Walking into the Temple, they were greeted by a Priestess.

  “Three to become adults? Yes, we can do that today. “She pointed them toward a line of people in a side chapel, and said,

  "And blessings go with you!"

  There were those in the queue before them, and Alandra and her mother watched their Blessings with interest.

  First in line when they stepped up was another mother and daughter combination ahead of them. The Priestess, mother, and daughter joined hands, and prayed that the Goddess would bless her child and show her the way to her adult life. Then the Crown, engraved with strange symbols, was placed on the girl's head. A glowing gold light enveloped the girl, whose eyes opened wide, and her face lit with joy as she looked at Something beyond them.

  "Yes," she said. "Yes. I will be your voice, Lady of Mercy!" When the Crown was lifted from the girl's head, she said,

  "I am to marry the man the Gods tell me to, and he will be good to me and take good care of me and my children, as I do of his house and purse. My gift is that I will be a peacemaker among the people of the village. People will come to me with their problems, and the gods will give me strength and wisdom to help them."

  "Oh, wonderful, my darling!! That's all I wanted. And you're already the peacemaker among your sisters. It's so good to know that that's something the Gods want you to do for everyone. Come, you should have a new dress if we are to begin looking for your husband!"

  Next was another mother and daughter. The girl was taller than average and not very pretty, but she had a lot of character in her face and a nice smile. And the look of awe and peace on her face as the Goddess spoke to her made her beautiful.

  "I...are you sure? But...oh. Oh! I see. Yes!! Yes, I will do that, and know that it is Our mother of All who asks it of me. Yes."

  "What is your path?" asked her mother.

  "I am not to wed, but I am to be a brewster, and my ale will never fail, if I do right by my tubs. And Our mother will send me three girls who need a mother and a trade, and they will be my daughters and your granddaughters, and care for us as if we were blood."

  "Well, that is also a good life," her mother said. "And truth be told, I've no wish to marry again. I'll help you set up your alehouse, and we'll be happy together." They hugged each other, and went away smiling.

  Next came Oliver and Jiran, with Oliver's father. For boys, a Priest led the prayer. The Priest placed the Crown of Awakening on Oliver's head, and his father watched in anticipation as his son suddely gazed at something beyond him, face full of wonder and awe.

  "Oh!" he said. "Oh, Yes! Yes, for that I will, and gladly. Thank you, Lord!!"

  "Papa, I am to follow you in farming, but all land I plow will give a double harvest, as my blessing from the God, and I am promised health of body and mind as long as I take reasonable care."

  "Oh, bless Him, and all His deeds!" said the farmer, hugging his son in joy. "We'll have to work to build the muscle on you to plow, but it's worth it with that blessing!"

  They turned away, and the second boy, Jiran, steppped up. He had no family there to watch, but the farmer and his son were his neighbors, and the boys had grown up together.

  The boy bowed his head, and the Priest removed the crown. His eyes opened, and he looked at his friend and his friend's father with joy.

  "I'm to become a bodger, working green wood, and my gift is that I shall never harm myself with my tools. Oh, I do like wood, and Master Kerr is a good man! Oh, Papa will be so happy!!"

  He was praised and hugged by his friend and his father.

  "Oh, we must go and celebrate this," said the farmer. "Come, lads, I'm sure there's a good tavern nearby."

  "I recommend the Wheat Sheaf, two streets that way," the priest said. "They've a brewer with a blessing from the God, and they make a stout that's a meal for a man."

  "That's my kind of beer!" the farmer said happily. "Thank ye, sir, and blessings on you!!"

  This made Alandra feel good. She would undoubtedly get to help Oliver's wife preserve meat and grain stores, and watch as Jiran learned his trade and made useful items for the village. And Master Kerr had no sons, so no one to hope to follow him. It would work for everyone.

  But now the Priestess was gesturing to her!

  “Come here, child, what is your name?”

  “Alandra ni Joram en Elenda,” she said.

  “Ah, and your mother here with you?"

  "Yes. She is young, but her magic has sparked, and we should find out more so we can plan for her future."

  "Sensible, said the Priestess. "Is she part elven, to come to her magic so young?"

  "Her father and I both are," her mother confirmed, quietly.

  "Well, then let us pray," the Priestess said, taking their hands. As she prayed, Alandra felt energy gathering around her. She barely felt the crown touch her head before her vision whited out, and she was elsewhere.

  Interesting, a voice said around her, within her. A woman's voice, redolent with power and will. So much Air Magic, and a powerful Healing gift too!

  Alandra rejected this fiercely.

  "No," she whispered aloud, unable to say more in the face of the Divine energy.

  Why? Asked the voice...Ahhh...your path is an uncommon one, dear child, and not one you considered as a future for yourself. But you, you are one of those who can assist to restore the Balance. I call you to My service as Healer, as Mage of Air, and as Priestess of the Balance. I gift you with the sight to see magic in full and the ability to use it fully, when you are old enough to do so. For now, dear child, learn and grow, and when you are ready, there is work to be done. Walk my path of Balance, and you will not err.

  There was no restisting this. It was Right, and True, and dauntingly beautiful.

  "Yes," she said to the goddess, feeling Her love and approval wrap her. She was known, and loved, and cherished, all in one breath. Everything was right, all right, better than right. There was no sense of anything but the shining Presence that held her rapt. She did not hear the chime that rang through the Sanctuary, announcing to all that the Goddess had chosen a Daughter, nor the sound of her mother's gasp of amazement.

  Slowly she came back to herself, and the Priestess was looking at her in amazement.

  "Welcome, Sister," she said to her, smiling.

  "I am not only Priestess, but Healer and Air Mage, called to walk the Path of Balance and serve Devina, our Lady of Balance." Her voice was shaky.

  "Then welcome, three fold, sister!" the Priestess said, lifting the crown from her head. "Healers are..."

  Her mother looked at her, and burst into tears, and said,

  “No. No. It can't be!”

  “Mama,” she said, “What's wrong?” Had she not seen the glow of the Goddess, heard the chime?

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “You--you won't get married! I won't have grandchildren! I won't get to hold your babies...” she sobbed.

  “Mama, I...”

  “No!!” her mother wailed. “My only child, my only daughter! This isn't right! This can't be! How will I hold my head up now and insist on a good man for you? You were supposed to have a nice useful little gift! Something that would make up for your looking like an Elf.”

  Alandra inhaled as if punched in the gut. She was tall and lean, yes, but her ears weren't particularly pointed, nor were her eyes the slanted large eyes of the elves. She had thought she was middling pretty, even.

  “Why did they do this to me? All I wanted was for you to have a nice useful bit of magic and be able to make a good marriage!! Did you pray every night to get out? Is that why the Goddess picked you?”

  Alandra mutely shook her head, still stunned. She had not asked for anything, ever! Was it forbidden to wonder and doubt and think of other things?

  The Priestess was leading them away from the main altar and to the side, but her mother continued wailing loudly.

  "Did someone pray that I would be humiliated, having to go home without my daughter? No one to care for me in my old age! I thought you were obedient! I thought you knew your duty!"

  Alandra was baffled. "But the Goddess..."

  “Go on, go away, you ungrateful child. Such a small thing your mother asked of you, but no, you must go and take your own road away from us. Very well, then, go on, and go!! Ask the Goddess to feed and house and clothe you, if she wants you so much. How could you do this to me!”

  "Mama!"

  "Get away, you brat, you ungrateful girl," her mother said, shoving her away. "Ask the Goddess to be your Mama, since you don't want me. Get away from me!"

  She shoved so hard that Alandra fell over her own feet, sitting down hard and staring up at her mother as she wailed. There were people coming. How could Alandra fix it? What had she done wrong?

  “Sister, what...ah,” the Priestess near her said, offering her a hand up off the floor.

  “Come with me,” she said. “Your mother isn't taking it well, is she.”

  “I...didn't know...”

  “And how could you until you awakened? She's just upset, and when she calms down, she'll be wanting to see you again.”

  “No,” Alandra said. "I've disappointed her. She'll never forgive me. Ever. She never does when someone makes her mad."

  The Priestess compressed her lips, then rolled her eyes at a fresh outbreak of wailing from behind them.

  “Well, we would have asked you when you preferred to begin your novitiate, but now appears to be good.”

  Alandra nodded.

  “Now, yes. I...where do I go?”

  “I'm on duty here in the Sanctuary, but I will send someone for the Master of Novices, and he'll be able to get you a bed and set you up a schedule.”

  “Thank you,” Alandra said, swallowing tears and hating that her voice wobbled.

  The Priestess caught the eye of a young woman in dark grey robes, and gestured her over.

  “This is Alandra ni...” She paused, at Alandra's head shake

  Alandra said, firmly,

  “Alandra ne Devina. Of the Goddess of Balance. If Mama doesn't want me, then I won't wear her name, nor my father's.”

  “But he might...”

  Alexandra shook her head.

  “He'll say what a pity, but he won't cross her. He never does. He'll just hide in his forge until she calms down and then he won't talk about it for fear of setting her off."

  She knew. She'd seen it over and over. That was why she tried so hard to be good! And now, how was she to live with her Mama so angry with her! What had she done wrong? The gods had spoken, and they were never wrong!

  “Please show Alandra to the Master of Novices. She comes with nothing, so she'll need a clothing issue.”

  The Novice in grey nodded.

  “I'm Malinda, and I've been here a year. They're good people here. Come this way,” she said, gesturing.

  Alandra followed her, numbly. Her mother's wails receded and finally were blocked by a door that Malinda opened in the corner of the Temple, leading them back into the cloister grounds.

  Here there was silence, save for the music of the fountain at the center of the cloister walk, and the soft noises of people moving about. They walked soft-footed and graceful as a deer, and wore pale grey or black robes, hands clasped in their sleeves and head down as they moved. The air smelled of good herbs and flowing water and old stone. Alandra liked it, even around the roil of emotions that were choking her throat.

  Malinda led her to a room where she knocked on the door and waited to be bid entry.

  “Sir,” she said to the man who sat at a table, writing, “I bring to you Alandra ne Devina, come to her novitiate as she comes to her calling.”

  “Is it truly your desire to do this thing?” he said to Alandra. His gaze searched her, and she felt his mind touch hers.

  “Oh, you poor dear,” he said with great compassion. “You have a home here, and if your path once grown to full adulthood is to leave us, you will leave with a dower and our blessing.”

  His compassion was too much, and she began to weep. Someone pressed a handkerchief into her hand, and Malinda let her hide her face in her shoulder and let go of the pain. At length, she was better.

  ”Here, let me help you,” he said, and she felt a wave of warmth down across her face that fixed the soreness of eye and running of nose.

  “Thank you, sir,” she said.

  “My...my mother is mad at me for having both a strong Mage gift and a strong healing gift, and being called by Our Lady of the Balance.”

  “I'm so sorry, “ he said.

  “The woman screamed and wailed until they called for a mindhealer,” Malinda said, “All because her daughter would not go home and marry and give her grandchildren.”

  “Oh, Lady Bright and Dark,” he said in exasperation. “As if a Mage gift means you cannot bear children! And Our Lady's calling as Healer and Priestess may be one that is satisfied after ten or twenty years of service, and then she may serve other aspects of the Goddess as a mother. It is not unheard of. And, Alandra, you are part Elven, I think?”

  “Both parents are Half-Elven,” Alandra said.

  “So you will live a century or two, and have plenty of decades to have your children.”

  “That's a good thing to know,” Alandra said. “I never talked about it with my parents. I...want a life that isn't just marriage and family. I don't know what it is past that, but I know here is the beginning.”

  “Good. A path freely chosen is the proper path to walk,” he said.

  She nodded. She was still reeling inside from her mother's words, but everyone else seemed pleased and happy with her.

  "Hm," he said, "Stronger then you look, too. Half-elven don't bulk up, though. Did a lot of housework, did you?"

  "Yes, sir. I'm good at laundry and can keep good records. And I know lots of cantrips for preserving and cleaning, and my stews never burn."

  "Well, we won't need you to prove that, my dear. What we will require of you to do is to learn. You are a Healer, and we train them here, Healers and Law-Keepers and clerks, for the Faces that we honor here are the Lord of Justice and the Lady of Mercy."

  "I am called by Balance..." Alandra said.

  "And we honor that," he said, "but the Temple of Balance trains their Healers just as we do, and here you are."

  She nodded. That made sense. She liked the way things felt here.

  "I will have the Mistress of Healing assess you tomorrow, and make a plan for your studies. You will learn herbs first; no matter what your healing gift, herbs are the foundation of our practice. I see that you are also a Mage. Since you are here, you can learn healing first, and the practice of meditation to focus Mana is the same for Healers and mages, so you will not be behind when you go to Mage school when you are sixteen years old. You will be here for a while, child, no worries."

  "Good," she said, and felt the lump rise in her throat again. She forced it down and listened as he spoke.

  “Now, you will need to know the rules of the Novices. I am the Master of the Novices, but you will always meet with me with another woman here, and you are to maintain that rule with other Novices and vowed clergy who are male. Having this policy prevents talk and keeps all of us safe.”

  She nodded. She knew well from the village how a small act can be blown up into a bonfire by idle talk. She had enough going on not to get caught up in that herself.

  “You will be issued clothing, and you are expected to change your underlinen every day. You are also expected to change your training clothing after each session and have it washed. Your overrobe is to be changed once a week, and you will be issued an extra one in case you are caught in the rain and need to dry it. You will also be issued grooming supplies and bed linens. You are to also change your bed linen weekly. One of the first precepts of the cloister is cleanliness.”

  “Yes Master,” she said.

  “You will be wearing unbleached linen robes. If you see someone wearing grey robes like Malinda, they are Petitioners, doing their year of service and contemplation before taking vows. Those who have made their profession to the Gods wear black, and those of us who have offices in the monastery, like me, wear the white zilet over the black robe.” He gestured at the white long overvest he wore over his robe. “The vowed wear a coif, and the officers wear this cap (he pointed to his squat, square hat that he wore) over their coifs.”

  She nodded. It seemed simple enough.

  “You will know the Vowed of the Gods also by their hands,” he said, placing the back of both his hands on the table. Intricate tattoos marked the back of his hands, wrapped round his wrists, and extended up his forearms. “The gods place these, when they accept us as their Vowed servants. No one else wears such, and so you will always know a servant of the gods, even if they are wearing civilian clothes.”

  Alandra looked and nodded again. She had seen the marks on the woman who had led her Blessing, but not thought of it then. Now she knew.

  “While you are here, you vow stability...that you will remain here unless sent elsewhere...diligence to your tasks and to learning, and obedience to your superiors and the Gods. Can you make this promise?”

  “That I can promise, Sir,” she said, looking full in his face. “I know I'm supposed to be here. I want to stay here.”

  He smiled.

  “You have made a good start. Malinda, take her to the Chamberlain and get her settled, and give her a cell on the women's side. Come see me tomorrow and we'll see what learning you need yet.”

  “Yes, Master Floren,” said Malinda, bowing her head to him, which he copied.

  “Go in peace,” he said, and they moved to the door.