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The next day, I gathered the recruits and presented to them the two spells which would ensure their loyalty. "The Sanctity of Stone strips away all false pretence," I said. "It exposes you for who you truly are, and unmasks anything you've kept hidden from everyone, even yourself. It ensures no falsehood, and makes sure you're going to be loyal to me without question. Fail this, and you get turned out, with all your memories wiped."
The recruits were as white-faced as they'd been the day before, but they nodded in silent submission. "Should you pass the Sanctity of Stone," I said, "you then move on to the Hymn of Negation. It strips away those walls the Sanctity missed, and reveals your true inner self, bared for all the world to see. Should you pass, you'll receive your uniform and minor henchman name. Should you fail, you get turned out, with all your memories wiped and with a geas laid on you to make sure you never remember this place, or me, again."
I turned to Lilee. "You first," I said.
Lilee took a deep breath and placed her hands on the wooden skull which represented the Sanctity of Stone. Its eyes glowed red, and Lilee's face went even paler, if that were possible. For several long minutes, she neither moved, nor breathed, nor blinked, and after what seemed like an eternity, the eyes of the skull changed from red to blue. I let out a long sigh, masking my surprise.
But the trial wasn't over yet. I then directed Lilee to the small organ which represented the Hymn of Negation. I played a sequence of notes, and Lilee closed her eyes, the notes only audible to her. The keys glowed red, and again, Lilee took on the silence and stillness of a statue. It seemed an even longer interval before the keys glowed blue, and Lilee opened her eyes, looking slightly dazed.
I was stunned. She'd passed both trials, and it seemed as if she truly were seeking something beyond her father's boundaries. I couldn't say I was terribly surprised. Gilbert wanted her to follow in her footsteps, partly because it was the right thing, in his mind, and also partly to mitigate the disaster her mother had perpetuated in her role as double agent. I clenched my jaw in annoyance, any pity I might have felt for the man two nights ago fading. If he had truly tried to make Lilee follow in his footsteps, then small wonder she'd run away and come to me.
"Welcome," I said, shaking off my annoyance. "I hereby name you Lonely Starlight. You will report to Candycane, who'll issue your uniform."
Lilee - Lonely Starlight, rather - nodded. "Yes, Warchief," she replied, bowing respectfully before leaving the room. I watched her go, tapping a finger thoughtfully against my lips. Lonely Starlight was going to make an interesting member of my team. I just had to find out how far her dissatisfaction with her father went.
It was going to be an interesting conversation.
Not to mention it had started solving my own issues where Gilbert was concerned. I felt slightly less tangled as I instructed the next recruit to move forward and begin their trial.
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Afternoon faded to evening, and out of the thirty recruits I'd started with, only thirteen had survived. Along with Lonely Starlight, there was Lucky Caravan, Sweet Nurse, Last Cameo, Broken Oak, Distant Gambit, Lucky Lurker, Preying Widow, Merry Unicorn, Close Oak, Quiet Foxtail, Honest Tiger, and Broken Sun. Arrayed in the black bodysuits all new recruits wore, with long white stripes running down the legs, they all regarded me with something more than the white-faced fear they'd shown the day before. But out of the thirteen of them, only a handful would survive the rigorous training involved to truly winnow out the chaff. I wagered maybe two or three would rise to the rank of Junior Apprentice, by which time they could choose their new names. Or keep their current ones, if they so desired. But who out of the lucky few would rise to Pilgrim?
That was a question I couldn't answer, at least not yet.
So I regarded the new Rogues with interest, and hope. "You're now going to enter a strict training regime," I told them. "It is going to be hard. And I don't say that lightly. You saw what happened to Captain Lucky Cat yesterday. Believe me, the next few months are going to make your worst nightmares seem like your fondest dreams. But there still won't be any rest. At the end of those months, you're going to be subjected to the Void of Perfection. And that will, once and for all, truly judge you for who you are, deep down in the core of your being. Those who fail will be cast out, and given the same treatment as those who failed the Hymn of Negation.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisJNZBH0eR
"Those who pass the Void of Perfection will then rise to the rank of Junior Apprentice, at which time you will be allowed to choose your own names, or keep the ones you have now. Then your training will intensify, and you will conduct your first missions. Those missions will test you closely, so be warned. You may be asked to go against your former families. Refuse, and you will be cast out and stripped of all your memories. Pass those missions, and you will face one final test; the Runic Surge. Pass, and you advance to the rank of Pilgrim. Fail, and the punishment will be the same as if you'd failed the Void of Perfection."
The white faces were back, and I almost smiled. I remembered all too well the horrible months I'd endured while learning the craft; I could sympathise. "For tonight, you're dismissed," I told them. "Tomorrow, at 6am precisely, you'll be woken, and your training will begin. Go."
The Rogues left, talking amongst themselves, and Candycane approached me. "Lonely Starlight passed," she said, surprised.
"She did," I said. "But will she make Pilgrim?"
Candycane was silent for a moment. "Why did she join?" she said at last.
I shrugged. "God knows. But she's genuine, so that counts for something. How far that goes remains to be seen, though. She's still got to face the Void of Perfection, her first mission, and the Runic Surge. She passes those, she becomes a Pilgrim, and at that point, her loyalty is highly unlikely to be questioned."
"You'd send her against her father?" Candycane asked.
"I've got no choice," I said. "If she balks, then I'll have to cast her out, and triple wipe her mind so she can't use the knowledge of my true identity against me."
Triple wiping was highly dangerous, and often left the subject a gibbering mess. Candycane shuddered. "Let's hope she doesn't falter," she said grimly.
I nodded. "Let's hope," I agreed.
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