The First Legacies Of Zion: Omaye

Cleric

ESTHER

Esther remembered a time when she was religious. She remembered a time when she was holy and pure and innocent. She went to church every Sunday and sang happily with the choir and played around with the other kids and listened to sermons about how much God loved her and how his son Jesus died for her sins.

But then she remembered that Friday when her mother had gotten a call from the pastor of their local church, apparently he had a vision concerning her future and to prevent the forces of darkness from derailing her path in life an extensive prayer session was required.

And what a session it was, the pastor took her innocence, her chastity in the name of God, right there in front of her mother. Her mother who with every grunt of pain and squeal of pleasure she made, chanted amen in tandem with the pastor’s frantic thrust and feverish gasping.

With a memory like that it was a surprise she did not try to strangle her mother every time she laid eyes on that woman. Till today Esther never got to know the reason why her mother let that pastor do that to her. It was quite painful but she learnt to move on. And then she learnt to live what most would call and extremely bad life style.

Her brother lived for the drugs and his dangerous gang activities, but she lived for the s*x and the dangerous secrets that came with it. Politicians, religious leaders, family men and people with a reputation to keep. She f****d them all, took their secrets, took their money and then took their life.

Anything they ever considered important fell at her whim, their glory and the monuments built to their name, their reputation and their family. She made sure it all came crashing down like a stack of building blocks ran into by a 250-pound man.

But it’s ironic really, because here she was, in a place where her rather sinful life started……a church. Well it would be wrong to call it a church, it was more like a shack that was standing on its last legs. Thankfully the church was built with stone just like the castle, it was located south east away from the castle itself, with it being the first thing you see when you step into the town.

The first word that came to mind when Esther looked at the church was ugly, but another was ancient and calm. It surprised her a lot, the shabby building in front of her seemed to instill a sense of calm within her. Esther shook her head with a smile, it seemed that deep down she was still that same church girl who believed in God and how much he loved her.

She pushed open the almost fallen apart double doors, the termites in Orun seemed to have a taste for church door. The air within the church was rather stale, the whole place looked abandoned, the floor was dirty and covered with a significant amount of dust.

Every step she took made the wooden floor boards beneath her feet creak and moan in protest and complaint, it was quite obvious that they had withstood quite the ravages of time. The pews were covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt. This building was really, really old. But Esther loved it.

There was something about old buildings that she just could not help but admire. They withstood the ravages of time and fate, going through many tough days and happy days. Seeing history make itself and watching time pass on and by as it ticked away with every blessed second. Old buildings gave her a sense of solidarity, of hope and dependence. Her family was rather broken and messed up, she had her connections with them, but they never made her feel safe. The only thing her family ever gave her was a sense of responsibility and the urge to set them all on fire while they sleep. That’s quite a family.

When Esther got to the pulpit she finally noticed the aged man kneeling in front of a cross and praying fervently. His entire hair was white, not fantasy white like hers and her family, but more like aged white. There were small traces of wrinkles around the edge of his chin and eyes. He had a rather trimmed goatee that was still black rather than white like his head.

If Esther could hazard a guess, she would say he was probably around his mid forties to early fifties. He had on a white and pristine garment that even with all of the dirt and dust, did not have a single residue of either on it. His whole persona just screamed out pure and holy. With a rather stray thought Esther wondered if he was good in bed.

“What have you come seeking in the house of God……. child?”

There was a rumble to his voice, the sound came from deep within his chest and sent waves of vibrations all over the empty church. It was the first time Esther felt really off since she stepped foot into the church.

Pure like look or whatnot, this guy’s presence was everywhere. It was like he could see everything, hear everything, feel everything. There was no room for secrets within his presence and Esther hated that.

After all she was a woman who thrived on secrets, she lived for it and the thrill of holding information worth a person’s life within the palm of her hands. Now she felt that Mr. holy and pure here was in a position to put that in jeopardy.

“I’m here for my class change. I’m supposed to be a cleric.” Esther answered with an edge to her voice.

“Indeed you are, hmm do you understand what it entails to be a cleric, the responsibility that comes with such a position?”

“I think I have a general idea of what I’m supposed to do, and to be honest am not cut out for a job in religion or the responsibilities that come with the damn position. In my opinion I’m closer to the devil than God himself, with the things I have done and at such a young age……. I deserve to burn in the deepest part of hell for all eternity.”

“well that was certainly enlightening, but it’s not your place to decide whether you deserve to burn in hell for your past mistakes. But unlike many people who I have led down the path of holy servitude and healing, you are one of the few to acknowledge their own sins.

But now the question that remains is, are you willing to make amends for it? Because my child, second chances come when you least expect it, and this could be it for you. The house of God accepts all, sinner, saint, killer, savior, hero or villain. You just have to set your heart in the right place and make every moment of your life count. Because serving God is not a right, it’s a privilege. Are you willing to serve him child?”

[CHANGE CLASS TO CLERIC]

“Yes”

“Then by the anointing and power bestowed upon me by the decree of the living God, I welcome you into our ranks as a new woman reborn in the favor of the lord our God. Sister Esther please rise and take your place among the ranks of shepherds who are meant to lead, soothe and heal the flock of the one true God. Glory to his name.”

Esther was overwhelmed by an intense feeling of belonging. The slave contract aside this felt so right that it completely unsettled her. Was this a path of redemption, a way for her to be absolved of all her past sins…. please who could be that stupid. No matter how eloquent his words were, this was still just a game, and Esther was not in the business of giving herself false hope that she could be saved from an eternity of torment in hell. But there was no harm in playing along, because to be honest it felt good to believe in a higher power once again. Even though that power was made from a complex algorithm of one’s and zeroes.

“Glory to his name.”

[Cleric Chosen, You Have Gained Passive Skills: Faith, Nurse. You Have Gained Active Skill: Heal, Bless, Pray And Inspect]

[Congratulations You Gained 10 Exp, You Are Now Level 1. You Have Five Stat Points For Allocation.]

Esther did not feel a sense of accomplishment from completing this quest. It was just something she had to do, and from now on it seemed her life as a slave starts proper.

“Skills!”

[FAITH: LEVEL 1: Passive(holy): Increase Effects Of Holy And Class Spells By 2%]

[NURSE: LEVEL 1: Passive(support/general): Increase The Effects Of All Healing Activities By 2% And Reduce The Painful Effects Of Any Injury By 5%]

[HEAL: LEVEL 1: Active (Support / Holy): Recover 5% Health Every 5 Seconds For 15 Seconds. Cost: 10 Mana|| Cooldown: Time 5 Minutes.]

[BLESS: LEVEL 1: Active(support/holy): Increase Allies Stats By 5% For 100 Seconds. Cost: 10 Mana|| Cooldown: 180 seconds.]

[PRAY: LEVEL 1: Active(support/holy): Increase The Effects Of All Holy Spells And Skills By 5% For 30 Seconds. Cost: 10 Mana|| Cooldown: 7 Minutes.]

Esther felt rather apprehensive about her future as a servant to the Olagoke's, she had no idea what to expect from those people, especially with her family involved. But the journey of a thousands miles begins with a single step, it doesn’t matter if there’s a stone in your path or if you have to walk through fire. The only thing that matters is that you take that step, that way even though it hurts at least you would know that you moved forward. Esther turned to the priest and said to him in what she considered her most cheerful Sunday voice.

“Please your eminence, if its not too much trouble, I will like to know everything that being a cleric entails.”

“My child it would be my extreme pleasure.”