Post by wordy on Mar 4, 2010 7:09:19 GMT 10
A Day in the Life of a Dedicate
by wordy
I woke an hour or so before dawn, already regretting what I’d gotten myself into. Stumbling about the dormitory in the dark, I managed to change without waking my still sleeping companions. I put on the white novice’s robe that I was given yesterday and set out, trying to remember everything that Honoured Moonstream had told me at our brief meeting the day before.
Winding Circle is supposed to be equal to Lightsbridge University in the renown and quality of its mage-teachers. Plus, it allows for those who have ambient magic, which is not as common as academic magic. Needless to say, when the opportunity arose for me to shadow one of Winding Circle’s dedicates for a day, I was a bundle of nerves and excitement. The excitement had somewhat drained away by the time I got outside the dormitories though, and was replaced instead by even more nerves.
The sky was still that pretty, almost-light darkness that precedes the dawn. For a moment I stopped and looked at the maze of winding paths spread out before me, worried that I may get lost. But there were a few other people up and walking them already, tracing their way through the grounds with ease, which soothed my anxiety slightly. I set out too, lest I end up late and miss anything important or interesting.
Dedicate Moonstream had arranged for me to be part of the Air temple today, which is why I was unfortunate enough to be out of bed at such an early hour; the Air temple holds their services at dawn. I still wasn’t entirely sure where the services were actually held, but fortunately I caught sight of a pair of Air dedicates walking the paths. I knew they were Air dedicates because their robes were yellow. I ran to catch up to them.
Up close, the dedicates were a lanky, blue-eyed man and a woman with a smattering of freckles over her nose. I asked them if they were going to the dawn service. The man laughed and said “No, it’s just that the earlier we’re awake, the sooner Crane can get rid of us and I can go back to bed”. The woman must have seen the confused look on my face, because she elbowed him in the side and smiled at me. She said they were going to the dawn service, and would I like to join them?
I said yes, of course. The two dedicates introduced themselves as Ibis and Nomi, though to be honest I’m still confused as to which is which. They seemed nice enough, though, so I joined them happily as they expertly manoeuvred their way across the winding paths.
I tried to look at everything as we walked, though it was still difficult to take everything in. Winding Circle sure is beautiful. The grass is lush and green, the kind that makes you want to take off your shoes and wiggle your toes in it. The paths, as I’ve already said, are complicated and winding; in actual fact, they’re designed in a sort of spiral pattern, which is how Winding Circle got its name. There are magical symbols everywhere. Even to someone like me, who has no aptitude for magic at all, the symbols of protection, tranquillity, and knowledge are easily recognised, if not easily read or understood. For all of the magical wardings I’m unable to see—those that are surely in the walls and invisible to all but the most gifted—there are twice as many that I am able to see: the way some of the interlocking paths have been fashioned, or the way the small, green trees have been pruned into shape.
As we walked, I looked at Ibis and Nomi beside me and wondered. How could they not be amazed at this paradise? I had been here for not even a whole day, not even half a day, and I was already loathing the thought of leaving it behind and returning to my normal life. But perhaps you became accustomed to the simple beauty of it, and one day everything just recedes to a familiar and comforting background to your everyday chores.
Looking about suddenly, I realised that we were unbelievably lost. Or, at least, I would have been if I was on my own. My two companions still led me onward, though the series of pathways close between buildings that we were now navigating looked completely unfamiliar to me. We came out on the other side of the Hub, where there was a large area of nothing but that soft, soft grass. Well, there were people too, mostly Air dedicates by the look of it: the clustered group of long yellow robes gave me a small thrill when I saw them. It made me feel like I was at a meeting for some sort of secret society. But then I looked down at my own white novice’s robe, which slightly deflated my mood.
I stuck close to Ibis and Nomi as they made their way through the group, greeting their friends and superiors as they went. Pastel colours of blue, pink, and yellow met the edge of the dark sky as the sun started to show its face above the horizon. The rising of the sun obviously meant the start of the service, for everyone fell quiet all of a sudden. I don’t remember much of the service, besides that opening prayer; I must have been asleep on my feet. The next thing that happened was Ibis (I was quite sure that he was Ibis now, and she Nomi, because I had listened when their friends had greeted them) poking me in the ribs. I looked about to see that everyone seemed to be moving off. The service must have ended.
I had thought that nobody had noticed my nodding off during the service, and was in the middle of mentally congratulating myself (subtlety! subtlety is key!) when I spied a tall man looking right at me. He was looking right at me! I nearly jumped out of my skin. And he wasn’t wearing a very happy look, either; there was a short, yellow-robed woman standing on tiptoe to talk into his ear, who I thought must be a bearer of bad news, for him to be wearing such a face. Eager to get away from his disdainful eyes, I ducked quickly between Ibis and Nomi. When I looked again, he and the short woman were gone. Which was perfectly fine by me.
While the crowd dispersed around us, Nomi filled me in on what would happen next. I liked Nomi; she had kind eyes, and didn’t make odd jokes like Ibis did. She said that they usually went straight to the greenhouse after service, and started the day’s work. The greenhouse! I swear I almost bit through my lip with excitement when she said it. This was what I had been waiting for; this was the prize of the Air temple! I tried not to put too much bounce in my step as I obediently followed the two of them, for Ibis kept giving me irritated ‘what are you so excited about’ looks over his shoulder. I think he got out of the wrong side of the bed today.
The Air Temple’s greenhouse was even more beautiful than I had imagined. In the early morning sun, the huge walls of glass glinted and gleamed, and as I walked past, rainbows danced across the surface. “You’re catching flies,” said Ibis with a smirk, and I shut my mouth quickly, trying not to blush.
Nomi told me all about the greenhouse as I followed her inside. The greenhouse was split into two sections, one section for the plants and one section where the medical experiments were held. It had been created by Dedicate Crane, so that he could grow plants no matter what season it was. During the blue pox outbreak, the greenhouse had been where the very best dedicates and mages had searched for the cure. I looked around in awe. Ibis pointed out a door to me, which was between the two different sections of the greenhouse. He said it was Crane’s lair, which I took to mean it was Dedicate Crane’s office.
Nomi and Ibis led me into the section of the greenhouse that housed all of the plants. There were other people in there already, watering plants or writing on clipboards. Some of them wore the white robes of novices, like the one I had on, while other wore the yellow or blue robes that meant they were from either the Air or Water temples. They looked up when the three of us entered, but didn’t say anything. I suddenly got the feeling that working in the greenhouse was serious. I hoped I wouldn’t do anything stupid while I was there, or embarrass myself.
Nomi was showing me some of the different species of plants that they grew in the greenhouse, when a short young woman entered. I recognised her from earlier as the woman who had been whispering to that grumpy looking man at the Air temple service. Her eyes were a very dark green, and her hair was dark and curled. She introduced herself to me as Osprey, Crane’s apprentice. “While you’re with us today,” she explained, “You’ll be working in here, watering and trimming some of the plants.” I looked around for Nomi and Ibis, but they had disappeared; when I looked over to the medical section of the greenhouse I saw them in there, already working. It made me feel a bit sad that my new friends and I wouldn’t be together, but Osprey was very friendly as she led me around and pointed things out to me. Moments later, I had the sleeves of my robes rolled up and a pair of soft gardening gloves on my hands. Osprey showed me some small trees, and how to trim them, before leaving me alone. Steeling myself, I snipped off a bit of branch from one of the trees. When I looked about, nobody said a word, so I shrugged and went on trimming. Surely if I was doing something wrong, someone would come and stop me.
I went on trimming until I came to the end of the line of little trees. Then I tagged them like Osprey had showed me, and put them back around the room in their original spots. Looking over, I saw that Ibis and Nomi were still working attentively on the other side of the greenhouse. With a sigh, I took off my gloves and set about watering the plants.
Time passed quickly in the greenhouse. The Hub clock chimed the half-hour after noon, and I straightened from my watering to look around and wipe the sweaty hair off my forehead. Nomi was beckoning to me from the other side of the glass, so I put away my things and met her outside. Apparently it was time for lunch.
The dining hall was packed with novices. I looked around timidly, feeling slightly intimidated. When Nomi and Ibis came back to the table with their trays of food—plus one for me—I realised I was starving. Because I had gotten up before dawn for the Air temple’s service, I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before. The food looked simple—there was meat of some sort covered in a thick gravy, plus greens and vegetables—but when it reached my mouth my senses were suddenly overwhelmed by the subtle spices and juicy texture. “Gorse,” said Ibis around a mouthful of food. “The best cook you’ll ever come across in Emelan.” I didn’t doubt it for a minute.
After my stomach was full and grumbling happily, we headed back to the greenhouse. By that time, I was fully feeling the results of having been awake so long; my feet wanted to drag along the ground, yawns came every few minutes, and all of my energy had disappeared. The only thing that cheered me up was Osprey telling me I could sit in the medical section of the greenhouse and observe for the remainder of the afternoon.
The medical side of the greenhouse was made up of an outer workroom and an inner workroom. The walls and floors of the outer workroom were made from some kind of hard-glazed tile or marble, except for the one wall and the ceiling, which were glass. It was a big room fitted with all sorts of things: cabinets, braziers, counters, water-kettles, and an enormous tub which held steaming water by a glass wall. All of the cabinets were tight-fitted to keep water out, and the place was meticulously clean. I followed Osprey, Nomi, and Ibis into the inner workroom, where the more delicate work was done, creating cures and such. The inner workroom was slightly different to the outer workroom, though it was just as clean and tidy. Two of the walls were made entirely of glass, and the other two were covered in porcelain tiles that reached from the marble floor to the glass roof. Long counters—bearing all sorts of interesting looking utensils, bottles, and trays—ran along both of the glass walls and almost a third of the longer tiled wall. Every other space, on the walls and under the counters, was made up of the same water-tight cabinets as the outer workroom. The tall cabinets that lined the long tiled wall were the only ones without doors. Osprey pointed out a big drain in the floor, saying that every night the inner and outer workrooms were filled with steam, which carried special chemicals and oils to purify and clean everything. I was glad when she finally had me sit down on a high stool in the corner; I felt that if I did something I shouldn’t in this section of the greenhouse, the results would be much more disastrous than if I did in the plant section.
It was very relaxing watching the people work quietly. The air was cool, slightly chilled, and a few times I caught myself on the verge of nodding off. Each time, I jerked awake and looked about to see if anyone had noticed or if I had missed anything exciting. But everything was as I had left it, with Osprey moving between the two workrooms now and then to supervise everyone’s work.
Before I knew it, it was late afternoon. Nomi was shaking me awake, for I had well and truly dozed off, balancing haphazardly on my stool. I watched as everyone carefully packed up their things and headed outside, chatting wearily about the day’s work. Outside, the sun was lowering itself behind the trees. There was a refreshing breeze, and I looked about contentedly at the pretty picture that Winding Circle made in the late afternoon light. After saying my goodbyes and thankyous to Osprey, Nomi, and Ibis, I began walking back to the dormitory where I had begun my day, to collect my things. My experience at Winding Circle was one that I wouldn’t forget anytime soon. There were some things that my tired brain was most willing to forget, though, but I thought it an excellent achievement that I only got lost twice on the way back.