Sera stared blankly around at her surroundings as Administrator Seer opened the large ornate wooden door. Sunlight poured through the windows, filtered through sheer curtains on the polished marble floors. The high ceilings and delicate frescoes spoke of a grandeur that was both imposing and enchanting. She couldn't help but feel a mix of awe and apprehension as she took in the beauty of the space.
Administrator Seer led her into the lounge, which boasted a large hearth and plush seating arranged around it. The furniture was adorned with intricate carvings displaying a level of craftsmanship that she had never seen in her lifetime.
To the left of the lounge was a small, cozy library and to the right was the dining area, a spacious room filled with light from the tall, arched windows. A long table, set with elegant silverware and sparkling goblets, sat at the center.
“This is the common area that you will share during your stay here in Bastion.” The administrator explained. “I am sorry, Lady Sera, if I could have arranged otherwise, I would have, but you and Sir Cabrin will be sharing these accommodations with one other. These quarters are reserved for esteemed guests only, but apparently, such esteem can be bought these days.”
He frowned, mistaking the looks on their faces as disappointment. “I assure you, this is the best the College has to offer. I couldn’t bring myself to place the two of you anywhere else.”
“Oh no, it’s not a problem, Administrator Seer.” Sera replied, shaking her head and managing a weak smile. “It’s just…”
“You mentioned losing someone during your travel here.” Seer said, understanding the sadness on Sera’s face.
Sera nodded. “Just before our arrival, actually. As we passed through the nearby Heavenfall.”
She glanced back at Cabrin. Sera had been slipping in and out of consciousness at the time and hadn’t seen what became of her friend, but he had. Sera felt a pang of guilt, knowing that behind his hollow gaze, he must have been seeing Akane’s last moments replaying in his mind.
“I am sorry, Lady Sera. I did not realize how recent your loss was.” The administrator bowed his head before continuing. “I do hope that these accommodations may help to lighten your weary souls. Now, if you would follow me, I will show you to where you will sleep.”
Sera nodded as she and Cabrin followed wordlessly to the rear of the lounge where two pairs of adjacent doorways sat at long lengths from each other along a long spacious hallway. Sera hesitated at the entrance to the bedchamber as the old man opened the door, leading her inside. Her gaze lingered on the plush, inviting bed draped in silk linens as she followed. She couldn't help but compare it to the simple thin mattress she had used throughout her life back home. The room was decorated in a manner similar to the lounge they had been led through, but with a smaller, more intimate design.
Sheer curtains hung over a set of double doors, drifting over the room as a calm, summer breeze blew through the open doorway. Beyond that sat a serene courtyard, leafy vines crawled up the walls around it. At its center was a private outdoor bath beneath an intricately carved pavilion, offering a tranquil space for reflection and relaxation. The sound of trickling water from a nearby fountain seemed to wash away some of the tension she had been carrying.
Sera rested against the doorway, feeling suddenly weary from all that had brought her there. Looking across at the small bath made her suddenly aware of her own dirtiness. Her clothes had been torn and stained with blood, her hair was a tangled mess, and she could just barely detect the odor of her sweat as the calm breeze drifted to a stillness. She longed for the clear waters of that marble basin, but closed her eyes, shutting in tears as she realized that she would be bathing alone.
“And for you, Sir Cabrin, your quarters are here.” Administrator Seer’s voice drew her from her thoughts as he led them to the door across the hall where a space identical to hers lay beyond. “Now, if everything is to your satisfaction, I must depart to go and call for a convening of the council.”
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“The council?” Sera asked.
“Oh yes.” Administrator replied. “The council is composed of the governing body of Bastion as well as higher ranking members of the College; individuals such as myself, as well as the other administrators, and the director.
“Now, Lady Sera, your appearance here is a matter of utmost importance but as I said before, the nature of your return flies in the face of everything we have believed. The governing body of Bastion may be more accepting of your claim, but there is no doubt that my more academic peers will need more convincing, as I did. Yes, there is much to discuss.”
“What is there to discuss?” Sera almost jumped at the sound of Cabrin’s impatient voice. He had barely spoken since setting out that morning. “Don’t your people know what she is to do now or not?”
“We don’t.” The administrator's admittance was as surprising as it was flat. “We had hoped that on the day that Celeste was to rise from her grave, she would have the answers. The fact that she was instead reincarnated with no memory is a matter of concern.”
“Then this has all been for nothing…” Cabrin deflated.
“No, not at all!” Seer assured him. “We of the College have gathered a wealth of knowledge over the centuries. I am certain that we will find a way to give Lady Sera here the direction in continuing her destiny.”
“You never told him about your visions.” Cabrin pointed out to Sera.
“Visions?” The administrator’s brows rose as he looked to her as well. “What visions?”
Sera explained to Administrator Seer about the crystals in the Great Chambers they had found in the Heavenfall ruins that they had been to. She told him of the memory detailing Celeste’s liberation of the first flesh farm after the fall of Heaven and for the first time, recounted her experience of Celeste’s death.
“There was something else.” She said at the end of it. It was something that she hadn’t been able to spend much thought on till now. The news of Akane’s fall had been on the forefront of her mind since regaining consciousness, but the retelling had stirred up the final moments of that memory. “The memory that I was shown extended beyond Celeste’s death. These memories, they’re not just visions. I experience everything Celeste did, in those moments that are shown to me. The smells, the sounds, even her thoughts. I can’t explain it, but…Celeste had the intention of possessing a new body. I don’t know, none of it makes any sense, but I don’t think I really am the reincarnation of Celeste. I think I am Celeste.”
“I fail to see the difference in the meaning.” Cabrin said.
Sera frowned as she tried to find a way to explain it, she wasn’t even sure herself. “I was found in the ruins as a baby. No mother, no father. It’s because I wasn’t born, I just was.”
Cabrin and the administrator both furrowed their brows in confusion as she went on. “As I am now, is a direct result of Celeste’s effort…my effort. Somehow, I knew that I wouldn’t remember my past, so I left my memories where they could be retrieved when I was ready. I’m sorry, it’s like I know but at the same time I don’t. It’s all so hazy.”
“So what you’re saying,” Cabrin concluded. “Is that in order to know what steps to take next, we would have to find more of these crystals.”
Sera nodded, silently.
“Based on what you’ve described to me, I think I know of these crystals that you seek. I have read of their existence in a few of our Reclaimers’ reports.” Administrator Seer said as he pondered. “It will take a while for me to track down those journals and find their locations, the combined knowledge of my peers will help in this. Give us time, Lady Sera. We will find where it is you need to go next, and we will help you along your way.”
Sera smiled weakly as the man placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “I will go and tell the council of you and what you have told me. For now, the two of you should rest. We will meet tomorrow.”