“Thank you,” she replied and turned back to the final steps. As she approached, she experienced the warning feelings of the Leerings inset into the archway, filling her with doubt and dread. But she expected them and their warnings were but a murmur in her thoughts, easily silenced. She pulled at the thick handles and opened the pewter doors. She left the world under the blanket of twilight. Inside the Abbey, it was as bright as noonday.
At the threshold, she removed her shoes as she had been instructed to do and covered her feet with velvet slippers. Slowly, she lifted the veil so she could gaze at the inner structure, afire with brightness and radiance. Each Leering seemed to be rejoicing to see her and the feelings of warmth and happiness banished any dread the outer world had threatened her with. It was the essence of Muirwood and it flooded her. She waited a moment and then the Aldermaston appeared from the deep end of the Abbey proper, his gray cassock exchanged for one that was buttery in color and threaded with gold. There was no pain in his gait as he approached, as if the Abbey lent him its own strength for the task. He motioned for her to follow him and then took her down the corridor a short distance to the staircase leading down. It was the place where she had found the tunnel leading to the Pilgrim.
The chamber was beautifully carved out of marble and tiles, and polished wooden benches set in rows. The Aldermaston directed her to sit on the bench and he approached the large stone table at the head of the chamber. The Medium was so thick in the air, she could hardly breathe. It thrummed inside of her with its power, filling every crevice. Tears stung her eyes at the feelings surging through her. She remembered the stone table she had seen before. There was something familiar about it. Instinctively, she knew that both of her parents had been mastons. She clung to the hope that gave her.
The Aldermaston stood behind the stone table, his eyes warm and affectionate. “Do you have any Gifts?” he asked her.
She was not sure what to say, but the Medium whispered to her. She nodded her head. “I have the Gift of Xenoglossia and the Gift of Courage. I also have…the Gift of Wisdom, I believe.”
The Aldermaston nodded proudly. “You have other Gifts you did not name. The Gift of Firetaming and the Gift of Recollection. These are powerful Gifts. If you pass the maston test, you will earn more. Where much is given, much is required. Do you seek the rights of the mastons?”
She was about to answer more elaborately, but the Medium whispered for her to simply say, “Yes.” So she did.
“Before you pass the maston test, you will be given a Gift of Knowledge. It will help you to understand the test, for you must pass it alone. No one else will be with you. This is the lower dungeon of the Abbey. It represents the world where we live, not the world we came from. Deeper in the Abbey, behind a latticework called the Rood Screen, you will find the Apse Veil. The room beyond is a representation of the world of Idumea. To pass the maston test, you must do everything required to enter the Apse. Before you pass the Rood Screen, you will be given the chance to turn back. If you quit, you will lose your chance to become a maston. If you fail the test, you may try again in one year’s time. If you succeed, you will receive a shirt of chaen and another Gift.”
Lia waited patiently.
“Let me begin with the Gift of Knowledge. I will only speak it this once. You will not be allowed to ask questions, but you will be given the chance to ponder what you have heard after passing the Rood Screen. Listen carefully and let the Medium impress upon your thoughts the words that I will say. It is truth not to be engraved into tomes. You must engrave it in your feelings and in your thoughts.”
Lia listened with anticipation to every word. She was not expecting the truths the Aldermaston taught her. Some she already knew. Most of it was new and filled her with amazement. As the Aldermaston spoke, the power of the Medium surged, filling her mind with thoughts and images. She knew he was standing in front of her, but there was opened to her thoughts a new world that went beyond anything she imagined. As he spoke, she could see in her mind the events he described. Not just words, but she could see their representation.