Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Head Priest Lodestone! Big news!” A loud cry echoed throughout the entire temple.

Lodestone held in a sigh. “Initiate Flashstep, how many times must I remind you not to shout in the halls?” Flashstep was a new addition to the temple, feeling drawn to the life as a priest instead of his previous job as a racer. He was enthusiastic in his work, but his enthusiasm also meant he often disrupted the peace of the temple without realizing it. Lodestone held out hope that if he reminded Flashstep to calm down enough it would stick. He was a young mech after all, still less than 100 vorns old.

Flashstep stumbled to a stop in front of Lodestone. “My apologies, High Priest Lodestone, but you’ll never believe what we found while helping the newsparks emerge.”

Lodestone was going to say that he didn’t care for gossip, but he didn’t manage to say anything before Flashstep continued talking, “One of the newsparks can hear Primus!”

“What?”

“I know! Pyrite is bringing him to the temple, but we thought it would be best to tell you before they arrived. The others are still at the hotspot keeping an optic on the newsparks.” Flashstep rushed to say. He was probably sent both because of his speed and inexperience with newsparks.

Lodestone straightened up. “Tell the others to prepare a room, and tell Lightblade to go to the painting room, someone new to paint. I’ll go meet our new member.” He ordered before rushing off to the temple’s entrance as fast as he could while still appearing dignified. As he walked, Lodestone’s processor was filled trying to figure out how this would affect their temple.

As the main temple in Iacon they were in charge of the city’s hotspot, and they saw the Prime the most often of any temple. Privately Lodestone considered Nova Prime a good friend despite their inability to regularly meet due to their busy schedules. They were already the most important temple on Cybertron. Primus sending them a mech who could hear him was a blessing to their temple, a clear sign of favor. The last mech who could emerged able to hear his voice was from Praxus, and he died hundreds of vorns ago. Nova Prime had quietly admitted to Lodestone once that the lack of any mech able to hear Primus wore on him. Learning about their new addition would put his processor at ease.

Making his way to the temple’s entrance Lodestone barely needed to wait before Pyrite came into sight followed by an unpainted mech he didn’t recognize. That must be their newest member.

Lodestone smiled at them. “Welcome back Pyrite, and who are you?” He warmly asked turning to the newspark. This was the newest member of their temple after all, there was no need to scare him.

The newspark tilted their head and studied Lodestone for a few ticks before slowly saying, “I am Hound.”

Lodestone gave Pyrite a questioning glance which he quickly answered, “Hound here didn’t have any sort of language modules when he emerged. We gave him the standard packet, but they’re still integrating.”

Ah, Lodestone didn’t expect something like that to be a problem for someone Primus crafted himself, but Primus had no need for their language, and Hound was crafted to understand him. There was a reason why one of their most important jobs as Primus’ priests was to attend to the hotspots. Not only were newsparks the most vulnerable of their people, holding no understanding the world yet, but they occasionally were missing important programs. It was important to spot such issues early when they were easily fixable.

Their job was to guide the newsparks in their earliest cycles. To teach them what it is like to live on Cybertron, help them discover what job calls to them, and settle them in with an appropriate mentor. Of course, some mechs changed jobs later, but they were here to help them begin their journey of life, and their doors were always open to those who needed help later in life as well.

“It is nice to meet you Hound. I am the Head Priest of the Temple of Iacon, and we welcome you into our ranks.” Lodestone said.

Hound’s nasal ride scrunched up in confusion. “Why is Hound here and not with other newsparks?”

Ah, his processor apparently hadn’t finished integrating the grammar sections of his language modules yet. Not surprising, grammar was complicated and usually one of the longest to integrate. It also needed to be the last one installed and integrated from those language packets because it heavily relied on the other language modules to work. It could cause problems if you had grammar modules, but no language to go with it.

“Those newsparks are deciding their path in life, but your path is already clear. Primus created you to be his Voice.”

Hound cocked his head. “Why Hound Voice? Why Radiowave not Voice?”

“Because you can hear Primus himself. The only other person who can hear him is the Prime.” Pyrite explained. The awe in his voice was clear. There were stories of Primus’ last Voice, but Pyrite—like many other members of the temple—was too young to meet him.

“And Primus is He Below Who Sings?” Hound asked.

“Sings?”

Hound nodded before beginning to hum. Despite Hound’s clear inexperience it was a beautiful melody. It nearly brought Pyrite to tears. Lodestone had heard that melody once when he was a newspark himself, in his first cycles at Praxus’ main temple. It was the song Primus’ Voice sang, saying that it how he heard Primus. It was upon hearing that song Lodestone decided he wanted to become a Priest. Any doubt that may had lingered around whether or not Hound could truly hear Primus vanished.

He would need to get Hound a singing teacher.

When the beautiful melody finished Hound said, “That song from Him Below.”

“Then you truly can hear Primus. Do not worry, we will teach you everything you need to know for the life ahead of you as Primus’ Voice.” Lodestone said. “Now, come inside. I have people preparing your new room, and you need a proper paintjob.”

Hound looked down at himself with a frown. “What wrong with Hound?”

“We normally wear paint. Mechs only turn gray when they die, and we need you looking your station. It wouldn’t do having Primus’ Voice walking around in sub-par paint. It would make people think we don’t have the resources to take care of our newsparks—as if we would ever be so derelict in our duties. But it’s better to never make them think about it in the first place, and that means you are wearing the best paint job possible.”

“So Lodestone and Pyrite are also gray?” Hound asked.

“Everyone is gray under their paint, but no one goes out looking like that.”

“Head Priest Lodestone, I’ll leave Hound in your care. I must return to the other newsparks.” Pyrite said.

Lodestone inclined his head to Pyrite. “Of course, I would not keep you from your other duties. Thank you for making sure Hound made his way here.”

Pyrite shot Lodestone a grin. “It was only what my duty required.”

“Pyrite leaving now?” Hound whined.

“Of course. My job is to take care of the newsparks. Head Priest Lodestone will take great care of you, and I must return to the others now.”

Hound pouted. “Will Hound see Pyrite again?”

“Of course, we are part of the same temple. I’ll visit in an astro-cycle when the current batch of newsparks are taken care of.”

“Okay. Hound will see Pyrite soon.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Take care of yourself.”

Hound nodded. “Hound will.”

With that Pyrite left and Hound entered the temple, following Lodestone. Hound looked around, staring at everything in wonder as they walked to Lightblade’s painting room. The joy of a newspark was a wonderful thing. The worst part of becoming the temple’s Head Priest was that he was often to busy to help the newsparks. He contented himself with short visits to the newsparks. To see their wonder at the smallest of things was a balm on his spark.

Lightblade was waiting for them outside of the painting room. She was one of the most unique members of their temple. A seeker of Vos who sought to become a priest soon after reaching maturity. Vos was an odd city due to it’s nature as a flying city. Hotspots were only found in the ground, so Vos had no hotspots to tend to and thus, never developed a proper temple. Because they lacked a hotspot most seekers didn’t emerge from a hotspot like normal mechs. Instead, seekers would get sparked up and have sparklings, but as seekers often had an instinctual need to wander and sparklings couldn’t follow their creators on these journeys the sparklings were raised communally. They were the only city that preferred to reproduce this way as they had no easy access to a hotspot—although any seekers that emerged in other hotspots were often sent to Vos as others of their frame type could better teach them about themselves.

Lightblade was also their best painter and loved doing mech’s paint jobs. She was one of four mechs that did the paint of everyone in the temple, and as the best she often did the most intricate paint jobs in the temple. Lodestone often saw her to touch up the golden lettering of the scripts of Primus he had written on his frame.

“So, is this my newest canvas?” Lightblade asked looking at Hound. “He looks a little. . . bland.”

“He’s a newspark who hasn’t had his first paintjob yet.” Lodestone flatly said.

“No, I mean he’s a little blocky. Just look at that helm and chest.”

Lodestone resisted the urge to roll his optics. Seekers and their preference for dramatic angles. It was probably from the wings. “Hound is perfectly good looking by grounder standards which, as a ground frame himself, is what he’s going to be judged by. We’re not here for you to judge his frame anyways. Hound needs a new paintjob.”

“Sure, but why do you need me giving a newspark a paintjob. You have the others doing that, I prefer the fancier stuff.”

“Because as Primus’ Voice our newest member is going to need a very fancy paintjob.” Lodestone flatly said.

Lightblade paused. “He can hear Primus?”

Lodestone nodded. “You can see why I wanted you in particular.

“Why didn’t you just say that to begin with.” Lightblade snorted.

“I thought Flashstep would have told you with how eager he was to practically shout it in the halls when telling me.”

“Nah, that brat just said you needed me before running off.” Lightblade fondly said before turning to Hound. “So, what’s you’re name?”

“I’m Hound.” Hound said a lot quicker then when Lodestone asked earlier. His language packet must be closer to fully integrating. Good.

“So, Hound, I’m sure you’ve noticed on the way here that most mechs around here prefer white and gold paint, even when they have another color. It’s kind of a uniform to show that we’re priests because only the Prime and priests can wear white and gold together like this. But before I get started, I want to know if you do want a third color or go all white and gold like Lodestone over there.” Lightblade asked. Lightblade herself had a mainly white and gold paintjob with light pink accents—mainly on the wings. She mentioned that the wings were the most important part of any paintjob, and that it was a shame that most grounders lacked even an acceptable substitute.

“Green. I want green.” Hound instantly said.

Lightblade nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. We have some pretty emeralds in storage I can use in the paint. It’ll be darker than we normally go, but it’ll look really pretty and expensive.”

“Use our pearls in his white as well.” Lodestone added. They were normally reserved for his paint as the Head Priest, but they needed Hound to look his position. As Primus’ Voice, Hound’s authority would only be below that of the Prime himself.

“You sure?” Lightblade asked.

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t. Use them, unless you have something better in mind. I’ll admit, I’m not an artist.”

“No, the pearl will pair well with the emerald. I’m thinking his frame is well suited for solid colors instead of intricate designs, though he could pull them off if he wanted. I’m thinking I’ll do his helm, chest, hips, lower arms, lower legs, and pedes in emerald, and do his face plate and other parts in pearl with gold as an accent. It’s a bit more colorful than our usual style, but we do want Hound to stand out.” Lightblade said.

Lodestone nodded. “It sounds good to me, what do you think Hound?”

Hound’s face scrunched up. “I don’t know paint. You think it will look good?”

“Of course. I’m a professional.” Lightblade said.

“Then I’ll try it.”

“Good, come on in and sit down. I’ll prepare the paint. You’re going to look so pretty after this.” Lightblade said leading Hound into the painting room.

Chapter Text

Lodestone waited at the entryway of the Temple, enjoying the morning sun as he waited for Nova Prime to arrive for his regular visit to their temple. Normally Lodestone left attending the Prime to the other priests as he was too busy with his regular duties to meet his friend. But this was important, and he knew Nova Prime would want to hear about Hound from him. He would have sent Nova Prime a message about Primus new Voice being found, except they found Hound yesterday and he knew Nova Prime was coming is morning.

Entering the temple Nova Prime looked at Lodestone and raised his brow. "My friend, as good as it is to see you, why are you greeting me?"

"I have good news I thought you'd want to hear my Prime. In our newest batch of newsparks we were gifted one who can hear Primus." Lodestone said.

Nova Prime's optics widened, and Lodestone was sure his face would be slack with shock if it wasn't covered by his face mask. "Truly?" He asked, barely louder than a vent.

"Truly. Do you wish to meet him? I must warn you he is only a cycle old now." Lodestone said.

"Yes." Nova Prime said.

Inclining his head down the hall Lodestone said, "Follow me."

It was a long walk as Hound's room was in the deepest parts the temple. When they reached Hound's room Lodestone went to knock, but the door opened before his servo could so much as touch the door.

"Lodestone, you're back! And who's with you?" Hound said, guilelessly staring at Lodestone with a big smile. Hound's new paintjob suited him well, although Lodestone had to stop him from picking at it several times because it "felt weird." Already he could see spots where Hound rubbed at the paint. He was going to have to learn not to destroy his paint and ruin all of Lightblade's hard work.

Despite that Lodestone couldn't help but smile at Hound's cheerful greeting. Newsparks truly were a  balm on the spark. "This is our Prime, Nova Prime. Can we come in?"

"Of course!" Hound cheerfully said leading them into his room's seating area. "Sit down, the couches are really nice."

Once they were all seated Hound said, "So you're the Prime? You can hear Primus too?"

"I can, though I hear Primus in a different way than you can." Nova Prime said.

"Why are we different?" Hound asked.

"I am the Prime because I bear the Matrix. Among other things it allows me to understand Primus, but as his Voice Primus created you to understand him.'" Nova Prime patiently explained.

"Is the Matrix what's singing in your chest? It sounds so pretty" Hound asked startling Lodestone. He always knew that the Matrix held a significant portion of Primus power, acting as an extension of his will, but he didn't realize that meant Primus' Voice could hear it as well.

Nova Prime was unfazed by by Hound's question, instead looking like he expected it. Knowledge passed onto him by previous Primes perhaps.

"The Matrix is an extension of Primus will. Of course you would hear it."

Hound shifted in his seat, nervously looking down. "Everyone is talking about how I can hear Primus and am his voice, but from what everyone is saying I'm supposed to get hear messages from Primus but I'm not."

"Who told you that?" Lodestone demanded. "If other Priests were pressuring Hound for messages from Primus he needed to put a stop to it right now. Hound was Primus' Voice, not a fortune teller his people can harass.

"No one?" Hound said looking at Lodestone in confusion.

"They've been saying it close enough to you so you can hear it." Nova Prime pointed out. His voice full of barely contained rage.

Hound shrunk into himself. "But they weren't with me when they said it. M' sorry. I don't know how to not hear them."

He could hear them? But no one mentioned Hound having sensitive audials, did they forget to check? They did, didn't they. They realized that Hound could hear Primus and brought Hound straight to the temple without even finishing checking him over—at least they gave him the language packets, but those are the most obvious issues a newspark can have.

"Hound, just how far can you hear?" Lodestone asked.

Hound shrugged. "I don't know. Um, I heard you and Nova Prime greeting each other?"

Horror overtook Lodestone. Hound was basically in the center of the temple, and he could hear them at the edges of it. The temple was massive, and Hound could hear everything in it. "I'll get noise cancellation installed into your room. This is supposed to be a peaceful place for you, you shouldn't have to hear everything going on. And I'll have a talk with the other Priests about what your position entails. For most of them Primus' Voice is just a myth. You will learn to understand Primus in time, but he rarely speaks in words we would understand. He only does that for his most important messages."

"So I'm not in trouble?" Hound asked.

"No. I didn't realize the others didn't finish giving you all the checks we give newsparks, they should have noticed how well you can hear. I'll have someone finish those checks and make sure there isn't anything else we need to know about you." Lodestone reassured Hound. Hound truly was just a newspark, and the way Hound relaxed at his reassurances made it obvious.

"You have time to learn about your job. None of us are expecting you to perfectly understand what you're supposed to do right away. When I became the Prime I needed time to learn about my new. job as well." Nova Prime reassured Hound.

"But, how am I supposed to know what I need to do?" Hound asked.

"I'm sure Lodestone is finding you teachers." Nova Prime said.

Lodestone nodded. "I am. I've been arranging for several people to teach you all you need to know, and I will teach you when I can as well."

"And I'd be happy to see you every time I visit this temple. I come every astro-cycle and would be happy to answer any of your questions, especially about things your regular teachers are unable to understand. Those at the temple are admirable in their service to Primus, but there are parts of him that only his chosen can understand."

"You're not too busy?" Hound asked.

"Of course not. Helping teach you would be my honor." Nova Prime said.

Nova Prime offering to help teach Hound was better than anything Lodestone ever hoped for. Their Prime was a kind man, but he was also very busy with both his duties to Primus and keeping Cybertron running. There were talks about establishing a Senate run by people elected by the different cities to handle the basic running of Cybertron so the Prime could focus more on their duties to Primus. Nova Prime confided in him that he was tempted to implement the senate, but was worried that the mechs elected to the Senate wouldn't listen to Primus' will.

Hound lit up. "Thank you! I'll work really hard my Prime, I promise."

"You don't need to call me by my title. Just call me Nova. I am going to act like a mentor to you after all." Nova Prime said.

Even as one of Nova Prime's closest friends and confidants Lodestone hadn't been given permission to call his Prime so familiarly.

Nodding quickly Hound said, "I can do that Nova."

Nova Prime's optics curved in a smile. "Lodestone, I'm sure you have plenty of duties to attend to. I'd like to get to know my new student, and you don't need to feel obligated to stay with us."

Lodestone frowned. "Are you sure my Prime? I can stay if you want me to."

Nova Prime shook his head. "I know how busy you are my friend. I will be fine on my own."

Well, if Nova Prime was sure. "Then I will leave you two. Feel free to call one of the other Priests if you need anything." Lodestone said as he stood up. "Hound, I will be back later with more information on your upcoming education and people to install sound-proofing to your room."

Chapter Text

"Nova!" Hound shouted, running up to him to give him a hug. Nova Prime easily caught Hound, pulling him into a hug. Hound looked up at him with a bright smile. "You're back! How have you been? Can you tell me about the other temples?"

Hound's enthusiasm was a balm to Nova Prime's spark. Lodestone had told him about Hound's lessons beginning. and he was glad to see that they hadn't dulled Hound's enthusiasm. If anything, Hound was happier than the last time he visited. Good, his lessons must have reassured some of Hound's worries about not being able to fulfill his purpose as Primus' Voice.

"Calm down Hound. My visits to the other temples went well. Lodestone?"

"Yes, my Prime?" Lodestone asked, snapping out of his shock from watching how Hound greeted him.

"I know you are a busy mech. You can leave me and Hound alone and return to your duties." Nova Prime said. As the temple's head priest he was always busy. It was a rare occasion when the both of them had the time to spend time together as friends. He didn't want to force Lodestone to stay with him while he was already had so many things to do. Besides that, Hound was very affectionate with him. The way he was greeted with a hug proved that. While he would never rebuke Hound for his affections—Hound was a newspark and Nova Prime his mentor after all—it wasn't something he wanted others, even his friends, to witness.

Lodestone's optics reset. "I—of course my Prime. Just remember that you can call us if you need something. We priests are always at your disposal." Lodestone said, bowing before leaving the room. It was a somewhat formal farewell, but Nova Prime didn't take offense. That was just what Lodestone was like. He wouldn't ever dare to casually talk to a Prime, even though they were friends.

Now alone with Hound Nova Prime pulled his battle mask back and smiled at Hound. Hound practically lit up at the action. "Now, Hound, how have you been?"

"Good, good." Hound quickly said.

"Lodestone told me you were starting lessons. Do you want to tell me about them?" Nova Prime asked. Lodestone hadn't had the chance to go into detail about Hound's lessons, and he wanted to know what Hound thought about them. He was the one taking them after all. If there were any problems that Hound didn't feel comfortable bringing to Lodestone, he would take the chance to deal with them before they grew out of hand. Not that he thought Lodestone wouldn't have done his research on Hound's teachers, but he needed to be sure.

Hound muttered something against Nova Prime's chest that he couldn't understand

"Speak up Hound. I couldn't hear what you said."

Hound pulled away from Nova Prime. "Some of the priests are teaching me about Primus and the temples. And Lodestone got Rubato to start teaching me how to sing. He said that once I learn the basics he'll get someone else to teach me more advanced techniques."

Rubato. Nova Prime vaguely remembered her. She was in charge of the chorus. It made sense that the first teachers Lodestone found for Hound were all priests. Lodestone already knew them and didn't need to worry about them kidnapping Hound for their own gain. For one of Hound's first teachers to be a singing instructor also made sense. As the Voice of Primus Hound would have to share what Primus has shared with him, and Hound has admitted that Primus' messages sounded like song to him. Even if he never shared that song with anyone, singing lessons would hopefully help him understand what Primus is trying to share with him.

"Are those all your lessons?" Nova Prime asked. He would have expected Hound to have at least some sort of public speaking teacher. As Primus' voice he would have to address large ccrowds. Perhaps Lodestone was taking his time to vet a better teacher. He would have to ask.

"Lodestone said he's working on finding me more teachers, but I don't know who they are." Hound said.

Good. He would talk to Lodestone about it later. Lodestone was trustworthy, but Hound needed the best teachers they could get him.

Nova Prime was pulled out of his thoughts when Hound began pulling him to the couch. "Sit down and tell me about how your visits to the other temples went." Hound pushed him onto the couch and immediately sat down next to him Looking up at him with wide optics Hound added, "Please?"

Nova Prime chuckled. "You really want to know, huh?"

Hound nodded.

"Okay. But first you have to tell me why you want to know." Nova Prime said.

Hound ducked his head, shyly glancing at Nova Prime. "Pyrite mentioned I'll probably visit the other temples. I want to learn more about them."

Pyrite, who was Pyrite again? It had to be one of the priests. As much as Nova Prime tired to remember the priests he met, there were a lot of them, and there were a lot of them he didn't interact with.

Hound must have noticed his confusion because he clarified, "Pyrite is always helping the newsparks. He helped pull me out of the ground."

Right. All priests had to help with the newsparks when they first join the temple, but only a few of them are permanently dedicated to helping the newsparks. Pyrite must have been one of them because there was no way Lodestone would put a new priest as one of Hound's teachers. It was a good choice, Pyrite would be used to teaching newsparks everything they need to know.

"Pyrite would be right. As Primus' Voice you will be visiting several different temples when you begin doing your job."

"So? What was it like?" Hound asked.

"I only visited Kaon's temple since we last saw each other. They are. . . unique, even when considering how the temples differ from each other."

"Different? How?" Hound asked, eagerly leaning forward. All of his previous bashfulness had vanished and was replaced with eagerness.

"It is said that Kaon was Megatronus Prime's city. He was the strongest of the Primes and was the first to join fight, but only if it was needed. Because of that, members of Kaon's temple try to grow closer to Primus through battle."

"Do priests normally not fight? I saw that some of them have swords."

Nova Prime hummed as he tried to figure out how to explain it. "All priests know how to fight. It is part of their training to become a priest, and they are Cybertron's last line of defense in case of an invasion. In Kaon, however, more emphasis is placed on fighting as it is how they grow closer to Primus. In fact, the city is famous for it as the priests show off their fights in the coliseum. It is one of the biggest sources of entertainment in the city."

"And if they don't want to fight?" Hound asked.

"Then they go to another temple," Hound frowned slightly, so Nova Prime decided to clarify. "Every city has a different religious tradition based off of which of the Thirteen Primes the city originally belonged to. If someone wants to be a priest, but doesn't fit in to their city's temple, they are transfered to a different one that fits them better."

"Oh." Hound said before falling silent. But Nova Prime could see that wasn't all Hound wanted to say with how he nervously shifted around.

"What is it Hound?"

Hound startled at the question. "What's what?"

"Your question. What is it?"

"Can you teach me how to fight?" Hound blurted out before burying his face against Nova Prime's side and muttering out apologies he couldn't fully hear with how Hound's voice was muffled.

"Hey, There's no need to apologize Hound. I wanted to know your question." Nova Prime reassured Hound.

Hound pulled away and looked up at him with wide optics. "You're not mad?" He quietly asked.

"Of course not. Now, why would you even ask me to teach you how to fight?"

"I'm going to be a priest too, right? Not, not a normal priest because I'm Primus' Voice, but I'm still going to be a priest. And priests all learn to fight. So, could you be the one to teach me?"

Teaching someone how to fight was a large time commitment. Nova Prime was already busy enough with his duties. His visits with Hound already cut into his tight schedule, and teaching someone how to fight was an even bigger time commitment. He should say no, but he couldn't bring himself to let down Hound when he was looking up at him so expectantly. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Thank you! Hound threw himself against Nova Prime's side with a hug. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be a good student and won't let you down! I promise!"

"I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. However, I'm a very busy mech, so I can't be around as much as a teacher should be. I'll have to find someone else to teach you when I'm not around, and you need to promise to practice when I tell you to. Okay?"

Hound nodded fervently. "I can do that. I won't let you down!"

Nova Prime pulled Hound into a hug. "I know you won't." And as he said that, Nova Prime knew he was telling the truth.

The Voice of Primus traditionally didn't learn how to fight, but Hound didn't need to know that. He was clearly excited about the thought of learning how to fight like everyone else, and it wasn't like Primus Voice couldn't fight. They just didn't have to fight and never bothered to learn