Fae turned in a slow circle, taking in her surroundings. Red stone made up much of the ground, sloping gently towards a pink river that foamed and bubbled as it twisted along its rushing, winding path. The sky above had an orange-pink hue, and that tinted everything differently than Fae was used to. Shrubs with small purple berries popped up here and there, but otherwise the landscape was bare.
Not too far ahead of her, a great, worn and faded statue rose up. Made of a more golden stonework than the stone of the ground, it portrayed a man atop a seat — not elaborate enough to be a throne, and the man’s posture and what could be discerned of his attire also suggested someone far less magnificent than royalty. An arm had once been held up, likely shading his eyes as he gazed at the horizon, but the forearm and hand had broken off, some of their crumbled remains scattered at the base of the seat.
The Watcher of Solace.
Fae could see the colors and shapes and details. She could hear the rushing of the river, and the rustle of shrubs in the breeze.
But…
“It’s so warm,” Jupiter said, pulling off her winter coat and hat. She formed a Conjuring portal and tossed the items into it. “Even the wind is warm.”
“But it’s not unpleasant,” Mercury said with a smile as she, too, discarded her winter clothes into magical space.
“It smells like olives,” Olivia said, sniffing the air. “And honey.”
“It does smell nice, doesn’t it?” Madeline said.
“I like it,” Ciel said, one hand reaching up to hold the sleeve of Madeline’s jacket.
Wind tossed Neptune’s hair, and she reached up to hold her hat in place for a moment before pulling it off and sending it into magical space. Apparently it was too warm for such attire.
Apparently.
I can’t feel the wind. Or any temperature, at all. I don’t smell olives, or honey, or… anything.
I want to feel these things. I want to smell what this place smells like.
I want…
She looked down at her body, piloted by the sojourner. The wind tossed her hair, as well, and it billowed in the breeze. Black as raven feathers, straight and fine, just like her mother’s hair.
But Fae couldn’t feel it. When she reached up to run her hands through her hair as a soul, she didn’t feel any of it.
It’s… my body. But I can’t sense what it senses.
“Now, then,” Toryu said, puffing at his pipe. “Let’s see about finding this Echo of Truth, shall we?” He looked at Fae, and the rest of the group followed suit.
Oh. Right. The…
Fae’s body pulled out the amulet which hung from her neck. It pulsed gently, with a small line of light extending from its surface, pointing towards the Watcher.
I can’t even do that much. She has to do it for me.
“I don’t see anything,” Mercury said, examining the stone around the base of the Watcher statue.
“It responds to those it’s meant for,” Toryu said. “Otherwise anyone could enter the Echo, and that would be a grievous invasion of privacy.”
Yes. Like having someone else’s soul pilot your body.
“Fae?” Sonya asked, looking slightly above Fae’s head, as if trying to see her soul like Madeline had.
“I’m ready,” Fae said, and the sojourner repeated the words for all to hear.
“Good luck, you guys,” Mercury said.
It wasn’t until Fae’s body neared the statue that a door materialized. It only took the lightest touch from Fae, Olivia, and Sonya together for the doors to swing silently inward, revealing a dark room beyond. Olivia and Sonya looked to Fae, just for a moment, and then entered with her.
The red-tinted world outside vanished behind them as they entered the dark room. Light slowly came into being, softly illuminating the room.
It’s just like the one at the Silver Star Sanctuary.
A circular chamber, with flat floor and ceiling. The floor, ceiling, and walls all formed mosaics.
But Fae didn’t get to take that in, as Olivia and Sonya both gasped, staring at her.
“Fae?” Sonya asked, looking all around. “Fae, where’d you go?”
“I’m right… here,” Fae said slowly, confused. But then…
Wait. My feet… I can’t feel them, but they’re on ground level. And I’m the same size as them. It’s like I’m really here! My body… it’s gone. But… they can’t see me. And I still can’t feel. So I…
“I’m here,” Fae said again, and when Olivia and Sonya turned at the sound of her voice, hope blossomed in her heart.
“I can’t see you,” Olivia said.
“But we can hear you,” Sonya said. “So then…” She looked around again. “The sojourner must not be allowed to enter. But that also left your body behind. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Fae said. “I don’t… feel any different. I still sort of feel the connection to my body, but it’s faint.”
“Then we should hurry,” Sonya said. “Being farther from your body might have adverse effects.”
“But you’re really here,” Olivia said, staring straight at Fae, but not seeing her. A small smile played at her lips. “Are you… okay? I mean… with all that’s happening, I can’t imagine. Or…” She looked away. “Perhaps I can. But you aren’t Sealed, like I was.”
“Or Broken like me,” Sonya said softly.
“It’s… fine,” Fae said slowly. “I… I don’t like it. No, I hate it. It feels disgusting, and wrong, and I have this visceral reaction to it every time the sojourner speaks or even moves around, it’s… it…” She placed a hand to her chest, bowing her head. “It hurts.”
“Yeah,” Sonya said.
“Please,” Fae said. “Let’s get to the Orphan of the Dawn as fast as we can. If there’s any hope to be had, I…”
“Yes,” Olivia said. “But know this — if no solution is found at the Orphan of the Dawn, I’ll keep looking. I will never rest until you are safe and in control within your own body.”
“We all will, I’m sure,” Sonya said. She looked back towards the door. “You’ve made an amazing group of friends.”
Fae felt something strange inside her heart.
I…
I have. Haven’t I…?
How did that even happen? When did it happen? And why… all of you are so determined and resolved… for my sake? For me?
As she bowed her head, her eyes drifted all along the mosaic on the floor. Tiny colored stones fit together so perfectly, forming an image of Grimoire. Fae recognized the scene — the beach along Grimson Bay. And walking along it, a silhouette that she would recognize anywhere.
It was her.
Walking to my favorite spot.
As she stared, details stuck out to her, and questions filled her mind.
Did I… always walk with my head bowed like that? Did I really stare at the ground so much?
Do my shoulders always look so tense?
I look… not scared, but… closed.
…Oh.
Of course. That’s… me. Closed off. Alone.
But I like being alone.
So then why do I look so…
She looked up. On the ceiling was a snowy city, one with tall, alabaster architecture. The scene was a sort of café, with both indoor and outdoor seating. So many people were inside. Even though they were just silhouettes, it was clear they were so happy.
Outside sat only one — a girl, a girl’s silhouette that Fae would recognize anywhere. She sat on a bench, shoulders hunched, head bowed low, writing in a notebook.
She looks closed, too.
Sonya had her eyes fixed on the ceiling. But Olivia was focused on the wall, turning in a slow, steady circle to take it all in. Fae joined her, and realized what the wall’s mosaic was.
It’s the defensive wall around Renault. Every side, looking out at the tundra beyond. And on the wall, Hunters — no, Olivia said they’re called… Guardians? Right.
Fae was astonished at the sight of the monsters that tried to breach those walls. They weren’t Hollows, that was for sure. Any one of those massive beasts — Stalkers, Fae remembered Olivia calling them — could crush a Howler underfoot and never even notice. But there were many Guardians fighting back against them. They all wielded various types of magic, but one unifying element was that every single Guardian wielded some kind of weapon. Swords were prominent, but also axes, bows and arrows, spears, or large, armored gauntlets.
There were so many Guardians fighting together on the wall by the door. But as the mosaic wrapped around, there were less and less Guardians. Until there was just one, so clearly isolated from the rest. She wore a slim-fitting hooded jacket that Fae recognized, with her hood pulled up, and wielded an alabaster scythe. All alone she fought against a pair of Stalkers that easily dwarfed her.
Those are the kinds of things she fought every single day? And…
…she fought them all alone.
But… why?
“I don’t remember any of this,” Olivia said softly. She walked up to the silhouette of her on the wall and placed her hand against it. “I… I know I was a Guardian. I know my powers and skills. I can name every type of Stalker. But I… I don’t remember any of this. Not… not really. I have information. But I don’t have memories. Was I… was I really… so alone…?”
The three girls spent a long time staring at their own murals, and occasionally at each other’s. But after a while, without any words or cues, all three of them turned as one to look at the wall directly across from the room’s entrance.
There, the mural of Renault’s defensive wall vanished, giving way to a splash of bright, golden light. Three silhouettes stumbled towards that light — the farthest ahead was the hooded girl, and then the one with the notebook, and finally, farthest behind them, was Fae’s silhouette.
“All of us…” Sonya said, trailing off as she studied the image. “I don’t understand.”
“I know that I departed Renault before either of you left your homes,” Olivia said. “I was the Sealed Vessel long before you came to the Enchanted Dominion, Sonya.”
“But the golden light isn’t Wasuryu,” Sonya said. “So what’s…”
“Something’s been calling me,” Fae said. “My drawings. Something in the Enchanted Dominion has been calling out to me through them. I thought maybe it was at the Silver Star Sanctuary, but…”
“You think the same thing called us, too?” Sonya asked.
“Look at us,” Fae said. She started to point, but then stopped, remembering they couldn’t see her. “We’re different, all of us. We’re chasing after something, something that we can’t quite grasp, that we don’t understand, but we know we need to chase it. I think… well, that’s how I’ve been, ever since I started seeking answers to my drawings.”
“The light’s calling us,” Olivia said. “But what…” She paused, eyes widening in understanding. “The… Orphan of the Dawn…?”
“The Orphan of the Dawn’s been calling us?” Sonya asked.
Fae had been wondering the same thing. “Three reaching for three…” she said softly, thinking back to the first Echo of Truth. “That same light was there. And we… I think the three that were reaching, the three in the darkness, were the three of us.”
“Then who were the three in the light?” Sonya asked. “They were just children.” She placed a finger to her chin, adopting a thoughtful expression. “Though… the light there was the same as it is here… and these rooms are part of the Orphan of the Dawn, or rather, they’re spawned from the Orphan of the Dawn. It makes sense that the light would be exactly that.”
“There are five more Echoes,” Olivia said. “But aren’t they also supposed to help point us towards the next place?”
“Maybe it’s outside, through the amulet,” Sonya said.
“Maybe,” Fae said, turning towards the door. She hesitated. Back out there… she’d be back to floating above her body. To having her words robotically repeated by someone else. In this room, being able to stand with Olivia and Sonya, to communicate and consider these questions with them directly…
Do I really have to leave again?
“Fae?” Sonya asked. She looked just past her, but so close to where Fae was.
“Let’s go,” Fae said, starting towards the door.
Waiting, regretting… those won’t get me anywhere.
I just…
…have to keep hoping.
She reached for her bag, to feel the comforting metal texture of the candlestick bell.
But she couldn’t. She didn’t have her bag — her body did. She wasn’t in possession of the bell — her body was.
Fae continued towards the exit. In her heart, she held onto the faint echoes of the bell’s beautiful, inspiring peal.