Today was a very big day for Athena Pendragon. After all, today was the day she was going to become a member of the church. Well, she was going to try to join the church at least. After all even growing up in the church there wasn't a guarantee that a priest or priestess would accept her as a Deacon or Nun of their own church. Athena of course wanted to become a Deacon and not a Nun as the latter had to take vows to commit themselves only to the deities only. The blue-haired girl wouldn't have had a problem taking that kind of vow however she was still too young in her owns eyes to give up the chance to have an actual relationship and possibly a family of her own to help raise unlike her parents didn't do for her. That didn't mean she was any less devoted to the spirits than a Nun would have been. The church she was going to in question was in Hage which was in the forsaken region so it would have been a pretty long walk from Kiten in the common region. However, the earth mage had been saving up the Yul she made from working various jobs between helping out at the church. So now she had enough money to pay for a carriage ride to Hage. There was of course people that asked the young woman why she didn't join the church in Kiten and the answer was simple really. Her own church didn't have Gnome as its main focus.

There's was Salamander which while Athena respected just like every spirit she didn't embody as much as she did Gnome. There was of course a church in Nairn that's main focus was Gnome and it would have been closer than Hage was. Once again however Athena thought it would be better for her to work at the one Hage as there were more people that struggled in the forsaken region over the common region. Her main goal was to help as many people as she could after all. So it made more sense to her at least to focus her work on the Forsaken region. Even more so since the shattering had happened. While nothing had happened to her as far as she could tell others weren't so as lucky. The coral peacocks and Black Bulls had even lost their captains Silas Vermillion and Wolfe respectively. This had of course caused fright among the kingdom as a whole.

After all the captains were supposed to be some of the strongest mages in the kingdom and two of them were taken out by a Deamon who even managed to get out alive. It was worse for the citizens in the forsaken region towns as they were closest to where the fight to place and there was no telling if they'd be attacked next. As far as the blue-haired mage would tell it didn't seem like they were going to get attacked anytime soon but then again she was no magic knight. So she didn't really know much that was happening in regards to these Deamons. Athena herself was of course scared of them and what they could do but if she wanted to help others in the kingdom she had to remain strong and not show her own fear. After all what help would she be if she walked around in consent fear? She of course had faith that the magic knights would do everything they could to keep the kingdom safe. So while they were doing that she'd do her own part and try and help ease the worry of the citizen and help them just like other actual members of the church would. It was still early in the morning by the time Athena had finished up all the chores and tasks she needed to back at her home.

After all, she couldn't just skip out on them because she had plans of her own for the day. The task themselves were relatively easy. They were just mainly cleaning and helping cook and clean up the younger kids of the church. It was something she was used to by now as she'd been doing these tasks for a few years by now. After doing so Athena would take a bath herself and get dressed and ready to set out for her own personal task for the day. She was a little sad after all if she did get accepted by the priest in the church in Hage there was a good chance she wouldn't be returning to the place she was born and raised in for a while. However, it was something she was going to have to accept if she wanted to walk down this path. It wasn't like she wouldn't even be able to come back in her free time or anything so it wasn't like she'd never see her childhood home again.

As she stepped outside she could feel the warm rays of the sun against her skin. It was a perfectly clear and warm day in clover. It wasn't too hot yet but that's because the sun wasn't at its highest point in the sky just yet. Luckily it also wouldn't get too hot as it was still springtime in clover. Not that Athena minded summer too much as thanks to her oddity the heat didn't affect her as much as it did others. However, seeing as she had a close bond with Gnome spring was of course her favorite season. The earth mage would start walking down the streets of Kiten which were busy with people trying to sell their wears. It was almost strange to think that it was originally a very important down during the war with a diamond as it was so close to the border however it hadn't been used as an actual stronghold for a while now.

After a few minutes of walking and waving to those who knew her Athena would arrive at the carriage of the old man who agreed to take her. After a few minutes of talking and explain that it would be a two-hour ride to Hage, the blue-haired women would get in the back. She would look back at the town as it slowly started to fade away. She would close her eyes and say a prayer to Gnome asking him to look over everyone in the town while she was gone. The ride itself was so far uneventful not that she was hoping anything would happen. She was of course glad they weren't attacked by bandits or mana beast. After all, while she was a senior mage in terms of power not only was her magic meant for defense and support while only her golems able to attack. She had never fought an actual person or a non-basic mana beast. So all she did was get lost in her own thoughts.

Mainly about what she would do if she was rejected a spot in this church. Athena of course knew it was pretty unlikely that would happen but she hadn't really thought about what she'd do if it did happen. There was of course the option of joining the magic knights and helping that way. However once again she had no real combat experience so would they even want her? The earth mage's thoughts would soon be interrupted as the old man broke the silence. "So what's a young lady like you want to go to Hage for?" She would give him a soft smile before answering. "I'm hoping to become a member of the church in Hage"  The old man would think for a moment before he spoke again. "Hm I see but then why not join the church in Kiten, If it's because you follow Gnome more than the other three then why not just get a ride to Narin instead?"

The blue-haired mage used to getting asked this by now and she couldn't blame people as it would have made more sense for her to pick the one closest to her. 'Well, it's because I figured I can help more people in the forsaken region than I could back in the common region and I want to help everyone regardless if they're a noble or commoner."  The rest of the ride was had in silence and Athena would even doze off for a bit only getting awoken by the old man once they reached the town. She would of course thank him before giving her payment. By now the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Which meant it was more than likely noon by now. Her golden eyes would scan the down for a few moments taking in the sights. It was all new to Athena as this was the first time in her life going to the forsaken region. The town itself was beautiful and breathtaking. She was able to notice that there weren't many shops. Did that mean this was a farming town? She guessed it would make sense as it seemed like it would be hard to set up a shop that would last this far out in the kingdom.

She could of course also see the massive three-eyed demon skull of in the distance. Legend had it that the skull was from the time of the first wizard king but no one could truly know that. She would snap out of her daze of looking at the sights after all she came here for a reason. She could feel some of the townspeople looking at her and she couldn't blame them. She would just give them a smile as she walked by making her way to the church. A few of the shops would try to sell their goods to her since her outfit made ;it seems like she had more money than they did. As much as she would have loved to buy a few of the goods she simply didn't have any spare Yul to give them in return for the goods. All of the people would give her a respectful nod and wished her a good day which she would of course return herself. After about five minutes of walking since the last shop that tried to sell her a bracelet, she would stop in her tracks as she could hear a young girl crying loudly. Athena's gold eyes would scan the area before finding the little girl and walk over to her. "What's wrong dear?"  The little girl would stop crying as she looked up at Athena. "I can't find my parents anywhere." " I see well my names Athena what's yours?"  "My name is Alice." Athena would give the little girl a warm smile. "Well Alice if you want I can take you to a magic knight who can help find your parents. You can even ride on one of my golems if you want?"

The little girl's eyes would light but as she nodded her head. Athena would then summon one of her golems which looked like an oversized dog putting Alice on it. After a few minutes of walking, Athena and the young girl would find a green mantis magic knight who was patrolling the town. The blue-haired woman would fill the man in on what's happening. He would then thank Anthea before taking the little girl's hand to go help her find her parents. With that out of the way the golem would vanish and she would finally make her way to the church. The place was just as breathtaking as she imagined. She would make her way up to the main doors knocking on them. After a few moments, a sister who looked to be in her twenties would answer the door. "How may I help you miss?" For some reason, Athena couldn't explain she suddenly felt really nervous. "Well I was um hoping to talk with Father Gabriel about letting me become a part of this section of the church."  The older women would give Athena a bright smile. "I understand. Sadly he's not her at the moment but he should be back within the half-hour if you don't mind waiting." The earth mage would nod her head. She waited this long what was another thirty minutes. The other women would give a bright smile. "Thank you I'll let him know you're here when he gets back. Feel free to walk around the church to pass the time." She would then turn to walk away but stopped and turned around for a moment. "Oh and I'm sure you're nervous but just be yourself and everything will work out."

The golden-eyed mage would nod her head and thank the women. Athena would then take a few deep breaths to calm down before walking over to the statute of Gnome and praying. It was a simple one just asking him to watch over her and guide her path. It wasn't normal for her to pray to him about herself but in this case, it helped her calm down a lot. She would pass the rest of her time wait by helping watch over the kids. This mainly meant playing games like hiding and seek with them. Athena would have helped clean and make lunch for them however it was around that time that Father Gabriel showed back up and meet with Athena. "Sorry for keeping you waiting young lady. If you don't mind me asking what's your name." Her face would turn red as she realized that she didn't actually give the sister her name. "I'm so sorry I forgot to give the sister my name. I'm Athena Pendragon Father."  The older man would let out a small laugh. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. I heard you are looking to become a part of this section of the church. If I had to guess you were nervous at the time it was the same for me back in my younger years. I hope you don't mind me asking where you're from since I haven't seen you around here before." The blue-haired mage would nod her head.

"That's because I grew up in Kiten." Father Gabriel would give a surprised looked. "Oh my, that's quite far from here. Won't your mother and father miss you?" Athena's gaze would drop at the question. "Well I wasn't raised by my parents the church in Kiten raised me. I know your next question will be then why didn't I just join that one right?" The older man would nod his head and motion for her to continue. "It's because their main focus is salamander and I feel a stronger connection to Gnome. I know I could have joined the Gnome section in Narin and not have to leave the common region. However, just like Gnome, I want to help everyone regardless of their class and well I figured I could do more to help in the forsaken region. Father Gabriel would give a nod smiling at the young women. "I'm sorry to hear that about your parents but it seems like the brothers and sister of the church in Kiten did a great job raising you. I hope you don't mind me asking this but how would you be able to help us?" The golden-eyed mage would nod after all it was a question that made sense to ask. Anyone can claim to help but it didn't matter if the church didn't know how the person in question would be able to do so. "Well I can help take care of the children by cooking and cleaning and even playing games with them. I would of course help clean the church as well. I can also use my earth magic around the town to help. While I've never seen actual combat my magical skill is equal to that of a senior mage." The older man looked surprised at that part.

"Oh my, a senior ranked mage at your age? You must be quite skilled with your earth magic. What all are you able to do with it?" Anthena would give a bright smile while nodding. "Yes the others back home use to talk about how I was a natural with magic and could even become a magic knight if I wanted to. However, as you can see by the fact I'm here I wanted to walk down the church path and helo that way. As for what, I can do with my magic. I can use healing magic to help out townspeople or anyone else that might get hurt. I can also use golem magic to do various things like helping with cleaning or clearing out large objects. Lastly, I have defense magic that I can use to help in case the town or church gets attacked by a mana beast or bandits. However, I doubt the last part would happen seeing as the green mantis base is located here." The father would think for a few minutes before speaking again. "It seems that along with being able to help in cleaning and taking care of the children you are also a very skilled mage with your magic. Would I be correct in assuming that you can't use any attack-based magics?" "Yes father that's correct I have no offensive magic other than being able to use golems." The man would nod his head and speak again. "So you've told me why you want to join the church and what you can do to help. Now I'd like to know what your own personal goals are." The Earth mage would think for a few moments there was no reason for her not to answer honestly. "My own goals are to rise in the ranks in the church so I can helo as many people as possible. I also want to try and become the partner of Gnome as that will let me get stronger to help even more people." "I See those are some quite big goals you have for someone so young. However, the least I can do is help you get your foot in the door with the church." "Thank you so much Father Gabriel. I promise I won't let you down." "I look forward to seeing it. Now if you'd follow me I'll show you more around the church and town."
[EXIT]
WC: 3099 TWC: 3099