Sight Seeing [The Sanctuary of the Ascendant Flame]

[Mia Wolf]

The journal entry had been enlightening. But Mia wasn't sure what she should look for.  She didn't quite understand what was going on.  The penmanship was not in her hand, but she clearly had written it only moments before she'd swiped the blue ink across the page.  The pen was still in her left hand.  Though she herself was a right hand.  It was all very confusing.

Mia jotted down the date, and her own entry.

Dear Journal,  I guess.  I don't know what's going on.  Or what I'm watching for or what you mean as strange.  Unless you mean things like I think I saw on the television.  The ascendancy of the CCD doing something, though I don't recall him doing more than giving a speech and then I woke up here.  What the fuck?

~Mia

She closed the journal and left it on the desk as she examined her new place.  It had been much the same when she first woke up in Rome. From there she'd seen Paris and Sydney, Rio and Mexico City before she ended up in London and meeting Hayden.  She wondered why she left London. and Why she was in Moscow now.  Not that it wasn't a good place to visit -- but not on the dawning of winter.

But Mia sighed and put on her happy face and made her way to the bedroom.  Everything seemed in order, a life had been started.  The wardrobe was filled with clothes she would ware and others she thought too dark and depressing.  Which is what she wore now.  "I have such horrible taste sometimes."  She said to herself as she doffed the attire for a pink flowing skirt and a white blouse with little pink flowers embroydered on the lacey sleeves. 

This was no time to be down and depressed.  She had a whole new city to explore.  She donned a coat with a faux fur lining around the hood and bundled up to head out into the streets of Moscow.

A portable tazer sat next to her keys and Mia thought twice about not bringing it with her, while she might not remember the streets she had thought it was unsafe -- enough to carry that sort of protection so she plucked it from the table and stuck it in her coat pocket.  

And then she went outside.

The building was nice.  It was close to the metro and she got on and rode it around the city looking at the sights.  She caught a glint in the city and saw a strange and beautiful building she wanted to look at more closely.  Architecture was something of a hobby.  Or so she thought.  She liked looking at the buildings.  Finding weaknesses and even places should exploit for height advantages.  She didn't know why.  But it didn't matter.  She enjoyed the tasks and got off on the next stop.  

With a good navigational check she found her way in front of the strange looking building.  The sun glint off the silvered panels and Mia had to hold her hand above her eyes to stop the glare, but it didn't stop her from stoping and admiring.

[Calliope]

“The Sanctuary is open to Seekers, if you are curious. And the gardens around it are still quite beautiful this time of year. May I show you?”

The woman who stared was tiny, and swamped under the necessary thick attire to combat Muscovite winter. Awe writ her expression, which was not an uncommon reaction to the sweeping arch of the Monument. Likely a tourist, but the architecture was enough to arrest even a familiar soul – or at least so Cali thought. Should the woman glance beside her, she would find her new companion smiling in welcome; openly so, and utterly genuine. Her fingers were laced within the folds of her sleeves, a wool capelet snug around her shoulders and clasped at the throat with a small gold Ascendant Flame. Encroaching winter sucked the pallor from Cali’s skin, leaving her pale as glass but for the vivid flush of her cheeks. It gave her a friendly air.

“I’m Calliope,” she added. “Friends call me Cali.” 

[Mia Wolf]

Mia smiled at the new voice. "I'm Mia." She turned to look at the woman who had joined her. "I would love to see more."

Mia offered her elbow in invitation to walk. "What exactly is a Seeker? And what is this place, other than an architectural marvel?"

[Calliope]

The welcome prompted a pleased beam, and Cali looped her arm with the other woman’s. It was warmer that way anyway. “Miiia,” she said. There was the barest lilt of accent to her voice, the only legacy her father cared to leave her with; the Haart’s buried Irish roots. “What a lovely and melodic name.”

Their feet crunched over the path she led. The Celestial Gardens were beautiful, cleared of snow and carefully manicured to make the most of the winter blooms. It was work Cali often volunteered herself for, at all times of the year, finding the most divine truth in nature. That was the way in which the Ascendancy called through her, to cherish and protect from the rigours of the modern world. The Sanctuary cradled a literal oasis in the middle of the bustling city. Many of the plants were rare, but even someone unfamiliar with the types could feel the gentle tranquillity such pockets of space offered. The paths broke off to quieter areas, filled with reflection pools and places to meditate.

“The curving structure is the Monument to the Conquerors of Space,” she explained, her breath puffing little clouds in the air. “From the old era of the Space Race. But the grounds and buildings around it are the Sanctuary of the Ascendant Flame now. The gardens are my favourite part, but inside is wonderful too. Oh, the Hall of Stars, Mia! It is quite a sight to behold for the first time. I am excited for you.” Cali paused to touch her gloved finger to an overhanging leaf.

“Seekers are those beginning their journeys here – they come to us to explore the ways of the Brotherhood, to find the answers in their hearts.” Ahead, they had come to the garden’s centrepiece – a large, crystalline fountain fixed with a bronze statue of the Ascendancy himself. She waited for it to capture Mia's attention before adding, “Without him, the world would have perished in nuclear winter.”

[Mia Wolf]

Mia was excited by such a warm welcome and Cali spoke of this Brotherhood with awe that most people never even dreamed of. Life was what you made of it lemons and all. Things could always be better, but if you didn't make the most of what you had then you were just going to die lonely and sad and never having lived. Mia just wanted to live a great life.

She stared at the statue of the man. She'd seen him on TV doing miraculous things. But the memories were foggy, as if she hadn't really seen them. "What exactly is the Brotherhood. I'm new to Moscow and while not a sheltered life, my memory is a bit foggy." There was a distinct point in her life that she couldn't remember past. Like she never existed, but surely she was twenty-nine and had lived a life before going on her dashing world tour.

As they walked Mia took in everything from the cameras in the ceiling and the security posts. She felt like she was casing the joint as they say. She didn't know why, but she felt compelled to do it. Like it meant something, she just couldn't get that information from her head. Much like so much more of her empty life.

[Calliope]

“Well then, welcome to Moscow.” Cali leaned against the other woman like she’d known her all her life, as arm in arm they viewed the bronze statue cast in the Ascendancy’s image. A smile plumped her ruddy cheeks, and the blonde hair pinned and braided atop her head caught the light like a cotton cloud. It was a nice moment to share with someone. People reacted in different ways to the Brotherhood, and not all of them were nice. An open mind was always valued.

“We believe the Ascendancy was sent to guide us through these dark times,” she said. Plaques and statues commemorating his modern-day miracles were prevalent across the grounds. They had passed many of them on their route, and would pass more returning to the Grand Concourse. With a gentle tug, Cali navigated them back through the plaza and into the Hall of Stars at the base of the old monument. As promised, the grandeur was enough to steal breath and elevate the soul. Celestial imagery was projected up upon the domed ceiling, and the walls were covered in intricate murals depicting the Ascendancy’s miracles and the Luminar’s vision. The volunteers on the door, with Embers stitched on their shirts, acknowledged but did not stop their entrance.

“The Ascendancy, and those touched by his gifts, will help guide us to a better world.” She gave a brief squeeze of Mia’s arm, conveying her own enthusiastic belief in what she spoke, as they wandered the edges and Mia had the chance to look at all the hall offered. “I knew the first time I came in here that I wanted to be a part of it.” Cali smiled with genuine warmth, and glanced to see what the other woman made of it all. “The world is reawakening, I think. It’s an exciting time to live.”

She paused, then, on what Mia had said about a foggy memory. It might just be that she was being evasive, and if that was the case then Cali didn’t judge her reasons. Even so, she added: “The Veilwardens offer blessings, and there are some things they can even heal. Perhaps you were brought here to experience a divine miracle of your own, Mia.”

[Mia Wolf]

The place was fabulous. A bit too dramatic for Mia's simple tastes but it was elegant and extravagant, fitting the Ascendancy she supposed. Faith and prophecy were things Mia didn't put a whole lot of thought into. Then again, maybe she had and just didn't remember. But Cali believed whole heartedly if her exuberance was anything to go by.

Mia smiled at the explanations and nodded with understanding. She wasn't sure if she was here for anything, the building had caught her eye glinting in the sunlight. And now there were other things, other possibilities. But there was nothing wrong with her -- except for lapses in memory. "I am not sure there is anything to heal. It's just lapses in memory." There was more to it than that. The whole forgetting she wrote something, and the different clothes in her closet. Things were strange for sure, but that didn't mean she was sick.

But Mia didn't want to be rude. "But there is no harm in looking is there?" She chuckled nervously. Something said she shouldn't do it, but there was a tantalizing pull towards that feeling of knowing what truly was going on.

[Calliope]

Cali gave a half smile, but she didn’t press. Some here could be pushy when it came to sharing their beliefs, but she wasn’t one of them. Mia would find her place here, or she wouldn’t, but she would be welcomed to explore either way.

“There is no pressure, Mia. Perhaps today you just look around,” she said. There was plenty in the Hall of Stars to see, as well as other visitors (Cali kept an eye out for Quillon or Seraphis). “What brought you to Moscow?”

[Mia Wolf]

That sounded like a good idea. Just look around. Though the following question made Mia look up at the statue of the Ascendancy again and she couldn't help but laugh. "He did actually. I saw his spectacle on the TV and something told me I had to come here." Granted Mia didn't exactly remember all that. She remembered being curled up with Hayden. She remembered watching the beginning of the speech and then she found herself here, in Moscow some time later with a note from herself. At least she assumed it was herself. She didn't remember writing it.

Mia wanted to tell Cali more but she wasn't sure what she should so she asked a question instead. "What drew you to the Brotherhood?"

[Calliope]

Cali accepted the statement that Ascendancy had brought Mia here with certainty, like it was a natural and understandable pull. She was quiet, leaving the other woman to work through her own conclusions of what that might mean for her. Faith was never simple, and Cali would not promise the Sanctuary to have answers, just that this was a safe place where one might ask those questions – as Cali had herself, once.

She finally spied Quillon in the hall, and Seraphis too, a stranger between them. Cali knew how that felt, to be caught in the tides between the two Veilwardens. She hoped to catch either eye – knowing that they might prove what Cali could only speak of, but she was not sure they would see her.

To Mia’s question, Cali answered with unselfconscious honesty. “Meaning,” she said. “For the feeling I had always had inside – the feeling that I needed more than what my life offered at the time. The gifts that the Ascendancy has returned to the world mean we can do better – we might help the earth flourish again, rather than destroy it. I’ve seen the miracles, and felt my own.”