12-28-2024, 05:58 PM
Whilst he spoke to their gathering, Quillon’s gaze ushered a third Seeker into their midst. Picking up on the subtle cue, Cali’s shift of posture was natural to include the new stranger. Her smile was soft, unconfrontational, and she made a gesture that suggested he was welcome to join them if he wished it. Some preferred to keep their distance the first time they entered the Hall, and there was no fault in it, but others only needed the warmth of an invitation to take that first step. Cali was good at judging the needs of others, at bridging the gap between the untouchable divine with the souls drawn to its wonder but too hesitant to find the path alone.
Her eyes upturned as the hologram moved around them; she experienced it alongside them and not from a Veilwarden’s height, unguarded in her delight no matter how many times she had seen it. The coloured threads of magic shone their soft glow upon her skin as they undulated from the Ascendancy’s upturned palms. She was aware of Mia’s own speechless awe beside her, and was glad to share the beauty of the moment with someone who also allowed herself to feel it so openly.
Wonder didn’t diminish in Cali, not since the first time Quillon had shared this same simulation. The connections between the earth and heavens, webs of life and vitality that underpinned every living thing. She felt it keenly in the hum of the dirt beneath her feet, the promise of a sacred world she could feel but not see. Countless times she had begged Quillon to describe it to her, never tiring of hearing him speak. She didn’t know how anyone could look and remain unmoved by all that it represented, by all that it meant.
Her hands had moved to clasp over her chest. Whatever Sámiel awoke was still vibrating inside, and it only made the moment deeper, yet also harder to define now that its grip on her was fading. The connection there was personal, which she undoubtedly must take as a sign. Though for what she did not know.
Sámiel was right that it terrified her though; it terrified her that it might always remain beyond reach.
Cali’s eyes rounded as the Luminar presented himself from behind her, though the surprised shift of her composure as she adjusted was short lived. So engrossed in the moment, she had not heard his footsteps. His gaze did no more than brush over her in its journey to the others, and Cali did nothing to fight for its attention. Veilwardens communed with the Luminar as he himself did with the Ascendancy, worlds Cali had no part in, but there was a devoted longing in her gaze as he passed by her shoulder.
They followed, and even Sámiel seemed to accept the quiet reverence of the short journey; at least for a moment. When he fell into step next to her, she glanced up, somewhere between wary and fascinated. The irreverence did not bother her, as it would some here, and neither were the depths of Cali’s faith easily shaken by a little ridicule. She never spurned curiosity, and Sámiel was, even if he dressed it up in contrariness. She smiled, amused. “Does that mean you are finally impressed?” It was a tease, not an actual question, the same way his had been.
For the second time he hesitated despite the magnetism of his confidence, choosing to pause at the door so that the others must stream past him. Cali did likewise opposite him, in part to welcome the others inside, and in part because it felt a natural placement. Mia seemed content to experience whatever happened, open minded even if sceptical, but the man who’d joined them seemed less enamoured of his place here. She wanted to ask his name, but silence wrapped him like a shroud, and she did not choose to pierce it. But if he did not rush away after, she would seek him out; find out what path he was walking and why it had led him here.
Sámiel was the last to enter. When she looked up at him as she passed by first, something stirred inside from the tendrils of that connection; she was careful not to touch him.
Her eyes upturned as the hologram moved around them; she experienced it alongside them and not from a Veilwarden’s height, unguarded in her delight no matter how many times she had seen it. The coloured threads of magic shone their soft glow upon her skin as they undulated from the Ascendancy’s upturned palms. She was aware of Mia’s own speechless awe beside her, and was glad to share the beauty of the moment with someone who also allowed herself to feel it so openly.
Wonder didn’t diminish in Cali, not since the first time Quillon had shared this same simulation. The connections between the earth and heavens, webs of life and vitality that underpinned every living thing. She felt it keenly in the hum of the dirt beneath her feet, the promise of a sacred world she could feel but not see. Countless times she had begged Quillon to describe it to her, never tiring of hearing him speak. She didn’t know how anyone could look and remain unmoved by all that it represented, by all that it meant.
Her hands had moved to clasp over her chest. Whatever Sámiel awoke was still vibrating inside, and it only made the moment deeper, yet also harder to define now that its grip on her was fading. The connection there was personal, which she undoubtedly must take as a sign. Though for what she did not know.
Sámiel was right that it terrified her though; it terrified her that it might always remain beyond reach.
Cali’s eyes rounded as the Luminar presented himself from behind her, though the surprised shift of her composure as she adjusted was short lived. So engrossed in the moment, she had not heard his footsteps. His gaze did no more than brush over her in its journey to the others, and Cali did nothing to fight for its attention. Veilwardens communed with the Luminar as he himself did with the Ascendancy, worlds Cali had no part in, but there was a devoted longing in her gaze as he passed by her shoulder.
They followed, and even Sámiel seemed to accept the quiet reverence of the short journey; at least for a moment. When he fell into step next to her, she glanced up, somewhere between wary and fascinated. The irreverence did not bother her, as it would some here, and neither were the depths of Cali’s faith easily shaken by a little ridicule. She never spurned curiosity, and Sámiel was, even if he dressed it up in contrariness. She smiled, amused. “Does that mean you are finally impressed?” It was a tease, not an actual question, the same way his had been.
For the second time he hesitated despite the magnetism of his confidence, choosing to pause at the door so that the others must stream past him. Cali did likewise opposite him, in part to welcome the others inside, and in part because it felt a natural placement. Mia seemed content to experience whatever happened, open minded even if sceptical, but the man who’d joined them seemed less enamoured of his place here. She wanted to ask his name, but silence wrapped him like a shroud, and she did not choose to pierce it. But if he did not rush away after, she would seek him out; find out what path he was walking and why it had led him here.
Sámiel was the last to enter. When she looked up at him as she passed by first, something stirred inside from the tendrils of that connection; she was careful not to touch him.