Chapter 54 – [Story Time] A Lunar Dream Remembrance

Anna tried to rest the night away in a cave near Ihere. The hope was that with another night of sleep, their body would have recovered enough for some uses of Morph. Syrus thought back at the strain felt by the body during the afternoon when the sudden shift occurred, and it wasn’t too rough. So, she felt it might be fine by tomorrow to do minor changes, which meant hopefully no massive growth or shrinking in size.

[Luna… you recognised the man who attacked the village before, right?] Syrus asked. She understood it might not be the best to ask; however, she believed it was best to get the topic out of the way. There was a lot they needed to do, after all. 

Before Luna could say anything, Eva interrupted, [You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.] 

[That is true.] Syrus agreed, even if she did hope Luna was able to provide something useful.

[No, any information is good information. We don’t know who we will face in the future, but it’s best if I start to explain some more about my past.] (Luna)

What they would do in the future was still uncertain. It was still too soon to decide anything concrete, so all they could do was to make sure everyone else was safe. 

However, the feelings of anger and hate were felt by and swirled between all of them, so at some point, they knew they were going to let those emotions loose on the ones who helped create them.

(Switched Perspective – Luna) 

I’m not sure where to begin… but because you ask about Septurna, I guess my first proper meeting with him will work.

[Proper?] (Eva)

I had met him at official events before this occasion, but they were kept to simple, proper greetings. But my first proper meeting was in the church garden after an ordinary day of work.

So, it was a summer afternoon, and I was fourteen years old. I had become an official saint at the start of that year.

[Official saint?] (Eva)

I had been in training for the position since I entered the church. Once I completed the public interaction training and I was deemed appropriate for the position, they made me one to strengthen their status. Not everyone was too keen on the promotion; I wasn’t the most receptive to teachings, but because I did everything I was told, the doubters' voices were suppressed.

[If there was the chance you wouldn’t become a saint if you were a bit more disobedient, would you have taken it?] (Syrus)

…Realistically no.

[Okay.] (Syrus)

To continue on, I walked through the church after completing a church event along with two other saints.  

“Eliana Alinastar Bright Shinelight will thou be accompanying us for the nightly supper?”

“I’m regretful, Joseph Sunrise Dawn Starcaller, but I shall be unable to attend.”

“I understand; tis truly a shame, but is thy time truly impossible to rearrange?” 

“Sorry, Tilonia Shine Crownia Starcaller, but I do have other plans that I must attend.”

“That is upsetting to hear, though we understand thy plight.”

“Yes, we wish thou a pleasant evening.”

I fished the conversation, “Likewise as well.”

[So, who are these two?] (Syrus)

Two people I’m bringing up because they could be important later on. They are a sister-brother duo–the church loved that–who were one year and two years older than me, respectively. Both possessed just the light attribute, both had white hair, with Tilonia’s hair being purposely kept long while Joseph was kept short to create a greater emphasis on their genders. 

During this time, I wasn’t actually busy, I just wanted some time alone, church work gets trying.

[Are you all required to say each other's full name every single time?] (Eva)

Sadly yes. I could never risk it, the chance I could be caught messing it up was too worrying to attempt fate.

[Does everyone at the church have long names?] (Syrus)

Not everyone, but all saints and high-ranking priests have long names. There aren’t many rules when it comes to the names they give. If they can be changed–like mine–the first names of priests and saints are usually taken from former saints. However, there are certain middle names they give to church knights, Glory was a common one given to any knight who reached the rank of captain. They also gave additional names if one achieved a great feat, Avaberg was given to Septurna after a demon subjugation of the same name. I was never given any additional names; thankfully, four was enough for me.

[I’ll ask this now before you continue; how many saints did the church have?] (Syrus)

At the time of my passing; there were twenty. Only six lived in the Nevald Kingdom, so I only regularly interacted with a few of the saints. There wasn’t any level of strength required to become a saint, but the ones chosen by the Nevald Kingdom were considered lower quality. In the end, it never mattered how many saints there were, because there was always more in training. I even heard they had a few candidates with great potential at the central church; even a few with rarer attributes.

Anyway, after I left the two other saints, I went to the garden to relax; it was mostly empty in the evenings.

However, once I got there I began to stare at the free moon rising in the sky. I was interrupted by that man.

“Afternoon, saint, Eliana Alinastar Bright Shinelight.” 

Sir Septurna. Full name, Septurna Glory Avaberg. He possessed [Acceleration] and [Sight], both of which had trained to a degree that outclassed his peers.

I asked, “Is anything troubling one's fate, Sir Septurna Glory Avaberg?”

“No, Eliana, and please, you can just call me Septurna.”

“Nay, such action is a stairway to disaster.”

“But you also deserve to have moments of rest, that is what God teaches us after all.”

Afterwards, we simply talked.

“Have you adapted to your position as a saint yet?”

“I’ve trained for it, so it’s only natural.”

“But a child is still allowed to make mistakes.”

“Do you enjoy practising Moonlight?”

“It is quite a pleasant experience.”

“Haha, I can agree to that. Nothing beats pushing,

“Thou should know that is impossible for my position.”

“Don’t worry, they will release the restriction on your learning when you are older.” 

“We shall watch.”

“Do you have any favourite food?”

“All food tastes the same, no reason to have favourites.”

“Spoken like someone who has a favourite, mine’s gotta be the cookies.”

“What a childish answer.”

“I’m only thirty, I still have plenty of childishness in me.”

“Do thou have anywhere they wish to visit?”

“I’m not sure, Eliana; I have been to many places already.”

“Then why doesn’t thy majestic knight suggest one.”

“... Well if you enjoy nightly views, I have a place that works.”

[So, we… killed a friend of yours?] (Eva)

No, he was no friend.

I had plenty of people show me kindness. That didn’t mean I considered them friends. They all wanted me to conform, wanted me to accept the status quo, and wanted me to forget about my hatred so I could be happy. 

Still… he was someone who I thought was at least good-hearted. But I now know, he dipped his bloody hand into the homes of the innocent and destroyed them.

So… this story is more for me… to realise that I really knew nothing about my prison home.

If I paid more attention… Maybe I could’ve stopped something.

[If you did, maybe you wouldn’t be here today. So, in the end, it doesn’t matter. ] (Syrus)

… I’m not sure how likely that is, but for my sanity, I’ll believe it for the time being.

[Good.] (Eva)

[Will it be publicly obvious that Septurna died? I mean, more than normal.] (Syrus)

I’m unsure… Unless it changed, he was only a captain, and there were no specific groups of knights in the church. There were simply the church knights, and when an operation had to be carried out, a group of them would be assigned to a captain, but who knows, maybe there were hidden divisions within the order. But for the public and, I guess, less informed members of the church, it might take a while to learn he died.

If he were Commander Knight, then the whole Nevald Kingdom Aurora Church would know.

[That’s a higher ranking?] (Eva)

Yes. Knight, Captain, and Commander. There isn’t much of a strength difference between a Captain and a Commander, besides the fact that a Commander usually spends several years training and acting as a priest. However, the rank was one of authority and, unlike others, was given out for free.

Most ranks within the church had a massive divide between who actually had power within their position. Some saints were just pawns like me, but others were central to decision-making. Same with priests, high priests, and knights; the only exceptions were the Commander Knights and the Pope.

[Thanks, Luna; that’s all I need to know for now.] (Syrus)

You sure?

[Yep. If I need to ask anything, it will be about some arsehole's abilities or how to sneak around a church.] (Syrus)

Thank you.

Bobple

There was some other information I wanted to convey, but held myself back. One of the things I planned to do when writing this story was keep the pov around the mc, the camera can move around nearby but it will never go far. Which was why the only other perspective that was ever shown was Jen and George, but there was numerous times where I wanted to make a chapter from the church's perspective to further develop the world. 

Anyway, thanks for reading.