Chapter 100: To Seek the Exceptional
He was staring at her, so Nara felt like she had to do something to break the uncomfortable atmosphere. She offered her hand.
“Nara Edea,” she replied, and he shook her hand.
While she was getting creeper vibes from Ceram, he hadn’t done anything yet. Even if he wasn’t a creep, she wasn’t going to antagonize him. She wasn’t going to antagonize any of the Adventists, and hopefully shake off her unwanted position as Time’s Person of the Year.
“You’re not another watcher like Lina, right?” Nara said, probing him with an easy question.
“No, I’m not like her.” His tone indicated that Lina’s distaste with him was mutual.
“So, what are you here for?”
He leaned forward, intruding forward into Nara’s personal space that she subconsciously leaned back.
“I was interested in you, so I came to take a look.”
“Interested?” She wanted to cringe. He had that ‘attempted sauve’ look again—eyes narrowed, mouth curled in a Tumblr sexy-man smirk, body leaned forward—and it looked more like a ‘milady’ phase of a highschooler than anything remotely attractive. All he needed was a black fedora.
“Sister Lina’s just the symptom, the ardent follower,” Ceram said. “The one with the interest in you is Elder Sister Raina Bow.”
“The gold ranker?”
“I’ve been on a few missions like this.” He said, like it was something to brag about, watching over a bunch of suppressed and imprisoned essence users. “I haven’t seen the Elder interested in someone as much as she is in you before. Special attention from her favorite silver and bronze rankers. So, has she made any progress with you?”
“Brother Ceram,” Lina said sharply, cutting in, “You cannot expect us to develop a trusting relationship in just a day. In time, we will reach a mutual understanding.”
“Well,” he said, waving his hand dismissively, “I find her method boring. How about we do something a little more fun?”
“What?” Nara said, keeping her responses curt.
“How about a little spar?”
“Brother Ceram, your bronze rank,” Lina said, throwing a hint to Nara, which Nara did appreciate. “That’s hardly appropriate.”
“You’re right,” Ceram said, “I am above her. What a shame…” he sat in his seat, the unease growing on everyone present as they waited for his next words. “I’ve thought of a new, better idea. How about we take a swim in the lake? You and me, enjoying the water. It’s impeccably maintained. We can even provide such luxuries in a prison.”
Ceram was the type to rudely state the unsaid. Lina and the rest had avoided saying prison even though that is what it was.
“I’ll pass. I’m not really in the mood,” Nara said, “Being abducted and all is an energy killer.”
He stood up, then with a flash of speed, pressed his foot on top of Aliyah’s, catching her foot so she couldn’t pull it back.
“Still not in the mood?” He sneered.
He pressed forward. Aliyah turned her expression so Nara couldn’t see her expression of pain as her hands balled and she wrestled her face into an impassive icy mien. She could feel the arch of her foot cracking and straining under Ceram’s bronze rank strength and weight.
“Ceram! Stop this right now! This is highly inappropriate conduct!” Lina snapped at him, standing sharply from her chair to front up to his face, a move that was surprisingly imposing for the demure celestine.
“Relax, Sister Lina. Don’t forget your decorum. I just want a swim, I promise,” he said, lifting his foot from Aliyah’s and stepping backwards with false concession, his smile the same crescent of sneering arrogance.
“Alright,” Nara said tersely. “I’ll swim.”
*****
Nara didn’t want to swim, but she also didn’t want Aliyah to walk around with a broken foot. If they had any chance of escape, she needed a fully functioning body. More importantly, she didn’t know if the Adventists would heal it for her and didn’t want to put their kindness to the test. Walking around with a broken foot wouldn’t kill an iron ranker, but it would be incredibly painful until it naturally healed. Aliyah didn’t have any natural regenerative boosters that work even with suppression (Neither did Nara, but that wasn’t the point.)
She returned to her room, Ceram and Lina following at a distance. She hoped that the Adventists couldn’t come inside, but she now questioned whether she had any true privacy or security. She most definitely did not. Would they prevent Ceram from entering her room? She closed her eyes and took a centering breath to suppress her shaking and rising terror. She was holding it together so far, but captivity wore on her mind. It wore on everyone’s mind. As the days passed, it’d only grow worse and worse.
The closet in her room had a few swimming suit options. She could use some of the normal clothing provided, but she had a feeling that’d set Ceram off. She could guess what a man like him wanted. She didn’t want to give him the pleasure of seeing her capitulate, but she didn’t have much of an option. She straddled the line, choosing as revealing a piece as her own sensibilities and pride would allow, which wasn’t much to begin with; She ended up choosing a two piece set that resembled swim shorts and a racerback bikini top. The racerback top covered her scar at her chest, but not the entirety of her soul crest. The material did not feel like polyester, but a material between cotton and leather enchanted with a water repellant effect.
She stepped outside. Aliyah had, in that time, gathered a few other swimmers to diffuse the situation. Jiro, Yulia, and the third and final bronze ranker of the 26 abductees as well as the only other duo member of the Adventure and Magic Society, Amas Hawthorne. A few iron and normal rankers participated. It seemed Aliyah only told the bronze rakers what was going on, because the atmosphere was less tense than what Nara expected.
Ceram was leaning on the wall outside her door, surprising her with his proximity.
“I was hoping to get a glimpse of that soul crest of yours.” He ran his hand against her lower back, “You’ve covered it up. Are you embarrassed?” he said with a saccharine sneer.
She flinched, stepping away quickly reflexively.
“I never liked showing much skin,” she said, “Soul crest or not.”
“Why even get it then, if you’re not going to show it off?”
“If you know about soul crests, does that mean The Advent has them?” She said, changing the topic. She got her soul crest for a variety of reasons, but she didn’t want to discuss any of them with Ceram.
“Oh, we do,” he said, gently pushing Nara with his hand still on her lower back toward the lake. He seemed amused rather than upset that Aliyah had turned it into a lake party (although it was a generous application of ‘party’), “They’re given to the ‘special’ iron rankers The Advent has high hopes for.” He practically spat the word ‘special’—undeniably, soul crests were a sore topic for him. She filed that away for later—that’s what Sen would do.
“You can’t make them so everyone can get them?” She shifted the topic slightly, probing around the edges of this sore spot.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“We haven’t quite unraveled the magic recipe for that one yet—ridiculous, it’s not like they matter. They are only looted, with ritual or ability. We will, in time, solve the magic that manifests them. The Advent always does.” He flashed her a grin, “It doesn’t matter that I don’t have one. The Advent isn’t always right with who they place their early hopes on. All those overachievers back at iron rank aren’t part of an important mission on another world like I am. They’re doing something inconsequential. Something easy. It’s their mark of shame now, their crest of failure.”
Ceram had an inferiority complex towards the overachievers in The Advent, Nara expanded in her internal notes. They likely had academies to train and raise essence users. Nara suspected it was closer to what Earth offered—more structured and divided by age. Nara hoped that didn’t mean they were good at fighting. If he had no crest, then it was Ceram wasn’t top of his class, and his ability to fight was equally average. Not that it would do her much good—without her essence abilities, Nara couldn’t beat a bronze ranker. Without Infinity Domain, her fighting was average too. She had trained with some of the best fighters of her rank—she shouldn’t discount herself entirely. She needed to consider what were her actual advantages carefully.
“And…” Ceram saying looking towards her back although even as it faced away from him, “None look as beautiful as yours. From the little bit you’re showing me. No need to be so coy.”
“They all look the same?” Nara asked, ignoring his unpalatable compliments.
“No. It’s more like they were all drawn by the same artist. So incredibly mundane.”
That made sense. There ought to be similarities between people with similar upbringings and experiences. If they live sheltered lives with manufactured challenge, even it if is tailored to them personally to push them, similarities may manifest.
…Or Ceram was an asshole and wanted to put down his classmates in any way possible. Just from the variety she saw within her own team’s tattoos, it was likely the latter. This narcissist couldn’t say a single nice thing about other people if his life depended on it.
Nara swam away from Ceram, and he didn’t follow. She floated near Aliyah and Lina, her weariness evident.
“You’re not very good at dealing with these sorts of people,” Aliyah remarked.
“No, I’m not. Is anyone really?”
“You shouldn’t have to be.”
Lina was part of the enemy, but at least she wasn’t hitting on her. She made her intentions clear from the start, and otherwise respected Nara’s requests and space.
“My world did a study that concluded that most people could tell with the first meeting whether they’ll get along with somebody or not, and that first impression is 90% accurate,” she told Aliyah, “I’ve never really flirted with anybody and nobody usually flirts with me.”
“I wouldn’t fall that flirting,” Aliyah softly said. “It’s harassment.”
“Either way, I don’t really experience this sort of thing. There’s a lot of beautiful people in the team, and I’m the bottom of an admittedly tall barrel. Sen and Encio are gorgeous. Encio particularly, in a way that both combines the best parts of masculinity and femininity. You and Eufemia too. And John, clearly has more draws than just his personality. That man has fucked. Quite literally.” Although John’s personality was perfectly pleasant, over six feet of middle-aged moderately handsome amounted to more than just bonus points.
“I never quite know when to expect your crude humor,” Aliyah said with a chuckle.
“It’s sort of a thing we say in my world. Speaking of, does The Advent do psychological studies?”
“Psychological studies are important in determining policies and practices. It provides evidence and discerns causes, whether cultural or inherent, about our behavior. We think psychology is an integral part of well-being.”
“That’s nice. Our psychologists and sociologists release papers that get ignored by policy makers.” Nara said cheerfully.
“What is wrong with your world?”
“A lot of people think they know better than the experts, or money gets in the way of sense. Or both.”
Nara glanced at Ceram, who was watching her from a distance.
“What’s with him? Harassment is okay with The Advent? This isn’t a good look for you guys.”
“It is not okay,” Lina said firmly. She was offended by his actions and the allowance of his existence.
“It’s not okay with your own people. But I’m not your own people.”
Lina’s nod was small and reluctant.
“I’ll have a discussion with sister Hellis Fallen,” she said.
“I appreciate it.”
She expected nothing.
*****
Hellis Fallen was observing operations from her office. The aura lock communicated Lina was on the other side of the door, requesting entry. Hellis opened the door for her.
“Older Sister Hellis,” Lina said. “Harmony to you.”
“Harmony to you, Sister Lina.”
She stood from her desk, transitioning their conversation to the seats around the low coffee table.
“Older Sister Hellis, I know you are not unaware of Brother Ceram’s conduct. I know that it is not my place to question…” She hedged politely.
“No Sister Lina, you are mistaken. We all should value the wisdom of others, no matter their position or rank. That is the makings of a leader.”
“Yes, sister. Thank you for your guidance.”
A screen flickered on the left wall. It was a recording of the incident at the library and the incident at the lake, side by side.
“I know, sister Lina, you have long been displeased with Brother Ceram’s conduct towards our harmonants.”
“Yes.”
“Brother Ceram genuinely seeks the success of harmony, in his own way. While you believe that trust and companionship is the path to harmonization, his mind works differently. He believes that hierarchy and status are important in order. Order is important to the harmony, Sister Lina, his way is not ineffective, nor is it wrong. We embrace our differences.”
Lina bit her lip, her expression tight and controlled, hiding the majority of her displeasure.
“I will give Ceram a warning, however. Miss Edea is still adapting to her current circumstances, and Ceram’s forward methods may be counterproductive.”
“I think so too, sister. Thank you, sister, for your consideration.”
“Of course, Sister Lina.”
Lina departed from the office with a small but appreciative bow.
A figure appeared behind her, her hands comfortingly on Hellis’ shoulders.
“Elder Sister Raina,” Hellis greeted, happy with her mentor’s presence.
“Sister Hellis, what do you think?”
“Ceram has always been an outlier in the harmony,” Raina said, dropping a bit of her decorum towards Ceram: he didn’t deserve her respect. “Problematic, but a song needs more than one note. He’s never been this…aggressive before.”
“It’s a confluence of factors for the young man.”
“Please instruct me, sister.”
His profile flashed across the screen. “He feels his mediocrity, subconsciously, and he fights to prove otherwise, turning to external means of validation and status symbols.” Raina gazed at the wall screen, reading his data that she was clearly familiar with, “He had never excelled in anything among his peers in education and training. Now, he gains a sense of superiority and accomplishment in his participation in this mission. The missions have been successful, and this cavalier younger brother of ours now feels he deserves…a prize. Not just any prize, but a special prize that we have demonstrated our own vested interest.”
“Outworlders are usually handled by the elders on our home world.”
“Indeed. They provide important clues to other realities that may be incorporated into our great song and are meticulously handled. For low rankers and those with low positions, they have only heard of these cosmic wayfarers, never seeing for themselves. I’d say we have inadvertently created a bit of a mystique for them. They are great names in our society—an honor Nara would have, if she’d allow herself the adoration we would give to her.”
“She’ll understand our good intentions for her later, sister.”
Ceram had heard about outworlders, but they were always a myth to him. When he saw Nara, it was like a modern man unexpectedly seeing a unicorn for the first time. He couldn’t quite believe that they were real or existed at all.
“And moreover, while she isn’t an exceptional beauty, nor is she unattractive. Those adventurers rarely are. They are the peak of physical fitness, and have a polished quality, like a beautiful blade. We cannot achieve that with our methods, except for those singular ones we guide. Ceram was not chosen for that program.”
“He doesn’t know about it,” Hellis said. “Most do not.”
“Not everyone can be exceptional,” Raina said squeezing Hellis’ shoulders reassuring, the meaning of that action obvious: Not like you are. “Nor do we want only the exceptional. The ordinary have their place, just as important as the exceptional, but not everyone understands this necessity as you and I do.”
“Every note has a place in the song,” Hellis said, echoing her sentiment.
“And not every performer can be a soloist,” Raina continued. “Ceram feels this is his chance to grasp the exceptional. To touch its hem and feel its texture upon his skin. He scorns his betters yet cannot help but seek them out.”
“He cannot become it but wants it nonetheless.”
“Younger sister Hellis, what will you decide?” Raina said. Her tone was even and evaluating. Her neutral smile shrouded the calculating wisdom of a superior.
This was a test for her, Hellis noted. A test to see whether she can truly conduct a song. True leadership is only demonstrated when joining many different notes to form a harmony. If she could not handle Ceram, she would not be able to handle further responsibilities. A song of the same note was effective, but not powerful.
Just like Ceram, Hellis sought the exceptional. Unlike Ceram, she was exceptional.
“It is for me to decide?”
“Yes.”
Hellis looked at the screen, the recording playing repeatedly. Not only of Ceram’s actions, but also Lina’s interactions with Nara and her conversations with the other harmonants. She held an innocence within her that was clear. She was uncomfortable with men who saw her in ways beyond a peer. It destabilized her. It created openings that Hellis may later leverage. It may be used to break her. Hellis’ ideal harmony prevented her from utilizing those methods with her own hands, but she could employ Ceram to do it for her. She was aware of the hypocrisy, but that is why the Harmony needed those like Ceram, the uncouth and unblessed.
“I will reprimand Ceram, but only enough to lessen his aggression, not to dissuade him entirely. He is the counter to Lina’s kindness. The more he bothers Nara, the more Lina appears gentle and kind, and that her request towards me was taken seriously. It features our equanimity. If Lina’s method fails… then we utilize Ceram in full.”
Raina smiled but did not express agreement or dissatisfaction with Hellis’ decision. “Remember Hellis, that a conductor may always shift the balance of a song.”