As the Grandseer of Estocia said yet another familiar phrase, the recently white room changed itself in a slur of different colors in a fixed yet unpredictable interval. The shades and parallel mixtures of colors changed as the implied sword-staff of the seer glowed majestically, partially illuminating the darkened angles of the tavern.
I gulped my saliva yet again to ready myself on what may unravel in these events on the tavern. For what I would not know, this Grandseer might test me and send a mechanical sparrot to me to test my sanity and endurance in battle.
"Astoria, what is the biggest blessing you have received in your life so far?"
Huh? What is with that query? Is it not that too personal?
In this case…
"Having my Pops, my friends, and the entire city living with and understanding me for a brief moment of my childhood."
Yes. Brief.
While the aforementioned colors are flying on the insides of the tavern, the room went completely azure, the moment I answered. To be precise, a navy blue at its shade.
"What is something in this world that causes exasperation in your life and why?"
Okay… Really, what is the reason for asking these questions?
"Swords…"
Nothing more, nothing less.
Suddenly, shade of crimson red won over the entirety of the room and it completely eliminated the aforementioned azure.
Thinking about it while on the process of inquiry, I thought that the first and second questions does really examine the facets of one's heart. I am not so sure if these questions are the exact same questions that are being used in the other candidates of the rite but nonetheless, even if I try to lie, I cannot deny that I wanted to answer them honestly. It seemed that the tavern is designed to consume the maleficent thoughts of those who are inside of it and can make them honest and sincere.
*Gasp*
I was thinking so hard on the events when I noticed that Grandma here was now looking intently at me: giving me a gaze wanting to hit me again.
"Er… Oh, because… the reason that I dislike them is that…"
I immediately let the weavers of my thoughts crochet a funny statement:
"…B-because they are not alike the image of womanhood! Swords are for men and if I may say, being forced by the society to admire and carry such objects even if they are not in your interest is flat-out unfair and unfitting of a just morality."
Gray- a shade of pale white surrounded the recently-crimson shaded tavern. The tinge of red is still floating though, just overshadowed by gray.
Although sensing that I may be panicking while answering, the Grandseer just faced the pedestal once more and continued on her interrogation:
"What is the greatest calamity that can befall in a man?"
Hmmm. Okay I am not playing around anymore, how quirky these questions can be on its finest?!
I took some thought and suddenly, I unraveled a memory…
A past that I do not want to revisit anymore.
It is an image of a huge and bulky man, carving out and fashioning blades day in and day out in his shop with an unwavering and hospitable smile on his face. He gets home and in it, there is an image of a little girl, excited to see the man. The little girl was jumping about here and there due to the happiness on seeing the man but the said man was just reluctant about the presence of the little girl.
After a few years, the "little" girl was changed and when the bulky man comes home, she does not greet the man anymore.
I answered.
"It is the disability to express the deep voices and messages of your inner heart and soul."
I gulped down every bitter saliva I had and tailored a continuation…
"Furthermore, it is the state of being powerless to restore the good things. The desires to put back the shattered state of something into its original being only to be blocked by the reality and time that you cannot do that anymore… is something that fits the description of tragedy."
There, I said that in one breath.
This is embarrassing and a little unnerving, in fact!
This tavern must be the suspect for this!
Celeste: the color changed yet again!
"Kinship over destiny: which do you choose?"
The Grandseer, seemingly serious than ever, continued on her questions. She took some time to ask this question which was somehow odd for me.
"I will choose kinship. Personally, FatherFate can give me any events and scenarios in my life but I think, with the said kinsman that I have right now, I can face the unknown every day."
I said that. Those words with a clear intent.
This time, a shade of green- chartreuse, made its way on the tavern.
"Given a chance to live in what you mostly desire, which kind of life will you live on?"
Oh? Is that a wish list kind of question?
"If there is a desirable life that I will plead for, I will definitely say a peaceful one. I do not mind the stature and the premise, all I ask is peace and quiet."
So I said, it might be vague now that I think about it so I will leave to the Grandseer on what she thinks on that response and on her judgement.
As expected now in this time, the tavern transformed itself in a color of gray.
"What is the image of nobility for you?" she asked me this.
Differently unlike the other questions, she faced me while uttering these lines- a face with unfitting excitement on her face.
Hoi. Is this question different from the others that you need to see my face while I am answering that?
Uncharacteristically of me, I did not attempt to weave any silks of lies anymore.
Instead, something in my chest did the talking.
"Being noble is not being a hero, legend, or even a savior who came to this lands to vanquish something. It is not even defined through one's birthright nor blood. Nobility is measured through one's resolve- a resolve to make the wish of one's soul not a dead wish, but a living reality."
I said it. That was my response.
I did not say this to proclaim to myself that I am a heroine or a self-proclaimed savior, or any name-pleasing aliases…
If I will be truly honest with myself, I do not even think that I will be capable of being like that…
But, to be called a noble, you have to carry out your wishes. That is what I think anyway.
Suddenly, with just a blink, the tavern became gold. A shimmering tinge of gold laced itself on the midst of our senses. I cannot avoid to marvel the sudden change of the colors as showers of earlier shades of tinges floated about on every angles of the recently-gold colored tavern.
I meant 'recently' because to begin with, it was indeed laced with gold but now, this tinge… I do not even think this is worldly anymore.
While observing the flying tinges of Azure, Crimson, Celeste, Chartreuse, and Gray, I sighed with relief. It seemed that that was the last inquiry.
Well to be precise, I feel a mixture of relief and disappointment.
When I go back home, I will slap myself for not testing this rite in a coy manner!
"Well done in answering my questions."
This is odd, the Grandseer who was cold up until the first time I met her, gave me a smile that befits her wishes of congratulations.
"Now, if I may ask of you… close your eyes."
Huh? Why though? Are you going to hit me while having my eyes closed?
Being afraid on angering her, I hastily closed my eyes.
While closing my eyes, I swiftly felt the presence of calmness and tranquility. Sure, there's a looming threat of being hit from an old hag like herself in front of me, but perhaps due to the mixtures of colors I was exposed to earlier, I suddenly eased myself.
"Astoria Nueva Justocia, state in front of me, in this pedestal, and in this very city you originated from, your wishes…"
Huh?
Me? My wish??? Did I hear her right?
I guess not.
"M-My wish is…" I was about to say something when-
"Do not say it out loud, lass. Pray it."
Oh, my bad.
I beseeched down my heart and said:
"I wish that I can attain peace for myself. I mean, think about it: I am already a lady at this point and I am still full of insecurities with dreadful desires! I guess what I am really saying is that everything that is happening to me belongs to this city's fault! If only they can understand that I am a lonely girl that just wanted to be accepted by her own kin but oh, no! They literally wanted to make me a slave of their dead ancestors' traditions and cultures! Seriously! If only I can only embark on a journey to dispel this terrible treatment of these people for those who are seemingly 'different' from them, I can literally go for it right now! So, to summarize, I was hoping that I can literally have a desirable life where I do not want to carry a burden of feeling alienated each and every day! I know I feel that every seconds of each day!"
"Hoi." I then heard Grandseer say something then-
*SPONK*
"YAHHH! THAT HURTS!"
Hey! I can reach my limit in terms of pain and abuse, okay?!
While patting my own head to locate any humps and with a tear forming on my eyes, I then realized a somewhat heavy object injected on my right hand.
I opened my eyes fully and saw the image of the Grandseer- smiling as if she won a bet on who is going to win between a lich and a vampire.
I immediately absorbed the color of a familiar color of azure since I was exposed to it all day.
Though this time, I felt off due to its familiarity mainly on this color.
Well, no matter I will just go ho-
Hold on…
Feeling my aforementioned right hand being somewhat heavy unlike my left hand, I suddenly realized that I was gripping on an object. It was thick and metallic.
It was a sword. A glowing and unearthly sword.
To make the matters worse, it was the exact sword that I avoided in that accursed cave!
My senses went blank. I cannot think anymore. I lost a capacity to reprehend what are the next step-by-step process on how did this ugly stick made its way on my hands!
Even I went black-out, I was certain that I can process one emotion…
I was not even thinking straight anymore when the tavern collapsed the moment the Grandseer unsheathed her blade-staff on the pedestal and the image of the entire people in the plaza welcomed me, cheers applauding every angle.
She then said something while raising her sword:
"The heroine has arrived!"
After hearing that, the people in the plaza: children and adults, swordsmen and women, those who are part of the nobility and even freemen, raised their own respective swords aloft the dark blue sky and applauded even more.
I knew it.
Alright. Time to process this one and only emotion I had…
Amidst the cheering crowd, I, a frail little lady, shouted her soul:
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
I screamed. I screamed some more.
I yelled as hard as I can until everything went black.
"Swe… sweet re-re-rele… release…"
Dark… Dark as far as my senses can see, I then took some time in order to grasp that I was in fact in a nightly void. It might give a familiarity to the scenery earlier since the rite was done in evening, but this darkness gave a tense vibe to me unlike the warmth and emotions of forcefulness I have felt in the ceremony.
I took a second to sense also that I was not in fact wearing my trusty garment, but now I was clothed in a white long dress.
I tried yet again to make sense on everything I was being presented to, when I noticed a deafening silence.
Ever went in an extremely quiet room and then hear a high-pitched screech even though something/someone is not even there? That- that is what I am sensing right now.
… Is someone there? Or better yet, is something there? I do not know what may come out in this darkness because I can already confirm that this is not the world I am fixated anymore.
Well, my OWN world, I mean.
… Hmmm. Am I dead? I think I am.
Is this what happens when you pass out so much, that you die?
That cannot be. I should not think of grim-related thoughts especially in an odd-looking/feeling place like this. I feel like something might swallow me whole if I think wrongly here!
Given that the room is void of any color other than black, I uncannily feel calm about this place. Yes, there is a sense of danger here and there, but oddly enough, I am also collecting an impression of familiarity and tranquility in this void. I know, it is difficult to explain but that is what I mostly feel right now.
…
…
Blue?
It took some time to realize, but now I see a collection of blue haze in the dark atmosphere of the void. What is with this?
While this is happening, I can already pin-point a one and crucial detail that may be rooted in all of my trials and tribulations on this very day!
Can you believe that all of these out-of-this-universe mishaps can be associated in this color?!
That is right!
I am talking about the root of my pure tribulations, this color of azure!
"Shoo! Shoo!!!" I said while forcing away the bluish haze circulating around me.
If there are a lot of spectators in this void right now, they will probably think that I may be crazy but it does not matter! I must drive off the root of pestilence in my life!
…
…
"ria… ria…"
Ria? Who is that? Is that a pet name?
"… ria…"
…
This void reverberated the same word for an hour.
"…RIA…"
"LIKE I SAID FOR A MILLIONTH TIME, WHO IS RIA?!"
I suddenly shot up.
I was dreaming. No, to be blunt, it is a nightmare.
H-How long was I out?
At my home: The Justocia household.
Thinking the events unfolded on my senses when I opened my eyes, hoping that all of them- those absurd and out-of-this-universe events were all a dream, I found myself lying on my own bed. I was on my room. Same color, atmosphere, scent and all of that.
With that realization, much to my disappointment…
"Huh, so everything happened realistically after all."
Especially, regarding about that dream…
But… what was it again exactly?
I surveyed the vicinity of my room and confirmed that no one is here. Just me and my reflection situated in front of myself thanks to my mirror. A linen of cloth soaked in cold water was inputted into my head due to a health remedy used frequently by the folks around here. (Though, I believe that that kind of remedy is only used for an illness called fever? I think Doc Rafael will agree to me about this.)
I sighed.
I guess I do not have a gigantic patience when it comes to peer pressure and traditions, huh?
I mean, seriously? I fainted and blacked out due to a gigantic embarrassment and disappointment?
Well, yeah… Hold on… Is that only it?
To where am I directing these feelings of regret and disgust? Is it because of the mob earlier? To Pops? To the Grandseer?
Or did I subconsciously felt off about myself? That even if I do not admit it, I collectively felt disappointed about my own persona that it was so intense, it resulted in a climactic event such as that- fainting.
Of course not! Why would I feel bad about it if it was not even my fault? I was just dragged around with these infernal traditions right from the start and it made me look like an enemy if I disregarded them! Yeah, that is it!!!
While thinking that train of thought, the words of the Grandseer repeated on my head in the far side of my memories:
"If you hated all of the things about this city in the first place, why are you still offering your services to them?"
Huh.
So I have not come to realize my own answer yet.
I was hoping to achieve my own answer- a one and definitive answer if I attended the Beckoning rite. I was wondering if, accepting and answering those odd questions might lead me to the answer that both satisfies my standards and desires of my heart.
But no… not even close.
It might seem trivial for a regular person to find and see a difficulty for acting up a particular purpose but…
Not knowing the reason on why are you acting in the first place is counter-productive and downright meaningless.
But then again… The questions that the Grandseer gave to me… could it be that she…
Regardless, I need to calm down, know on what is my current footing, and plan on how to continue from there.
Oh sharps~ I have a lot of concerns right now…
Especially that dream…
"Tori, I am coming in!!!" a familiar voice rang out in my door and entered immediately.
It was Roy.
"Aren't you supposed to say that before you enter the door and wait for a confirmation?" I said while twitching.
"Eh? Same difference! You'll say those words no matter what anyways so the important thing is, I said them!"
Right. This guy is totally insensitive. Good thing we are childhood friends and not total strangers!
"How are you holding up right now?" he said. Now I can sense a tinge of worry on that expression.
"Oh it is fine, I guess. Fainting in front of a crowd is not that bad as I expected. Maybe you should do that some time, Roy!" I sneered.
"Are you still out of it, Tori? I am not that crazy to do that! What? Did you have an identity crisis when you blacked out to make you think and talk like this?"
"Oh right. I shall not talk like that henceforth of our future interactions, Flemeroy "Flinston" Arsonstel… I plead for your forgiveness and give my gratitude at the same time! You have saved my tongue from paganism once again!"
"S-shut up…"
Oh, that face does not fail to make me smile.
To summarize his agenda in my room, he talked to me about everything. About what happened after I fainted; about what had Pops realized regarding the event; and about the effect I had presented in front of the crowd (mob).
"I cannot realize that you feel this way already… I mean, I know that you were acting hostile against our tradition, but I do not know that your are in this extent…" he said in a melancholic way.
"Yeah… I am glad you caught-up already…"
"L-listen…" he suddenly said, difficulty on expressing something in his mind.
"I am listening. We were already talking just seconds ago-"
"Next time, if you got something in yourself…"
"…"
"…"
What wrong with this guy suddenly?
Barging out my room uninvited just to stutter and pause like this while talking to me!
"YOU TELL ME RIGHT AWAY!!!" he shot out as if shouting.
I looked at Roy. His expression painted the expression of anger. But behind that anger, there was a tinge of fear on it too. While looking at him like this, I just stayed mum.
I definitely cannot tease him at this stature.
We stared at each other for a good second then the sight of Roy broke our connection first.
"I'm going. You get some rest." He then left.
Seriously, what's wrong with that guy?!
Is he mad that I fainted? If that is the case well I apologize! I happened to have a lot of carriage on me at that time and was tired on top of that!
"He was just worried about you, lass."
Suddenly, a familiar cold voice rang on the entrance of my room.
It was the Grandseer of Estocia.
"Oh, hello… Granny." I reluctantly said.
The moment I said my naming to her, she intensified her cold look unto me and moved herself to reach me on my bed.
Please don't slap me!
She seated on the chair where Roy sat earlier before he went off the room and she then continued to stare at me. I noticed that she still wore her same garments alike last night and she was not bringing her sword-staff with her anymore.
Thinking about her opening words, I replied…
"I do not think that's the case, Grandseer." I sounded sad on those words.
She looked at me intently when I said my reply.
"Listen, Astoria. You and Flemeroy "Flinston" Arsonstel are one of the special townsfolk this seasonal celebration of Estocia that partook the rite of "Beckoning."
I heard her words but they did not immediately register on my senses.
"Excuse me, what?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"I do not have to repeat myself, lass. I just have to say that that sword you are holding, unlike the other inhabitants of this city, is a special one." she said, impatience is revealing on her face.
In a city full of inhabitants where the said people are carrying a sword with them, why mine and Roy's are any special? I mean, everywhere you look and at every crevices of the society of this city, there not a single person who does not bring or possess a sword at their disposal. To top that account, since I am helping Pops in the smithy, I can tell that the swords of the inhabitants are unique and varied on their own right!
A sword that can let its bearer teleport from a one lace to another...
A sword that can command various animals...
A sword that produces screeching sounds against its enemies.
Literally, each of the swords that are in this town are odd and terrifying but I admit, they are all different on each other! I might be lost to time if enumerated all of the various swords of this town!
There is not a single sword in existence on this city that has an exact replica or image of another sword! Each one of them is special with its own purpose and design!
So why are we deemed special than them???
I am dumbfounded once again first thing in the morning.
I need answers. Answers regarding me and my undying and tragic relationship with these infernal sticks!
"But why give it to someone like me who is completely despising such objects?" I asked in a childish curiosity.
"That is something I do not know, lass. You have to figure that out for yourself."
She said that.
I thought you are a seer? A being that can read minds?
A person which, claimed to be the messenger of the will of heroes. The harbinger of what is to come. It was said that each city of Estocia are collected of each respective Grandseer and they guide each city folk in their lives to success and victory.
If that is the case, why can't you lead me? Or at least, guide me to my path or even my future?
"I am not allowed to view on that, lass." she suddenly said.
Alright. No contest. She can read minds. I am certainly sure.
While I was making yet another confused face, she asked:
"Did you have a dream when you fainted, lass?"
Huh? Dream?
Now that you mention it…
"Y-yes. I did…" I said.
"Mm-hmm. Well, it already has begun." she said forming a faint smile on her face.
"What was?" I asked, further intensifying the confusion in my face.
The Grandseer sat straight on her chair and maintained her expression and spoke to me.
"I have something to tell you. Indeed, I am the Grandseer of Estocia where I was considered as the announcer of the will of Heroes. But before I became as such, I was just a person like you."
Huh? What did she mean? Is she trying to imply that she was also a frail little girl who was also persecuted by her city folk?
"Oh, how it brings me back my memories… The moment I laid my eyes on you with that sword, in fact. There was a girl about the same age as yours who tried to do the right thing. A girl who, in her wildest and blooming years, aspired to follow the echoes of her heart and that is to aid people by instruction."
Were you a teacher in the past, Granny?
"She followed the calling of the desires of her heart and she lived as regards on her own will: helping people. Her life was short-lived though…"
When she said those following words, her serious face gradually melted to that of sadness.
"Every human being tends to be manipulative… they can use their own kin as a pedestal for their own personal desires and success. The girl, who made her service to her own men as a daily-basis, gradually turned to something that resembles of slavery and they used every inch of her abilities until she cannot bear to see herself anymore. She lost the very essence of the thing she sought to become and on her last exhaustion of her own self, she lost her own ambition in life."
I stayed silent on the entire story of the Grandseer as I felt a connection on it. To be precise, about what is happening on my life as of late.
"Trap and lost on the abyss that she created, the girl then happened to hear a voice on an unworldly object… The voice seemed to be surreal as it called the girl as its own and they felt a connection. The voice in the object was unintelligible, but the girl did not mind it as she also felt the connection herself."
Contrasted to the sadness that she presented to me earlier, this time, the Grandseer of Estocia slowly but beautifully emerged in a smile.
Yes, the person who, from the moment I first met her that I thought that being angry and having a cold face was her default expression, she too can have the ability to smile like this.
She gave a warm and happy smile: a smile given by those who achieved pure joy in their life.
"She beckoned on this otherworldly object: a staff laced with a sword inside of it. Starting from that time, the girl and the sword became one and relied on each other to perform their duty… the same duty she sought to perform in Estocia but this time, the task she took an oath to administer is to carry the message of the Heroes…"
With a pause on her face, she ended her story as such…
"Why are you telling me this, Grandseer?" I immediately asked after listening on her exposition.
"Swords are not just merely tools or weapons, lass. They can perform amazing feats that can baffle the other nations due to their nature and that is what sets them apart from other objects in this world: they have a connection with their wielder."
Essence: the spirit of the sword.
As she discussed on the matter, the Grandseer of Estocia told me that each sword situated in the rite of this city are uncannily containing a connection on their wielder. Though it may be obvious for some or left vague and silent to the others, carriers of swords in Estocia can experience the essence of their sword calling into them. She said that the phenomena is said to be rare and isolated cases, but it doesn't mean that it is indeed impossible. As for the origin why this happens, the Grandseer said:
"There are no currently records that postulates as to why such phenomena may take place. Some say it may be a hallucination of the wielder when they carry their sword but no seer of the past can already affirm on that rumor."
This discussion is aiding my confusion about this "unworldly" sticks slowly but surely.
I asked to further lighten up my sketchiness:
"If the connection of the sword to the wielder is indeed possible, why is everyone not announcing this? Both Pops and me are swordsmiths but may be apart from Pops, this is the first time I had heard of this phenomena!"
"That is because it is forbidden and stated to be nonsensical if one person ever stated this. Think, lass: if you noticed one day that a sword was indeed talking to you and decided to announce it on the city, "my sword is talking to me!" will everyone believe in you? Some might even call you insane and send you to the infirmary to diagnose as such!"
Well, she has a point.
To think that such phenomena like this might happen. I know that swords are just weapons, designed to a specific purpose to help us in our daily lives, but I couldn't imagine that such swords can be like this.
Knowing all of this, I reluctantly looked at the sword on my drawer.
It is still there. Glimmering at the shines of the morning.
I gulped a little. There is no way that I can touch and use this in my everyday life now!
"Oh yes, lass. Since you fainted last night, I have more matters to discuss to you…"
Ugh. You don't have to remind me of what happened at that night!
The Grandseer got up on her chair and proceeded to walk on the other side of my bed, which is near at my drawer. She then gingerly picked my sword with the use of both of her hands and said to me as if presenting it to me in a traditional manner:
"Here is your sword, lass. Take it."
No! I cannot!
I gulped and sweated intensely.
It is good that I can just look at that sword knowing that it is not within my reach (although a little close), but me? Handling that?
To recall the records, I saw that sword in two instances when I was about to die! One on the cave and the second, at that stupid rite! Can I just also clarify that there may be a reason why that weirdo Razorfang warned me on our next meeting, and that is because of this sword?! Finally, my whole city folk admonished me just because I refused to acknowledge this infernal stick!!!
For all of that Grandseer, you want me to lay my hands on that?! The bringer of my doom?!
While weighing my priorities, I then noticed the weight of stare stabbing me brought by the eyes of the Grandseer.
On second thought, handling it will not kill me, right?
I reached for the grip of the sword and used my right hand to indeed grip it. I gingerly stared at it for a good second while carefully not using it to reflect the sunrays on my eyes.
For what it's worth, it still looks identical to the same sword that I beheld for the first time from that cave.
…with one minor change.
At the golden pommel of the sword, I noticed a same color of a small crest ornamented with a tinge of azure. The crest is beautiful to look at as it glimmers on the rays of the sun alike what was the entire sword has been doing. At the center of the crest presents a symbol which I could not recognize nor decipher much like the other ornaments of this sword.
While staring at it, Granny spoke:
"That is an insignia. A physical manifestation of the essence of your sword."
"I-Insignia? This crest is the essence?" I reverberated the same words that stuck on me.
"All of the swords obtained from a rite carries an insignia in any forms and shapes. If one wishes to bond with them, you must wear the insignia." She said, serious as ever.
To bond, huh?
Heh. Why would I bond with a sword?
It is not like a sword can be alive, right? What is this, a fairy tale?
When laughing inside of myself, a sudden jolt immediately hit me.
Then I realized… I had a dream. I did have a dream last night.
Remember! Remember, Astoria!
Instinctively, with my hunger for answers guided by my curiosity, I hurriedly picked the insignia and held it with both of my hands.
Suddenly…
With the faint sound of the gasp made by Grandseer, there was an intense burst of blue light that shot up my room, completely filling every angles of it. The tinge emerged intensively that outside spectators on my room may have also seen it.
Furthermore…
"Astoria…"
I heard a voice. A soothing and calming voice. A voice which, without mistaking it, belongs to a woman.
"AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWA- WAH!!!!!"
"Lass! What is the matter with you? Why are you shouting?!"
A sound of a Lady shouting her lungs off erupted inside the room.
I... I think I am ready to head out for the festival.