The house of his Luminous was, for all intents and purposes, a rather simple abode considering the position he held within the Church. It was of similar make and design to those of just about everybody else; with he given caveat that is was large enough to be easily differentiated from those around it, as well as being a mixture of white, blue, and yellow as compared to the much more earthly colors of the standard followers homes. The house itself was of simple design, what amounted to a box based frame going up two stories before a smaller box was placed on top and off to a corner. Having never been in his Luminous’ house before, I had no idea what it was there for, let alone how to get to it. With respects to what the house was made out of, I wasn’t overly sure myself, even if I only spent a mere few moments trying to remember its name. “Excuse me Bright Daphne, but what is the material used in the construction or the Living Orbit? I know it is a form of mud, straw and a few other materials. But for all the remembering of what went into them, I cant recall the name you used when telling us about it.”
After a brief sigh, she turned to look at me as we arrived in front of the gate leading to the yard which encompassed his Luminous’ house. “And you were doing so good Ray Adamas, having done a rather adequate job in telling me about where we live, but it at least shows that you aren’t afraid to ask about something that was talked about previously. Seeing as we don’t quite have the luxury of going back to the Study for you to find the answer, I shall give you this one. The name of the building material used for this segment of the Conclave is called adobe. A rather simple, yet time tested approach to building when a lack of obviously solid materials is present.”
“Riiiight. Adobe. That’s the word I was looking for. And the three colors on this house represent being a beacon to those with questions represented with the white, Sol’s reach with the blue trim, and how even the highest of us are still subject to Sol as seen with the yellow roofing material used.” I finished my statement with confidence looking at the Bright.
“Close Ray Adamas. While your understanding of the symbolism for the white and the yellow is accurate, your understanding of the blue is a little lacking. The blue, rather than being indicative of Sol’s reach, indicates the body in which Sol inhabits when visiting us; showing that ‘Sol lives within these walls’. Are rather fitting definition considering who lives here, no?”
At the end of her statement, she turned back to the gate and opened it. Thinking on it, where were the guards that were supposed to keep watch and ward off intruders? Without looking back, Bright Daphne spoke once more. “They are out of sight at the moment, and even more than that, out of direct ear shot. His Luminous had some pressing questions he wanted to ask of you, and the fewer ears that hear of these the better for everyone. I’m involved only because I was your Bright, so don’t bother asking why I’m here.”
Proceeding past the archway which held the gate I was greeted with the sight of… a basic yard? Not going to lie, I was kind of expecting something a bit more extravagant than what could be seen throughout the entirety of the Living Orbit, but at the same time, a yard containing green grass and a pathway running through it was just the simplicity I’d expect from the current Luminous. That being a simple man, with no intention of obtaining more than what Sol was willing to give him, and more than willing to give what he had to those around him.
Walking up to the front door, Bright Daphne raised her hand in a fist and knocked. Stepping back without saying a single word after the fact, she took a few steps back to take her place slightly in front of me and off to the side. A few moments later, the door opened, and we were greeted by the figure of one of the people I really did not want to run in to at the moment. The stoic figure of my father’s frame stood in the doorway. His well defined form from years of volunteer guard duty patrolling the Outer Orbit on a semi regular basis around the section closest to the farm my family was tasked with working. Instinctually, being as I knew how much trouble I was in for having basically disappeared last night without anyone having any idea whatsoever of where I went or what I was doing, I began to shrink away.
“Don’t even think about it Adamas. You have much to answer for, but before I begin to rip you a new one, his Luminous has been waiting for you.” Turning to look at Bright Daphne, he spoke again, “Bright Daphne, I see that your statement of having a rather decent understanding of those in your charge was quite accurate. Seeing as you didn’t take more than a few hours to find him. Color me impressed.” Bowing his head, he bowed slightly at the waist, bringing his left arm across his lower abdomen and his right arm motioning away from his body into the inside of the house. At this gesture, Bright daphne motioned me to follow her as she started walking. “Well met, Beam Daimos,” she spoke as she walked past my father.
Upon my passing him myself, I heard an almost mumbled statement. “We’ll talk about this later.” Pausing for a mere moment, I gulped and nodded in his direction, a gesture of which he didn’t notice because he was still in a welcoming posture. Quickly picking back up my pace to catch up to Bright Daphne, I heard the door shut behind me. Glancing to the now shut door, my father was nowhere in sight. I have no idea how he does that considering his size, but it never ceases to amaze me whenever he does that.
Looking forward again, I saw Bright Daphne go through the large open area that took up a substantial portion of the overall house, with a medium length, yet relatively close to the ground, table, surrounded by chairs of various styles, types, and function aside from simply being a tool in which one sat. On the far side of the wall was a massive amalgamation of windows to allow all kinds of natural light in to bathe the interior of the house in a non-artificial light. The earthen color of the walls accented the orange yellow coming in from the rising of Sol. Bright Daphne walked through said room to the far side, where a staircase leading up was located next to the entrance to what I assumed was the kitchen portion of the house. Turning slightly to her left, she began her ascent up the stairs of the house, indicating our meeting place is upstairs rather than on the lower floors. Walking up the stairs, watching them curve towards the right in their ascension, I am once again greeted by the surprisingly bland décor of the massive house. The second story of this house was much the same as what was on the first floor, the earthen colors of the walls slowly got darker as the shadow of a hallway immediately at the top of the stairs came into view.
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Within this hallway, I could only see three doors. One at the end of the hallway, and two along the walls of the hallway; the one on the left is slightly closer to the stairs, and the one on the right was slightly closer to the other end of the hall. The door on the left had two candle holders about two thirds of the way up the door frame with lit candles resting in them.
Speaking for the first time since we entered his Luminous’ house, I decided to speak. “Bright Daphne, is it the obvious door? Or one of the not so obvious ones?”
The voice that came in response was not the voice of the Bright in front of me, but rather the voice of his Luminous. “As funny as it would be to send you to the roof, I do happen to have actual questions that require your input due to various…. Extenuating circumstances. The door on your left is the door you are looking for. Don’t bother knocking since I know that you are here already. Go ahead and come on in, you’re going to want to get comfortable for this.”
Without skipping a beat, I proceed to walk forward past the Bright who was standing still for some reason, turn to the door on the left and open it. Turning to the outside with the motion of the door trying to make room for the Bright to get in without me being in the way, I am greeted with the astonished face of my Bright, jaw dropped further than I thought possible. “Did… I do something?”
“How did you know what door to open?” she asked incredulously. “I hadn’t even given a response to your question before you walked past me like you knew what you were doing, and opened the door, albeit the correct door mind you, without any confirmation on my end.”
Feeling the reason for the reason for her shocked expression was well warranted, I quickly turned to look into the room of which I had just opened up, and saw his Luminous sitting in a chair behind a big wooden, ornate desk; leaning forward with a grin that seemed to travel from ear to ear in childlike glee, he spoke. “So my vision was right, you had been blessed.”
But something wasn’t quite right. He spoke, I know he did, but not once through that last sentence did I see his mouth move. As horror slowly crept through me, his mouth finally moved. “While more than luck was involved in his choice of doors Bright Daphne, I have already answered one of the pressing questions of which is the reason for this particular meeting.”
“And what exactly does that mean, Uncle?” Bright Daphne all but shouted as she basically barged into the room and walked right up to his Luminous, standing directly opposite of him.
“It means, my dear niece, that this young Ray has a very difficult road ahead of him. One I do not particularly envy. What say you, Beam Daimos?”
“I’d say that I lost our bet Luminous. Though something tells me you were involved, but by Sol I have no way to prove it.” The voice of my father came as a surprise again as I had not seen him when I looked into the room. I had no idea whatsoever as to how a man of his size and stature could have gotten to this room before both the Bright and myself, but he managed to do it, and without making a single sound at that as well. Finally walking into the room myself, I saw him leaning against the wall opposite his Luminous, obscured by the large wooden doorframe when viewed from the hall. “Also, I do believe that my son just learned an extra piece of information of which the Bright never really meant to be learned.”
At my father’s statement, my Bright went from staring down his Luminous, to staring stunned at me and my father. Before saying anything, I could tell that she had to stop and think for a moment about what she said. Obviously realizing what she said, she slumped her shoulders, walked to one of the smaller chairs off to either side of the desk and plopped down. “Me and my hot temper… so much for growing out of certain tendencies, eh, Uncle?” she spoke halfheartedly.
“Indeed Daphne,” his Luminous spoke, “there are certain aspects that make each of us who we are. And at that, I feel that while rank should be respected, we should drop the pretense and converse as equals. To start things off, Adamas, you don’t need to refer to me as ‘Luminous’ in this place with this company.” Standing up from his chair, his excitement barely contained within his movements, “I am always so excited when I get to do this. You know me as Luminous, or the voice of Sol, but the name given to me by my parents was that of Tesoro. In the mother tongue of my great grand parents, it supposedly meant treasure. And a treasure I was, for Sol granted me life through both my father and mother who had yet to be able to conceive a child on their own.” Reaching his hand out like he was meeting a stranger for the first time and looking to make a good impression, I reached forward to try and shake his hand; followed by a loud, sharp cough coming from behind me, indicating that my father was still watching. Oh right, this man in front of me is still his Luminous, even if I did now know of his name. Looking slightly disappointed at the sound that prevented me from shaking his hand, he instead retracted it towards himself and continued speaking. “At that, I recommend you to take a seat, for we have much to talk about now that all concerned parties are here.”
Tesoro waived his hand in a motion that indicated that I was welcome to my pick of the open seats. “Now then,” Tesoro said as he took his seat once more, his smile slowly leaving his face. In its place a much more familiar look of that Luminous that I knew of was there, that being a flat face that held sincerity and seriousness. “Why don’t you start by telling us where you went last night. Not that wondering about is not allowed on within the walls of the Conclave, but I just so happened to receive a revelation from Sol during this time. And as ambiguous as it was when I received it, you fit what I saw to a T.”
Shifting a bit as all three other pairs of eyes in the room began to stare holes into what felt my very being, I began to recall the events which transpired last night as concisely as I possibly could. “Just… don’t over react to what I’m about to tell you all…”