All heads turned as Xalitha and Cheryza walked into the room. Around the table on comfy sofas was sitting nine figures, who all exuded sense of power so great, it felt to force Cheryza down on her knees. She though managed to stand up.

“What is this, Xalitha?” man with yellow hair and yellow beard stood up, his eyes flashing.

“A mortal? In Welani?!”

Xalitha gave him a strict look.

“Don’t tell me what I should do. I’m older than you. This mortal here will become my high priestess. She has to know the truth.”

Beautiful woman, who had long hair, coloured greenish blue grabbed the arm of the angry man standing up.

“Calm down, Xath,” she said, pulling him down to sitting position.

“Besides,” Xolethane added to Xalithas defending line, “this mortal has Brightness in her.”

Now, the nine figures, except for Xolethane, stared Cheryza with an interests.

Cheryza was watching them, all confused. She couldn’t understand a word of their conversation. She had never heard such a language.

The woman, who had pulled Xath back on the sofa, met mortals orange eyes with her own greenish blue ones.

“Greetings, Cheryza.”

Cheryza startled. The woman had used the language of Chali’enda, without any effort.... And she even knew her name. Cheryza recovered fast and even remembered to make a curtsey.

The woman with greenish blue eyes gave her an accepting nod.

Then Cheryza felt a bit dizzy. It was like everyone sitting around the table would have gently touched her mind.

Feeling very humble, the high priestess-to-be followed Xalitha to the table and sat between her and Xolethane.

“You know Xolethane,” Xalitha began.

“Beside her is sitting Xenath, the god of darkness.”

The man with blackest shade in his hair Cheryza had ever seen, grinned widely.

“Then, here’s Xirantha, goddess of water.”

The woman, who had greeted Cheryza, gave her a little smile.

“Xath is the god of thunder.”

That explained the very quick loose of the temper, Cheryza thought to herself.

The woman next to Xath began to giggle, and Cheryza got a bit confused. Then she realised, that since she was sitting in the company of gods, everyone of them probably heard her thoughts without even trying to hear them. Cheryza blushed.

Xalitha told that the woman who had giggled, was called Xebiatha. Her deep red hair and strange, reddish eyes exposed that she was the goddess of fire.

“Xudath is the god of spirits,” Xalitha then said.

Cheryza felt that the man who had purple hair could see to the darkest corner in her with those yellowish eyes of his.

“This blue-haired woman here is Xewatha, goddess of ice.”

Xewatha nodded. Her eyes were all white. She had no iris nor she had pupils in her eyes. They were all white. Cheryza shivered.

“Xorath happens to be the god of air.”

This man too had blue hair, but it was very light shade of blue, compared to Xewathas hair colour.

“And, finally, Xilath here is the god of earth.”

The man with sand coloured hair stood up and gave an overdramatic bow.

Cheryza turned to look Xalitha.

“And you are goddess of..?”

“Light, of course,” Xalitha smiled at Cheryza, and then mumbled like to herself: “One of us is missing though.”

“Not anymore!” the voice came from the doorway. Cheryza turned quickly to look and saw a woman with bright green eyes and silver hair, who was on her way to the table. After sitting down her shape changed, and now the woman had moss-green hair and brown eyes.

Cheryza was staring the woman so much that she didn’t notice the other woman who had been following her. She had black wave hair down to her hip. Her eyes were nearly black, and she was even smaller than Cheryza.

“She’s Xocitha of nature. But the first form she had is the one she uses in different universe.” Xalitha explained.

“Yes, there I’m called Zariadne, and I’ve stolen Xalithas job... Eh, I mean, my element there is light,” Xocitha grinned.

Cheryza suddenly felt herself very null. So it wasn’t enough that there would be other worlds. There had to be other universes as well?!

“Come to sit here, Lauren,” Xocitha said and pointed out the empty space on her side.

Just now Cheryza noticed the strange woman who had followed Xocitha in. She was clearly no god, but yet she was not a mortal like Cheryza either. The thief frowned. And then she realised something. The woman Xocitha had called Lauren, was actually blind.

‘Better not slip that aloud. Lauren isn’t aware of her lack of eyesight.’ voice belonged to Xalitha but again the words had never been said aloud. Cheryza only heard them.. No, more like she sensed them in her mind.

‘But... How can she not be aware?’

‘You will understand. Someday. Just like Lauren will be told. Someday. When she is ready to receive the knowledge.’

Lauren didn’t go straight to sit next to Xocitha. She walked up to Cheryza.

“I don’t believe we have met, mortal,” she told straight out and gave her left hand forward. Cheryza saw a mark on her left wrist. It was silvery and crescent shape. Between the tips of the crescent was a thin silver line, which went on for a bit above the crescent and under it. In he end of the lines were hooks, one pointing to the left and other to the right.

Cheryza stood up and shook hands with Lauren.

“I am Cheryza. From the world my goddess Xalitha has created, called Chali’enda, from the land of Xafimez, from the streets of a little town. I happen to be a thief.. at least for now. My goddess is planning that I should be her next high priestess.”

The woman sneered amused with the formal tone of Cheryzas introduction. Then, she introduced herself. And that was much longer and more impressive than the one Cheryza had.

“ I am Lauren Qwyielei Mindréill McHall, Guardian of the Crystal flame, Daughter of the Eldest, close servant of Zariadne, born in the tower of the moonlight before its destruction, And after that was taken to the training to be the servant of the darkness. My family line has owned our world Fain’dae’Crystan for thousands of times and will own it ‘til the end comes. I hope you’re happy now Zariadne. I can put half of the room asleep with only two sentences!”

Xocitha, or Zariadne as Lauren called her, gave her a devoted smile. Then the goddess prodded Xilath, who snored next to her.

Cheryza now realised that Lauren had been speaking on the language of Chali’enda. Where had she learned that language?

‘Here,’ Lauren laughed in her mind.

“Well... I guess that makes a living too,” Cheryza said.

“Oh yes, and very good one,” Lauren said grinning. Then she finally went to sit next to her goddess.

The gods continued their conversation on the strange language. Sitting there, and listening, Cheryza slowly started to understand the language. First she understood few word from there and there, then there was just few words she didn’t know. And soon, she was fluently speaking the language of gods. She was herself very surprised. How on earth could she just absorb the language that easily?

She didn’t notice, how Xalitha and Xolethane exchanged a satisfied look.

‘She is already using her Gifts, and well... And she’s not even aware that she’s using it,’ Xalitha was little surprised, though actually little proud as well.

‘Yes... Like she’s not aware that the conversation is going on by thoughts, not by words said aloud. And still she’s able to keep up and be part of the conversation. But.. I am not surprised. I told you she has the right material, Xalitha.’

‘Yes.. So you did. And now I’m glad I listened you.’

‘Just wait, my dear sister. Wait until she becomes aware of her magic and is able to fully control it.’

When Xalitha caught Cheryza yawning, the goddess dragged the girl back to her apartment. Cheryza bedded herself on one of the sofas and pulled the soft blanket over her. It didn’t take long until she was already fast asleep. Xalitha watched the sleeping young woman with a gentle smile on her face. Then she sighed and walked to one of the window openings on the other wall. She watched the distant stars twinkling. Sometimes the goddess wished she would be able to fall asleep and forget about the world. Forget all the responsibility and sorrow.

As Cheryza left, Lauren still stayed in the company of the gods. It was very confusing to meet such a woman like Cheryza, from a whole different universe. Lauren hid a yawn behind her hand.

She had had the education of a warrior and warriors stood the tests ‘til the very end. Finally, the tiredness took over and Lauren left the room without a word of explanation. The apartment of Zariadne was right next to Xalithas. After Lauren had laid down on the divan, it was matter of second until she was sleeping.

Cheryza woke up. It was weird to see the sun wasn’t shining. Well.. She thought as she watched out of the window, to the space. There was thousands of suns shining...

She walked down the marble staircase, along the corridor where she had appeared with Xalitha, to the other end of Welani, where were the common rooms of the gods. There they all were, sitting around the same table, in the very same places as yesterday. Lauren was among them, and Cheryza wondered if the woman had been sleeping at all.

“Morning, everyone,” Cheryza said. She saw a bowl of fruits on the table, and looked at Xalitha, question in her eyes. The goddess nodded. Cheryza, who was already very hungry, started to eat the breakfast. On the other side of the table, Xebiatha gazed her very closely, amusement and wonder in her eyes.

After a while Cheryza got disturbed by it and stopped her eating.

“What?” she asked straight out.

“Nothing... I just have never seen this close somebody eating.”

For a while Cheryza blinked. Then she decided to act cool, like it would be normal not to eat nor see someone eating.

Lauren couldn’t help a little giggle, but she managed to hide it among coughing.

“Lauren,” Xocitha said, a little while after Cheryza had finished her eating.

“Yes, Zariadne?” she answered calmly.

“Go to show Cheryza the gardens.”

Lauren raised her eyebrow. Why didn’t Zariadne just tell out that she wished them to leave?

She remained silent though, and asked Cheryza to follow her.

There was two gardens. On the both sides of the staircase, which was in the big hall on the opposite wall to the corridor and which lead to Xolethanes apartment, was two humble doors Cheryza had not seen earlier.

Breeze of the wind didn’t move the branches of the trees. The plants were not attached to the soil, but the whole garden was on a tray made of glass. Cheryza saw the stars shining below them. The garden was build in the shape of a circle. Blue, red, purple, white, yellow and all colours of flowers filled the air with a very sweet scent. They stopped walking and sat on a wooden bench next to a fountain.

“Listen,” Cheryza said, breaking up the silence, “unless I misunderstood you, you said you serve the darkness?”

Lauren snorted.

“That’s not true anymore.”

Cheryza raised her eyebrow.

“But you have served the darkness?”

Lauren nodded, sad smile on her face.

“I was raised in the darkness. I believed darkness to be light, good to be evil.”

“But.. why weren’t you raised in light? And showing you how things really were?”

Lauren laughed.

“It’s complicated, Cheryza. There had been a war for centuries, against my family McHalls and Zabach, the god of all evil. Fifty years ago things became critical... Series of murders happened, latest of them was 25 years ago, when Zabach killed my mother. She had been escaping him successfully for half an year, but after she had given birth to me, she was too weak to fight him. So, he came and killed her, and took me with him. He brought me to a place called Vael’edhar’Dung, There he was able to personally watch over my education. You see, Zabach had decided that the last McHall should be his fiancé.”

Lauren shivered.

“I served the darkness for nearly the first twenty years of my life.”

Cheryza thought all the things she had just heard.

“But why didn’t Xocitha... I mean, Zariadne do anything?”

“As I said.. It is complicated. Already before Zabach started to kill my relatives he had imprisoned Zariadne. She couldn’t free herself because the folk was at Zabachs side. Since Zariadne didn’t have so much servants, she was very weak.”

Cheryza nodded, she understood.

Lauren suddenly gazed Cheryza, as she had remembered something important.

“You’re supposed to be a high priestess, isn’t it so?” she asked, without really believing.

Cheryza nodded.

“So I have understood.”

Lauren snorted.

“And you actually dare to wear that kind of clothes?”

Cheryza shrugged.

“I’m a thief, not girly girl. Dresses just aren’t for me.”

“Well You had better get used to them! And.. What is it with your hair? When have you brushed it last time? Or washed?”

“Can’t remember... I guess not after I cut my hair after streets became my new home.”

Lauren sighed and looked at the direction of the room where the gods possibly were still sitting and mumbled to herself something like “why, Oh why ?!”

“Follow me,” she said aloud shortly. Cheryza felt that she had no point to resist.

“Oh my!” Xudath said, staring closely at Cheryza, who was, at the moment, very confused.

Somewhere near the wall of the room, Lauren was grinning very self-satisfied.

“The flower on the roadside became the prettiest rose in the garden,” Xenath said, causing Cheryza to blush.

“Come closer so we can see you better,” Xirantha said smiling softly.

After Cheryza had took few unsure steps, she froze as Xebiatha snarled.

“Oh, no.. NO! You can’t walk like that!”

Xewatha raised her eyebrow.

“Does the way she walks really matter, Sister,” she asked.

“Yes it matters. A lot. Just wait..” Xebiatha said.

Pictures suddenly appeared into Cheryzas head. She fixed her way of walking to resemble how it looked in those pictures.

“Wow, seems that it really DOES matter..” Xilath said.

“Told you,” Xebiatha grinned.

Everyone of them, except for Xolethane who seemed very satisfied, was surprised of the sudden make over Lauren has forced Cheryza to go through.

First time in years, Cheryza didn’t feel herself as trapped in the world of men. She felt herself a woman. And it seemed that others had also sensed the change in her mind.

“Cheryza. Sit down. I think you’ve ready to receive the five-pointed star.”

Cheryza sat down on a chair, watching with amazement, watching as Xalitha marked her with the silver tattoo. She now bore the mark of a priestess. Tattooed by the hands of the goddess herself.