As the afternoon waned toward twilight, Nira’s voice grew scratchy and she realized that she hadn’t taken a drink from her water flask in hours. She looked up to see older priests descending from their platforms, finished with the day’s activities. She gulped from her flask, swallowing the stimulating clee—pure water mixed with ground seeds from the worldtrees. She felt awake, eager to read another hundred pages, but it was time to attend to her other duties.

As she climbed down to the juncture of the largest fronds, she met a tall middle-aged priest named Yarrod, the younger brother of Mother Alexa. The many tattoos on his green face bore witness to the different subjects he had studied and abilities he had acquired in the name of the worldforest. Though the green priests had a very loose and generous hierarchy, Yarrod was one of the senior members, though his position had little to do with his relation to the leader. “Nira Khali, I have come to escort you. Our council has met, and the trees have approved.”

“Approved?” Nira’s heart leaped. “Approved of what?” Possibilities ran through her mind, and she couldn’t decide which she hoped for most.

Anchoring his feet against the branches, Yarrod removed a vial from the rope at his waist. “The priests offer you our congratulations.” Smiling, he unstoppered the tiny vial and let a dark liquid drop onto his fingertip. “You have completed the training necessary to receive your second reader’s mark.”

He extended his fingertip, and Nira felt a rush, pleased to have achieved a new rank so quickly. She already bore the mark of an acolyte on her forehead, and two arcs at the corners of her mouth and eyes that showed she had observed the necessary subjects to become a first-rank reader.

Yarrod’s fingertip paused, and then he laughed. “Nira, I cannot put the marks around your mouth if you are grinning so much.”

She tried to form her face into a stoic, calm expression. He deftly smeared dark juice in a perfect curve along each side of her mouth, broader in radius than the first set of arcs. The juice stung as it soaked into her skin, where it would alter the chemistry of her tissues, leaving a permanent mark. It would burn for a day before she was allowed to wash it off, but the mark would be there for all to see that she had achieved another level.

“Thank you, Yarrod. I am pleased to serve the worldforest in any capacity. Such recognition encourages me to work harder for the next level.”

Yarrod continued to smile. “I am not finished yet, Nira. That was merely an introduction.” Nira’s heart thumped again in her chest.

“The priests have discussed the current acolytes and studied their dedication and drive.” He looked at her with bright eyes. Nira held her breath, but he could see right through her thoughts. “We have decided that you have earned more than just another tattoo of learning. Your acolyte service to the worldforest has been exemplary. It could only improve if you were to become a full-fledged green priest.”