Day 43 : Meeting Augustine

We went further down and came into a rather large, dimly-lit room with golden-yellow balls of light glowing in the air. Our hands passed through them as we tried to feel them. I was enthralled. I have never seen anything like it. Even the Firefly Repository in Lumine didn't match this.

"Look!"

Mira pointed to a glowing stone slab near the wall in front of us. We ran to look at what was on it. It read,

Look to the stars, and deep in wonder pray,
And wonder as the rain comes softly down
Upon a world whose stains are washed away.

Even if you can find no words to say
As winds about you stir your dressing-gown
Look to the stars, and deep in wonder pray.

Even though you can never yet repay
Those who were lost in blooming, stricken down
Upon a world whose stains are washed away

Standing beneath the moonlight's dewy day
Within your heart, your deepest sorrows drown
Awed by the stars; you, deep in wonder, pray.

When you believe yourself unfit to stay
You face a hero's welcome and renown
Within the world whose stains are washed away.

Your soul was pure when you made the assay,
To save those you forsook with your hometown.
Look to the stars, and deep in wonder pray
Within the world whose stains are washed away.

"Any idea what this means?" I asked.
"Nope," Leah answered and walked to the side of the room.
"Whoever wrote this was a poetic genius," said Tatienne.

I repeated these lines in my head: Look to the stars, and deep in wonder pray, within the world whose stains are washed away; when you believe yourself unfit to stay, you face a hero's welcome and renown; your soul was pure when you made the assay, to save those you forsook with your hometown.

Unfit to stay? Who would be forsaking who? Whose soul was pure? Will we still be able to retain such innocence in a world that has lost everything? I'm trying, at least, but I doubt this thing would ever refer to me.

We were about to leave the room when we saw it get a little brighter. We turned back… to see the figure of a priest, garbed in white with a purple chasuble, with a yellow glow around him. He was holding the Scriptures in his right hand. His face didn't look at all familiar, but there was something about him which made me pity him. He wore a sad smile, giving me the impression that he was plagued by everyday burdens and spiritual warfare, or possibly something deeper, but he was happy to have visitors. He began to speak,

"Oh, truly… it isn't everyday that I find people as strong as you are."

He sounded so sad. I couldn't contain my emotions back there. A single tear rolled down my cheek.

"Fa…… father."
"Yes, beloved one?"

I stared at him for a long time. I didn't know what to ask him.

"You must be wondering who I am," said he.
I simply nodded my head.

"My name is Augustine. You might be wondering what I'm doing here, trapped in a place like this."
"H… How did you end up here?"
"It all began when I came across a boy named Pryce."

He sounded rather weary, and we were all moved with compassion for him. The once whiny Mira finally quietened down to listen to him.  When Father Augustine paused, we began to see visions of what he went through.

I saw a thin boy with glasses, freckles and hair stereotypical of a schoolboy, dressed in his primary school uniform. He spotted a tree, and decided to go there, climb it and read. Soon after, he was approached by a chubby boy, who yelled at him and told him to get out of the area. The thin boy ran away, crying.

"I once used to despise this boy… Bertrand Pryce. He was different from all of us; he would drown himself in a world of his own. I never could see what he found in those books of his. I never understood what he got out of smelling the roses, inhaling the fresh air, climbing trees and sitting all by himself. I kept on yelling at him, picking on him, simply because he was different."

The images in front of us changed. We saw the two boys get into a fist fight. The chubby boy was obviously much stronger than the thin boy, and with one blow, the boy suffered a bleeding nose.

"It came to the point that I hurt him. He never could see things the way I saw things. I was pretty much the king of the playground, and everyone bowed to my orders except for this boy. But one day, after several days of animosity…"

It was then that I knew that the thin boy was the Bertrand Pryce he was speaking about, and that the chubby boy was Father Augustine. This time, we saw a money-bag lying on the ground. Pryce picked it up and immediately recognised it as Father Augustine's money-bag. He dashed into the school compound to look for him. The chubby boy was moved when he saw the other boy run into school with his money-bag.

"He found something that belonged to me, something that I needed to take to school every day. When he found my money-bag, I was moved by his gesture, and I decided to put aside all differences and become friends with him."

There was a flash of white around where we were standing, and we saw the two boys in a hideout of sorts. Pryce was sharing his stories with Augustine, and Augustine was showing him a replica of an airship that he had made.

"He was interested in literature and he was a rather bright student. I enjoyed it whenever he shared his stories with me. As for me, I handled machines from a young age, and he was quite enthralled with the structures I made. But when we grew up, we ended up in an area where everyone was seeking to hurt us. I could easily defend myself, but Pryce knew he needed to become stronger."

We watched in horror as an eerie flash of light, thunder and screams cut to the next scene from Father Augustine's recollection. Pryce left Augustine at sunset and went home. It was night-time, and dark clouds eclipsed the view of the moon, an indicator that it was going to be an especially stormy night. Whilst Augustine was thinking of the story that Pryce had shared with him that evening, he spotted a ghastly figure on the ground, all pale and surrounded by flames. He peered over the window to take a look, but was overcome by worry and despair when he recognised the figure as his best friend, Pryce.

"That night, I knew that Pryce was slipping away. I consulted a few friends to help bring him back. I spoke to them and it was then that I learned that his blood was contaminated with dragon's blood."

This time, Pryce was in an enclosure, monitored by two people. Augustine came to visit him from time to time, only to despair more and more as Pryce lost control of his body. Three people were taking care of him; I assumed them to be his friends. One of them, a young woman with long red hair, dolefully looked at the poor, battered Pryce and told Augustine the sentence he dreaded to hear:

"It can't be done."

By this point, the once level-headed Sybil now had tears in her eyes. Father Augustine had tears in his eyes too. He was too distraught to speak about his old friend, but he knew he had to.

"Whilst Pryce was being rehabilitated, I made a mechanic phoenix for him to see, since he loved mythical creatures, and I thought that he would be glad to see it. But when I knew that he was at the point of no return, I made it a point to finish the phoenix, as it would be a waste to just stop it halfway. When it was finished, and fully functional, I left it in my garage and decided to abandon all my other plans. I received holy orders some time later, just so that I would be in the place to help poor Pryce's soul." He paused and choked in his tears, and then continued, "By the grace of the Lord, he has led me here, not as an ordinary man, but as something greater. So here I am now."

The room fell silent. I saw the poor man struggle to utter his last sentence.

"It's difficult for me to say this, even in my capacity as an elevated person… but I must tell you this. The force responsible for the deaths of the trainees, the one whom you call Ankoù, was once Bertrand Pryce."

I somehow felt that I knew it was coming. I gulped. After much hesitation, Tatienne spoke.

"Father… the Cloister Guardian… was it yours?"
"Yes, indeed. I need people of strong countenance to put Ankoù to rest. I made the Guardian a hundred times stronger than all my reinforced steel works. I… I'm indeed honoured that you took him down. I know I'll have to repair him, but not even the army could defeat it, when it was first created."

There was a sense of pride in most of us. Leah was clenching her fist in jubilation. Sybil wiped her tears and smiled. Tatienne spoke up again,

"Do you know what led to Pryce's insanity? I mean, beyond the contamination? Was it so strong?"
"That, my child, I don't know."

It was then that we knew that the answers to all our other questions lay in the remaining cloisters.

I had a funny feeling in my heart. People have told me over the years that I'm a strong girl, but I never saw myself as a strong person. In fact, my acts are very much contrary to what they spoke of me. I break down a lot; I whimper and fuss over things, and these are the acts of a weak person. All this was too much for me for a day, I felt, and so I asked the rest to leave the area.

"And what about the clues?" Leah asked.
"I have them all here. Now go!" I replied.

It was the perfect moment for me to confess. I knew for certain that he wasn't a hostile person in the guise of a friend, so I came nearer to him to speak to him.

"Father, I must confess… I'm not at all a strong person."
"What makes you say that, child?"
"People have told me that I'm a strong person, all these years, but I don't think I ever am. I cry easily, I kick up a fuss easily; I sometimes give in to wayward thoughts, I somehow think that all my efforts aren't good enough. I'm physically weak, so weak that I weaken all my friends, and it's because of me that they've lost all the physical tourneys. In truth, if I ever am strong, or if I have ever acted like a strong person, it is the Lord acting through me. But I'm the least of all the members of my company; I've been thrown out of the ranks early in my stint, and no one sees me as anything… no one, except for my friends. I have sinned a great deal, and I don't know what I can do to make them believe in a person like me."
"In truth, the Lord has blessed you with friends, and they give you strength. What matters is that you haven't given up all this while. I might be seven feet underground, literally, but I'm aware that you've relentlessly searched for ways to take Ankoù out. But I must warn you; be on your guard. The Lord tells me that I should warn you about this. This is only the beginning of life as you see it. Out there, there are people who try to steer you away from the path you've chosen. There are people who are hunting for you, trying to put an end to your exploits. There is an abundance of people who backstab out of sheer scorn and spite. You will question yourself over the people who were once with you, as well as the people who are with you at present. But do not lose faith. Ask for the grace to persevere in whatever you do."
"Yes, Father. Pray for me always, that I may be sealed in His love."

I felt thoroughly cleansed after the absolution, and I came out of the Charlie cloister with a strengthened resolve to save the people residing in Camp Point-Neuf.

It was almost 3 in the morning when I came out, and I realised that I had only two hours to sleep. I looked around to see if the night patrol was passing by, and when I discovered that the coast was clear, I entered the back door of 5A, closed it silently and curled up into bed. By the time I entered, I discovered that Sybil had already fallen asleep, so I decided not to wake her up and waste her precious rest time. I needed my rest time too.