Fae stepped through the pillars at the Celestial Shore, and ended up somewhere else entirely. It was like “Otherwhere,” as Hiryu had called it, that strange mystical world that both Soryu and Kokoryu had met the girls in. But there was far more land here, suspended rocky islands in a sky of endless color and mist, all connected by swaying bridges of shimmering blue crystal. In the mists, various crystals hovered, glowing softly in different colors, the most common a deep purple.
“What’s this place?” Mercury asked, her voice echoing strangely in the vastness.
“The air feels so thick,” Jupiter said, grimacing. “It’s hard to get a full breath.”
“Fae,” Olivia said softly, tugging on her sleeve once. “That stone there… the symbol on it. Doesn’t it look like…?”
Fae looked where Olivia indicated, at a rocky spire near the first crystal bridge. In the stone was engraved a symbol: an X with flared out edges, melding with a pentagon that had membranous, bat-like wings. Fae pulled out the map Oliver had given her, the one that led from the Watcher of Solace to the Orphan of the Dawn.
“It’s the second symbol,” she said, looking from map to stone.
“But what’s it mean?” Sonya asked, walking right up to the spire and placing her hand against the symbol. “The stone is cold, but the lines of this emblem are so warm…” She pulled out a notebook and pen and wrote, constantly looking back up at the symbol and around at the rest of Otherwhere, or whatever this place was.
“Why the second symbol?” Madeline asked, looking around. “You’d think the first symbol would come first.”
“Unless it’s trying to give us a different sort of clue,” Neptune said. “Just holding the symbols in the same order as the map probably wouldn’t tell us much.”
“Just remember it for now,” Fae said. “It doesn’t look like the first symbol is on this island. And there’s only one way to go.”
“I’m sure this is all very fascinating,” Jupiter said, “but can we try to move along a bit? I feel suffocated in here.”
“I don’t feel any different,” Sonya said.
“Me neither,” Olivia said.
“Same here,” Fae said. She looked at Madeline and the Star sisters, all of whom looked as if they were struggling to draw a full breath.
“Lucky three,” Mercury said, her voice taut. She still smiled, though. “Take all the time you need. Unless, you know, we pass out. But I get the feeling coming back to this place won’t be all that easy. If there are clues that you can only get here…”
“We’ll find them as fast as we can,” Fae said. “Or…” She reached into her bag and pulled out the doorknob. Slotting it into the air, she turned.
But there was no click!, no feeling of it fitting into a door like all the other times.
“So it won’t work until we get out of this place,” Madeline said.
“Like I said, don’t worry about us,” Mercury said, waving at Fae.
“How about the rest of you hurry ahead?” Fae asked. “We’ll follow along as fast as we can without missing whatever there is to learn here.”
“Come on, don’t baby us,” Jupiter said, but she looked the worst of the bunch, swaying on her feet.
“We’re going ahead,” Neptune said, giving Jupiter her shoulder. “Come on, you.”
“See you at the end,” Madeline said. She pulled out her paintbrush Talisman and flicked it once. It burst with light, as did all her clothes, spiraling into ribbons of light, replacing with different ribbons of light. When all the light faded, she was dressed as Captain Leia von Stralheim, high-collared blue coat buttoned up to hide the lower half of her face, hair done up in a neat bun, blue marching-band-style hat with silver raven crest, the works. Fae smiled inwardly.
Her armor. When she needs to banish fear or pain, Captain von Stralheim’s the one to go to.
Madeline led the way, followed closely by the Star sisters. After one more look around, Fae, Olivia, and Sonya followed. There was nothing left to see on the first rocky island.
“Looks like there are six in all,” Olivia said. “And there are six symbols on the map, right?”
Fae nodded. Sonya pointed to a floating purple crystal they passed on the bridge. “That has the same symbol inside,” she said. The crystal was twice as tall as Fae, and within its translucent, glimmering shell was that same X-pentagon-wings symbol, the second one on the map. “It looks like all of the crystals bear a symbol.”
“There are too many to count, though,” Olivia said. “And most are too far away to see properly.”
“I’ll just record what’s available,” Sonya said, constantly writing as she walked. When they reached the second island, Madeline and the Star sisters were already starting across the bridge to the fourth.
“Two spires here,” Sonya said, pointing with her pen and then writing away. “Same symbol on each. Where is it on the map?”
“Fourth,” Fae said, comparing the spires’ symbols to the map’s. This one was like an hourglass on top of a clock, but the clock’s hands went beyond the clock’s face and then spiraled around in a full circle, then back into themselves.
“Perhaps evens, then odds?” Sonya asked. “Well, we’ll see soon enough.”
“The crystals around this island have the same symbol,” Olivia said.
“If only we knew what they meant…” Sonya said. She had such a focused, analytical stare, it reminded Fae of Shias, in a way. But Sonya also had this sense of awe, of wonderment, like she was constantly fascinated by everything she saw, analyzing things while being amazed by them at the same time.
“Take lots of notes,” Fae said, taking plenty of mental notes of her own. She was grateful for Sonya writing things down, as drawing out her own notes would be a bit awkward with Olivia still clinging to her sleeve.
Her grip isn’t very tight, and she isn’t walking so close to me. No strangers or danger about, that’s probably why.
Still, she does seem to be recovering. Getting her courage and confidence back, even if comes slowly.
After what she’s been through, getting any of it back at all is a miracle.
They crossed the bridge to the third island, where there were three spires, each bearing the sixth and final symbol on the map: two great pillars, rising up and arcing towards each other, but crumbling at the apex before they could meet. In the center of the symbol’s pillars was some sort of pedestal, and above it a crescent moon. Once again, the crystals near the island contained within the same symbol the spires bore.
“Should be odds next, then,” Sonya said. She had slipped quite easily into the lead, marching ahead across the bridge to the fourth island, which had four spires. But she stopped in the center of them, a puzzled look on her face.
“Never mind, then,” she muttered.
“The second symbol again?” Olivia asked, turning around in a circle to look at each spire in turn. As she did so, she let go of Fae’s sleeve, and she didn’t take hold of it again when she was done looking. “But now four spires…”
“Let’s keep going,” Fae said. She saw Madeline standing on the sixth island by a crystal door. The Star sisters were nowhere in sight.
“What kind of trial is this?” Sonya asked, continuing to write as she walked onto the fifth island. “It’s not exactly difficult, is it?”
“It was for the others,” Olivia said. “It’s only us three who can breathe easily. And these symbols are from the map to the place so important to us.”
“It’s as if this place was made for us,” Sonya said. “And others who pass through it struggle, but why? Again we come back to this, this connection between us, the importance of it, but I still don’t understand at all.” She nodded as she looked around at the five spires on the fifth island. “The fourth symbol again, repeated five times instead of twice. That’s discounting the crystals, of course.”
“Are the others all right?” Fae asked, calling out to Madeline on the next island. Raising her voice like that made it echo more than any other’s had, and it stung her ears a bit.
“They went on through,” Madeline replied, her voice a bit deeper, more serious, adopting the persona of the character she dressed as. “I don’t think it’s affecting me as strongly as them.”
“Well, we can hurry on to the next,” Sonya said, starting across the final bridge, disappointment evident in her voice. She sighed. “I’m sure the answer to the riddle is fascinating, but the clues involved are a lot less interesting than I’d hoped.” She nodded as she reached the final island. “Six spires, the sixth symbol. Well, at least they kept things simple. Maybe the riddle’s mathematical in some way? Some repeating number pattern…” She looked up suddenly at Olivia, who was trying and miserably failing to stifle giggles. “What’s so funny?”
“Kept things ‘simple’,” Olivia said, giggling. “Sounds just like ‘symbol,’ don’t you think? They kept things ‘symbol’?” She couldn’t take it anymore, and her giggles spilled over, until she couldn’t talk through them.
Sonya raised an eyebrow. “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you even smile,” she said.
Fae couldn’t contain a small chuckle, but that was all she was going to give such a terrible excuse for a pun.
So this is what she finds funny, huh?
Who would have thought?
“Sorry, sorry,” Olivia said, waving her hands, shaking her head. “I’m okay, really, we can go now.” She started forward with the others, but Fae heard her poor attempts at suppressing more giggles, and she muttered “Keep it ‘symbol’,” several more times between each hushed giggle-fit.
Through the crystal door they went, emerging into…
“More Otherwhere,” Sonya said, staring at this new formation of rocky islands, now connected by crystal stairs, rising up and up, as well as forwards, towards a high point out of sight.
“It’s different,” came a voice from far up and ahead, the voice of Mercury. With how their voices echoed in Otherwhere, it was no surprise that Sonya’s comment had been heard. “The air’s not so thick. But we’re still going to the next exit. We’ll wait there, though. Jupiter’s got it worse than us.”
“I said I’m fine,” came Jupiter’s voice, but she didn’t sound fine at all.
“Pay close attention to the third island, though,” Mercury called down. “There was something… strange about it.”
“I’ll go on ahead,” Madeline said. “See you at the exit.” She started forward, while Fae, Olivia, and Sonya spread out on the first island, taking it all in.
“No spires,” Sonya said. “Some stumpy boulders, but there’s nothing interesting about them. And the crystals… oh, that’s interesting. The colors are different.”
She was right. The floating crystals in this section of Otherwhere were pearly white, gleaming like marble, while the stairs were black as obsidian.
“The floor,” Olivia said, looking down. “But it’s not one of the symbols.”
Fae backed away, because she was standing in the center of the island, right on top of what was engraved into its surface beneath her feet. The engraving, the drawing, really, was far more intricate than the simple symbols from the map. It depicted high walls, and great, towering beasts trying to climb up over the walls. But there were people, so small compared to the beasts, fighting back against them.
“Renault,” Olivia and Sonya said at the same time.
“That’s what the walls of Renault look like?” Fae asked, marveling at the depiction of the magical city hidden deep in the icy desert of Antarctica. “And those beasts… they’re so much bigger than the Hollows that attack Grimoire.”
“That’s what I fought nearly every day,” Olivia said. “The walls help. And we have centuries, generations before us with experience and knowledge passed down. Protecting Renault, even from such titans, is…”
“Just a job?” Sonya asked.
Olivia nodded. “As strange as it sounds,” she said.
“But why depict Renault?” Sonya asked. “Unless we’ll see Grimoire on one of the other islands. But then, my theories haven’t come through for us so far, have they?” While she wrote in her notebook, Fae speedily recreated the engraving in her sketchbook.
Up they climbed, reaching the second island, once again with an engraving in its floor. Sonya cheered with sudden excitement. “Finally, I’m right!” she said, grinning. “At least, I assume I’m right. I’ve only seen Grimoire in pictures.”
“That’s it,” Fae said with a nod. The engraving showed a surprising amount, looking out over the Crater District, and beyond to Grimoire University, and even beyond that to Grimson Bay and the ruins of The Gate at the Bay’s mouth. Fae tilted her head to the side, staring at that image.
“Isn’t that…?” she started, looking at the map to the Orphan of the Dawn again. She looked up at the engraving, then down at the map again, then back and forth three more times. “I think it is.”
“Is what?” Sonya asked, coming to stand beside Fae, looking over her shoulder at the map. Her eyes widened. “Oh, it is! Olivia, come look! The sixth symbol on the map looks just like those ruins.”
“We call it The Gate,” Fae said. “The most prominent part of the ruins in Grimson Bay, and that archway’s been crumbled and broken at the top as far back as anyone remembers.”
“And there’s a pedestal beneath the arch?” Sonya asked.
Fae nodded. “And the Moon is a common symbol in Grimoire. The Lunar Architects, the Lunar Festival… the Moon holds a special place for the city. Knowing now that there’s a Daylight Bastion on the Moon, no wonder.”
“The final location on the map is Grimoire…” Sonya said softly. “Interesting. Makes you wonder why we can’t just skip to the final piece of the puzzle, and from there to the Orphan of the Dawn. The sequence must be important.”
They copied down all they saw and then continued up to the third island. Here there was no engraving, no special markings, but in the center of the rocky island was a milky-hued crystal pedestal, and inside it was a glittering mote of blue light.
“But what is it?” Sonya asked, walking all around the pedestal, climbing atop it, pressing her face against it to peer closely within. “It’s just a light, and it’s blue, but why? No symbols, no markings… what’s it all about?”
“I wonder…” Olivia murmured. She held out her hand, and her alabaster scythe materialized from thin air. With a single step forward she swung in a graceful, powerful arcing slash. Sonya cried out, but too late.
The blade sliced through the pedestal with ease, bisecting the crystal left to right with only the slightest sound, a musical tone, like someone chiming two crystal glasses together in a toast.
“Just vandalize the fascinating archaeological curiosity, why don’t you?” Sonya asked with a sigh. But she was almost immediately standing over the now opened pedestal, pursing her lips in curious thought as she eyed the exposed mote of light. “I still don’t get it.”
Fae and Olivia came to look, too. The mote of blue light shimmered and shone beautifully, but…
“It really is just… light, huh?” Sonya asked, kneeling to look at it closer. “No light bulb or electrical display or fire or anything. Just… light.”
The air in Otherwhere had been so very still, but suddenly a breeze swept over the girls, tousling Fae’s hair. It was cool and gentle, and lasted only a moment, but it was enough for all three to look around curiously, pondering its sudden coming and going.
“That was… eerie,” Sonya said.
“I thought it was pleasant,” Olivia said, a small smile on her lips.
Fae fell somewhere between the two of them. It was strange, almost haunting, to her, and yet it was quite pleasant, wasn’t it?
“Mercury said there was something strange about this island,” Sonya said. “Well, that’s even more to ponder.” She turned, looking up the stairs at the rest of the climb ahead. “Looks like three more islands. Six again.”
They climbed again, and the fourth island was like the first two, its floor engraved with an intricate drawing: a tall, sweeping tower in a city of tall, sweeping towers, this central one rising above all the others, its top bearing a clock, and over that clock…
“An hourglass,” Fae said softly.
“The great Time Tower of Renault, of course!” Sonya said suddenly, slapping a fist into her opposite palm, eyes bright with a revelation. “The fourth symbol on the map points to Renault, probably specifically the Time Tower.”
“Renault…” Olivia said softly, eyes downcast. “We’ve been away for… we don’t even know how long.”
“Yeah,” Sonya said, her enthusiasm swiftly dimming. “It won’t be at all the same as when we last saw it, will it?”
The three girls fell into a somber silence, as Sonya took notes, Fae copied the image of Renault’s skyline, and Olivia leaned on her scythe like it was a staff, her expression distant and contemplative.
They climbed to the fifth island, this one’s floor engraved with an image of Grimoire’s Grimson Bay again, but this time as if looking up from deep underwater. There was so much of the sunken ruins in this image that Fae had never seen before, underwater as they were. Great pillars, castle-like parapets, and so much more of wonder and captivating mystery. Fae drew her copy with excited speed, while Sonya wrote and Olivia stood, all three of them in the silence that still clung to them from the previous island.
Then up they went to the sixth and final island. Here there was one final engraving: a stage, and on that stage a pedestal, and set into that pedestal, a great and ornate key. There was a silhouette of a person beside the key, and the key was the same size as they were.
“We don’t have any symbol like that on the map,” Sonya said, pacing a slow circle around the image. “A giant key, set into the pedestal… almost as if, if you turn it, it would open a door in the floor.”
“It feels familiar, somehow,” Fae said softly. “And yet I’m sure I’ve never seen it before.”
“I feel the same,” Olivia said. She’d dismissed her scythe, no longer standing like a pensive soldier on the watch, and stared at the image with a wondering look in her eyes. “But I can’t be sure for myself, with my memories…”
“I’m sure I’ve never seen it, too,” Sonya said. “And yet it does feel familiar. How strange. I’ve never seen anything like it. What could that key do? What door might it open, and where would that door lead?”
But there was nothing else they could seem to decipher from that final image, so they took their notes and went ahead to the crystal door, where Madeline waited. Through the door they went…
And Otherwhere vanished around them.
They were back in the shrine above Lake Constella, in the lowest reaches of Starlight Spires.
“There they are,” Jupiter said, flashing a lopsided grin. She sat on the floor, sprawling her legs out unceremoniously, but she looked recovered from her struggles in Otherwhere.
“Ready to head back to our favorite guide?” Mercury asked.
Fae nodded, pulling the doorknob from her bag. “There’s a lot we saw, and we have some ideas, but far more questions than answers,” she said, slotting the doorknob into empty air.
“The perfect sorts of questions for Selphine, then,” Mercury said with a grin.
Fae nodded, turning the doorknob and opening the door through space to Eventide Archive. Everyone stepped through ahead of her, and then Fae followed.
After this…
It’s to the Chapel of the Unreturned. And beyond that…
The Silver Star Sanctuary.
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