperse as everyone finished up their meals.

Ava was done as well. "Winn'll probably be waiting for you back in the acolyte chambers," she said. "Make sure to talk to her about what you want." She gave a little wave and headed off for the gardens.