Chapter 210 - The Circle Of The Willow(3)
Chapter 210 – The Circle Of The Willow(3)
High Priestess Ianthe led Reve into the village. The morrites roaming about paused in their steps as they saw a foreign face. Reve could detect complex thoughts weaving in their heads, but they didn't seem to be hostile.
Reve sighed inwardly, 'Thankfully, they are not hostile. I have to be on my best behavior here. If I wrong them, I'm not sure I would be able to leave with my head attached to my body.'
Nevertheless, the situation was not as tense as he imagined.
Ianthe stopped when she reached a large building. The structure coated in black seemed ominous as not even the light rays from the sun could radiate it. Instead, it seemed to absorb all light particles and store them in its abyssal well.
On the upper half of the building was an insignia that made Reve feel strange.
'An owl symbol. I have been seeing this a lot lately,' pondered Reve.
Now that he thought of it, he had seen this symbol about five times in the village. All sorts of buildings seemed to hold the symbol on a high pedestal.
Reve felt he should be aware of what the symbol meant, but somehow, it didn't ring a bell in his mind.
Opening the door, Ianthe welcomed, "Enter, there are others waiting for you, young disciple."
Following the invitation, Reve entered the building at a slow pace. The inside of the building resembled a church with dim light and a tense atmosphere. There were low sharp hums that a normal human wouldn't sense, but Reve could hear it well enough. It did well to promote the mystical nature of the place.
'This feeling of deja vu…this building was built like a church with glass panels on the sidewalls. This is a meeting room. A village council room.'
What more was that the glass panels depicted images that were hard for Reve to comprehend.
On one of them was a woman dressed in a black gown that flowed to the ground. She had blood smeared around her eyes and her fingertips were painted with the most beautiful shade of red.
Surrounding the woman were multiple morrites. They knelt down in front of her and their mouths were open, suggesting that they were saying something.
Ianthe saw that Reve was ensnared by this particular glass panel.
The high priestess joined her palms together and made a praying gesture at the glass panel, "It's normal to be attracted by this piece. The advent of the Great Mother. The daylight shone upon us morrites."
Her eyes became weary as she ruminated on this godly event. Meanwhile, Reve was left in the unknown.
He thought out loud, "Just who is this Great Mother?"
How knowledgeable was he?
Yet, he knew not an ounce of the figure referred to as the Great Mother. She seems to play a major role in the circles of morrites. A role that even a grand mage like Ianthe is submissive to.
Ianthe directed her sight at Reve. Her words were a bit high from surprise, "You don't know the Great Mother. How is that possible? Aren't you a disciple?"
Reve scratched his head, "I must confess. I'm unfamiliar with my identity as a disciple. However, I speak no lies when I say that I got this from my mentor."
"Hmmm….it is alright. The mother rings can never be worn unjustly. It is the greatest proof of discipleship. I see that your mentor failed to inform you of your identity. Let's go."
As they headed for the dark end of the building, she muttered, "The truth will always prevail."
Getting to the end, Reve left the domain of light and traversed into the world of darknesses. At the center of this dark end was a circle table carved out from the roots of a tree that grew beneath it.
Furthermore, as expected, on the table was the drawing of a black owl. Its black eyes held two abysmal gems that swallowed all that stared, leaving nothing but a body with a void mind.
Five morrites sat on the different chairs around the table. Once Reve and Ianthe moved closer, they turned their heads to inspect Reve, the foreigner.
"Ianthe, you are back and with a dashing demihuman. I take it he was the one that sought us," said one of the morrites.
The voice belonged to a similarly old lady with black hair that refused to turn old and a smooth skin that contrasted her old age. Despite all this, she didn't look any younger, and she didn't dress as such. She wore a plain black gown.
"Oh, the few moments I spent with this young lad had been eventful, Amaya. I feel young again," smiled Ianthe.
"Oh, such kind of thing is possible for a boring woman like you?" wondered Amaya.
Another morrite among them interjected. His ancient red eyes patiently scrutinizing Reve, "….and what is the name of this young man."
Reve took the chance to introduce himself, "Exalted elders, I am Reve Amethyst."
"Amethyst….!"
Hearing the last word, all the morrites felt their body tremble in shock. It was an instinctive reaction that could only happen to the sensitive individuals in Arcadia.
This reaction was feedback. They didn't need to inquire further to know that Reve bore a magical name.
The one that appeared to be the youngest among them with overflowing red hair sighed, "A magical name capable of causing such a reaction. You must not be a random person. Ahh, I can already feel a headache coming."
Ianthe found her way to her seat while Reve stayed behind, "Good, Nesryn. This matter closely concerns you. Before we start, let's give our introduction."
She spoke to Reve, "Seated among you are the most experienced morrites in our coven. Nesryn, Cora, Athan, Amaya, Kaine, and I. We are the elders of the Circle of the Willow."
Reve could figure out who Nesryn, Athan, and Amaya were. They spoke a couple of seconds ago. As for the identity of Cora, it was surely the young lady with white hair and eyebrows that sat quietly in her seat.
Kaine was a rather young man, just like Nesryn and Cora. He had the normal features of morrites; black hair and black eyes.. But the shades of his eyes produced a subtle but striking aura around him.