Ray - Monastery (2)

At the highest point of the vast monastery complex, which looked less like a single sanctuary and more like a small city, there was still space left for future construction. Ray’s thoughts stirred with the glow of the radiant circle. It was as if her mind connected with the place itself. The darkness within her weakened, shrinking back into silence.

The Light is with me, and with this place. This is exactly where I belong, Ray thought, and she couldn’t help but smile.

Suddenly, Eri stopped and raised his hand.

He dismounted slowly and turned.

“This is where we must part ways for now, Olver, Sars, Rad. Only the Lucids are permitted to go farther.” His voice carried a weight of sorrow.

“Yes, we know. We’ll head to Bruus, as we usually do. There are always lodgings for people like us there; we’ve been twice before, with Elga,” Olver reassured him.

Then Demoa gave a startled cry.

“What do you mean by that?” she demanded, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound firm.

The priest looked at her, eyes narrowing.

“Demoa, only the lucid may enter these grounds. It takes peace to find oneself, and no distractions. Only fellow seekers on the path to themselves, or to the truths of the Dream. I thought that was clear. As Dio could not go with us, neither can Rad.”

He turned toward the young man, whose face had gone pale, twisted now in angry frustration.

“You can wait with Olver and Sars in Bruus until Demoa is ready to begin her pilgrimage. The first steps, however, she must take alone.”

“No! I’ve already found myself, when I secured your survival in the Dream!” Demoa snapped, and Ray was startled by the sharpness in her voice.

Eri’s bushy eyebrows trembled, and he rubbed a hand over his bald head. “That may be true, yet I want to be certain. If it is, then you won’t be here long. It would be unusual, likely unheard of, but you’ve shown how deeply connected you already are to your lucidity. Even so, you must give yourself this time. A time to make sure you truly know who you are.”

His reply came softer than Ray had expected.

“He’s right, Demoa,” Rad said, though he looked at the pilgrim with the same displeasure Demoa did.

She swallowed and stared at him in confusion.

“Rad, you can’t leave! I want to be with you!”

“And I want to be with you! Yet I don’t want to stand in your way.”

With that, he turned to leave. Sars and Olver bowed to Ray, Eri, and Demoa.

“We’ll wait for you, Ray! Take the time you need! We’ll tell of Elga’s… deed. And maybe in some neighboring towns as well,” they said cheerfully as they took their leave.

They had already walked a few steps when Demoa began wiping shimmering tears from her eyes. Suddenly, Rad turned back and came toward her again.

“One last hug?” he asked hopefully, holding out his arms.

Demoa gave him a fleeting smile, then rushed forward and threw herself into his embrace. He whispered something to her, and she nodded, hugging him tightly once more.

I wish I could hug Dio right now. So much has happened, and only now have I truly arrived where I’m meant to be. I hope he’s well, Ray thought. Yet she still felt him faintly within her mind, and knew that everything was all right.

At last Demoa let Rad go, reluctant but smiling faintly.

“It’ll be fine,” she said firmly when she rejoined them.

Eri sighed.

“These rules exist for a reason, Demoa. I know it’s hard, but—”

“I said it’ll be fine,” Demoa interrupted, more forcefully this time.

Eri studied her, then started down the slope toward the pool at the valley floor. The way was long, yet Ray felt relief when she saw a narrow road beginning there, making their descent easier. The closer they drew to the water, the stronger Ray’s determination grew. She wanted to begin learning immediately, so she could return to Dio. Then she would bring him here, and together they would explore the world and shape it into something even more beautiful.

Demoa seemed in surprisingly good spirits too, as though a weight had been lifted from her. She was even humming softly, a melody Ray didn’t recognize, though it calmed her. Eri didn’t turn back to them. The only sound from him was the steady tap of his staff striking the ground.

The Sun climbed a little higher as they finally reached the water’s edge. Nearby stood a finely crafted shelter, with brushes and feeding troughs. When Ray glanced at the mirrored surface beside her and saw her reflection, she thought she looked a little different than before. Somehow a bit older, more grown, and—she admitted with a small thrill—even a little prettier.

Soon her gaze was drawn to the creatures skimming over the water’s surface. They were small, elongated insects that shimmered with a bluish sheen. With their thin bodies and six legs, they darted nimbly across the water as if running on solid ground. Their eyes were purple, almost the same shade as Eri’s cloak, and their wings glistened faintly as they fluttered in the morning breeze.

“What adorable little things!” Demoa suddenly cried out, dashing onto the meadow toward the shelter.

Ray followed her with her eyes and spotted, not far off, a small and charming creature with furry hind legs, a white tufted tail, and a long feathered neck ending in a red-combed beak. It hopped merrily toward Demoa and nudged its head against her legs.

“Oh, what a lovely little thing!” Demoa exclaimed, patting the animal happily.

“A plainhopper,” Eri explained curtly. “They live on this meadow and in the neighboring thickets. They’re said to have been here even before the monastery. Loyal creatures. Still, we must move on.”

Demoa had stopped and looked at him.

“That’s…! That’s what Gima once said to me too! Well, not exactly; she called it a ‘chick.’ But I mean, it does look a little like a chicken, doesn’t it?” she asked uncertainly.

“What’s a chicken?” Ray asked, but Demoa only shook her head and hurried to catch up with Eri, who was already striding ahead.

“Do you think I’ll have time to visit these little creatures?” Demoa asked the pilgrim.

“Yes, why not,” he said, tilting his head slightly. “Ah, just as I thought. We’re expected.”

Ray looked ahead and saw someone standing a few hundred paces away, leaning casually against a railing by the river as though waiting. Waiting for them.

It was a very young man, younger in appearance than she was, with short blond hair parted neatly, alert blue eyes, and a strong frame. He gave them a faint smile as they drew closer and waved, his other hand resting in the pocket of his elegant white trousers. A faint white shimmer surrounded him, something Ray only noticed when she looked closer. His pale jacket and shirt, as well as his polished brown leather shoes, were tailored perfectly to his body, though somehow the outfit made him seem out of place.

“Eri, welcome, welcome! Finally, you’re here! I was wondering why you were so slow. Were there any difficulties?”

Then he lost his grin and pushed himself off the railing, his gaze sharpening as he looked at them with greater focus.

“Eri, where is Elga? The arrival was supposed to be in her area, wasn’t it?”

The young man suddenly fixed his piercing eyes on each of them, as if he could look straight through their gaze into their innermost selves. Ray felt strangely defenseless, though she tried not to let it show. Demoa, however, flinched under the scrutiny.

“Unfortunately, Stirleo, Elga burned away when that”—Eri pointed toward the Sun without a flicker of expression—“broke out of her.”

For the briefest instant, Stirleo’s face showed shock, but then it tightened, and he muttered a quiet curse Ray couldn’t understand.

“That’s terrible, Eri. Were you there? How did it happen? She had already finished her Pilgrimage, so how could she break through?” He spoke thoughtfully, his eyes once again sweeping over Ray and Demoa.

“This young woman here,” Eri explained, gesturing to Ray, who shifted restlessly from one foot to the other, “saw within herself a symbol of light during her trial. It influenced everyone, almost the way the Sun and the other heavenly bodies seem to now. I suspect Elga saw more in it than a sign of light and revelation, and something in her resonated so strongly with it that she magnified it, and created that Sun up there.”