Verse 48: "Unstoppable"

I stood there in silence.
          The noise of the crowd around me was present, but I hadn't registered any of it. 
          I hadn't said goodbye.
          “Shinko? Are you ready to go?” A voice called out to me.
          My eyes darted towards Vivian. She was still looking in the direction Niels and Elisa had gone.
          It didn’t look like she’d said anything.
          I was going to have to say goodbye to Vivian soon.
          I’d never get to see her again. 
          I closed my eyes. It was fine; I was going to go home, back to where everything made sense. When I opened them again, I looked up at Vivian.
          “Vivian, do you know where the more important wizards meet up?”
          “Me? Um… Not really. Maybe over there?” She pointed at a building that was situated near the wall of Kuzges. It looked like an inn, but it was surrounded by a very dense crowd of people and had several banners on it displaying a symbol of a crooked staff on a white banner. It was different from the coat of arms I'd seen on the wall around the outside of Kuzges.
          “That seems like a good guess.” I sighed, then closed my eyes. 
          I prayed that I would get to go home soon. When I finished my quick prayer, I looked at Vivian.
          “Could you go in front of me please? You’re taller than I am.” I said calmly.
          She smiled when I said that.
          “I’ll do my best, strange priest.”
          We drew near to the building with the banners. It was slightly more impressive than the other buildings I’d seen; it had a roof made of slate tiles and was made of solid cut stone, similar to the wall. The windows were small and there weren’t many of them, and on the second floor of the building it didn’t look like there were any windows at all.
          Once we got close to the building, we noticed that there were several guards stationed around it, all of them large and wearing full plate mail. Vivian stopped once we saw them.
          “Here; you can follow me.” I said calmly as I walked towards the building. She stayed close behind me.
          Once I was about ten feet from the house, one of the guards held up his hand.
          “Halt. Do you have any business with the honorable archwizards?” He said sharply.
          “I left some very important textbooks at my place of residence, and I need the archwizards to cast a spell and return them to me in order that I may continue my research.” I said confidently.
          The guard looked at one of the other guards, then turned back to me.
          “State your name and title.”
          “Shinko Inori. Great priest.”
          Vivian looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
          A murmur went through the crowd behind me. The guard took a step back and looked at the other guards present. A more important looking guard stepped forward, pointing a spear at me.
          Vivian remained close to me as the rest of the crowd took a few steps back.
          “What business does a priest have with wizards?” The important guard asked roughly. “The church pact forbids the use of magic during sermons.”
          “Priest?!” Someone said loudly, cutting through the murmurs and whispers of the crowd.
          I couldn’t help smiling. The guard who was holding me at spearpoint turned around quickly and looked at the door of the building.
          Standing in the doorframe was a young male human dressed in red robes and holding a rather large wooden staff. The guard gasped in surprise, and the rest of the crowd began to speak even more loudly.
          “Where? Where is this ‘great priest?’” Asked the red-robed human.
          “This is him, sir.” The guard pointed at me with his spear. “We were about to escort him out of Kuzges.”
          “Could you do that later? We’ve actually been expecting a priest for a while!”
          Vivian looked surprised, as did everyone else in the crowd except for me. I knew that things would work out; God needed them to.
          “Sir, are you sure you need a priest?” The guard asked.
          “Yes, absolutely! Justine has been extremely insistent about a vision she had three weeks ago, and this priest might finally be able to get her to shut up about it.” The red robed man said as he stepped out of the building.
          The crowd gasped as he did so, and the guard took a step towards the man.
          “Sir, we can escort him inside; please don’t bother–”
          “Calm down! He’s just a priest.”
          The red robed man walked out of the building until he was standing in front of me. He was almost as tall as Vivian. He looked at her and smiled, then turned his gaze to me seriously.
          “Please tell me your name isn’t Shinko Inori.” He said quietly. 
          I was slightly surprised at hearing my own name, but quickly regained my composure. Vivian looked shocked.
          “Unfortunately for you sir, I am Shinko Inori.”
          The red robed wizard nodded, then stood up and looked extremely frustrated.
          “Sir, are you–” 
          “Quiet!” The archwizard said sharply. 
          The rest of the crowd around us went quiet as well. The red-robed wizard crossed his arms and looked at me disapprovingly. 
          “Well, nothing to be done about it then. Come inside. Justine’s been dying to see you.” He turned around and walked back inside the building.
          I followed after him, and Vivian was right behind me. The guard who had been silenced quickly sprung into action again, interposing himself between me and Vivian.
          “Sir. This young woman is not allowed inside.”
          The wizard turned around and looked at Vivian. I quickly closed my eyes and prayed that he would allow her to come inside with me.
          “She’s with him. Maybe Justine didn’t feel like she was worth mentioning? Or…” He smiled eagerly and snapped his fingers. “Perhaps her being here throws Justine’s vision into disarray! Let her in as well.”
          I felt the power rush to my head; I was unstoppable. 
          Vivian sighed in relief and followed me inside. The guard shook his head.
          “Sir, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
          “Well, that explains why you’re not an archwizard.” Said the red-robed wizard as he shut the door to the building behind Vivian.
          The interior was very plain, with wooden floors and matching furniture. Once the door was closed, the wizard looked at the two of us again.
          “My name is Griffith Fairey.” He said with a bow. “You are, unfortunately, Shinko Inori.” He pointed at Vivian with his staff. “What is your name, young lady?”
          “Vivian Hartlieb.”
          I still thought she had a pretty name. Griffith tapped his chin thoughtfully.
          “Right. Well. You two may come upstairs. We’re in the middle of an entirely different discussion, but it’ll be nice to finally shut Justine up about her prophecy.” He sighed as he walked us down a small hallway that led to a cramped set of stairs. “I swear, it’s the only thing she’s been talking about for this whole council.”

Edited on 09/29/25