locked to gemcrafting

[learnandshift]

[The so-called Temple is actually more of a castle, close up, and the priests and priestesses have certainly tried to make it feel more like a home, so far. If the chosen Bride had any fear of being strapped to an altar and sacrificed immediately on arrival, the attendants hope the hospitality will soothe it.

When she first arrived, she was seen to a luxurious private bedroom and allowed to rest, then given a tour of her new home (all but one foreboding room behind a white door at the highest point of the highest tower.) Then came a sumptuous wedding feast of every delicacy imaginable, and some perhaps even unheard of. The Lord was strangely not in attendance.

"He'll see you later tonight," said the high priest, a portly man with kind eyes. "He wants you to enjoy yourself in the meantime."

After dinner it was off to the baths, where the Bride was soaked and scrubbed in hot mineral springwater and fragrant oils, then dressed in nothing but a white silk robe tied at the waist. There is little doubt what is to happen now, as the high priestess walks the Bride up to that white door in the high tower.

"Only do not shun him," said the priestess. "He will not hurt you. But do not refuse."

With that discomforting little message, they open the doors and usher the Bride inside what appears to be a featureless room, gray stone. At the far end is a flat stone altar, and behind it a throne.

In the throne sits nothing but a cloud of shadow, immense and as featureless as the room except for pinpricks of light, glowing orange eyes.]

Comments

[gemcrafting]

[ This is not what Rin had been expecting.

Her situation had been a little precarious in the first place. An orphan and a mage, living on the outskirts of town, who rarely interacted with others? It's not like she's reviled, but she's hardly popular. When the time comes, the choice is obvious.

But Rin is lucky in one regard: it's a choice that works to her advantage. endless curiosity and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge are unofficial requirements for mages. So when the rest of the town calls on her, Rin agrees without hesitation - especially, though she won't admit it out loud, when the next most viable candidate is a girl she's quite fond of, who already has her eyes on another.

So she travels to the 'temple' without protest and she's taken off guard by the five-star treatment. Her room is incredibly comfortable, the food is amazing, and the baths might be the most luxurious of their kind Rin has ever seen. Even the robe is nice.

But then getting pampered is over and it's time to face the music. The warning gets a skeptical look from Rin and she doesn't ask the question that's dancing through her head - could she successfully reject him even if she tried? She doesn't think so, and that thought becomes a certainty as she steps into the featureless room. Rin isn't someone that scares easily, but even she can't help the nervous thrill that creeps through her at the sight of her husband.

Still, it's not like she can run, so she doesn't even try. Instead Rin strides forward, head held high and hands only shaking a little. She should probably be polite and demure right now, but- ]

Isn't it rude to not even show up to your own wedding dinner?

[ ... Yeah. Being demure isn't really in Rin's wheelhouse. ]