Earlier in the Cathedral Gardens...
Those had been some... enlightening relevations. Ádalé definitely needed some time to think them over and as such, she found herself in the Cathedral gardens. Dressed in casual attire that she had donned after her audience with Ivanova. She definitely felt more home in it than that dreaded ceremonial dress. It was also more a little more comfortable than her armour set, which she had worn to show proper respect towards the Divine Queen. Bless the blacksmiths of the Order, but a full set of plate armour always managed to feel a little stiff. Unless it was made out of some horribly expensive or magically enchanted materials, Ádalé reminded herself. Seizing onto this thought, the knight pondered if she should try to get something between the two. She definitely needed something that she could use for more formal occassions that did not embarrass her. Simply put, the ceremonial dress was too much for her to bear and her other sets of clothes were plain at best.
A little bit of shopping was in order then. Having successfully diverted her thoughts from matters of the looming war, Ádalé toured the majestic garden as she took inventory. She managed to save quite a bit of florins from her salary. Problem was, she was in Eustia and she had several things she could spend it on. One, she definitely needed some basic medical supplies to supplement her rudimentary healing magic. Two, she wanted to increase her horizons a little. War or not, she was in Eustia. One of the biggest cities in the world. Bearing the massive crowds in exchange for a once-in-a-lifetime experience was nothing. She was here to earn the right to become a free knight, after all. The more she saw of the world, the better chance she had of actually becoming one. Three, and this was the last point, Ádalé would have definitely liked to buy some clothes.
But how did she budget her expenses to allow for all three? Buying a dress that was not too fancy and yet respectful enough would eat up a lot of her money. Things like those did not come cheap and then there were the medical supplies. This would leave her no money for Eustia. Or very little. She would have to forego something in exchance for something else. The medical supplies, Ádalé would definitely buy. The dress... she had to buy that unless she wanted to crash and burn like back on the Sovereign. Even the thought of wearing the Order's ceremonial clothes made her fidget with embarrassment. That moment when she made a fool of herself all but burned into Ádalé's memory. It had been simply so mortifying! She had embarrassed herself before instructors before, of course. However, that single moment was almost like a pinnacle of everything wrong she had done, all thrown into her face at once. Maybe even launched by catapult.
She was never going to get over that, was she?
As the knight with heterochromic irises wandered through Cathedral's gardens, the tranquil nature of the complex provided solace for her thoughts. There wasn't a soul in sight to disturb her pondering... at least provided one didn't look above towards the top of one of the marble pillars adorning the paths. Up there was a woman bearing the signature look of an Abyssal Infernal, deep red eyes much like Sorina's, long alabaster locks cascading down her back, and to complement, she was clad in all white. Hanging from her neck and resting neatly between her collarbone was a silver pendant bearing the symbol of Luna.
As a devout follower of the Divine Church, Adale would recognize that she was none other than Elysion, Eidolon of Luna.
"Hi~" Elysion called out to the lone knight, a wide happy smile tinged with slight mischievousness. A light breeze blew at that moment, swaying the woman's white strands as she removed herself from the pillar, slowly floating down with her form trailing red mists behind her. Her heels landed on the ground then she approached the taller knight.
"Finally, we meet, Adale~" The Eidolon grinned, letting her words sink in,
"Yep, I know who you are o' Knight of the Truthful Voices." A wink,
"I frequently visit your Order just so you know, well, let's just say the story of the orphan girl who could bend iron with her bare fists go around fast... especially with those mismatched eyes of yours." The white-haired woman giggled then mocked a surprised gasp,
"Oh! Where are my manners, I am Elysion o-... aaah, you can just call me Ellie~ I'm not one for all those fancy titles and stuff you see? I leave that to Diana and Ivanova." With her hands behind her back, Ellie skipped around Adale, examining her form before returning to her front,
"So, how did the big important meeting go?"
Just as she had finished that thought, a voice interrupted Ádalé and she found her breath halt as she looked towards the source. White hair. Red eyes. White clothes. A pose that spoke of mischief. A pendant of Luna hanging from a pale, contrasting against perfectly white skin. That alone was enough to convince the knight of Ellysion's identity, but the display of power solidified it completely. For the second time today, she found herself awed by the mere presence of another individual. First, she got to stand in the presence of Diana. She had also been graced by the Divine Queen herself. Now, Ádalé stood face-to-face with Ellysion. Naturally, she froze up just as any individual would in the presence of the Divine One's Left Hand. Ellysion might have frequented Bumi more often to interact with mortals, but to her knowledge, the infernal never did it openly.
So it was safe to say this was yet another encounter she could not repeat in her lifetime. Absolutely stunned by Ellysion's sudden appearance, Ádalé completely forgot about her manners. Then she was reminded by Ellysion herself that such things were not needed when one addressed the avatar of change. Rules along with regulations were a bane of Ellysion's; it was almost as if she was allergic to it. This realisation caused Ádalé only to flail in her mental scape while gaping like a fish. What did she say? What did she do?! This was one of the most important figures in Bumi and yet Ádalé could not do anything! Not even realising that this was only making her panic worse, the knight ended up making some form of incoherent noise as she firmly landed herself in a pile of fluster. A huge, massive pile that covered her neck deep. A gigantic one that would no doubt amuse Ellysion.
"I... I'm sorry..." managed Ádalé after several moments of silent steaming. She did not even try to conceal her embarrassment, because it was useless.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Ellysi- Ellie." No formality, she reminded herself. Just respect which flowed from the bottom of her heart.
"The meeting... umm... It went well." Steady. Do not worry about this, Ádalé. She will not see you as rude. She will not see you as rude if you are casual! You would be more rude if you were formal!
"Princess Olivia has been rescued." A painful pause. Between her inherent respect for Ellysion and her beliefs, the knight really did not know what to do. She felt awkward, not to mention more stiff than a stiff made of titanium. She just could not do this casual thing! Even if intellectually, she was aware of Ellysion's preferences, it felt
wrong to address her like this.
Oh my oh my~ Just listen to all the wonderful distressed noises of the girl. To think she was a mighty Knight who could bend armor with naught but her punches, such contrast intrigued the Eidolon indeed.
"Hehe~" A small giggle escaped Ellie's lips as a hand elegantly hid them from view,
"Relax, Adale~" The girl was a skittish one indeed... and this was precisely why she was so perfect!
Ellie was clearly enjoying her blushes, fidgets, and stutters as the Eidolon patiently waited for Adale to compose herself from a nervous wreck to a slightly better wreck,
"Aha~ so I've heard, and...?" The Infernal representative of Luna stepped in closer, closer, and closer until their faces were separated by mere inches, a low
'hmmm~?' purring from her as she gave the knight as much as time as she needed.
"Ah, you're a cutie, you know that?" As if having no sense of personal space, Ellie patted Adale's head even though the woman was taller than her, it made the sight quite interesting indeed but well, no one else was there to notice.
"Come then, let's talk a walk." Positioning herself beside the dark-haired girl, she led her around the gardens, the breeze waving their contrasting locks.
A short moment later, Ellie glanced at her, the ever-present small smile visible on her pale features,
"So, Adale of the Truthful Voices, I sense doubt in your heart..." She paused,
"Hehe~ just kidding, anyone with functioning eyes can see you have a lot on your mind, all those frowns and scowls, they aren't good for your skin you know?" Ellie giggled,
"But, seriously, you can talk to me if you wish, unlike Diana, my help is available to all who needs them! ...except orcs, can't hear through their butchered excuse of the Common Tongue."
A small flush appeared on Ádalé's face as Ellysion laughed at her. Damnation, she managed to embarrass herself again! As she was starting to learn, she was not good at certain social events. Especially if they included people whom she looked up to or was afraid of. She really needed to work on that. And as she did not want to make the situation worse, she did not even try to deny her clumsiness to her current company. Instead, she took the infernal's advice to take a deep breath. Slowly, she filled her lungs with air in an attempt to calm herself down. She was essentially forcing her body to adopt a state of calm, which would then spread to her mind. But of course, as soon as she was almost done with the process, Ellysion had to make that comment about her being cute.
Ádalé's efforts came crashing down immediately. She may not have flushed this time, but her confusion was written onto her face as plainly as it was humanly possible. What? The knight was just about to elaborate on what happened so what?! How did that connect to this topic? How was it releva- Oh. Right. Infernal, Eidolon of Luna, mistress of Change and the new. Realising that Ellysion was probably doing this for the exact purpose of taking her off guard, Ádalé managed to recover from the shock in just a few seconds. There would likely be even more surprises to come later. But for now, the knight managed to regain control over herself with another deep breath. Remembering to treat Ellysion just as if she was speaking with another individual, she finally managed to find her voice after she took a long time to reassert herself.
"I'm sorry, Elly...e." That was not a great start. Ádalé frowned.
"I'm thankful for the offer, but I can't be so selfish. Bumi needs Luna now, doesn't it?" A rhetorical question not meant to be answered.
"Queen Ivanova told her troops to prepare for war. The Empire is going to attack soon." Of course she would not be so selfish as to lay her burdens onto the Eidolon. She may have been confused, but she was sure she could handle herself. Not to mention that even if Ellysion was not present during the briefing, then surely, not even Luna wanted a war so soon. Or maybe she did. It was all but impossible to predict a force of Change, after all. So instead of laying out her presumptions or asking Ellysion for help on behalf of the Lughanta and Fraulia, Ádalé pursed her lips.
"I'm sure Diana would hear me out too, but she is busy. Everyone is worthy of the One's respect, after all, are they not, Ellie?"
Or at least that was what Ádalé believed. She knew that Ellysion was trying to make a joke, but she was also feeling a little uncomfortable. Why was the Eidolon of Luna seeking her out of all people? And why had she memorised her name when she supposedly was a member of the Order? It was honsetly overwhelming and the knight did not know if she should be flattered or a little bit scared of the Eidolon's power.
"Hmmm~" The Eidolon of Luna hummed mischievously, her hands clasped behind her back, swaying deliberately as she walked,
"Oh, how humble, of course, without Luna, we'd still be stuck with sticks and stones." She answered Adale nonetheless, rhetorical or no.
"I am not surprised, the truce was a fragile one, Little Kyrie has been looking for a politically valid reason to launch another invasion." Ellie chuckled as if the notion of imminent war wasn't something worth worrying about. Bumi was a changing world, big or small, change didn't necessarily have to pander to the subjective notion of Good and Evil, it was above such moralities.
"Maybe but you said it yourself, Diana is busy..." Then Ellie gasped a little,
"However, I am not slacking around mind you, I have my own duties, don't get the wrong idea okay?" Her pale lips giggled,
"Hmmm... I don't know... Respect is earned not a privilege and I don't think it matters in the end. For example, those faithless who doesn't believe in the existence of The Divine Trinity, well it makes no difference, they were still born from the Flow and to the Flow they shall return whether they accepted it or not."
"Anyways~" Ellie stepped in front of Adale, smiling at her,
"I know your Order prefers Balance, not particularly leaning to Luna or Sol, mind telling me why, Adale? Or... don't tell me you have been sleeping in your learning sessions now?"
"Ah!" A surprised little gasp left Ádalé's lips as she was accused.
"I didn't mean to imply that you weren't performing your duties, Eidolon of Luna!" The formal apology managed to slip out despite the knight's best intentions. All knowledge of Ellysion's mischeviousness was cast aside for this single moment. Because no matter what sort of opinions Ádalé held, she did not want to offend the Creator's Left Hand. Not only would be that unwise, but it also went against what she believed. Of course, she quickly realised her mistake when her conversational partner giggled. Ádalé flushed in response. She had fallen into the trap again! Ellysion way too good at this. Or maybe she was just bad at interacting with the Eidolon. Either way, the knight once again felt as if she had made a fool of herself. At least this time, she managed to recover somewhat gracefully before she considered what Ellysion said.
"Yes. All life returns to the Flow, because all life was created by the One. I don't want to insult you, Ellie, but I think that means everyone should be respected. All are equal before the One." The quote of her Order's first principle was perhaps unnecessary. If Ellysion really had been observing the Truthful Voices, she would likely know the code just as well as Ádalé did. However, the knight felt it was necessary to justify her opinion.
"I mean, if the One created everything, then that means It cherishes all of Bumi, right? I... I'm sorry, but I don't know how to say it." For Ádalé who had lived her entire life in tolerance and a sort of tough love, it was odd to think that someone would play favourites with the various races. She had been taught to respect them equally, even if she had to hold a core of spite in her heart when she ended the life of an enemy.
"As for my Order's views," continued Ádalé after a slight pause that she used to count to three lest she raise to the provocation,
"I can't speak for everyone. But I think that if the One wanted to favour Luna or Sol, then it would have made one of them stronger. But It made them equals." There were other reasons, but as always, her religious views came first. She found them the easiest to phrase.
"Hmmm... how to put this..." Ellie crossed her arms under her chest, pondering,
"We can't apply our limited senses and thoughts to the Divine Trinity, Adale, they are beyond us, yes, even myself." The Eidolon hummed,
"Their sense of 'respect' and 'equality' may be very well different than ours, they are eternal, we aren't." Adale was a smart girl, she'd understand.
Then, the pair continued their walk,
"Adale, oh, Adale~" Ellie shook her head slowly,
"Though Luna and Sol are created equal in the bigger picture, there are always ebbs and flows. Sometimes, one aspect plays a bigger part than the other, things are never the same. In fact, this is part of change. I am sure you know which one of the Forces are playing her hand now with the coming war." The white-haired woman winked as she nudged Adale's shoulder,
"However, don't you think that Luna is superior?
Ellie paused, letting her question sink in before she continued,
"Just imagine, if it isn't for Luna, nothing would ever progress! Boring routine, no Erchius, no airships, living in caves. I think it's safe to say that Luna is the one who brought progress while Sol is just... there, I guess." The albino shrugged,
"Why do we even need Order? Luna is the best! I say even more important than the One Itself!" With a wide grin, Elysion spread her arms wide,
"So, switch your allegiance in favor of Chaos, Adale, you can do so much more~"
That made sense and got Ádalé to think. The One had not created every race to be truly equal, because It chose to give them different strengths. But still, would it be so strange to think of the One as percieving them as equals? Life returned to the Flow no matter where it came from. Whether they be servants of Luna, Sol or even some other deity that they thought up for themselves, people's fate was the same. Similarly, Ellysion's point about ebbs and flows also struck a chord within the knight. She may not have been someone for fancy words or scholarly thought, but even she could recognise the various shifts through history. From the Celestial Dictatorships spoken of only in hushed whispers to the Aeons of Chaos, Luna and Sol were indeed constantly shifting in their balance.
As this made tremendous sense, Ádalé could not help but blink in astonishment when Ellysion dropped a metaphorical bomb. Luna? Superior? No, that could not be true, could it be? Yet the proposition made sense, especially with the way Sol was put at the mercy of Change. No matter how hard Ádalé's gut rebelled against that idea, it was far too true. Order was a fragile thing that could be toppled by a simple rebellion. It also required Bumi to remain constant. For all of its virtues, this was true. Even the knight's teachers admitted that invention along with creativity were fueled by Luna. Therefore, the influence of Change really was what made the world today, was it not? Yes, that sounded right. However, it also sounded wrong. Was it really the complete picture? Ádalé felt in her heart of hearts that it was not.
"I..." A conflicted expression bloomed on Ádalé's face as she struggled with words and concepts.
"Please give me a little time to think, Ellie. I don't want to insult you, but I don't know if... if what you said is right." Thankfully, the Eidolon honoured her request and let the knight sink into her thoughts. Even if Ellysion did stare at Ádalé with a shit-eating grin. She seemed to be sure of herself that the knight would agree with her in the end. Ádalé was not so certain. For even though the words were true, there was something fundamentally wrong with them. It was not something she could identify at first glance. Maybe it way only a gut feeling that came from Ellie challenging Ádalé's beliefs. Maybe it was that Ádalé had just been told an uncomfortable truth. The knight knew not, only that she was unsettled.
At first, Ádalé tried to think of examples of Order inventing something. That failed miserably. Everything, even the founding of cities or countries was a change. The very fabric of Order rested on Change! No, no, that could not be true. There was an inherent contradiction there. If Luna had its way, then those cities would not be founded, would they? No, that was weak. But, Ádalé realised, the cities would not remain standing if it was for Luna. A bright smile blossomed on the knight's face as she seized victory, only for the jaws of defeat to close aroubd her throat. The existence of cities did not invalidate the fact that Luna was responsible for all invention. Therefore, Sol was still unnecessary, was it not?
No, no, no, no. Think, Ádalé, think! If that was true, then the Order would take Luna's side, would it not? If that was true, then why did Sol exist? The Creator would not create things superflously, would It? The knight's mind traversed increasingly more complicated circles as she tried to find out the reasons for Sol's existence. But the more she tried, the more bogged up she became. She reached beyond her own expertise several times, painfully rebounding against her lack of knowledge. It seemed then, that Luna's superior nature was truly inevitable. There was simply no reason to believe otherwise! It was a heavy truth that Ádalé struggled to accept. She tried to fight it on every ground she coulf, but ultimately, she was soundly defeated. And as such, the Knight opened her eyes with a heavy sigh of resignation
And then her first word got stuck in her throat as she saw the Cathedral.
Of course. How could she have been so completely, utterly stupid? Sol's purpose was right in front of her. She had just been too tied up in things beyond her reach to notice it. For all that Luna may boast, there was no way Change could do something like this. And because of this realisation, Ádalé finally found her resolve to speak against Ellysion.
"I... I can't agree with that, Ellie." The words felt heavy as they fell from Ádalé's mouth, but she still spoke them.
"Luna is inventive and clever... but can Luna make the Cathedral or Eustia? No, because they are something that people built together." A long sigh filled with tension, almost overflowing. Ádalé did not want to insult Ellie, but what the Eidolon said was simply not true. "
People can't do that without Sol. And... and even if someone invents something, isn't Sol the one who puts the pieces where they belong?" This point, she was not so sure of, but she believed it held merit. Ádalé had seen the forging of her armour and weapon; both processes requiring rigor and procedure. Could Luna be the only one responsible for that? No. At least Ádalé did not think so.
"So... umm... I don't think Luna is superior. Sol has an equal place in Bumi." There. She said it. Filled with nerves and drawn out like a piece of bowstring, Ádalé hoped against all hope that Ellysion would not be offended. And that her arguements stood up against scrutiny.
"Of course~" A simple nod was given to the knight's request to think. The albino Eidolon kept up her trademark shit-eating grin as she thoroughly enjoyed messing around with the female knight's convictions. Yes, questions, doubts, curiosity, these were a few of the many emotions Luna embodied. If Adale listened closely, she could swear that Ellie was lowly humming while staring at her, pale features frozen in an amused expression.
"Awww~" Ellie didn't even try to pass off her 'disappointment' as genuine when the heterochromic woman finally gave her answer. The white-haired Abyssal crossed one arm across her chest while the other one held her chin,
"Hmmm..." Ellie seemed to be deep in thoughts herself, taking in everything that Adale said. Luna was the Force of Change, she moved everything, progress and advancements, however, they would have no directions or meaning even if it wasn't for Sol's part in the matter. These were the points expressed by the Knight, ended with her conclusion that Sol and Luna were equals, no more, no less.
The Eidolon paced
around the knight, examining her form closely, she made two rounds before ending up in her previous position in front of Adale.
"Adale of the Truthful Voices..." Ellie's voice suddenly fell a few octaves below as she placed an arm on the dark-haired woman's shoulder, then she slowly leaned in, closer, and closer until her lips were beside Adale's ear,
"I'll certainly be seeing you more from now on~" With that, Ellie gave a soft kiss on Adale's cheek, before she drew back, grinning.
"Hehehe~" With the both ominous and adorable giggle, Elysion paced away, turning around the corner, disappearing from the stunned knight's sights.
For the longest of moments, Ádalé felt herself tense up as she waited for Ellysion's answer. She hoped that her reasoning would be good enough for the Eidolon to accept her disagreement, because the knight honestly did not know how long she could argue with the avatar of Change herself. And even if that was not the case, she simply held the Eidolon in high enough esteem that it was difficult to not take her word as fact. Therefore, when the knight's conversational partner relented, Ádalé let out a relieved sigh. She had done it! She made a case good enough for Ellysion to accept, which meant that her beliefs were right. Or maybe Ellysion just wanted to see her dig her own grave. Either way, she did not have the slightest chance to expect what happened next. First, the Eidolon started to threaten her and then...
She whispered into Ádalé's ear that she was going to see her more from now on?!
Confused beyond the ability of words to express, the knight could only gape like a fish as Ellysion literally disappeared in front of her eyes. What in the name of the One was that about? Ádalé could not... would not... should not... Argh! Why? Why her? Was she the Divine One's plaything or something? Whatever she had done wrong with her life? Frustrated, confused and most of all, wishing that she could understand the cryptic message, Ádalé tried her best to calm down in the garden in the following few minutes. However, all she got for her efforts was an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach. And it was most definitely not connected to the coming war.
