Acolyte Rekya (Ch.21)

Rekya walked down the halls along with a row of acolytes, heading out through the side door to the gardens where they were to procure herbs and flower petals to make scented oils.

It was just early evening and the day was not entirely dark, Rekya had hoped to get a rest at first but realized the very first duty she had been assigned was to be carried out immediately.

For some reason, Rekya suspected Junior Priestess Maia had orchestrated this on purpose just to spite her since the High Priestess had stopped her from reprimanding Rekya any further.

Rekya would have liked to say she did not know exactly what Junior Priestess Maia had against her, but then, she would be lying because Rekya knew it clearly.

Although Rekya was still titled an acolyte, that was only on the surface, the truth was Rekya actually bore the same rank as a Junior Priestess.

Despite the great age difference between them and Rekya being only nineteen summers of age, Rekya had long passed the trials to earn the title of Junior Priestess at the exact same time Junior Priestess Maia had.

And Rekya and Junior Priestess Maia had both emerged in a draw at the very final stage of the test.

However, within the Oracle's Hall, the hierarchy was predetermined.

Excluding the High Oracle, there were only two High Priestesses,

High Priestess Toria who was the High Oracle's right hand and blessed with the sight and overseer of the Seers and Warrior priestesses,

The other was High Priestess Velma, the High Oracle's left hand and Priestess of the Healers.

And beneath the High Priestesses were the Senior Priestesses and the Junior Priestesses.

Each High Priestess could only have ten Junior Priestesses and ten Senior Priestesses, such was the law of Oracle's Hall.

Excluding these twenty chosen aides of the High Priestesses, the High Oracle also had a few Senior and Junior Priestesses that served at his side, but his attendants were mostly made up of priests and oracles.

This was all that made up the Order of Heaven's Will which was the Imperial order of Oracles.

All other Priestesses and Acolytes under training at the Oracle's Hall were assigned to other temples across the Dukedoms and cities of the Empire after their training was completed.

Now all ten Junior Priestesses of High Priestess Toria was already completed, there had only been a space for one and between Rekya and the Junior Priestess Maia, the High Priestess had chosen the Junior Priestess Maia who had served the longest in Oracle's Hall.

This left Rekya stuck as an acolyte priestess till her twentieth year when she would be sent out to seek solace with any temple of her choice across the Empire.

To Rekya, this worked just perfectly as she had never truly desired to serve in the Order of the Heavenly Will filled with the strictest rules and laws across the entire Empire.

For someone like her who was always looked down on by those priestesses of noble birth, the passing years had been trying for her.