PHILTATOS // Foolish X Reader

1

Every day, along with your other morning prayers, you gave thanks that you were one of the lucky ones.

Today was no different, as you quickly bowed your head to murmur a few words under your breath before leaving the dormitory where the members of the worship stayed. You were sure most of the other priests and priestesses you worked with did the same - security was not something to take for granted in these troubling times, and you would thank the gods every day for their favor.

"Gracious and generous lords above, thank you for your many kindnesses on this day." You began, voice barely above a whisper as you closed your eyes. "You have placed breath in my lungs, food at my table, and faith in my heart to keep me strong - for that I am grateful, and forever in your service." You paused a moment, letting the words hover in the air bfeore your brought your clasped hands to your lips. "May your glory shine down on us all." You finished the prayer, opening your eyes and letting your hands drop.

It was a simple act, but one that had kept you safe.

When the city had begun to sink into collapse, you had been grateful that your status as a member of the worship had kept you safe, and given you a secure place to live on the acropolis with all the other devotees. The acropolis had been one of the few stable places as the majority of the city had fallen into poverty - you would have gone as far to say that perhaps it had even benefitted from the surge of people looking for help from the heavens in troubling times. The colosseum had seen much the same, with the influx of prisoners coming off the streets - until the warden had made his daring escape with one of the champion-to-bes. Now, the colosseum still operated, though the effeciency that had made it into the caesar's go-to for population control had faltered.

You couldn't understand how someone who had been living such a luxurious life could up and leave like that. You had only ever spoken to the warden in passing, and then only exchanged a few words, but he had seemed happy - his job was well paid, and he had been blessed by Amartia themselves; given those striking green eyes and a trident more powerful than any other hero's weapon.

Now, the trident sat in Amartia's temple, it's powerful luster gone. In a way, that trident had been an omen - things had only gotten worse since the warden had left.

As the harvest season approached, more and more of the fields churned out less and less product - orchards that had once fed entire sections of the city now only produced enough fruit for a few stalls in the agora. More and more, city guards dropped their swords to help pull the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation out of the streets.

The city was dying, slowly, and people were clamoring for the gods to do something; anything.

Yes, you were grateful for your own safety and security, but seeing the city like this hurt you.

You did what you could though - turning your prayers towards the city every time you brought your daily offering to Anoitos - to whom you were devoted. Unwavering faith would pay off in the end, as it did in the stories. After all, it was the gods who had brought the city from the dust, and it was them who would save it.

Rising from your kneeling position beside your bed, you slipped your chain of prayer beds around your neck, letting the thin golden necklace fall into place over your robes. Your prayer beads were your favorite piece of jewelry you owned - both for their use and their beauty. Every meber of the worship had a chain, though the design of the beads varied between members. Though yours were golden, those devoted to Nkri wore steel, and those devoted to Vryo's beads were wooden, and engraved with vines.

With your beads draped around your neck now, you turned toward the door of your room, heading out into the halls of the dormitory proper, joining the flow of devotees heading outside, towards the pavilion at the center of the acropolis. This was routine - early in the morning of the first day of the week, the entire worship would meet in the center of the acropolis, the caesar present as well. The supplies needed for the offerings for the week would be delivered from the caesar's coffers, and a blessing would be said over the caesar in return, ensuring the gods still accepted his rule.

You had never liked getting up as early as you had to - on the first day of the week, no less - but the blessings were important, and you would need to collect your portion of the delivery for your offerings to Anoitos.

So you joined the procession of people leaving the dormitories, nodding to your fellow priests and preistesses murmuring good mornings as you walked the stone laid path towards the center pavilion. There was still dew on the grass between the stones, and it wet the leather of your sandals as you brushed past. Songbirds hailed the morning from the craggly olive trees planted around, flitting from tree to tree as they chirped to each other. On mornings like this, with beauty so abundant, it was hard to imagine this and the city as the same place - surely in a world like this, starvation and death were distant, if real at all.

But no - if you were to follow the stone path past the pavilion, it would soon take you to the bottom of the hill and into the city proper, past the acropolis gates, where beggars congregated, waiting for anyone to pass by and toss them a coin - or even a grape.

In a world like that, it was hard to keep your faith. But keep it you would - for if you couldn't believe in the gods to save you from the clutches of destruction, who could you believe in?