Step by step, a hooded figure climbed the World Tree. Despite his travels to get to this point, the ascent looked like a monumental task unlike anything he'd ever seen. From his leaving of Chyrsos, or the travels along with caravans to get closer to his destination, he'd found new fears, new desires, and most importantly fresh interest in the surface world and beyond. The heat from the sun lessened under the World Tree's protection, but someone so inexperienced with the sun's blessing could still feel the slightest warmth through the beams piercing the brush, though he preferred the chill in the air as he climbed further. He had been lucky to survive this far without burning up his pale skin in the heat of the days spent traveling. The sun truly felt like a hazard, in it's own way.
At one point, he had began counting the steps. He lost count here and there, unsure if he had counted thousands, tens of thousands, or something even more. It was like an endless spiral that he continued to silently climb, occasionally passing those who were exhausted and unable to progress, probably pushing themselves too fast and early. He preferred a slower, steady approach: He conserved his energy and hiked, not the quickest to rise to the top, but in an endurance challenge such as this, being fast wasn't always the most practical.
Motivation was also a necessity. One had to climb because they wanted something- Had something to achieve. Though other elements played into it as well. Continuing upward meant he never had to look down, a preference by him as the concept of making a fast and violent retreat down these steps was more terrifying than any mystery about what was in store up above. He was far from unaware of the height he had attained during the climb, and when he finally reached his destination, he almost couldn't believe the Paideia was truly real, it was almost as if he had ascended to some sort of heaven.
Looking over his destination, Soma Konosuke removed his hood. His ponytail shook with the wind, as did the stray hairs in front of his face. The sight of such a beautiful place- Nature beyond comprehension for most of these lands, a true sight to behold for someone who was used to dark, rocky caverns. Word of mouth had been all he had been able to see of this place, and none of it could do the Paideia justice.
However, he did not weep.
Rather, from shot nerves and a single look at the distance down, he fell to his knees and proceeded to vomit from having to endure this entire situation. He sat there in an attempt to prepare himself physically to go forward, and give himself the time to truly take in the beauty around him for a mental refresh, but he wasn't sure anything would be enough after a climb like that.
He'd made it, and his new life would soon start.
Turns out rest wasn't allowed.
The sheer contrast between the slow trip up and the absolute storm of work to be done in rapid succession now was quite jarring. Soma bought himself time by giving each form a genuine read, noting how everything was truly tied to these signatures. No wonder you couldn't hear much about the Paideia from the outside- They were obviously strict about their knowledge and kept a lot of things under wraps. Not to mention the waiver for them having no responsibility if he died here! Or fell from the World Tree itself!
His blood ran cold that they needed to specify about that fall.
Days of exams and interviews made Soma begin to lose track of time. Though he usually liked to play it off, he couldn't hide with them that he was at least fairly fit from his time digging through Chrysos' caverns. No apparent illnesses, which was good news to him, though he couldn't help but feel unnerved with the doctors taking so many notes about him. Just what was being written down, and why? As suspicious as he was, there wasn't a way he was getting that information. Even now, he knew he had eyes on him. The security in this place really was tight, one wrong move and he'd be back down those stairs, he could feel it. But why couldn't he
see anyone keeping those eyes on him? Was it paranoia? He really wasn't sure.
The same feeling followed him into the interview portion, which was a true purge. Soma witnessed tears, anger, and mixtures of both from people who were sent away from the Paideia. He couldn't imagine how he would've reacted if it was him: Coming all this way, that harsh climb... Only to do it backwards, in shame. So many of these people seemed much more ideal than him-- He truly wondered how he survived where others failed each day, but a complaint wouldn't escape him.
Somehow, of all those participants, he managed to remain. Doubts of self-worth crept into his mind, questioning if he really deserved to be here when others were sent home. What could have happened to make so many promising people get axed from learning at the Paideia? His thoughts wandered, thinking on if they had low staff due to their secrecy: If it was this hard to be a student, imagine what it was like to be an educator. It was definitely different than him being scooped off the streets and being taught...
The sash was tacky, Soma honestly didn't think it fit very well with his attire, but there was also pride. Barely any of the people who came here were able to get far enough to wear it, but Soma felt comfortable. The acceptance was a relief, it meant that he wouldn't have to worry it was finally his turn to be sent down the tree again. Rather, Soma felt relaxed as he met his professors- They all seemed to be intelligent people, at least with this first meeting. He wasn't per-say distrustful of them, but he did like to keep an eye on those in his life and get a bead on what exactly they were like before he made too many judgements.
And the welcoming ceremony! After all the anxiety and uncertainty, it was such a relief to see such celebrations. Soma took an interest in many of the different presentations, though on one particular day he found himself attracted to quite a scene- Seemed to be a quiz, of some kind, though the contestants were absolutely being blasted by the host. Soma found humor in this, deciding to play along from the sidelines rather than intervene directly, though it wasn't actually as hard as he expected. Even with right answers always came a call that demeaned the intelligence of the contestant, though, and Soma fairly quickly found people taking leave rather than wanting to deal with it.
"Archaeology club,
huh?" He noted quietly to himself. While the host's behavior left much to be desired, Soma had to admit he at least had some decent trivia. A lot of other booths didn't truly further his goals, or blend with him as well as that simple tidbit. He wondered what kind of knowledge he could gather from partaking: He would kill two moles with one cave-in if he joined, since finding a club was a necessity. Though, that guy seemed like a pompous ass, so was it really worth putting himself through that just to learn a bit more?
Some shrugged his shoulders and grinned, walking away from the display. It sounded just fine, honestly. Nothing ventured meant nothing was gained, so the answer felt obvious as he wrote down and submitted his choice. He simply wandered off into the crowds afterwards- Figuring he'd just enjoy the rest of his time while he had it, as things would surely pick up and become busier soon.
Though just how busy, he had no true idea.
"What would you sacrifice for the Requiem?"
The note had been on Soma's mind since he received it. It was far off, why think of it right now? Soma was generally simple- He tried not to think on it too hard, it was a more personal feeling that usually lead him to an answer. Because really, a whole month in advance? He wasn't really bothered to think on it too hard for the moment, so he simply crammed the note in his pocket and prepared to take his leave for his first club meeting.
It'd been a few weeks, now. Soma was mostly settled in, though he hadn't expected to be sharing a space with someone. Edith, he recalled her name. She wasn't bad as far as he could tell, they seemed neutral as far as he could tell. He figured it could have been much worse- He could have ended up with someone like that guy from the quiz during the welcoming ceremony, what a nightmare that would have been. Yeah, he'd take Edith's more quiet disposition any day.
In the back of his mind, he pondered about another quiet person he met during classes- That Leonia girl, with astonishing jewelry that'd make a Chrysos noble feel envy. A small grin crossed his face, though she had a bit more of a cold shoulder, the two might get along. He'd have to try and see how that would play out, try to connect the dots on his building friend circle. Or... Well, for now it would be a friend triangle.
Close enough.
He decided to embark for the library. Though, this place was a genuine maze to him still. Twists and turns that all lead to new destinations and returned him to old ones. Honestly it felt like a miracle when he finally was rewarded with the library entrance. He figured the club was right behind the door, so he took a second to mentally prepare himself before entering.
As he stepped inside, however, the space was so odd. It felt larger than it looked on the outside, and each step truly felt like no progress was being made. Quietly he stepped through the amassing of books, at first not thinking much of it but as he continued on, he began to feel more unnerved than he had during all the examinations weeks prior.
First it was the bookcases. They began to tilt at odd angles, or become shapes that he couldn't quite comprehend. Of note was one shelf that was large, but the shape felt all wrong. It was spherical... With singular books enveloping a rim around it, making absolutely no sense. He swore the steps were bookcases, too: The books almost pushing out of their shelves to allow him to step higher, as he looked above and saw what looked much more normal than what was below.
"
Is that..." Soma was in disbelief, eyes shifting to the ceiling above. "A
carpeted staircase?!" This was beyond his imagination, this was beginning to become madness. Soma, now getting cold feet about the library, decided that perhaps backtracking was the best idea for now. But as he turned to go back down the staircase of books, he soon realized he was still going up, somehow. As if they had all risen higher again.
Reasonable panic set in, and Soma continued to scramble up them, figuring it was at least in the right direction. Or was it? He could hardly dictate up from down, how was he supposed to know left or right? Was he actually going back, or did he get turned around again? Nothing looked the same, the spheres were gone, and now the books were spread out along the ground as if they were flat carpet. It was enough to truly make someone's sanity slip, just what the hell was this place?
Just as he was about to yell out for somebody,
anybody, to help him, a voice graced his ear. The man was tall, though barely familiar. Perhaps from the ceremony...? Soma found himself guided along, curious that someone could wander this place with such know-how. Simple thanks were exchanged, but he was quite busy taking off to round up the others.
Soma simply rested his hands in his palms as he waited for him to return with more. This was quite the route to a club meeting, of all things. Soma had to imagine someone might get scared off from this, though the madness of it all did intrigue him personally. However, he wouldn't want to get stuck in whatever
that was ever again.
As everyone gathered, Soma simply kept seated as things at least made sense there on the ground, and until coming into this library he didn't realize how precious a
normal floor truly was. He felt a slight annoyance at the fact that the Requiem had been a focus on that note rather than any warning about what
that had been, but it was really too late to voice that it was a problem, with the obvious issues already being laid out by Spyridon's gathering trip.
Instead, the Requiem came up as the main topic again- It was almost nerve wracking, but Soma couldn't argue much: It was important, despite how far away it was to him. He took it as Spyridon being quite the devout, which he didn't want to disrespect. Rather, he decided to chime in and introduce himself, a reintroduction to those that already met him, but a clean fresh welcoming to those that didn't.
"Soma's just fine for me, it's a pleasure to meet all of you~" He offered a small two-finger salute greeting, though noted that names weren't terribly necessary for everyone with these sashes, switching back however admittedly Soma wasn't sure how long he'd tolerate wearing it over his clothes. He'd have to change it up sooner than later.
He thought on what they needed, and how to solve filling in any of these particular items. It was almost like a small puzzle, he felt entertained in that regard. His mind initially went towards warmth, though he had a quick and rather easy realization in his mind for 'new'.
"For
something new, perhaps something applicable would be items created specifically to be used for this tribute?" He offered as a thought to the group. "Hand-made gifts. Quite personal and respectful, no?" He grinned a little at the idea, though kept relaxed and sat down. He'd have to ask himself what exactly he'd use for a gift himself, though... There was a small pang of regret as he realized it might actually be more work than he initially thought, depending on how they went about it.
'I guess by saying that I just signed up for actual work on this.' He thought to himself, eyes momentarily closed. He simply shrugged his shoulders, amused overall.
'Aw, well.'