Role

Chapter 2

Two years before, Zelisha had been a junior priestess in the Church of
Destuvius, student of the Grand Order. Her father was a bishop in that same
order, and it was a foregone conclusion that Zelisha would rise to greatness.
She had the money, the upbringing, the education. Everything seemed to be in;
place. Yes, perhaps she had a strange interest in documenting natural
phenomena. Yes, perhaps she had written a dissertation on the order of the
cycles of life and death rather than the order of societal castes. But the
rich were allowed these eccentricities. What was the point of being rich if
not to be able to indulge in certain fancies? She had been the first in her
class to give her blood oath, and had begun to serve in the Divine Sect House
as an elevated "commoner," as her age did not allow for full sect status.

It was there that Zelisha discovered how flexible Imperial "Law" could be. In
her work in the Sect House, she collected tithes to the temples to be
processed into Imperial coffers. After a short time, it had become clear to
her that a certain percentage of these funds did not make it to the bank. She
did what she did best: she documented, observed, waited patiently. And
eventually, she discovered a small network of influential members of the
temple who were skimming these funds for themselves! This was an act clearly
against Imperial Law. But when she brought it to her father's attention, he
advised her strongly to hold her tongue and not make waves. "This is how
things are done sometimes, Zelisha," he said. "Do not put your future in
jeopardy by stirring the pot!

But to Zelisha, order was immutable, like a
law of nature. If a Law is to matter, then it must ALWAYS matter. And surely,
here in the Church of the Grand Order, all would agree. Ignoring her fathers
advice, she took her findings to the Sect House Elders. They acted concerned,
listening to her carefully. They took the notes she had made as evidence,
praising her for her diligence. But rather than act on the evidence she had
found, they transferred her to a different, lower posting in the Sect House.
She was enraged! She petitioned the Office of the High Priest himself, but
her petition was intercepted and rather than finding justice, she found
herself cast out for "violating protocol.

The supposed "order" the Empire
had built was just a scam, to give power to those who could take it. Zelisha
saw that now. And the Grand Order was just an excuse for those in power to
declare rules that benefitted themselves, and to change those rules to stay
in power. That was not true order! It was a sham. Her father gave her enough
money to live, and secreted her out of the city. With her future plans in
ruin, Zelisha began to search for new meaning.