Clairvoyant: The Awakening Of Angel Sight

Chapter 8 - The Welcoming Ceremony

"Hey, about what I said... with Sisel. I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay," Alistair kindly dismissed. "You were right."

"I was?"

"We don't know that she's gone. I shouldn't have given up hope so easily."

Archer looked up to the stars. "Where do you think she is right now?"

Alistair sighed, falling to a halt. "Wherever she is, I know she's waiting." His eyes glinted in the candlelight as he looked at Archer with a smile. "And I'll do whatever it takes to get to her."

As they carried on, a procession of fireflies flitted all around them, guiding their way through the trees. It took them a few more minutes before the darkness ahead finally began to break apart into a distant glow. But once they had gotten through the deep wilderness, the trees started to widen into a clearing and Archer thought they had stumbled into a gathering of fireflies—until he realized what they were. Waiting for him was the whole crowd of bastion kids, each holding a burning candle just like Alistair. Archer took a deep breath, composing himself. Alright. This is it.

The moon shone above, full and bright, and from where they were, the sky appeared unobstructed by the atmosphere. The stars look so close, Archer thought. Even during the clearest nights in Porthallow, he had never seen the stars like this.

"Go on," encouraged Alistair from behind and Archer looked back, grateful.

Where he walked, the kids stepped back, making room for him to pass. They watched him intently. Some smiled and nodded in support—especially Mitali and Piotr. Some started whispering amongst themselves. And some just stared in anticipation.

At the parting of the crowd, Archer saw Arthamiel waiting for him at the end of his blessed passage. The bastion's guardian angel was still wearing their boater hat; only now, they were dressed in a long white robe with a red sash across their waist. There was also a shining in the shallow air above them, forming a halo of starlight around their head. But what really stole Archer's breath away as he approached was the pair of bright wight wings unfurling from the angel's back. Although Archer noticed how the wings seemed to be lacking several feathers, as if they had been shedding, he nevertheless was brought to his knees at the very sight.

Graciously, Arthamiel reached out a hand and vindicated Archer back to his feet, guiding him towards a stone dais in the grass. Seized in holy tremors, Archer followed as the angel brought him to face a large basin of water—big enough for a person to fit in—embedded in the stone. Its surface was as still as a mirror's, reflecting the celestials above. Archer wasn't sure how deep the basin went but it seemed to stretch down as far as the sky receded upwards—almost as if he would fall into the stars if he stepped in the water.

"Be not afraid," Arthamiel said, smiling down at him.

From where they both stood, Archer could see the entire crowd of candle bearers watching him in solidarity. And in their myriad of expressions, he found courage, hope, and strength. But also melancholy, weariness, and loss. Their candles flickered radiantly in their hands and Archer rubbed his eyes and looked again. Each small flame was ringing with light.

"On this fateful night, we commune," Arthamiel spoke out, opening their arms to the crowd.

"To see... As the stars, the moon, and the earth bear witness. Our faith shall never yield even in darkness." A collective breath rose from the crowd and, one by one, the candle fires went out until they were all standing in the dark, with light shedding only from the celestials.

"From the healers, guardians of the heart," Arthamiel continued, "who mend all kinds of wounds; to the diviners, arbiters of fate, tempering nature with divine intuition; to the telepaths, crossers of seas, with voices that can gather populations; to the mediums, bridgers of worlds, possessing the wisdom of spirit and flesh; to the illusionists, conjurers of dreams, beholding the secrets of the mind; to the exorcists, forgers of light, whose souls burn brighter than fire. Look to me!"