The Prince of Thieves Ch. 11

"No wrong?!" demands the woman on the right. "You've--" She was silenced by the appearance of another woman. She appeared to be absolutely ancient, walking with a hunch and shuffling steps.

The woman peers into the cell, eyes finding Atlas immediately. For several moments she stares at him, and he stares back. Then, it was a though she were meeting an old friend for the first time in years.

A smile appears on her ancient face. "Release this man and his companions," instructs the woman.

"But, Seer--"

"Do not interrupt!" She falls silent, lowering her head in submission. "This man..." She motions to Atlas. "...is the one we've been waiting for...he is Filium nox."

Both women look sharply at the man and the woman on the right kneels while the other opens the door. Both Illia and Atlas step out into the hall.

"I think you must be confused, old woman," Atlas tells her. "This ring is--"

"Immaterial." She reaches up and pulls Atlas' head down closer for her to observe. "Yes..." She turns his head left and then right, examining him closely for a moment before staring into his eyes again. "The blood of your people runs strong through your veins, Filium nox. Your golden eyes stand as homage to your noble blond-line, Terin."

She releases Atlas who actually scoffs as such an idea. "Terin? I'm many things but a Terin isn't one of them. Besides...they're all dead."

"According to whom?"

"History, and time."

"Both mean little when weighed against truth." Atlas cocks his head in confusion. "Come, please. We have much to discuss, Filium nox..."

- - -

They are taken from the prison and across what had once been a grand city but now sit in neglect and ruin. To Atlas, it was not at all hard to imagine at time when the streets of the city were once packed with men and women, coming and going.

The sounds of laughter and chatter...or rather it felt as though he had experienced it at one time before.

Those people they did see watch Atlas with an intensity that put them all on edge. Their tension only grew as they were taken to a large set of crumbling stairs, illuminated on both sides by the orange glow of flicking torches.

The stairs themselves lead upwards to the front of a large stone building, most likely a temple of worship. "Halt," speaks the Seer. "Only the Terin--"

"I have a name," interrupt the thief. "It's Atlas."

"Yes. Only the Terin and the Priestess may enter this sanctuary." The Seer motions towards the steps. "Go. Seek the first of your trials and you may yet prove you are worthy of The Blessing."

"Trials? Maybe you should start at the beginning, Seer."

"You are Filium nox. You must be tested."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you prove yourself unworthy and condemn yourself to death, Terin."

"Can I at least have my things, then?" The Seer motions to someone standing behind them and a woman approaches, kneeling in front of Atlas and placing his and Illia's things at his feet before slowly backing away, head lowered in submission. "Why are these women kneeling and bowing?"

"All Doken bow to Filium nox, to Her children. Go, Filium nox."

"Atlas is injured," Illia tells the woman, retrieving her sword belt from the items in front of the thief. "How do you expect him to complete the trial when he cannot even fight?"

"The Priestess will see to you injuries." Atlas quickly dresses in front of them, but gives pause in regards to the traveling cloak and tunic.

Instead, he takes a moment to rummage through his traveling pack and produces his hooded vest. He pulls it on and pulls the hood up.

"Atlas--" He captures her hand to give it a reassuring squeeze and smiles from under the hood.

"I'll be fine, Illia," Atlas tells her. He turns to Nero and pats the boy on the head. "Nero, I'll--" The boy lunges forward, hugging him tightly around the lower-stomach. Atlas gently disengages from him to kneel and hug Nero back. "I'll be just fine, alright?"

"Alright, Prince," replies Nero.

"But while I'm gone...keep an eye on Illia for me. Who knows what kind of trouble she'll get into with me gone?" This earns a glare from Illia and a smile from Nero. Atlas stands and then starts up the stairs without another word.

His pace is slow and he makes sure to watch his steps on the crumbling stairs that had seen more then their share of years and weather.

Atlas reaches the the top, staring at a set of large doors which slowly begin to open as he approaches. Their hinges loudly protest their use and lack of oil as they open enough for him to step in and no wider.

The head of the dimly illuminated room is dominated by a large black marble statue of a woman, at the base of which kneels who he assumes to be the priestess, garbed in robes of black. Beside her sits candles, as well as offerings of flowers and gold. Incense burns all around the room, their balmy scent relaxing Atlas.

He approaches, booted footsteps echoing off the stone walls in the silence of the room. "Priestess," speaks Atlas, bringing her hushed praying to an immediate stop. "I--"

"I know why ye have come, Filium nox," responds the Priestess. "Ye seek to complete the challenge of our forbearer."

"No. I'm here because some woman believes me to be a Terin."

"If she be mistaken...then why do ye bear evidence of kinship." Atlas looks at the ring on his finger and then scoffs in response. "Not the ring. Such an item is immaterial. Present ye evidence."

"This is all I have." He reaches back, drawing the weapon from it's sheath at his lower-back and approaching the woman. She slowly stands, turning to face him with her face hidden by the hood of her robes. She accepts the dagger with both hands and gently, almost reverently examines the weapon for only a brief moment before returning it. "Well?"

"To have presented such an item...ye have spoken with Her. This is good."

"Her...? That woman from my dream?"

"Not a dream. A vision. Come, Filium nox." She motions to a corridor to his left and begins walking, robes flowing behind her as she walks. "The trials away ye." Atlas follows, bootsteps off-set by the sound of her bare feet on stone.

"These trials...what are they for exactly? What is the purpose?"

"To prove worth, Filium nox. 'Tis one thing to claim ye are worthy of The Blessing, 'tis quite another to prove it."

"Ok, what is 'The Blessing'?"

"'Tis knowledge, 'tis truth. Such a thing reserved only for those with the strength of will to grasp and understand it. Only one has come to claim The Blessing as her own. She was

a thief." Atlas stops in the middle of the corridor, realizing immediately that the paper that Kale translated in Atlantis was not speaking of him.

"A thief?"

"Indeed. But she was lacking in Terin blood. She broke in searching for riches, stumbling and stuttering her way through every trial. However, that was quite a time ago during the height of the Terin's empire, Filium nox. Come. We haven't the time to waste." Atlas begins following the woman again.

"Speaking of that...you seem to know an awful lot about them. More then any of the books written on them speak of. And a lot of it seems to contradict what I've read."

"Many tomes written in regards to them were done using nothing but wild conjecture and the imagination of the scholar. Of course, I use that term loosely as I dare not call such men 'scholars' so deficient are their works, so glaring are their literary mistakes!" Her voice echoes through the dimly lit hall. She takes a breath and then goes silent. "My apologies.

'Tis unseemly to raise my voice in the presence of--"

"Not at all," interrupt Atlas. "But maybe you could tell me more about what I'm supposed to do for these trials."

"I cannot. Only ye are allowed to enter the room, Filium nox." Moments later, they stop in front of a set of heavy, wooden doors. "Enter, and claim what is offered." Atlas steps towards the door, and then stops. "Something troubles ye?"

"That old woman said you would heal my shoulder before I begin."

"And I have." Atlas cocks his head in confusion. "Ye cannot deny that ye feel no pain." He rotates his shoulder, feeling not even a twinge of pain. He stretches skyward, releasing a big sigh as he does so. "The incense soothe the body and mind, allowing the spirit to follow."

"So it's just temporary?"

"For now. The effects will last quite a time. If you return...then we will have a healer examine ye."

"...'If you return'...your confidence in me is simply overwhelming, Priestess." Atlas steps towards the door, shoves them open with a bit of a grunt and disappears behind them without another word...