Sungjoo lay in the slightly lumpy bed, his shaggy hair splayed out on the pillow under his head as he stared up at the log ceiling, recalling the events of the past two days. He had thought that he would die in the temple of Kergisa, thought that Wenhan would succeed in murdering him, and had been shocked when the other man had simply left after stabbing him. Seungyeon, though physically a young man now, didn't have the life experience to know how to treat Sungjoo's wound, and at his brother's urging, had left to find help.

Sungjoo hadn't expected the form that help would take, though. When Seungyeon returned with Yibo and Jungsu, the caravan master, Sungjoo thought that he had fallen into delirium. But then the young acolyte pulled a medallion of Siakera from his pocket and began to pray, and the goddess had appeared to kneel beside Sungjoo.

He didn't think that the others could see her, since no one else gave a start at her appearance, but she smiled and leaned down close to him. "He prays for your healing, Sungjoo, even though he is not yet a priest," she had told him, amusement in her voice. "I will grant it, as I favor him strongly. He has such potential to do good in the world, and despite what Therisa said about us doing whatever we want, she is wrong. We have power, yes, but power must be used for something. Consistency in our actions provides our followers with a surety of what they can ask for, and encouraging good behaviors means that they will t