of mist and power

CHAPTER FOUR,

MYRINA'S HALL IN the Eastern Palace had been simply decorated at her own request. There was none of the exuberance and extravagance of the other halls, but instead was only filled with the necessities and a few elegant decorations here and there, mostly with religious motives. Like the statuette of Hongyun Myrina had put as a centrepiece in the room, which she was currently praying to on her knees.

The prayers of Hongyun were all things she'd committed to memory long ago. They were second nature to her. She didn't even need to hesitate before the words came out of her mouth. These days they were comfort, but back then they had been salvation.

She prayed twice a day. In the morning and at night.

She could faintly hear Chunyi preparing a small snack for her after she was done praying, the soft clinking of porcelain on a tray and the dancing shadows from behind the paper-thin divider. A moment later the meal seemed to have been done, and Chunyi walked in a moment later, kneeling behind Myrina.

"My lady, the food is done."

"Leave it on the table," Myrina said, opening her eyes before shutting them again and continuing on her prayers. Once upon a time, all her prayers would have been for the big things. For peace, for protection, for the greatness of Sai. But these days she'd started praying for herself.

There was an assassin in the Scarlet Palace. There was a high chance they'd figured out she was wiccai. She had no idea what they were planning to do with this information, or what they were planning for her. After all, she'd been the one to foil their plans.

When Ryan had announced the increase in guards, Myrina hadn't refused the ones he'd sent to her like she might have before. This time she knew that her life could be in danger as well. Chunyi was not a trained fighter, and Myrina couldn't be on alert twenty four hours a day. She needed some help, and she was alright with admitting it.

"Yes, my lady." Chunyi's voice was quiet, as if she didn't want to disturb Myrina. But it didn't really matter. Myrina could pray and concentrate in places of great disturbance. It was something she'd had to learn in her early years, with all those unwanted relatives at home trying to bother her every day. Back then, when they'd wanted something from her father, they went to her first. Even if she was in her lessons with her teachers, they came knocking anyway.

It had been rather irritating, though Myrina had never said anything about it. These days, she wished that she had. Perhaps that would have shut them up long ago, rather than letting them think that she was weak and cowardly. (But that was the truth, wasn't it?)

There were many myths about Hongyun and her deeds. She was the patron goddess of Sai, one of the leading gods of their pantheon, and thus also one of the most well-known. She was also one of the few gods who were widely worshipped by the population.

It was said that at the Dawn of the Gods, when the divine still lived alongside the mortal, Hongyun was one of the only ones who had ever fought for their rights. And thus, when the Gods fell and were forbidden from coming to the mortal realm, Hongyun was one of the only ones the Great Spirit pitied, thus allowing her to continue coming and going as she pleased.

Hongyun meant red cloud, and the goddess was rumoured to be always surrounded by a mysterious, almost ominous scarlet smoke. When Myrina had first met Rhys, she'd almost thought that the girl was somehow related to the goddess, as Rhys had very similar powers. Of course, now she knew Rhys wasn't, but it was still sometimes difficult to differentiate in her mind between the goddess's holy abilities and Rhys' wiccai ones.

Though Myrina was no longer in the peak of her religious frenzy. While once upon a time she'd have struggled to do anything without thinking or mentioning the goddess, she had stopped a few years ago and began to live and do for herself rather than Hongyun. It had been a refreshing and scary change.