Delilah Iris Greyson
Her name was engraved into the Key of the World. Delilah stared at it, awestruck, overcome with emotion.
“I’m… the Keybearer?” she asked, her voice smaller than she’d thought it’d be.
“The Key of the World has entrusted itself to you,” Alexander, Bellkeeper of the First Bell Tower, said.
“It… trusts me?”
Alexander knelt, shocking Delilah. Even down on one knee, he was only slightly shorter than her, but the gesture of reverence was unmistakable. He bowed his head, speaking in hushed tones. “The last time the Key was turned, it was used by those who did not have the right, those it did not trust. Since then, it has attempted to protect itself, but even so, its powers can still be misused. For it to entrust itself to you is a great honor.”
“Yeah, but what’s it mean in a practical sense?” Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It means that I and the other two Bellkeepers are at your disposal,” Alexander said, looking up at Delilah. “There are secrets — secrets I have not even told Maribelle, long though our friendship is — that I and my fellow Bellkeepers can readily impart to you. First and foremost being the secrets of the Bells. There are tones that have been forgotten, their secrets carefully hidden, to prevent misuse. But those secrets are now yours, Delilah.”
“So it makes the journey easier,” Alice said with a grin. “Nice. Hey, do you have any pages for the book?”
“Book?” Alexander asked, rising to his feet. Delilah reached into her bag and pulled out the book Revue had found for them: “The Greate Mysterie of the Keey of the Wourlde.” Wooden tablet “pages” bound with leather cord, it was a strange facsimile of a book, but it functioned well enough as such. Delilah held it out to Alexander, who took it and read through it slowly, eyes wide with wonder.
“I have never seen such a work,” Alexander said. “And, it pains me to say, seeing as it’s incomplete, I do not have the missing pages. I’ve never even heard of such. But the other Bellkeepers may know more, or may know some who can help.” As he handed the book back to Delilah, he had a thoughtful look in his eyes. “It seems oddly familiar, though… perhaps… hmm. I’ll think on it. I may know someone who’s less of a ‘maybe’ and more of a ‘definitely’ in terms of being of help to you.”
“It would be nice to get a ‘definitely’ for once,” Alice said.
“Thank you,” Delilah said, putting the book away. “Alexander, considering what’s happening… is it time for us to ring the First Bell? We’ve all read as much as we can, but we’re not sure of exactly how things are supposed to go.”
“What’s happening?” Alexander asked, looking at Maribelle.
“The Endless Night is coming,” Maribelle said softly. “Its spread has already begun, and though Lady Kodoka assembles as many Paladins as she can to fight back, I — and the rest of us — believe that the Key of the World is our only true hope.”
Alexander nodded, his expression grave. “Yes. You are right about that.”
“But if she’s right, then you should tell Mommy,” Isabelle said. “She wouldn’t even let us talk to her about the Key!”
“Ah, that’s… understandable.” Alexander sighed. “Come along. Let me tell you as we climb.” He headed to the stairs, where he unlocked a grated, wrought-iron gate, to allow them to ascend where the public wasn’t normally allowed. Up they climbed, following the Bellkeeper, as he continued speaking. “Lady Kodoka would be opposed to the Key’s usage. She has seen the Key used for evil. Mayhap she’s the only one living who has.”
“We’ve seen the evil the Key can do in the wrong hands, too,” Delilah said, thinking of Solla and Lunos.
“I don’t mean the smaller, unbound Key,” Alexander said. “I mean all three Keys, turned as one in their pedestals. The full might of the Key of the World, something you can scarcely fathom. Like the book says, when that power is called upon by those with selfish, wicked intent… catastrophe follows. Lady Kodoka has seen such horrors, and she sacrificed a great deal — more than you can imagine — to undo the horrors wrought that day. And even then, some of those horrors persist even still, impossible to fully erase. The Key is no trifle, no trinket, no tool. It is a power, the oldest, greatest power, made manifest in the mortal realms. Why it was forged, why it exists in a way that, though with great difficulty, it can be used by mortal hands, I cannot be entirely certain. But… it is true that, if the Endless Night is coming, the Key of the World is our only true hope.”
“How do you know all this, if you weren’t alive when the Key was used for evil?” Alice asked.
“Because my teacher was,” Alexander said. “The previous Bellkeeper of the First Bell Tower, he tried to prevent the Bells from being rung by those untrusted by the Key. He failed. And he too sacrificed a great deal, alongside Lady Kodoka, to undo the horrors wrought by that wicked wish. There were others, too, still alive when I was a boy, who were able to tell tales of what had happened, of what they had endured, of those they had lost to the Key’s power unleashed by wicked hearts. Lady Kodoka may be the only one still alive, but she was not the only one who survived that ordeal.”
Delilah bowed her head as she climbed the steps.
What must she have thought when she heard me mention the Key of the World? After all she did to undo its usage for evil, to hear that name again after so long…
She was furious. I didn’t think of it as anything other than confusing, outrageous anger, but…
Could there have been fear behind her words and actions?
The pleasant breeze swept along the stairs thanks to numerous large, open windows on the ascent, and it carried with it the sweet aromas of the town below. Light shone brightly, and there was the sound of music in the distance, a cheerful tune that people clapped along to.
What horrors were visited on this town back then? And what did it cost to heal this town, to make it such a beautiful, inviting place now?
Maribelle said it exists very out-of-the-way, overlapped by the protective fields of seven different Bastions. It’s well-protected against the Darkness, but when people come here with their own desires, their own wicked wills… what defense is there for that?
There’s such an innocence to this place. And yet it’s so important.
Her hand went to the Key hanging from her neck.
I have to protect this. I have to make sure its powers are used exactly right, for exactly the right purpose.
You’ve trusted me with your power. I have to ensure I’m worthy of that trust, and that I don’t fail you.
She thought she felt something, just a little. A warmth, or a movement, or… she couldn’t be sure. It was subtle, and passed in a moment. But…
I think I understand.
I promise.
“You okay over here?” Alice asked softly, nudging Delilah.
“Yeah,” Delilah said. She was smiling. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“There are numerous patterns and tones for the Bells,” Alexander said. They were about halfway up the tower now. “Many are known, and all have different functions. There are peals of warning, peals of celebration, peals of announcement, for many different occasions and purposes. But there is one peal, one for all three Bells, that is secret, sacred. It is both warning and annunciation: ‘The Endless Night is coming. Darkness is at the height of its power, and growing still. Yet Light arises to meet it, and hope comes riding on the dawn.’” He smiled. “This is a momentous occasion. Though you’ve already been through much, I’m sure, this is where your journey to turn the Key of the World and prevent the Endless Night, roll back the curtain of Darkness, properly begins.”
“What happens after you ring the Bell?” Alice asked.
“Then I have a few things to give you, and you begin your journey to the Second Bell Tower,” Alexander said. “Once all three Bells have been rung, a resonance will begin spreading throughout the universe. Calling out to the Key — and calling out to all people. That resonance is the key — pardon the unintentional pun — to locating and turning the Key of the World. You will need more than that, but without all three Bells rung true, there will be no door for you to the Key.”
“Yet the journey overall is still quite complicated, yes?” Marcus asked. “That is what everything has told us so far.”
“It can’t just be ‘ring the Bells and all is well,’ or whatever,” Alice said. “Because nothing’s ever easy.”
“It can’t be easy when you’re dealing with this kind of power,” Alexander said. “Even locating the three pedestals — two of which still hold the Key — is a challenge, but locating them isn’t enough. Knowing is half the battle, as they say, and knowing where something is does not mean you can easily know how to get there.”
“And we’ll need to turn all three in time with each other,” Maribelle said. “It is likely we’ll need more than just us.”
“You’ll need those you trust completely, beyond compare,” Alexander said.
“We have them,” Delilah said.
My sisters.
Delilah felt a pang of longing, then, and regret. Remembering standing before Fae’s door, unable to make herself go in, to apologize properly. In the end, she’d only spoken to Madeline about the Key.
Even so…
I do trust her. I haven’t talked to her at all, not since before I started on this journey, but even so…
I’ve changed. So has she.
And when I finally get the chance… I’ll tell you, Fae. Everything I need to say. I won’t hesitate next time.
As for Shana, Shias, and their friends, that was an easy choice for Delilah.
None of my siblings comes alone, either. There’s so many of us, and when the time comes…
We’ll be enough. More than enough.
“Here we are,” Alexander said, stepping aside to let the others walk past him. The stairs ended at a large, open chamber, the same that Delilah and the others had seen from the sky. There was plenty of room to gather around, and the large, open windows let in lots of light and air. In the center was a huge bell, perfectly-shaped, pearly-white, with faint silver engravings of crescent moons and X-shaped stars.
“I’ve wondered for a while,” Delilah said, gazing in awe at the First Bell, “but… the power of the Bastions, of the Key, is Light, isn’t it? If so, why is the crescent moon such a prominent symbol?”
“What is the moon?” Alexander asked with a chuckle. “It is the sun’s mirror. Stars shine the light into the darkness. And the moon reflects that light further.”
That description made something soften in Delilah’s heart. With all that she’d learned about the Lunar Architects, about all they’d hidden about the city, all they’d done to Solla and Lunos, her fond memories of yearly Lunar Festivals had been tainted. But now…
The moon is a wonderful symbol. And it shines so brightly over Grimoire, and it’s the Bastion that protects our world.
I think we should let go of our reverence for the Lunar Architects. But that doesn’t mean the Lunar Festival has to end. It just gains newer, more poignant, meaning.
“What happened here?” Isabelle asked. The others went around to the other side of the bell where she was, to look. The little girl pointed at a long, thin crack running from the bell’s base up almost halfway to the top, nearly seven feet.
“From the abuse of the Key so long ago,” Alexander said sadly. “The First Bell will still ring true. But it bears the scars of that fateful day.”
“What’s the proper ringing pattern and tone for our purpose?” Delilah asked.
“Those are hidden in a simple rhyme,” Alexander said, smiling. “ ‘When Darkness comes beyond compare, ring twice to announce for all to beware.’”
“That’s… not exactly hidden, you know,” Alice said, raising an eyebrow.
“But it is the tone that is lost within that,” Alexander said. “The tone and rhythm both — the space of time between the two rings, the length of each ring, and the way it must be rung — those are hidden in that same rhyme. It’s a code, a code known only to Bellkeepers. I could explain, but that would be a long, complicated explanation. It’s easier to simply say — ringing twice is not enough. The space between those rings, and how each ring is rung, is the key. And now, if all are ready, I shall begin.”
Nods went around, and Delilah watched closely, excitedly, as Alexander walked over to a long, thick, corded rope. He had big hands, but he couldn’t fit one all the way around the rope’s width, so he gripped it tightly with both hands, bracing against one of the braided knots. Alexander had a very soft, round appearance, but that belied a great deal of strength, and the control to make the most of it. He seemed to pull the rope almost effortlessly, to a very specific length, which tilted the bell only slightly one way, before he, still holding the rope, let it fall, and the bell struck against the internal hammer awaiting its fall.
The peal that rang out wasn’t loud, but it had a resonance that went beyond volume, stretching out far beyond Delilah and the others who stood right next to it. It had a deep, sonorous quality, a melancholy air with scattered sparks of fear and warning.
Still in careful, perfect control, Alexander lifted the bell again, slightly higher than the first time, and let it fall, but slower than the last time. When it struck, the second peal sent a thrill through Delilah’s heart.
Hope. Joy. Light. These things and more, such warm, encouraging energy, filled the air. It was a marvelous contrast to the first peal, following a warning with encouragement, with hope, with the first cry of the dawn that would bring victory by day’s full breaking.
And those were the only two strikes of the bell. Alexander brought the First Bell to an easy, gentle stop, even as the two peals continued to echo all across the town. Delilah stepped to one of the large windows, looking out and down at the town.
People were coming out of their homes, out of shops, out of restaurants, gazing up at the First Bell Tower. Delilah couldn’t see most of their faces in detail from this height, but she could tell the emotions by their movements, their stature, the way they interacted with each other.
Awe. Excitement. Hope.
“They know,” Delilah said, gazing at them.
“Everyone knows,” Alexander said. “Though those two strokes are a secret, once the peals ring out, it awakens something in everyone’s heart. A truth, known, yet hidden. Unconscious, sleeping, until the right catalyst brings it to awakening. Be sure, everyone there knows exactly what this means.”
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