“There’s something you might be interested in, if you’ve a mind for it.” Nadette offered abruptly. “If you dare.” Sasaki could recognize what passed for a smirk in the scarred ruin in the paladin’s face.

Sasaki raised her eyebrows interrogatively. “Oh?”

Nadette nodded, and handed Sasaki a folded piece of paper. “Go to the Alstroemeria, to the Lady Cardinal quarters. There will be guards; this will let you pass.”

Sasaki gave her a puzzled look, but took the proffered slip of paper.

“What is it I’m supposed to be looking for?” She asked, and Nadette smiled.

“I’ll tell you what was told to me: ‘A gift from those who come before to those who follow after.’”

The older paladin shrugged. “Maybe it’ll be something you’ll appreciate.”

The apartments she was allowed into held the too-still atmosphere of emptiness and abandonment. Whomever it was that had lived here, they were there no longer.

Immediately upon entering the apartments, she was presented with Anglish House banners. She puzzled over them for a time. So much history could be represented in the conglomeration of images, but she was Yamato; the banners were incomprehensible to her. She made a mental note to correct that. She was supposed to be a Witch Hunter of the Golden Lady, she couldn’t afford to think of herself as apart from Her people.

To the left was the study; a single book rested on the heavy desk. She approached and looked at the cover; the title wasn’t stenciled or carved on the front or the spine. She opened the book to the first page and her eyebrows climbed.

“The gun does not make the Witch Hunter. The sash, the bells, the spurs, the Holy Symbol don’t make the Witch Hunter. What makes the Witch Hunter is pure determination and unwavering faith in the Golden Lady...”

A treatise on the Path of the Witch Hunter, penned by Katarina. Were these then, her quarters? It didn’t make sense. These were apartments for Lady Cardinals, the women who made up the Book of the Golden Lady, the governing body of the Anglish Empire.

She closed the book, but made a mental note to make sure she read it. Katarina had been a Witch Hunter for ten years, longer than most Witch Hunters. Anything she had to say on the subject of being a Witch Hunter would be priceless, beyond value.

She stepped out of the side door to the study and was presented with a full-body portrait of Katarina herself. Stern, regal, noble, in a dress of all things. Sasaki couldn’t help but fight back a grin. She looked so strange in a noblewoman’s dress.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“You don’t look happy about it either.” Sasaki murmured up at the painting. “Frankly speaking, you look pissed off.”

“Just for curiosity’s sake, who was it that gave you permission to be here?” A voice called from behind.

Sasaki whirled, shoulder dropping so that her sword was in easy reach.

The woman who faced her was taller than Sasaki, but shorter than Katarina, with tumbling waves of deep brown, nearly black hair. She wore the deep crimson robes and stole of the Lady Cardinals. Sasaki recognized her anyway from the High Court, but couldn’t put a name to her, since she hadn’t been introduced.

“Nadette.” Sasaki replied simply, daring the woman to challenge her right to be here, even if she wasn’t quite certain why she was here.

“Ah. Makes sense.” The woman replied, approaching calmly. “I’m assuming she gave you a pass?”

Sasaki nodded, and the woman nodded back. “I remember you. You’re the one who petitioned to be Katarina’s apprentice.” She paused in thought. “Sasaki?” She offered. “I’m sorry if I didn’t pronounce it correctly.”

Sasaki nodded. “Good enough.” she agreed.

“Well if you’re here, then Nadette... well, no matter. Seeing is better than explaining.” She gestured at Sasaki, and then moved past the smaller woman. “It’s out on the balcony.”

Confused, Sasaki followed the other woman up the stairs to the second level, through the private garden, and out to the balcony.

At first she couldn’t understand what it was she was looking at. An icicle, perhaps growing up from the ground? But as she got closer, it looked to be something like crystal, or perhaps glass. She forced her eyes away from it and examined the balcony in which it was planted. Words seemed carved, or perhaps etched into the stone around the crystal plinth, which when viewed from a side, seemed impossibly thin.

“I don’t recognize the words.” Sasaki muttered, frustrated.

“I should imagine not. It’s an old tongue. Katarina did always have a flair for the dramatic.” the woman responded immediately. “The translation is, ‘A gift from those who come before-’”

“-to those who follow after.” Sasaki finished.

“Yes, that’s right.” the woman replied. “Though anyone who has tried to touch it has received a frightful shock.”

“A shock?” Sasaki asked, turning to the other woman, who nodded. “‘Like getting hit with a bolt of lightning’, they said.” The woman chuckled dryly. “One neophyte Witch Hunter actually snuck up the side of the Alstroemeria to try for it. Can you imagine? The shock knocked her half-witless. The guards took care of the rest, and if the girl had any wits at all left in her head, they were certainly beaten by Cyrilus.”

“It’s a sword... of glass?” Sasaki observed doubtfully.

“Fulgurite.” The other woman corrected. “Lightning-glass. As strong as steel.”

Sasaki could see the mineral streaks and flecks; gold and red, green and purple, evidence of strange elements in the glass itself.