Lady Hightower approached the gate and assumed control by virtue of her overpowering presence. This woman was unlike anything Raeyn had yet seen, but she was tall enough to be equal to that of Captain Marsol, but she was thin and graceful despite the bulk of the white robes she wore. The hat on her head was white and tall yet held firmly in place from the tip of her brow and fell back around behind her ears and completely hid her hair from view. The tall white sides and sloping angle with a single red jewel in the upper top was clearly meant as a show of superiority over others. The miter-like hat was the first piece of clothing that Raeyn liked, for it made Lady Hightower clearly recognizable by name and suggested her intelligence even before she spoke.

  Violetta bowed before Lady Hightower and Raeyn found herself swept into it as well. The woman’s features were soft and delicate, a thin and narrow nose, the thinnest of lips and eyes which did not seem harsh. Her expression was not unreadable, but simply one of indifference to Raeyn. She had been summoned to the gate and perhaps was irritated but did not outwardly show it.

  “So, a Gobbo has come to Lordstown.” Lady Hightower spoke perfectly, “Sun-blackened or charred? You are an interesting one. What is your purpose in coming here?”

  Raeyn blinked in surprise as she had not expected the Gobbo tongue, in all its guttural subtly to come out so delicately from anyone but her own kind. There was no hiding it, no point trying to deceive. What purpose was there to trick when you were seen through so easily? Belos’ words seemed impossible to live up to with such creatures as this.

  Raeyn spoke back, knowing it was pointless to hide it, “Violetta has promised me good treatment, clothing and food. Comforts not possible. She makes me feel strange and I owe my life to her and her to me. We are alike but are different in many ways.”

  Lady Hightower’s expression was unreadable, but she simply nodded and folded her hands over her breasts and proceeded to bow her head slightly. That strange gesture again. Violetta knew what it meant, and Lady Hightower performed it in much the same way, but it was lesser and more sincere. All these expressions, quirks, and manners were something she struggled to read, but the position of power was clear as Violetta repeated the gesture and dropped to her knees.

   Lady Hightower spoke, and a woman approached with a small white bundle in hand and offered it Raeyn, “Put this blessed cloth on and you will be revealed to us, your sins and all.”

  The words did not make sense, but Violetta’s head snapped to Lady Hightower and to Raeyn in quick succession. As she took and donned the robe much like the tunic, the cloth graced her skin, and the strange softness caressed her flesh. Pulling each arm through and letting it fall to her feet, the silky fabric caressed her skin, and she raised the hood up over her head to complete it. Her ears were forced back unnaturally but it was only of a slight discomfort. The sound of the cloth against her ears was invigorating and sent a chill down her spine. She knew this was the way to wear it, but how? The thought crossed her mind right before her body seemed to become heavier. The robe was much like that blanket which sapped her strength, but this was a different sensation.

  “What trick is this?” She uttered in Gobbo as the robe suddenly tightened as if it was the maw of a giant beast that would sprout teeth and devour her whole, “Disgusting! It feels like I am going to be swallowed alive.”

  “Watch your tongue, this cloth holds a thousand devotions and prayers of Lady Hightower!” said that same woman who handed over the cloth, “This is a divine instrument of judgement and healing. Do not refer to it as disgusting!”

   Violetta realized it now,

   Lady Hightower’s lips faintly twisted into a smile,

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  Her skin erupted in flames beneath the cloak, and she winced, but no pain followed. Her flesh turned from black to green as the robe started to take on a strange coloration, patches of black, red, and gray rippling out from where the fabric draped off her form. The robe dug unnaturally into her body, sending a moment of agony throughout her, but it seemed to take suffering from her bones. The sensation of dozens of needles stabbing her and twisting in her flesh was as disgusting as it was painful, but she knew she had to endure it.

  “You will receive judgement in a moment. The divine judgement will bless or kill you. If you keep it on and you could perish. Decide quickly, Gobbo.” Lady Hightower said.

  Then it hit like a thunderclap centered on her, blinding agony became the whole of her flesh. Raeyn’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she dropped to her knees, temporarily blind to the world. A flash of light erupted from the robe and a small geyser of blood erupted from Raeyn’s heart, piercing the robe and shooting skyward as she fell backwards to the ground. The thin jet of red that landed between Violetta and Lady Hightower was blackened blood; it arranged itself into a readable message.

   Lady Hightower stammered and looked at the Gobbo,

   Violetta stepped over Raeyn,

  

   Violetta bent down over Raeyn,

   Raeyn whimpered and raised her right hand and flashed her index finger,

  Violetta saw where she had healed the burn wound and saw the half circle hooked rune of Belos’ form in blood. She thought only to suppress it as she stooped down and put it to her tongue to utter the divine word of healing.

  

  Violetta’s thoughts and her muffled utterance filled Raeyn’s mind as the two activated marks touched one another.

  Maelyn, I beseech thee, heal her! Nalosurnimana.

  The knowledge of the spell filled Raeyn. Maelyn’s power flowed from Violetta’s marked tongue into her body, but instead of simply healing a small part of her body it surged throughout her being and in a primal scream of agony, Raeyn’s tongue took on the brand of the divine mark, radiating light like the sun in Raeyn’s maw as Maelyn’s power was instilled in her.

   Violetta pulled back as Raeyn’s body convulsed and twisted as the bright light spread was engulfed and spread throughout the whole of her body in a radiating flash,

  The robe turned red as Raeyn lost consciousness. Lady Hightower timidly approached, but her face held no signs of shock,

   Violetta nodded.

   Lady Hightower’s irritation was clear from her words, but not her indifferent tone of voice.

   Hunter asked Violetta.

   Lady Hightower turned to take her leave,

   Violetta answered.

  Lady Hightower ordered.