Thumped

More Befitting

Years earlier, Vale stood, feet shifting as he nervously looked around the large parlor. His eyes flicked back and forth, observing all. Looming bookshelves housed thick spined books. Turning his head sideways, Vale cautiously perused the titles, the embossed calligraphy making his head spin. Giving up the undecipherable, Vale turned his attention elsewhere. Thick carpets lined the floors, making his feet bounce a bit as they wandered uncomfortably in a small patch of ground. He'd never really been on carpet before. He thought it'd be nice to live- one of the other student's coughed, startling Vale.

His notice transferred to the nine other students agonizing as well, waiting. Too timid to sit on any of the plush couches in the prodigious quarters, they stood as Vale did.

Why had they been invited to Ledera Bantling's private chambers?

Suddenly the expansive doors leading to the Ledera's personal office opened. A slender man with a small paunch stood in the massive doorway, eyes hidden behind the reflection off the vitrum surrounding his eyes. Somehow this made the uneasy situation all the worse. A thrill of fear wound its way up Vale's spine. The man beckoned and the anxious students filed in through the entryway. Several of them gasped. At the back of the pack Vale wondered what the problem was. Following the example of the students in front of him, he tilted his head back and -

Oh, holy balanced five, he thought, understanding blossoming in his mind. His breath caught in his throat as he inhaled. Tears flooded his eyes and spilled down his cheeks, dripping onto the carpet below. The vast room was lit purely by filtered sunlight streaming through a ceiling of twinkling stained glass. Images of the Gods' dual faces shone down on them, captivating, filling him with spellbound emotion. An intense feeling of holy power filled Vale, streaming from his core and down his extremities, settling in his fingers and toes.

Unheard, the slender man came up behind the group, silently tapping each on the shoulder, breaking their holy revelry. He gestured to the desk and Vale saw a man sitting in a cushioned high-backed chair. His elbows rested on the dark wood, long fingers steepled in front of his regal face. The children were ushered in and seated on the floor, each barely able to see the man behind the immense workspace.

Ledera Bantling. The authority of Thelua University. All powers on the mountain's peak showed deference to the power of this man. He was rumored to be a tall man with soft, handsome features. Vale saw that these rumors were true. What the stories left out, even behind closed doors, was the heft building around his midsection and neck. If some more weight gathered there, he might be able to rest without laying down. Vale snickered at the thought and was immediately cuffed hard from behind. He flew to the floor but was unable to get his hands out in time. His face smacked the carpet and bounced.

"You will show respect to the Ledera!" the man barked, grabbing Vale and sitting him upright once more. His head throbbed, but his spirit was chastened. With no further preamble, Ledera Bantling slowly laid his hands down on the desk, one atop the other and stared at the children.

"Today, I will give you have an opportunity to change your fate from one of sniveling drivel" his lip pulling back into a sneer, "into beings more appropriate to walk the halls of this university. The council has spoken and we are allowing you to work with one of our best professors."

With those words, a man none of them had seen stepped forward. "This is Tæcan Aloysius. You will be his from now on. He will show you how to follow your chosen Gods. Give him reason to show displeasure and I assure you, your next visit here will not be so pleasant." Vale's eyes went wide, fear filling his body like the holy light had earlier. It ate at his curiosity, leaving him unable to move.

Tæcan Aloysius moved to stand in front of the students. Vale looked into his face, attempting to gauge the emotion on the man's face. Should he run? No, that would only bring the last of the Ledera's ire. His hands begun to shake, tears threatening to burst forth again, torrential streams barely stemmed. Resigning to his fate for fear of doing anything that caused disapproval, Vale waited, completely at the mercy of the man in front of him.

The man's hand came up and the children flinched as one, but he merely gestured to the door. "Up and to the parlor, please," he said, voice stoic. The children scrambled, keeping well away from both the slender man and their new teacher.

Once they were in the parlor, they didn't know where to go. Vale and the others clustered together, touching nothing but the soft floor. Even that was of no comfort now. Their new master seemed to loom over them.

"Let's go. Outside students." He led them from the building. Vale looked back as the parlor door closed, hoping he would never have to step foot in there again.

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Poor young Vale. He has no idea what's coming. 

A. Fortiori