“Hmm hmm-hmm, hmm hm-hmm~” Emia skipped along merrily, not really thinking all that much. The sister’s induction would take a long time to do, even if she was just looking over it, so she went to go see Muddy first. A Strange woman, she owned a small house in the middle of nowhere, and didn’t seem to do much there. But, never ran out of food and never had trouble with the local law enforcement like everyone else did. Her father managed to keep them pacified, but she could still see tensions growing when she was up late at night and they came round. Maybe she could fix that when she became a Sister of the church. Maybe not. Who could tell? The Imperium was too far away, so their laws were lax here and the respect the Imperial Cult deserved was not as much as it should have been. A state of affairs that made Emia sad, in the darker moments. But, she would pray twice as hard for them, to save their souls.

“A Man may walk a thousand miles with the Emperor by his side” Emia muttered, before she looked to the sky, and then giggled as she remembered her father many years ago. When she was young she asked if The Emperor was beside her, why there was but one set of footprints. And in traditional fashion, her father gave an enthusiastic response that The Emperor was not walking like a simple human, but flying like a mighty golden eagle, as befits the Master of Mankind! His gesticulation and hand signs added to the humour of the situation, and found itself a permanent nest in her head.

Eventually, Emia arrived at the small house, and stood out in the field was Muddy. She got her name from the fact that when Emia first saw her, she her clothes and hair and skin were all caked in mud, and didn’t want to tell Emia her name. So she got called by the moniker of her appearance. But, after a few years she started taking care of herself more, and didn’t really earn the name these days. Odd clothes and a red hooded cloak certainly put her at a distance from the usual fare of dress around here. A lot of people avoided Muddy, but Emia knew she was not only safe, but friendly and caring.

“Muddy!” Emia waved, much as she did to her father, though there was no tackling hugs. Muddy never caught her and it always ended with her mother lecturing her on getting her clothes all dirty from hitting the deck.

“Hello Emia” Muddy replied, not looking up from the ground, where she was plying some strange metal thing. Muddy had a lot of strange metal things, and was wise far beyond her twenty-some appearance. Fascinating for Emia, it was just another thing for people to avoid her for in general.

“What’s that?~” Emia asked, hovering over and looking at the blinking arcane device.

“Magic tool made from Dragon Bones and Fairy Spit. I’m using it to count how many goblins are in the underground caves” Muddy replied, her voice deadpan serious. Though, whether Emia believed her or was just playing into her jokes, was up for debate.

“Ohh~ When I become a Superior of the Church, I’ll bring the Faith Militant and we’ll clean the goblins out. All fwoosh! Emperor damns the Xenos! Fwoosh!!” Emia vigorously span around with her imaginary flamethrower, burning the heretics all around.

“Mmm, he is an interesting person, The Emperor. When you are the sole keeper of your race’s longevity, you are going to look to it first and foremost. I guess drift is the reason for the bloodthirst though” Muddy spoke, mostly attached to her machine until it beeped and disgorged a stream of numbers that made perfect sense to the woman.

“What do you mean? Are you saying we shouldn’t kill the Xenos?” Emia asked. Muddy was always full of strange notions, but this was the strangest, and the one most divulgent from the Creed.

“There are animals on this planet dangerous to humans, and then there are animals on this planet entirely harmless to humans. You have seen them, you have killed some and you farm some. But, given that some are dangerous, would you kill them all?” Muddy asked, heading back into her house and gesturing with her head for Emia to follow her in.

“N-no...what would we eat if all the animals were dead?” Emia asked after answering the question. Though, she just got a smile from Muddy.

“It is your birthday today, yes? Though you are going away to be a Sister of the Church soon, this is still a volatile place. And diminishing respect is being given to those of the Faith. I don’t want to see harm come to you” Muddy had a somber voice as she opened a small chest and handed a Laspistol to the girl. Emia was a farmer’s daughter, so she had shot varmints and pests, and even shot at - though with no intention to hit him - that one sneak-thief. So guns were not a new thing to her. But this Laspistol was different from the old farm rifle.

It looked and felt new, and was surprisingly light for what she expected of these weapons. It was small and easily tucked away, but just gave her a tingly feeling in the back of her mind like it was something different.

“Don’t use it lightly, and if you must use it, don’t aim above the waist. Humanity is in enough trouble without killing itself” Muddy would give Emia a pat on the head, stroking her ears which elected a mewl of enjoyment. And then Muddy was looking to her machine. Not a dismissal, but Emia sat around for three hours one time while Muddy tinkered with a strange stick with a dish on the end, and Muddy seemed surprised to still see here there at the end, so there was nothing she could do here anymore. Slipping from her chair and putting the Laspistol away, she headed out and left Muddy to her arcane beep machine. Besides, she had other things to do today, and the day could not be spent in the mad wonderland that was Muddy’s house.

A casual walk to the city took her an hour, and the sun was high in the sky when she arrived. She spent the hour reciting lithanies and mentally studying everything she had learned, so when she finally did arrive at the chapel and make her desires known, she was prepared. After a fashion, at least, though she did not expect the scale of what she was up against. First there was proof of reading and writing, then reciting three prayers from memory, a physical test to ensure that she could handle the manual labour novices underwent, and finally aptitude tests on her cooking and cleaning. The chapel was self-sufficient due to the inherent labour within, so everyone had to be able to help everyone else before they could join. The testing went on for hours, and when she finally finished and was told a priest would be round later with her results, she had to pick up her feet and run back home so as not to miss her own dinner.

A Prayer to The Emperor for swift feet and strong lungs helped her get there in time, so she did not have to see what kind of creature her mother turned into when she was late. And instead, had a nice night in with her family. Dad spoke about the farm, mum spoke about the house, and Emia spoke about what she had seen and done in the chapel. The night ended peacefully, and Emia was looking forward to a life of piety and faith. The strange floating box had not really popped in at all, so she didn’t really give it any thought. It existed, and that was all there was to it. Nothing left but for a nice night’s sleep.