Tale of a Cleric (book)

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The Tale of a Cleric.
by Rouslan Teploh, Cleric of Tamsine.


Pink light filled the room, created by sunrays streaming
 through a round window covered with mama's favorite drapes.
 I was alone in the room, halfway asleep in the middle of a
 huge bed, when a cat walked in.  It was a huge striped gray
 animal, almost as big as I was; but I wasn't afraid.  Then
 the cat jumped in with me, and I laughed loudly and happily,
 grabbing her soft fur.  That's when my parents rushed in and
 took the cat away, excitedly saying something I didn't quite
 understand.  I was about one year old, and this is probably
 the first thing I remember.

Strangely, most of my other early memories involve that cat.
 Playing chase, going to sleep, or lounging outside, I was
 always followed by that cat.  She had a name, I am sure, but
 for me she was just "Cat."  My sister claimed that it was the
 second word I learned to say, the first being "ta-at," for
 "tart."   There is no way to check if she is right.  You see,
 our parents got caught in an invasion on their way to a
 festival when I was just two, and Aly was nine.  That's when
 we were taken from our farm and put into a small orphanage in
 Arthe Dale.  That's when I saw Cat last, in a way.

I don't remember much of my life at the orphanage, except
 that I was always trying to run away.  I don't think it was
 that bad there, but there was a whole world outside, just out
 of my reach.  Very tempting!  Only once I actually succeeded,
 and wandered far away from  the orphanage.  At least, it
 seemed far to me.

It was an adventure -- I was wading through grass taller then
 myself, pretending to be a ranger in the woods.  The meadow
 did turn into the woods pretty soon, but I was too excited to
 notice.  On and on I went, aiming my trusty bow (made out of
 a twisted willow branch and some rope) at invisible monsters.
 I had borrowed some tarts from the kitchen, but when the last
 one was gone, it seemed like a good time to go home.
  
It was a nice thought, but how was a three-year-old to find
 home?  All I could do was huddle under a bush and cry, while
 the last of my bravery disappeared with the last rays of the
 sun.  Then, in the dark, I heard that sound, -- "Meeeooow,"
 and again, closer -- "Meow!"  "Cat!" I cried out, and started
 running towards the voice of my friend, for I was sure it has
 been her.  But the sound didn't get close no matter how I
 tried to get near its source.  Excited, I kept chasing Cat as
 "Meow" after "Meow" beckoned me -- all the way to the
 orphanage gates.  There I got an earful from boss the lady in
 charge and Aly, but I didn't get to see Cat again.  Still, I
 think she saved me that night, but I will never know if it
 was my Cat or something else.

Soon after that a middle-aged halfling couple came to the
 orphanage, looking for a child to call their own.  He was a
 retired mage, and she a cleric, now trying to settle in Arthe
 Dale again, as proper Olvi should (so I was told later, on
 too many occasions to care).  They brought someone with them.
 Someone with whom I fell in love at first site -- a black
 kitty with white socks, so unlike Cat yet somehow still like
 her.  Daisy the cat liked me too, for she jumped into my lap
 immediately, thus making a choice for her owners.  I knew
 what it was all about, many kids left the orphanage with
 their new parents.  I couldn't remember the faces of mama and
 papa anymore,  but I remembered how it felt to be held, and
 cared for, and loved.  New parents! I ran to tell Aly, only
 to find her crying on her bed.  She pulled me close and
 insisted that I remember her, always.  I couldn't understand
 what was there to be upset about -- we get parents! If I only
 knew that they didn't want Aly, only "the baby."

I missed my sister a lot at first, but her image eventually
 faded.  I loved my adoptive parents, and I loved our 5 cats;
 Daisy was not the only one.  My favorite time was at night,
 when we would sit near the hearth and Ma would tell me
 stories.  Her stories were of heroes and villains,  beauty
 and danger, but most often they were of the Thirteen
 Immortals.  Oh, how she told those stories!  Every night I
 dreamt about dolphins, and unicorns, and lions, but most
 often I saw the great tabby cat of Tamsine.  She looked a lot
 like my lost Cat, and was so very comforting and reassuring,
 I always attempted to conjure up her image when I had a
 nightmare.  And she always came, banishing my fears and
 guiding me to safety -- just like that night in the forest.
  
The time passed, and as I grew older I asked more questions
 of Ma and Pa.  Most often I asked after my sister, but they
 have never given me a straight answer.  The day I turned 16,
 Ma gave me a cambrinth tabby she used to rely on as a cleric.

I didn't want it.  I wanted to know why they didn't take Aly
 too, and I wanted to know where she was.  Angry, I left my
 home of over twelve years and stalked away, taking only a few
 things with me.  The tabby wasn't one of them.  Daisy
 followed me a bit, but she turned away soon, leaving me all
 alone with the big world.
  
It wasn't hard to find the orphanage, where I finally got
 some of the answers.  I knew now that Aly left for the big
 city, to join the Empath Guild.  I also knew that my parents
 where not such bad and cruel people as I thought them to be
 in the past months.  I had to return and apologize to Ma I
 was almost too late.  Ma was ill -- something with her heart,
 she said.  She didn't want to be cured, she just wanted to
 see me again.  She begged me not to be angry with them about
 Aly, while I begged her to forgive me for my leaving.  They
 did have a reason, I learned now.  Pa made one of his last
 predictions before they went to the orphanage.  He told me
 that it came out even more confusing that they usually do.
 All Ma and Pa knew when they went in the orphanage was that
 they were to choose through the cat, and not to tell anyone
 there.  And so they did, as Daisy made a choice for them.

Ma survived the illness, but I wasn't happy at home anymore.
 In my dreams, Cat ran from me in the dark forest, beckoning
 me to follow.  Finally, I muster up the courage to tell Ma
 and Pa that I was leaving.  Ma only smiled.  "You see, dear,"
 she said, "We knew it was time for you to leave us.  My Lady
 is calling on you, and I am very proud that you will follow
 my path.  Your Pa thinks that this was why we had chosen you
 for our child, and I agree."  After that, there was some
 crying, of course, and packing, and more crying.  Soon I set
 off to the Crossing, laden like a mule with things Ma thought
 necessary.  When I got robbed on the road, I can't say I was
 terribly upset.  I still had my cambrinth tabby that thieves
 didn't find on me, and I was determined to make it out there
 on my own.

First thing to do, of course, was to join the Cleric Guild.
 And second -- finding my sister.  People knew her, and I was
 eventually able to meet with Aly in a distant city, Shard.
 And of course, there was some crying again, on my part as
 well.  I returned to the Crossing, to strive hard for my
 first task for a glimpse of My Lady Tamsine.  That meeting
 was everything I dreamed about, and more, though my heart is
 heavy for I cannot return to Her home again.  From then and
 forever, I became My Lady's servant.  She, who gave me safety
 and home, will be with me as I walk the lands in the light of
 her eternal hearth.