5.29 – The Temple


    "So, that was faster than I thought," Delta said. "Figured we''d be getting up to this in a few days, not right away."


    "Hit a dead end with the Church, so it''s not like we have much choice," Zoey said. "Ephy might be ourst chance to get another hint on what''s going on." Though she wasn''t sure how fruitful another conversation with the goddess would be. She had made it clear there were limits on what she would, or could, tell Zoey. "And even if she''s not helpful, it''s smart to establish a way tomunicate with her."


    "And she said muning'' was best for that?"


    "Whatever that means."


    "Think I''ll get to see her? Or will it be just you?"


    Zoey paused. That was a good question. "I assumed just me. Depends on how all this works, I guess. And whether she <em>wants</em> to see you."


    "Huh," Delta said. "Chatting with an actual goddess. Not something I thought I''d ever get up to."


    "Any ideas for how it <em>will </em>work?"


    "Communing? Nope. But I bet we''ll need a lot of lube."


    Zoey shook her head. Colorful phrasing, like always. "And what''s the n for finding someone to help?"


    "A nubile, virgin priestess to ravish, you mean?"


    "Don''t be crude."


    "We''re looking for a priestess to double team, and you''reining about me being ''crude''?"


    Touché.


    "Still, our goal''s only to talk to Ephy. We don''t know if we''ll need a priestess to help. Or whether one will want to."


    "I don''t think that second part will be much of a problem. Have you seen yourself?" Deltaughed. "Have you seen <em>me</em>?" She made a lewd gesture as she traced her hands down her body. "I''m sure we''ll have a few takers. Just look for a repressed blonde with big blue eyes. You have a good record with those."


    "Oh, be quiet," Zoey said. "Though, you should probably give me the rundown on how all this works. So I know what''s going on."


    "All this?"


    "The temple district. And all that."


    "Our world''s religion?" Delta asked dryly.


    "Yeah."


    "I''m probably not the best person to ask. I''m not exactly what you could call pious."


    "You aren''t?"


    Delta rolled her eyes.


    "Besides," Zoey said, "that might make you a better person to exin. You''re less biased."


    "Maybe." Delta was quiet for a moment as she thought. "I''ll do my best to give a rundown. So, in most cities, there''s three major temples people worship in. The Temple of Natural Order, the Temple of the Arcane, and the Temple of Ascension."


    "Oh?"


    "Inside each, there''s different shrines to worship different gods or goddesses. You can probably guess who belongs where. Aelorithia, the Goddess of Blossom, and Lunestrya, the Goddess of Nights and Beasts, would be worshipped in the Temple of Natural Order. So would Ephythithys, representing fertility and sex—a natural process."


    "And the Arcane Temple?"


    "Mistralthys for enchantment. Voltaryn for elemental magics. Elendriya for healing and protection." Delta shrugged. "There''s a lot of gods. One for everything. Some are more popr than others. Their names change, too, depending on where you are. I find it hard to remember them all." Delta nced skyward, pausing as if waiting for something. After a second, she nodded. "Cool. Didn''t get smited for that."


    "What about the Temple of Ascension?"


    "That one''s different," Delta said. "And is mostly worshipped by wayfarers and wayfaring families. Depending on where you go, the Temple is dedicated to one god, Cod''elix, or several aspects of the same god, given different representations. But the Temple is for everything rted to ascension. Questaryn, the God of Adventure, Lev''Alora, for Progression, and Egarion, Mastery."


    "So everything rted to sses, shards, and advancements."


    "Yep."


    It made sense that there would be a major Temple dedicated to such a thing. Wayfarers were the eminent force across the world, and for good reason: individuals could wield power that threatened entire cities.


    Zoey wondered how many of these gods were real. Only Ephy and the enigmatic ''Ezariel'' she had mentioned had any substantial proof. Otherwise, the rest had—if they weren''t invented as a matter of these people''s culture—shirked their duties and abandoned the world, ording to Ephy.


    Though, could Zoey trust that? She didn''t think Ephy had a reason to lie, but maybe taking everything that woman said at face value wouldn''t be smart.


    "That''s interesting," Zoey said, "but we only care about the Temple of Natural Order, right?"


    "Since we''re going to say hi to your patron, yeah. Shouldn''t be a problem finding a shrine for her. She''s a middle-sized deity." Delta paused, then nced skyward a second time. "No, uh, offense." She stage-whispered to Zoey, "Is she a vain one?"


    "Only middle-sized?" She would have figured the one guaranteed-real deity would be prominent in Delta''s culture. Massively so—not simply ''middle-sized''.


    Delta shrugged. "Fertility, sensuality, sex, and lust are popr aspects. But not as much as Life, Healing, Growth, Magic, and so on. So yeah, everyone knows her name, but she''s not one of the ''big ones'', so to say."


    "Huh." Zoey wondered what Ephy thought of that.


    Soon enough, Delta had led the two of them to the temple district. It was a busy ce, though not so much as, say, the market. Maybe because they''de at an unusual time. Did these people have an equivalent of a Sunday being their typical worship day?


    Regardless, it was probably better for her and Delta''s mission that the temples wouldn''t be too crowded.


    "I thought you said there were three temples?" Zoey asked, peering around at the various buildings. She was pretty sure she could tell which were ''<em>the'' </em>three temples, the main ones, but there were other obvious ces of worship.


    "It''s more of a categorization," Delta said. "There''s the main Temples, which the city funds, but people can build their own, too. The smaller ones all align under one of the three major categories. There''s plenty of churches not in the temple district itself, too."


    A short walk, and they arrived to the Temple of Natural Order. Tall white marble pirs lined the front entrance, reaching up to support a triangr b that was decorated with a mural of lush forests, rolling hills, and all other sorts of natural imagery. Wide double doors were swung open, and a member of the temple in white robes weed worshippers inside.


    She followed Delta in. A cavernous circr chamber opened up, capped with a domed ceiling decorated by stained ss depictions of various natural iconography. Dozens of alcoves surrounded the grand chamber, each holding a statue honoring a god or goddess. Zoey''s eyes snagged on a tall, dark woman with violet amethysts for eyes, wearing a wolf''s cloak pulled up over her head. A deer stood to her side, seeming alert and staring at something in the distance. Lunestrya, that Delta had mentioned? The Goddess of Night and Beasts?


    Zoey looked through the enormous hall, fascinated at the architecture and more than that, the meaning behind it all. Treyhull was a sprawling, wealthy city, and so, the city''s primary Temple of Natural Order had all thevishness Zoey would expect.


    Her eyes fell on the alcove dedicated to Ephythithys, and more specifically, the statue inside. Unsurprisingly, the plush image of the goddess of fertility wasn''t the same as Zoey remembered from her meetings—these people had obviously never met the goddess in person. But the proportions were close enough: wide hips,rge breasts, and a figure that dripped sensuality.


    Finally, Zoey looked at the people inside the Temple. The Temple was well upied, with people of all sorts visiting altars, burning incense, praying, or speaking with priests and priestesses. Thetter were easy to tell apart from regr temple-goers; the clergy wore white robes and silver nes, standing out from the crowd, where everyday folk hade in all sorts of attire, both formal and casual.


    The quiet reverence of the Temple''s design brought a sense of solemnity to Zoey, and she wasn''t exactly a religious woman. She looked around and marveled at it all; she couldn''t imagine how much work had gone into creating this ce. It was also impressively quiet for how many people bustled about. Everyone spoke in whispers.


    The quiet reverence brought from the ce of worship was quickly ruined by Delta, though.


    "Alright," she whispered to Zoey. "Which of these priestesses are craving girl cock the most, do you think?"