Chapter 316: Offering Prayer

After all sorts of things, I was at last let into the cathedral. A ceiling high enough to look up at, and a wide hall. In the center of that hall a large red stone sat. The people in line put a hand to that stone in turn, bowed their heads, held that pose a while, then left. A person who looked like a priest stood beside the stone, watching, or watching over.

"What is that?"

At my question the aide again said,

"That stone is the god-stone. We are told to put a hand to it and offer prayer."

And so on. Nnn. However you look at it, it looks like a huge ruby. The clarity is not the best, I think, but at that size I feel you cannot measure the money value.

"That stone is said to be something Lady Sophia obtained when she received a revelation from God on her mission. After she obtained the god-stone, Lady Sophia is said to have worked many miracles."

The aide’s lore burst. The Duke was listening, yes, yes, so was this common information? I looked around. Everyone was nodding, so I seemed to be the only one who did not know. I would ask Rudolf when I got back.

Watching the people offer prayer, now and then I could tell that the place a hand touched gave a small light, depending on the person. Imagination, maybe, but the red also seemed to change a little. I wondered.

Count Norfolk and his wife touched the stone and offered prayer. Nothing particular happened. Next the Duke and Duchess of Vélez touched the stone and bowed their heads. Then the area around the Duchess’s hand glowed yellow-white.

"Ohh!?"

The priest sounded surprised and made a sound. The priest who had looked sleepy until then woke in an instant.

The stone around where the Duchess’s hand touched had changed to orange. It was spreading slowly. About half the stone was turning orange. It was not only the priest who was surprised. Everyone who had come to offer prayer was looking at the Duchess.

"Amazing!?"

This time the voice rose from the watchers. No one had thought the stone’s color would change, so they were hugely surprised. No one raised a voice. They were absorbed.

After a while the Duchess took her hand off the stone. Then the Duchess staggered. She put a hand to her brow. It looked like a head rush. The Duke caught her at once.

The priest came close.

"Forgive me, but may I hear your name?"

He asked the Duke in polite words, but the Duke seemed not to like it.

"I am the Duke of Vélez. My wife is Mariska Vélez. What do you want?"

He answered with a high attitude he should have dropped. The priest was a little scared, but,

"I am sorry to trouble you, but could you meet the High Priest? Those who change the stone’s color greatly receive a special blessing from the High Priest in another room."

At least he passed the business firmly.

Hearing there was a special blessing from the High Priest, the Duke flipped from a sour face to a super-pleased expression.

"Is that so? Then it cannot be helped. Shall we go to the seat of blessing?"

He said it looking around at the Count and Countess and me, looking down all over. See that, you lot! His inside showed through. Yes.

There an aide whispered in the Duke’s ear. He nodded, turned to me with a face that said well, you saw that, and said,

"Lord Marie, I am very sorry, but as you just heard my wife will receive a special blessing from the High Priest, so I can no longer see you off. So I would like Count Norfolk, whom we happened to meet so conveniently, to see you off. Count Norfolk, is that all right?"

What a high tone! I felt, but Count Norfolk was a finished man.

"Duke, I understand. I will take responsibility and see Lord Marie off. My wife also has a face that wants to talk with Lord Marie."

He said it pleasantly. The Countess was still surprised at the Duchess’s deed, and her face was red, excited maybe. Hearing that the Duke smirked, took his aide, followed the priest, and vanished into the back.

Among the people left, about the Duchess changing the stone’s color,

"I come every day to offer prayer, but it is the first time I have seen the color change. Something good seems likely today."

or,

"I thought a color change could not happen, but there are miracles."

they were talking. The noisy stir would not stop. The talk from earlier, looking at my face and saying God’s grace..., had gone somewhere too... Well. Fine.

Even so the prayer line continued. Not one priest was left, but even without them people offered prayer. Changing the stone’s color must be rare. A priest or two gone was no problem. Well. Fine. The line still continued behind me, and I thought I would finish quick and go home, and put my hand to the stone.

The instant I touched it, there was a sense of my hand being sucked into the stone. Looking at the hand, nothing like that. But the whole palm felt stuck fast to the stone. What is this? I thought, bowed my head a little, and the moment I put awareness in my hand I felt something flow from my body through the hand into the stone.

"Uwah!"

"Kya!?"

The Count and Countess beside me raised their voices. Looking at the hand, light was coming from the hand on the stone. And the part of the stone the hand touched had gone yellow. It was shining brighter than with the Duchess.

Something began to flow from inside my body toward the stone. With that, the light from the hand grew stronger and larger. I could see something flowing slowly into the stone. It spread and the stone’s color changed from orange to yellow. The crowd around began to make noise. I lifted my face and everyone was looking at me. Something poured from my body into the stone harder and harder. Not something. This is mana, is it not!? The whole stone turned yellow. Part of the yellow turned green. My head started to spin. At this rate I would run dry again!

With all my strength I tore my hand off the stone. At once the stone’s light settled.

"Ooooh!!"

Voices rose from around all at once. A doya-doya-doya sound rang in my ears.

I went faint as in anemia and was about to fall back when someone supported my back.

"Are you all right, Lord Marie?"

That person was Count Norfolk.

"I am sorry. I do not seem all right at all. I am sorry, but could you take me to the embassy like this? Even standing is hard..."

"But you could receive the High Priest’s blessing?"

The Count worried about that side, but I was past that.

"No. Right now I feel far too bad. I have no room at all to receive a blessing. Please! Carry me!"

At my pressed voice the Count said,

"I see. Understood. We will take you. Lord Marie, can you walk?"

"Yes. Somehow..."

I started walking, led by the Count’s hand.

"When we were so close to a special blessing... I wonder if we would have been allowed to sit in as well?"

That was the Countess’s voice. If God blessed us directly I would be glad, but it would be the High Priest doing it, yes? Then it does not seem to have that much grace. But I had troubled the Count and Countess, so I decided in my heart that when the time came I would go with them. About as much grace as would make the Count and Countess glad.

I could see an aide of the Count running. I had suddenly gone unwell, so he had gone in a hurry to arrange a carriage. Sorry. I am making trouble.

"Lord Marie, how do you feel?"

The Countess asked, worried.

"Yes... thank you. I can walk somehow, so..."

Little by little I seemed to be recovering from the worst state. Each step I took I was getting better. Like pouring mana back into the tank, slosh slosh, one step short of the tank running dry? If I said I was fine here, it would be pitiful for the Count and Countess who were worrying, so I walked on pretending I still felt bad.

I could feel noise behind, but I did not want to be pulled into that stir now. Voices saying go call a priest! and other extra things could be heard too. Leave me alone!

Ahead in the square the Count’s carriage arrived. It had come at a speed that showed I had made them hurry, then stopped with a hard brake. The horses would not settle and were acting up.

"Watch your feet."

The Count and Countess, kind all the way. I wanted to boil the nail scrapings of a certain duke and make him drink them. (An old joke.)

Put in the carriage, I was relieved. Looking out from inside, the cathedral side felt in an uproar. There were many witnesses, so a call would surely come before long. Today I had come to know very good people in Count Norfolk and his wife. A good day. I would offer thanks to God. Would it reach Lady Sophia? No. Lady Sophia is a prophet, so God is someone else?

A side note, but the next day a messenger came from the cathedral with word to receive a blessing from the High Priest at the cathedral. When I invited Count Norfolk and his wife they were especially glad. Only, when we went to the cathedral I was told to offer prayer to the god-stone again, and I changed yellow to green. It was the second time, so I had left room in my mana. Needless to say.

The Count and Countess who had come with me were so moved the Countess started crying. The High Priest watching that said,

"A miracle..."

and gave a blessing to the whole of the people who had been about to offer prayer to the god-stone. The priests, starting with the High Priest, had eyes that said come tomorrow too! I thought to refuse, but the Count and Countess said,

"Lord Marie, let us go tomorrow as well! We will come to fetch you!"

and I ended up heading to the cathedral every day. That, by the way, continued until the god-stone’s color turned purple. I have a habit of wanting to return many times over to people who are kind to me. This is probably a lifelong habit.

At the end the High Priest gave a scripture to me and to the Count and Countess. I could not tell the value well, but the Count and Countess shed tears and thanked him, so it must have been something special. For me it was pearls before swine, but when I took it home Rudolf was especially glad, so I called it good.

And, to add, Rudolf knew about the god-stone...