Yes, she believed in Guildra, Patron of Guilds. No, she would never worship or believe in anyone even remotely like Mekha. Yes, she would serve as a priest. No, she would not demand to remain the Guild Master if someone more suitable were found. Yes, she had a charter drawn up—a rough draft of a charter—as an apprentice dozens of times over, Rexei had seen and studied far too many not to know how to put one together, even if she hadn’t ever apprenticed in the Law-Sayers Guild.
Yes, she was serious about requiring apprenticeship in at least three different guilds, because Guildra was the Goddess of Guilds, plural, so Her servants would have to understand the viewpoints and needs of multiple guilds as well. No, she had not been joking when she said she would expect Gearmen to retire or recuse themselves from that particular guild and its Consulate-associated duties if they joined the new Holy Guild, because during votes, they would have to represent only their own guild . . . or choose not to represent the Holy Guild in a vote when choosing to act as a Gearman representative for any other Guild. Yes, she was willing to consider other names, though Holy Guild was the simplest and most direct name for it, particularly if they were going to discard and disassociate themselves from the corrupt, Mekha-ruled version that had just been disbanded.
She had to consult her notes several times to get an answer culled from the ideas written down, but otherwise, she didn’t have too much trouble. If Alonnen hadn’t insisted she write her thoughts down, however, she would have faltered.
The hardest question to answer came from the Precinct captain. “What, exactly, do you envision to be the daily life role of you and your fellow . . . Holies, for lack of a better label? How will you fit into our lives when you claim to want to avoid everything that Mekha’s priests have demanded and done?”
“We . . . will inspire, I guess,” Rexei said. She had forgotten to include this possibility in her note-organizing that afternoon. “We’ll inspire creativity and cooperation. Understanding, too. The guilds don’t always talk to each other, and when they do, it’s often by bringing a complaint to their local Consulate. The Holy Guild would try to foster understanding before misunderstandings become formal issues. Gearmen do some of this, but their main focus is their own guilds, specifically the ones they joined—even as a Gearman, while I can discuss a subject, I cannot legally represent the Lessors Guild for a vote because I have never owned land. I cannot represent the Butchers; I haven’t even harmed anything bigger than a roach or a fly.
“The Holy Guild must come to an understanding of the needs of all guilds, to be able to be the lubrication between the guilds. We need to help point out the similarities, the things that make each organization strong, secure, and caring in regards to each member’s needs.
“And . . . and if we can get over our fear of a deity,” she added, trying to put into words what she knew in her head was right but what her heart still cowered away from, “then the Holy Guild will help pray to that deity for intercession—for rain when the Tillers need good crops, and for dry weather when the Roofers need to work, or for safe conditions when the Roadworks are trying to clear avalanches in the mountains. For protection and aid against any aggressive neighbors, and for calm minds and hearts so that we ourselves are never the aggressors. For inspiration with new ideas, and for the . . . the coming together of resources and ideas when creating new things which will be very beneficial for everyone.
“More than that, though, if the Convocation of Gods and Man has been reinstated,” Rexei told the others, glancing briefly at Alonnen because she didn’t dare mention the word demon, “then we need a Patron Deity, and the sooner, the better. We need to have one codified and accepted so that outsiders will think twice before bothering us, and lost ex-Mekhanans will see that we have order and peace and a Goddess who is a true Patron of this land. She can be Named at the next Convocation, but She needs to be worshipped now, so that She can go to work now. For us, instead of against us. That, above everything, will give us a measure of safety that will stretch far beyond the borders of Heias Precinct or Gren Precinct or even beyond the old borders of Mekhana, for all we will probably never march past those borders.”
Grenfallow spoke up next to Rexei. She did so by holding her arm out over the table, fingers curled and thumb poking to the side. “We have a saying, ‘by the pricking of my thumb,’ and we all know its meaning: The desperate desire to get rid of Mekha. Well, now we are rid of the False God . . . and we have a chance at a true Goddess, one envisioned by a fellow sufferer. It is time now for us to do more than just sign our names in blood. We must add in our sweat . . . but we will need guidance. If we are to have a Patron of the Guilds, then we must all contribute, if not bodies willing to join the new priesthood, then understanding and acceptance for those who wish to serve . . . instead of those who demanded to be served.”
“I’m sure we are all deeply grateful for whatever agent helped rid us of the last one, but we as a nation cannot stand alone,” one of the master-ranked Gearmen at the far end of the table stated. “We do have neighbors. We have things we need to trade for that can only be found outside our own borders—good quality sand for the Glassworks Guild is one example, but it is just one of the many things we can only get by trade. If we don’t have a Patron Deity, if we don’t have a priesthood that does represent the interests of all the guilds of this land, then how can we talk to our neighbors and be assured they will listen? How can we keep them from invading us, unless we get their own Goddesses and Gods to agree to leave us alone? That requires representation at the Convocation. The alternative would mean war . . . and I for one do not want another Patron Deity of War, whatever else He may have claimed to be.”
“I find myself having to agree,” Captain Torhammer stated. That caused a few blinks, but he continued smoothly. “We do need holy representation to take our complaints and our needs to the whole world, and to be reassured that our concerns are respected and heard. That requires a God or Goddess, and a servant to stand as the representative between Them and the people. But I don’t want to be ordered about by any more holy types. I’ve had enough of that already.”
Rexei answered that one quickly. “I have the same problem as well, Captain Torhammer. I don’t envision Guildra’s servants as the sort to do any ordering around. Suggest, yes. Advise, yes. Command, no.
“I also don’t imagine that we’d ever need all that many ‘Holies,’ as you name us,” she added, unconsciously including herself in that lot, though this was far, far from anything she had ever imagined would happen to her. Rexei had conceived of the idea of Guildra but not of herself as a priestess. Nor could she imagine all that many others would be interested, though she didn’t quite put it that way to the Consulate meeting. “There’d be no more than a couple per large city, and maybe one per smaller town. The little villages wouldn’t even need that much, maybe a visiting holy guildsman on a touring circuit, sort of like a member of the Messengers Guild, dropping by every so many days.
“We wouldn’t be the smallest of guilds out there, but our numbers would be far smaller than Mekha’s priesthood ever was. With everyone believing in the Guild System, we wouldn’t need the power of an overcrowded priesthood to raise power for our Goddess. Your belief in the guilds—which you already have, or you wouldn’t be high-ranked members of such good standing—that belief would easily translate into a belief in Guildra as our holiest representative. What you want in a Goddess, She would become . . . and I think we can all safely say that She would never become like Mekha, because of that belief-equals-being. None of us wants that, so She will not be that. If anything, I should hope there would be others besides myself, people who are experienced in many guilds but firm in their conviction of being utterly unlike the last lot.”