43. Thayla #2
They actually could’ve worked. I had to have multiple coming-to-acceptance conversations with myself in order to understand that the whole system wasn’t horrible. Those before us just didn’t execute things properly.
That was much harder than it seems to accept. I was ready to throw everything they had implemented away and start over.
That wasn’t realistic.
It’s always been said that the Volreen measures your worth and potential power from the blood you offer it leading up to the Veiling Day.
That wasn’t completely true. It was the gateway for the Beginning Gods to measure you and decide if you possessed potential they could use.
From there, they’d decide and manipulate how much power would be released.
So, we put it back in the Gods Binding.
We didn’t need that anymore.
The Gods Veil, on the other hand, we did decide we needed.
The Gods Binding could just release the power at our request, but that left us blind. We’d have no way of knowing what someone was going to step out with and therefore, we didn’t know how to help them.
We’ve come up with a solution for that.
Amick, Kyzen, and Riven get in position on both sides of the Veil along with over half of our group. Yemi, Mara, and Rose surround me as I take a deep breath. V and Lestari soar from Yemi to me and snuggle into my neck.
“You got this, little burden.”
“No mischievousness, my little psycho.”
He winks at me. I don’t know if that’s comforting or not.
“Ready, ladies?” I ask.
“Oh, so me, Lambrit, Meridamus, Sevryn, Gladian, and Barir are just afterthoughts, huh?” Creed asks, sarcastic as fuck.
“We’re the pretty faces everyone’s going to be staring at. You all are just the muscles.” I laugh teasingly, sending him a wink.
“Muscle?” Lambrit asks.
“You and Yemi are the brains,” I say.
“No more dillydallying. You’re going to be late,” Amick says without a hint of patience.
“Okay, okay.” I hold my hands up and blow him a kiss. “Deep breaths, everyone. Showtime.”
My power wraps around us and carries us away. When our eyes open, we’re greeted by silence and a sea of people.
Then…the roaring starts.
My ears ring as my gaze roams over the faces. Some familiar, some not. My heart thuds so fast against my ribcage I’m surprised it doesn’t crack one.
Two gentle hands land against my back. Rose’s to calm me, Yemi’s to push me forward.
I step up and raise my hands in the air. The cheering slowly settles.
“Oddian. Thank you for joining us on this historic day.”
Just as fast as the silence came, it vanishes.
The overwhelming roar has my hands trembling as I reach into my pocket. For a long moment, I stare down at my speech.
Then I fold it back up.
“Oh no,” Yemi murmurs, and I smile to myself.
“Some of you may remember me, and some of you may not, but my name is Thayla Godrun. I promise I’m not going to stand up here and give you a long-winded speech about how much you should love the Valories and the gods.
I’m really uncomfortable up here giving a speech to begin with and I’m just as excited as you all are.
So I’m going to try to get straight to what you’ve all been waiting for since we sent out the decree to you over a month ago about this very day. ”
More cheers and claps blare around me, and I laugh at their enthusiasm.
“Over two years ago, I stood on this platform before you as a Chosen in the last Veiling. Scared, confused, and angrier than a pissed off taurn.”
Laughs ripple throughout the crowd and I smile at them sincerely as the rolling in my belly slows.
“I remember looking out at all of you, wondering how a single day could change my entire life.”
I shake my head.
“I didn’t know I’d leave this region and find a family. I didn’t know I’d lose people I thought I loved. I didn’t know I’d discover truths that would shake the foundations of our realm. And I certainly didn’t know I’d one day be standing back on this very platform before you.”
I glance behind me at the Grand Oddian Library, then around the familiar streets surrounding the center.
“This region raised me. It taught me so much. From kindness to betrayal, survival, and resilience. It also taught me that speaking out and asking questions wasn’t always welcomed.”
A few knowing smiles appear throughout the crowd.
“So today, before we actually begin, I want to answer the biggest question I’ve heard over the last eighteen months. Why change the Veiling Day? Why break tradition? And the answer is simple…”
I pause, scanning the crowd from one side to the other. The answer isn’t entirely simple, and I could spend ages sitting up here talking shit about the Valories and the Beginning Gods. Everything they fucked up to lead us to this moment.
I’d love to do that, but I’m not going to.
“Despite everything that’s happened over the last twelve-hundred-plus years, not every part of the old system was wrong.
The problem lay in the fact that the preservation of power was put before the preservation of the people.
The Beginning Gods understood that power is dangerous.
It can protect and create, but it also can control and destroy.
To give it all out at once could be catastrophic.
They decided to be very selective in who they blessed and how much of a blessing they’d receive. We kept part of that system.”
A touch of unease rolls through the crowd, but I hold my hands up again, asking them to hold on for a moment.
“What we changed…was everything surrounding the process. We learned from the mistakes they made in their methods and we modified them. For the last sixteen or so months, every region has received lessons explaining how power works, how Domains and abilities develop, what responsibilities accompany them, and what to expect when this day arrived. Knowledge should never begin after receiving power. It should begin long before it.”
I step closer to the edge of the platform and lace my fingers together.
“Your power will be released to you in waves. As you learn, as you gain an understanding of your power, you’ll receive more.
How and when you receive more will be completely up to you.
The more effort you put into learning how to take care of such a responsibility, the quicker you will become whole.
I promise you, the last thing you want is to get your power, then accidentally hurt yourself or someone else.
Which is completely a possibility if you aren’t careful. ”
The crowd as a whole glances at one another. They glance at the faces of people they know, love, and care about. An easy understanding of the danger flows through them.
“With that being said, today, every person has a decision to make. And for the first time, that decision belongs entirely to you. This is not a test of worthiness. No one here is more worthy than the person standing beside them. No names will be chosen. If you have reached the age to receive power, then today belongs to you.”
My smile turns teasing as I look out at all the teenagers.
“Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds…don’t think you’re going to be able to pull a fast one today. The Gods Binding will know if you’re ready or not. So just hold out for me. You’ll be eighteen before you know it.”
A couple of ah mans echo through the air, and I can’t help but chuckle at them.
“Before we truly begin, I want every one of you to know you have a choice. If, after everything you’ve learned from the material and history that’s been provided to you, you decide you don’t want power, you may leave today exactly as you arrived.
There will be no shame. No punishment. And no one will think less of you.
Power should never be forced upon someone who doesn’t wish to carry it.
You also can change your mind at any time. ”