City of Sin
Book 3, 48

Twins of Destiny

Having sent the sceptical Dragon Mage away, Richard called over the old steward and quickly drafted a list of items for him to purchase as soon as possible. He then called a group of guards to move the ancient beast skeleton, heading towards the Church of the Eternal Dragon. He still owed them a lesser sacrifice, and it wasn’t a good idea to be indebted to the Church.

In a quiet, secluded room in the rear of the church building, Flowsand and Ferlyn were seated opposite each other. Ferlyn could see that Flowsand’s title had been empowered greatly, the Lens of Time hovering between the girl’s eyebrows as a few particles of astral sand spilling out every once in a while. The Book of Time emitted a vast, distant aura, evidently strengthened substantially.

Ferlyn was silent for a long time, and even when she spoke she started with a sigh, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Flowsand said with determination, “Without me, everything he has in Faelor will crumble very quickly.”

“But you should understand. The closer you are to him now, the lower the chances of you breaking from your binds in the future. Every time you use a spell without a ritual you’re only rolling further into the chains.”

“I know.”

“We are the priestesses of the Eternal Dragon. As enormous as our power can grow, it requires an even greater price. You will ultimately realise that being indebted to the old dragon is the worst decision one could ever make. You will soon replace yourself sinking further into a quagmire of debt which you will ultimately be unable to repay. I can still help you escape right now.”

Flowsand shook her head again.

Ferlyn sighed helplessly, “Then let him know about your decision!”

Flowsand smiled, “There’s no need. He’s very smart, he will be able to tell.”

Ferlyn looked at Flowsand and shook her head, “He’s still too young. Engrossed in charging forward, no idea how to treasure the people and things around him. You’re only saying this to make me feel relieved.”

“My choice isn’t all that bad, you know. Am I not just taking your position?”

A screen of light lit up in the quiet room at that moment, revealing Jacqueline’s silhouette, “Your Excellencies, Richard is here with offerings. He hopes to pay off his debt.”

“Understood. Flowsand, go have a look,” Ferlyn instructed.

The moment the girl left, Ferlyn’s sigh rang throughout the dark, gloomy hall. She once had the same thoughts, decades ago, but now she was the high priestess. The Church of the Eternal Dragon had become her ultimate home.

In the teleportation hall of the Church, four priestesses were surrounding the ancient skeleton as they inspected it. They were all quite experienced, possessing considerable authority in the field of determining an offering’s value. Richard was busy using the time to work on the portal to Faelor, replenishing its mana and perfecting the formations in order to strengthen the passage.

“Why do you always have so many offerings?” a familiar voice rang out behind him, causing him to stand up in pleasant surprise.

“I always have my way. How is it, become my exclusive priestess!” Richard said half-jokingly. However, these words caused the remaining priestesses to look at Flowsand enviously.

The Eternal Dragon did not require much devotion from his clerics. As long as they oversaw enough sacrificial ceremonies, their power would automatically grow. The participating clerics in every ritual gained a certain amount of divine grace based on their function, and the advantage in following Richard was obvious. Flowsand had been with him for less than a month in Norland time, but she was already two levels higher while the Book of Time had been strengthened substantially. How much divine grace did that require? Right after Richard had returned from the other plane, he had announced two rune sets that shocked all of Faust and granted him the title of royal runemaster. Now, he had managed to take out a great offering in the blink of an eye.

The priestesses quickly set a value for the remains. Even after repaying what he owed, Richard was left with a lot of surplus. Flowsand glanced at the estimates, quickly running into a warehouse in the rear as she left Richard to wait. A short while later, she walked out with two staffs.

Both were about a metre long, made of gold and shaped more like sceptres. The tip of each held the carving of an angel, but both angels only had a single wing. The wing on the left one was feathery white, while the other was fleshy black.

Flowsand stuffed them both into Richard’s hands, “There’s a lot of grace left over with the remains, so why not exchange it for something from the Church? These staffs aren’t bad, let’s get them. Just nice, one for you and one for me.”

“Oh... Sure.” Flowsand tone brooked no room for discussion, she had just been informing him. Richard thus had no choice but to agree, taking the staffs. However, seeing the expressions of the priestesses around him he decided to carefully evaluate them.

His time in the Deepblue had already qualified him as an appraiser. Both these staffs had six enchantments each, definitely at the level of legendary items. On top of that, both had their own emphases. The white-winged staff greatly strengthened buffing spells, while the dark-winged one empowered all sorts of attacks and curses. These staffs were basically a permanent boost to one’s magic.

“Good stuff!” Richard praised.

Flowsand snorted, snatching the white-winged staff, “Of course! Would I ever choose anything bad?”

The priestesses looked at each other with peculiar expressions. The Twins of Destiny, comparable to divine items, were just ‘good stuff?’ However, Flowsand bringing them out from the warehouse meant she had obtained high priestess Ferlyn’s permission. They wouldn’t be meddlesome and gossipy.

“That’s right, I have to go to the Forest Plane the day after to quell a rebellion. Let’s go together,” Richard said.

“We still have to take care of a rebellion? Do we even have enough time? Don’t forget that every day here is ten on Faelor.”

“It’s alright. We still have the superior army there, so it won’t take much time. Three to five days at most.”

“Alright, remember to call me when the time comes.” Flowsand had absolute confidence in Richard’s commandership.