#oh my fucking god the the high in high priestess doesn't mean high on drugs

[trashbinbackyard]

2 - The high priestess

Her knees began to hurt, sitting on the stone floor of the temple. It was dark, the sun had gone out hours ago, yet she could hear the hustle and bustle of the street outside. It was a night of celebration, the anniversary of the coup some twenty years ago, a celebration of returning to normalcy after a tumultuous time in the city’s history.

There was song and dance, the grand bazaar would remain open for the entire night. The docks and river would be filled with little ships, forming a floating market.

She had been sitting here for hours, deep in thought. Trying to make sense of the dreams she’s had recently, a double headed snake. It  slithered beneath her feet, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Snakes meant a lot of things, time, death, healing, deceit. And the branching of its heads… could mean a decision, inner turmoil, double nature, paths ahead. There were too many possibilities for this sign for her to be able to determine what it means.

She took a deep breath, inhaling the incense and smoke filling the chapel of Istus. Smoke surrounded her, smoke surrounded the city. It hid all the other scents of the room, obscuring her vision ever so slightly. The incense was laced with poppy oil, it made her head dizzy, but not unable to think. When she had become a priestess she was told it would open her mind to signs better.

In front of her, a set of divination stones. Five jewels made smooth with the water of the ocean, with celestial runes corvette into them. She picked each of them up slowly while uttering the prayer to Istus under her breath.

As she leaned forwards, the weight of her veil adorned with metal ringlets shifted enough to make a silent jingle in the ever so silent room. Now holding all the jewels, she stroked one of them with the pad of her thumb, paying close attention to how it felt, how the other jewels shifted

She held up all five jewels to the statue of Istus. The goddess’ noble features stared onward, encased in marble. Light from the outside hit the crown of her head and gold embedded in her shined through even in the dark. The light scattered to the nearby pillar and formed a thin multicolored line.

Istus was listening, she knew it. She would need to ask the right question, to see the right answer. She needed rest  from the mind consuming thoughts of the snake. Who is it? What do they want?

She lowered her hand and brought them to her face. She closed her eyes and exhaled on the stones and dropped onto the floor right in front of her. 

Stone against stone, the jewels clattered around, taking their time to settle. She kept her eyes shut until she didn’t hear anything anymore. The noises of the world outside faded out and she was truly in her inner sanctum.

Slowly she opened her eyes. In an inky darkness, a single candle shines a light. A new smell fills the air, not the earthy scent of the temple, but something warm and sweet, a hint floral, mixed with the fresh breeze and saltiness of the sea.

She looks at the floor, a crack in the stone. Wide enough to put her hand in. She goes to reach for the crack when a sound of a hiss reaches her ears. And out of the crack emerges a snake with two heads.

And just as it’s whole length of the body is out, from the nothingness that surrounds her, a sword drops onto the snake, pinning it’s tail to the floor.

She flinches at the sudden sight and is bolted out of her trance. She is back at the temple of Istus, the smell of cedar and poppies fill her nostrils once more, and she can hear the people outside the temple carry on their party.