“You have no more toil here than does anyone else your age,” the high priest interrupted.  “But that isn’t the cause for this meeting, and of this, I am sure you are well aware.”

    The boy slumped in his high-backed chair, crossing his arms, staring at the religious books neatly arranged on Volker’s study shelf.  “Yeah, I hurt the fat kid,” he muttered.

    “The practice mat is no place to vent your anger,” Volker continued.  “We work together on skill, balance, speed, power and agility.  We sharpen our combat skills.  We do not seek harm to our brethren.”

    “Oh, come on!” the boy countered.  “Dietrich flops around like a lame gerbil and cries like a waterfall.  How can you expect me to avoid knocking him down?”

    Volker remained unruffled.  “I expect self control.  That is the essence of our being as monks.  We serve others because we keep our own desires in check.”

    Now the boy scoffed.  “Oh, that’s why you permit my slutty sister to go around giving blow jobs to everyone in the dorm!”

    This type of exchange occurred with great frequency whenever Volker had to mete out punishment for some kind of misbehavior.  Acolyte Algernon Ravenwood always tried to avoid accountability by deflecting attention onto someone else’s miscreance, and though clearly disgusted by his twin sister’s conduct, the boy felt no compunction about openly discussing her impropriety if doing so meant he could use her malfeasance to effectively obviate the Council’s wrath.

    But Volker didn’t follow that path.  “Kira is not under my care, nor is she the subject of our discussion.  However, since you insist on addressing licentiousness, I must also elucidate that your habit of snooping on the women’s bath and the self-stimulating behavior that follows will, from this moment, forever cease.”

    If Algernon felt shock over this revelation, he recovered quickly enough that Volker barely noticed a change in the acolyte’s expression.  “You can prove nothing,” he replied.

    “I have witnessed what you do,” Volker admitted, his tone devoid of the emotion rising within his student’s voice.  “Priestess Sommer has repaired the orifice you drilled into the wall and set a tapestry on the other side.  Regular inspections of the bath have begun to ensure that the privacy of our women remains sacrosanct.”

    Algernon seethed, his lips tightening.  “So what’s the verdict?”

    “All outcomes depend upon you,” Volker responded.  “Neither I, nor the Council, wish to impose a punitive sanction upon you.  However, as leaders in this community we assent to the incumbent responsibility of maintaining peaceful relations, not only within the walls of the Sacred Enclosure, but also beyond them.”

    “And you pull that off with punishment!” Algernon sneered.  “How noble!”

    The boy lacked courtesy, but he fully understood the tenets of Gottslena, the sacred set of Tamarian writings to which the Great Temple Elsbireth had been devoted.  In this philosophy, an unnamed deity, a spirit humans could not comprehend, set forth the process of creation with love and great piety, then observed it from afar.  This Tamarian God, the chief of all spirits, left to humankind the responsibility of safeguarding life, maintaining justice and defending liberty.  Within the context of many local spirits competing for worshipers and exerting control over limited spheres of influence, this mysterious deity encouraged all creatures to live in harmony with their appointed purpose, that it might vicariously learn the lessons experienced by every living thing.  Only within a mutually edifying community that practiced self-control and meditation, the monks believed, could they attain the nobility of mind for which they’d been ordained.

    Algernon used this ideology against his teachers at every opportunity, twisting the precepts presented to him as truth in a manner that exposed their folly.  The need to impose order by force, in his particular case and from his view, utterly contravened a critical concept in the Gottslena philosophy.  An individual, whose unique perspective offered lessons for the great deity, simply should not require any measure of restraint to assimilate into the community for which that person had been destined.  While it would have been easy for an outsider to attribute base deviancy to Algernon’s behavior, an idea promoted within Gottslena to explain criminality, Algernon sustained the highest academic achievement ever attained by any acolyte, and only in the past few weeks had his concupiscent sister Kira begun falling behind.  This prevented any serious discussion of their dismissal, for the extreme self-discipline demanded of Gottslena study, which included mathematics, sciences, martial arts, languages, economics, history and philosophy, should have naturally overwhelmed an unsuitable candidate at an early stage.

    Therefore, the Ravenwood children presented an enigma to the experienced priests, who for over three years watched them with a blend of dismay and wonder.  While many Supreme Council members agonized over the mounting evidence of Algernon’s violent temper, they could not prevent him from learning the combat skills intrinsic to his program of mental, spiritual and physical development.  Nor could they arrive at a suitable means of restraining Kira’s libido, as the girl continually exploited her sensuality to shame, embarrass and control her teachers and fellow students, male and female alike.

    Typically, the Council encouraged the priests who oversaw the Ravenwood siblings to up the ante with additional study and more physical work in response to the rising tide of transgression.  Limiting the free time in which the two Ravenwoods could get into mischief didn’t really work, as Algernon seemed to attract trouble wherever he went, and Kira found that the shameless, semi-public performance of fellatio or cunnilingus often increased the intensity of her selected lover’s response.

   Volker Pfaff suppressed a deep sigh, saddened that so much potential for excellence lay within a boy for whom that nobility seemed an anathema.  Algernon did not know how stridently his mentor advocated for him at the Supreme Council meetings, nor did he appreciate that Volker’s position eroded with each accumulated incident set before the increasingly impatient priesthood.

    “Discipline can be an unpleasant experience,” Volker stated.  Then, using the weapon he’d been reluctant to wield, the priest began outlining the scope of Algernon’s penance.  “Though you may leave here any time you wish, as of this hour when the doors close behind you, they will forever remain closed.  You will not be permitted reentrance within the Sacred Gate.  And should you elect to depart from our care, where will you go?  Can you return home to your drunken father?  Will the mother who forcefully evicted you draw her wayward son back into her bosom with a gentle embrace?”

    Algernon’s face began to pale.  He slumped in his chair, eyes widened.

    “This is your home now.  You are my son now, and if I did not love you I would not wish to restrain your self-destructive impulses.  So these are the conditions upon which your stay in this hallowed place may continue: First, you will always show deference and respect to senior priests.  You will remain silent in your classes.  All questions directed to your teacher must be written down and submitted with respect at the conclusion of each lesson.  Second, you will not leave these premises without my direct permission.”

    Volker paused, noting that Algernon’s icy expression melted rapidly.  When the boy said nothing in response, the High Priest continued.  “Third, you will not engage in any undisciplined social behavior, which includes, but is not limited to, all physical contact with and clandestine observation of, acolyte priestesses, whom you are to regard as sisters with absolute purity; unrestrained force on the practice mat and any use of secret martial knowledge against civilians within or beyond these walls.  In addition, you will treat these venerated grounds with the greatest respect and refrain from inflicting damage herein.  This includes mischief such as putting flour in the organ pipes, urinating in the consecrated wine and blending opiates into the meditation incense.

    “You must conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the calling to which you aspire.  Your labor shall always be done in a timely manner, with excellence and without lament.  If you do not agree to these conditions, I must remove you from the Sacred Enclosure.”

    Stunned, Algernon said nothing for a long time.  He straightened, swallowed and licked his dry lips.  “So, that’s it, then?” he asked.  “I do what you say, or you kick me out.”

    High Priest Volker Pfaff made a steeple of his fingers and nodded, sadly.  “To my dismay, it has come to this.”