11 Creator’s Day

  Sara woke when the light from the sun showed through the windows of her house. She sat up and for a moment wondered where she was. Realization quickly returned as she looked around. She sighed and prepared for the day.

  She knew that this was supposed to be a day for her to rest and worship but quickly did her morning routines dealing with her own needs. She was expecting either David or Draco to yell at her to do something for them or to appear outside her door with a threat. She didn’t really expect a threat from the giant, but she was quickly coming to see Draco as an unreasonable tyrant.

  She didn’t like the thought, but David was correct. Draco reminded her of a few lords she knew. They never treated her that way, but she had seen more than one treating their own staff badly and sometimes even the castle’s staff.

  Shaking those thoughts from her mind she considered what she should do today. It was then that she heard Draco.

  Not willing to wait for him to come to her she went outside and to her surprise saw the dragon sitting in out in the field with his body facing West and his head laying down muttering what she thought sounded like a prayer of submission.

  Sara looked around, but David was nowhere in sight. Sara was both revolted by seeing the dragon offer allegiance to the creator and strangely moved. Considering that perhaps the dragon would not want to be seen like this, Sara went into the house and prepared to give her own commitments, thanksgivings, and prayers to the giver of life.

  Sara turned a chair towards the West, sat in it, and went through the words she always used. Something felt different today. The words were the same, but they didn’t sound the same. She sat there for a while and tried to understand what was different but could not think why.

  When she got up to prepare for her breakfast, she wondered if the dragon did evening prayers. The Evening Prayer Service was always a very short service and came right after sunset, when the Creator’s Star appeared in the sky. The people didn’t worship the star, but it was a reminder that the creator gave light and direction even in the darkest of times. Sara felt that these were very dark times for her so decided that she would have her own evening prayer service.

  She hadn’t gone to evening prayers since her parents died, but then there was always something going on. She had seen Lord Odom and his family go along with Mistress Carmarthen, but the rest of the lords said it was a waste of time. It had been so long that Sara didn’t even remember the ritual that went with it but didn’t think the creator would complain.

  As the day went on, she kept expecting something to happen, but as the day continued there wasn’t a word from David or the dragon. Sara didn’t trust the dragon, so she never left the area around her house.

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  The rest of the day, she spent time looking at the house that was provided for her. She didn’t know what a normal house for someone in Rishona might be like, but this one seemed to have everything that she might need. There were also several things she didn’t know what they were there for. Considering what David had said she was sure she was going to learn.

  The one thing that pleased her was that there were a few books which she hadn’t noticed before. What really made her happy was the variety and subjects of the books.

  There was a new copy of The Journey, the book of the creator, was obvious. The copy and the binding were as well made as the copy she had in the castle. This surprised her because though she didn’t know what most things cost she had a rough idea of what the value of books were. Mistress Carmarthen drilled that information into anyone who used the royal library.

  Why a giant or a dragon had a copy of The Journey confused Sara as there was a command about not kidnapping and enslaving others in it. The book was filled with stories but also commands on how to live and treat others. The book was in every Temple of the Creator, but it wasn’t liked by some. She remembered Lord Lazzaro complain once that it taught serfs they were as good as lords. He wanted a law forbad its reading to serfs, but the counsel of Lords vetoed it. Mistress Carmarthen told her that is was outlawed in Ganef. Also, Mistress Carmarthen had pointed out that she found it interesting that it was the only thing that the Barrons of that rogue nation could agree on.

  There was also a copy of A New Life, Sara had never read it because the very time Mistress Carmarthen got it out for her to read, Lady Lord Mashal showed up and took it. The only thing Sara knew about it was the story was of a young man who tried to find a new life away from the place he grew up. Sara was tempted to open it right then and start reading but it wasn’t as important to Sara as the next book in the pile.

  Sara said, “This is the book that will keep me alive when I escape,” as she held up the large volume with both hands. It was a fully illustrated version of The Natural World of Rishona. The book was said to hold a listing of every plant in Rishona and their uses. Sara was confused but then realized what David said about what could keep her alive would also make her a good servant. Sara started to set the book aside, “I don’t want to be your good little servant.” Yet she couldn’t. The book was still her best way of learning how to survive in the wild. She took it over to the table, ignoring the rest of the stack and after getting herself seated began reading.

  As the evening came Sara set the book aside and prepared a meal, then prepared for evening prayers.

  As the sun went down Sara sat facing West, it was then she realized she didn’t know the evening prayers. The three core beliefs taught in The Journey were forgiveness, faithfulness, and love. Considering these, Sara wondered what to do. Finally, she decided to just speak from her heart.

  “Creator, forgive me and help me forgive those who have done me wrong. Help me to be faithful in the tasks that are set before me and fill me with love for all of your creation. Amen.”

  Sara sat there and considered the words. The words weren’t perfect, but they were the core of the creator’s teachings. She was just having a difficult time with some of it. She walked out of the house and looked towards the West. The sun had gone down, and the Creator’s Star shined into the valley. Its light wasn’t great, but she remembered reading the stories of people who used the light to find their way home.

  Sara didn’t know if the light would help her but as she turned to begin getting ready for bed she saw outside two figures in the field, a giant and a dragon rising from the fields. From the way they came up it seemed that they too had offered evening prayers.

  Sara shook her head and went inside. She laid down and tried to get comfortable. She appreciated that she didn’t have to work but the thought of the next day and what it might bring made getting to sleep hard. Eventually, she fell asleep.