The Great Lord lead us into a broad chamber at the back in the room there were nine short pillars. Upon the each of the pillars was a small ring with a gemstone. Three gold with a pearl, emerald, and diamond in an unadorned setting, three copper with a ruby, lapis lazuli, and a sapphire plainly displayed, lastly there were three silver rings with a topaz, amethyst, and opal.

On the pillars I could just barely make out a line of text:

אלוהים להיות טוב, אלוהים להיות איתנו

"These rings will grant you great power," the Lord began, "Place them upon your finger and you shall be filled with my majesty.

"They will protect you from my realm," The Lady added.

"What do these words mean," Quitte asked.

"Something about greatness, maybe divinity," Kotogne suggested.

I stared impressed with Kotogne's grasp of the elder script. I had thought that in the town only Dunja and I could read elder script.

Kotogne mistook my glance and continued with a tentative tone creeping in, "Goodness?"

"No, I'm impressed Kotogne," I praised. The relieved and elated expression on her face somehow made my spirits rise. "It reads, 'Lord be good, Lord be present in us'."

"It is the old prayer for both the dead and living worshippers of the Great Lord. It is a reference to his great glory," Dunja clarified.

The others were going to separate pillars and I moved to stand in front of the topaz ring. I didn't know what the difference was so I moved to the one that I thought would look the best on me. Aya had gone for her favorite stone, the amethyst, a perfect match for her pendant. With a glance I saw Biser had gone for one of the gold rings. I wasn't sure which one he had chosen I wasn't sure what they were saying, protection from the Lady's realm. That was the realm of the dead; were they going to make us immortal? I put the topaz on my forefinger. That was when I understood.

The Lady spoke with a smooth soft voice, "

                     Rings of Silver:

Amethyst for speech and persuasion; to speak with divine voice.                                                                      Opal for knowing others, to see their minds and thoughts; to use divine command.                               Topaz for knowing oneself and not being swayed by the former; to have divine freedom.

                        Rings of Copper:

Sapphire for light and illusion, for beauty and pleasure; to emanate divine glory.                                    Ruby for healing and restoring, to bar entrance to my realm, death; to control divine life.                  Lapis Lazuli for changing and altering, for transfiguring; to be divine change.

                          Rings of Gold:

Diamond is the elemental master, heat, fire, water, earth, air; to rule the divine world.                       Emerald is strength, endurance, speed, the physical traits; master of the divine body.                              Pearl is everything, and nothing, he does whatever you do and yet you can all bar him. Save one                                   thing, he has mastery over telekinesis, and can move anything with a though and none of                           you can stop him; for he is the divine flexibility."

I looked around at all my friends. Dunja had on the ruby ring, Biser the pearl. Quitte wore the opal one and I smiled at that irony, it would certainly help her eavesdrop on people for fresh, juicy gossip. Coing had the diamond and his brother had the emerald. Strength would defiantly suit the butcher just as mastery over fire and earth would help the smith. The Sennani sister had the lapis lazuli and sapphire rings, Kotogne has the lapis and Kvitten had the sapphire. That small change was striking. Where before I had begun seeing them as about equal in beauty now I saw only the jewel of Kvitten. I don't know how to describe it they looked the exact same as they had before. It was the ring I knew it was changing my perspective so that I saw everything about Kvitten as beautiful. Tearing my eyes away from that splendor I found Biser across from me wearing the Pearl. He looked sad somehow. Then he levitated himself up and called:

"This is not fair. Some of us you gave far too much power to and others far too little. I want Sento to have my telekinesis. Let it be bound to his ring and let him have power over it. I trust him and don't want his to be the least among us."

"Are you sure?" the Great Lord asked.

"Absolutely!" Biser answered.

"Then it shall be done," The great Lord seemed to command that last word and I felt a wave of power rush through me. "Know this also you shall all have magnificent power you're your ring but they also have a connection to one another and can tap the might of your fellow councillors unless they bar you." Those last words seemed to be directed at all of us, not just me.

"Now the lady will guide you through the next step in being Heroes." Heroes, those were the ones who channeled the power of the Lord and Lady. Well I guess that now this was us.