NOVGO.NET Chapter 454: Purpose of their lives.
Chapter 454: Purpose of their lives.
“Mom! Hurry! We are already late!!”
“Yes, yes! Don’t be too excited, there will be enough for everyone.”
“You don’t understand! Don’t you see all these people around us!? There might be enough, but if we are too late, it might run out! So hurryyyy!!”
The next morning, the Elders’ Square, which had gone silent yesterday night, was filled with people again.
Steam rose from the long line of pots, bells rang softly as ladles dipped and clinked. The air carried that familiar smell of warmth and spice—the smell that had been missing for just one day, but one day was all it took for the people of the Heights to realize what life felt like without it.
Yes, the Divine Rations.
The Divine Food had returned.
And the news quickly pulled more and more people, especially those who hadn’t eaten anything after breakfast yesterday. The Divine Food was not just a luxury to them; it had become a necessity. They were too habitual to it to return to normal food.
And it was clear by how loud the crowded square was. Of course, because Aelindra and Tarevian were managing everything, things were still peaceful and orderly. People stood shoulder to shoulder in neat lines, each holding their wooden bowls and smiling as they waited.
“I swear,”
One old man laughed as he rubbed his hands,
“I thought I’d never smell this again.”
“Ha! Same here!”
Another man answered.
“Only one lunch and one dinner without it, and I thought my stomach would eat itself.”
“Be thankful it’s back,”
Said an elderly woman beside them, her face bright with relief.
“The Divine Rations forgave us. It all happened because Lord Kael still stands with us.”
People nodded eagerly at her words.
“Praise Lord Kael,”
Someone whispered.
“Praise him indeed. He brought the blessing back.”
“And Lady Lavinia too, don’t forget her!”
Another added quickly.
“You think they are separate entities? As far as I am concerned, the two are different sides of the same coin, two bodies, same divine mind.”
A man closed his eyes; the fervent look on his face would have made others see him as an oddball in any part of the world, but not here.
Here, his words were influential and got nods of approval from others.
“Yes! They both worked hard for it, for our well-being.”
The crowd murmured in agreement, some placing hands on their chests out of habit before taking another small step forward as the line moved.
Everyone seemed lighter today. Children giggled as they peeked into other people’s bowls to see who got served first. Even the elders serving food looked brighter; they smiled more often, their arms moved with energy.
At one of the tables, a young woman whispered to her friend,
“But to think the Divine Rations actually disappeared because someone broke the rule, can you believe it?”
“I heard that too,”
Her friend replied.
“But Lord Kael found who it was, didn’t he?”
“He did.
My neighbor said the name was Vandra.”
The moment that name was spoken, a few people around them turned their heads.
“Vandra? The weaver from the Hearth?”
“Mhm.”
“I heard her husband died in the hunt two days ago.”
“Yes, that one,”
The first woman said quietly.
“They say she was so grief-struck that she couldn’t eat her food. She took it back and didn’t finish it. The Divine Rations felt disrespected and vanished because of her.”
“That poor woman…”
Another person whispered, her tone soft.
“Losing her husband and now this? Must’ve broken her heart.”
“But she confessed, didn’t she?”
“Yes. She went to Lord Kael herself and told him everything.”
“And he forgave her?”
“Of course he did! Did you forget who Lord Kael is!? He is the same being who forgave the Stonefangs when he had complete chance to annihilate them and decided to let them go.
He is the incarnation of Mercy; he would forgive anyone who comes to him with pure intentions and feels true remorse.
When Vandra came to him, he even said she shouldn’t be punished. But she—”
“She what?”
“She decided to punish herself.”
The murmurs spread through the square like ripples on water.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s standing outside her house, has been since yesterday night.
No roof, no food, nothing.
She says she’ll stay there for five days to atone.”
“She will stay outside… in this weather?”
A man blinked at those words; others too stared at the layers of snow that had piled up on the ground.
Could one… really survive in such weather, that too, without food?
What if… something happens to her?
“Yes, she says it is her way to atone. She says she lost Faith once, now it is her way to prove to herself that her Faith has returned, now stronger than before.”
The people went silent for a short moment, listening to the sound of the ladles and bells. Then a man finally spoke, his voice low.
“That’s… that’s devotion.”
“Devotion or madness,”
Said another, shaking his head.
“No food for five days in this cold? She’ll freeze to death.”
“No, she won’t.”
The woman beside him argued.
“Her Faith will be stronger than that.”
She answered with conviction, almost as if she was rooting for Vandra.
As more people joined in the conversation, the crowd began to divide between those who pitied her and those who admired her.
A child tugged on his mother’s sleeve.
“Mama, who are they talking about? The one who made the Divine Food angry?”
“Yes,”
The mother replied softly,
“But she said sorry, and now the Divine Food came back. That’s why we must never waste it.”
The boy nodded seriously, clutching his small bowl with both hands.
Nearby, a man sighed as he handed his bowl to be filled.
“Poor woman… if only her husband could see her now.”
“Maybe he can,”
The elder serving food said gently.
“Maybe that’s why the Divine Food returned—to show that forgiveness is possible.”
The smell of the stew thickened in the air. People began eating in quiet gratitude, but the whispers didn’t stop.
“I heard she’s not alone anymore,”
Someone said as she spooned food into her mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“There are people staying near her. They built her a small roof out of old planks, just enough so the snow doesn’t fall on her.”
“She’s still outside though?”
“Yes, but people visit her. They bring her blankets, wrap her feet, cover her shoulders. They said a few stayed beside her last night so she wouldn’t have to be alone.”
Another voice joined in, hopeful and bright.
“That’s how it should be!
She gave us a lesson, she lost her Faith once, but she found it again.
She’s showing us what it means to stand strong!”
“She’s different now,”
Said an older man, chewing thoughtfully.
“When she spoke to me this morning, her eyes… they didn’t look like before. They were calm, steady.
Like she’d found something the rest of us are still looking for.”
A group of younger women nodded.
“I heard she’s sewing something new too,”
One said.
“Sewing? In this cold?”
“Yes! She’s stitching new clothes. They say it’s for people who want to follow her example. She calls it… a sign of renewed faith.”
“You mean a kind of uniform?”
“Maybe. But it’s simple—just dark blue cloth with a small silver thread across the wrist. She says it’s to remind people not to use their hands for waste or sin.”
The people listened, intrigued. The sound of spoons against bowls filled the gaps between their whispers.
“Would you wear one?”
Someone asked with a teasing grin.
“If Lord Kael approved it, then yes,”
A man replied instantly.
“If it makes me closer to his blessing, why not?”
“He doesn’t need more followers,”
A cautious woman muttered.
“Maybe not,”
Her friend said, smiling faintly,
“But maybe Faith does.
Who knows, we might be able to produce more Faith Energy if we join her?
And we all know what more Faith Energy means, no?”
The woman smiled sneakily as she stared at the rest. After all, every single person here had one thing in common.
They all wanted the Divine Food to last forever!
Everyone grinned at those words but then—
“It is not that easy to wear what she stitches.”
Another woman, who hadn’t participated in the conversation for this long, shook her head.
“What do you mean?”
A man questioned with a frown.
The woman looked at him and then—
“Wearing the clothes she stitches doesn’t happen just because you want to wear them.
Those clothes are a symbol,
A sign that proves your absolute Faith and Devotion to Lord Kael, no matter the situation.
Even Vandra herself doesn’t wear them right now. She says that to wear them, one needs to follow a strict set of rules—rules that test your devotion.
Wearing those clothes is a matter of pride, not something done just because you like it.
By doing so, Vandra has but one goal—to gather enough Faith Energy for Lord Kael so he wouldn’t need to worry about it for the rest of his life.
And only the ones who are prepared to lay their lives down for the cause will be able to wear those clothes.”
The woman explained, and for an instant, the entire place turned silent, with every person having their own thoughts.
Of course, most felt that the words ’being prepared to lay down their lives for the cause’ were excessive, but a minority of people were different…
They…
They felt a strange excitement rise within them.
As if… they had found the purpose of their lives.
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