Chapter Text
Elias kneeled at the altar, closing his eyes and clasping his hands together tightly. His mouth moved quickly and silently, reciting prayers that he knew by heart. The moment he began, he could feel the presence of a divine being within the same room, and he immediately started shaking. He finished out his prayers, then flickered his eyes open and stared upward.
There, upon the sculpted, ornate throne, sat Elias’s god.
Caelum stared down at him with mild interest. He’d appeared to Elias countless times now, always testing him and pushing him even further into his devotion. Elias was always willing to stretch further, doing everything in his power to please Caelum.
Oftentimes Caelum wouldn’t appear or speak at all, and these challenges forced Elias to make increasingly more sacrifices. Now, though, he was gracing Elias’s eyes, beautiful and otherworldly.
“My lord,” Elias quickly sputtered, bowing his head once more. He glanced up once, only seeing the god’s indifferent stare.
“What is it, priest?”
“I… I wanted to see you. I need guidance."
Caelum sighed, and it sounded like he’d mumbled, “You always need guidance,” under his breath. Then he collected himself, eyes flicking around the room before begrudgingly landing on Elias again. “Go on.”
“I am struggling. I spend much of my time here at the altar. I devote my entire life to serving you, as your humble attendant. My wife has noticed, and she pleads with me to return home more often. But I can’t stop myself from coming here, even when I do not need to. She believes I am being unfaithful to her, that I am meeting with a woman here. What can I do to satisfy her suspicions?”
Caelum stared at him, almost shocked that this man couldn’t see the obvious answer. “Return home more often.”
“But I already told you, I cannot stay away from this temple. It is my only sanctuary."
“Build an altar in your home.”
“When I pray outside, you don’t answer. Only the others do.”
“Then pray harder.”
It almost seemed like Caelum was irritated that he’d been called upon in the first place, but Elias refused to believe that. He was a good priest. He worshiped his god every day, even at the cost of his marriage. How could Caelum ever be upset with him if he was this devoted of a follower? Didn’t the gods want to be worshiped? Elias wrote it off as exhaustion despite knowing that the gods never tired.
“I brought you an offering, my lord.” He produced a blood, dead rabbit and laid it on the dais the throne was placed upon. He’d killed it that morning, and instead of cooking and eating it, he’d brought it here.
“A simple rabbit?” Caelum tilted his head. “You can do better than that. You’ve done better than that.”
“I’m sorry, my lord, it’s all I found.”
“It’s not good enough.”
Elias squeezed his eyes shut, bowing his head further. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I apologize. I’ll do better.”
“Good.”
Elias stood then, his eyes fluttering open only to see that Caelum was gone. In his place on the throne was a single white feather. Elias dipped his head in gratitude, taking the rabbit and exiting the room.