Saithilien

Chapter 13 - Did I Make The Right Decision?

The MapleGrove had finally passed the border of Filerethea. Some passengers were still shocked by what had happened at the carnival, which made them anxious. Gossips about ghosts, who took their fellow guests, spread throughout the train.  

“Did you really find Freya?” Navya asked.

“We were too late when we found her.” Katsuro nodded and quite not sure what to say.

“Not only Freya, even Arya, and the other missing guests were there,” Monique said.

“Arya?! She-- she’s also dead?” 

“The cult was true. Part of their ritual is to sacrifice young people, referred to as souls.”

“That’s why! all the orphans were gone. Those nuns had been sacrificing those children.” Katsuro pounded his fist on the table. Suddenly the other representatives approached their table. 

“We heard about Freya and the others being sacrificed. What was that all about.” Talya asked.

“We really don’t know who was the cult idolized. But, we heard them chanting about the great Synesius.” Katsuro sighed in grief.

“Synesius?!” Anna gasped.

“Do you know him, Anna?” Daniel asked.

“Uhm.. well… I read about him in the library. He’s… Uhm all I know is that he’s a faith healer who offered souls to gain power.” Anna was agitated by what she said, so she immediately ran towards the door and left. Everyone was curious about Anna running away, Afina, Paulo, Daniel, and Vera followed her, worried. 

“I think we should go back to our cabins too.” Katsuro pulled Navya, and Monique and laughed forcibly. The others were puzzled looking at their fellow representatives leaving the dining area.

“What’s with them?” Hermann asked, bothered. As he looked at his colleagues, they just shrugged their shoulders. 

In the cabins, Navya immediately closed the cabin door blinds. “Offered souls to gain power? Is that familiar?” She asked and slapped Katsuro’s shoulders. Monique nodded and stared at the window.

“What was the slap for!?” Katsuro exclaimed.

 Dark clouds started to gather again, winds howling and thunder roaring. MapleGrove still at its full speed was suddenly slowing down. The train stopped at Adelethea station, the town before reaching Filerethea. Then, some men boarded, scattered inside the train, and made an announcement. They seemed part of the higher-ups. Everyone felt nervous and paid attention as the men opened the scrolls their holding. 

“All who attended the Cirque de Laviche’s performance at Filerethea are obliged to remain silent about the incident. Those who will not abide will be sentenced to death.” The men smirked and threw letters on the floors written with the announcement. The passenger’s murmurs started to fill the train. “How did they know about the incident?”, “Are they behind the incident?” Suspicion was felt by the passengers that annoyed the well-dressed men. After they got off the train, the MapleGrove started its engine again. Monique slightly opened the cabin door and got one letter. 

“Why would they want us to not talk about what happened?” Navya asked.

“Hmm, probably to protect Saithilien?” Katsuro said.

“That’s correct. It will just worsen its image.” Monique sighed. 

The other representatives haven’t seen Anna yet. Little did they know, Penelope pulled her inside an empty cabin with Kasey. Anna was puzzled at the same time scared, knowing that Penelope knew about the cult Monique was talking about. She looked at her, felt discomfort, and doubted her decision in joining Penelope. 

“I didn’t see you guys at the carnival? Where were you?” 

“We were just happily selecting souls worth it to be sacrificed.? Kasey giggled.

Anna was frightened and dumbfounded, her body trembled in fear. “The Divine Ascendance is not only found in Filerethea, but it is scattered throughout Saithilien even in the capital city of Erantha.” Penelope grinned.

Anna went back to her cabin and remained silent the whole time until they’ve reached Ashthea. Her colleagues were bothered. Not a single answer from Anna was heard from their questions. The announcement made by the well-dressed men were immediately imposed by the students, who went to Filerethea. St. Catherine’s Academy was back to normal, students attended their classes, daily activities were made, and eventually, the Filerethea incident was forgotten. But Monique and the others were still curious and eager to find the Divine Ascendance agenda. 

A month had passed, during a cold autumn night, Monique sat on her desk flipping through the pages of Rebels of the Rose. She already figured out that Synesius was the man wearing a hooded robe on the painting in the monastery castle and she suspected that the book was some kind of his diary. Somethings are still missing. I can’t figure out anything. She sighed and closed the book, standing by the window gazing at the night sky, wondering how her life would’ve become if she didn’t participate in the scholarship. I miss you, Mathilde. I wonder what you were doing right now. In a moment of silence, someone knocked on the door. She was shocked.

Who would be roaming around the halls during this hour? She slowly walked towards the door and Katsuro appeared. 

“Wha-- What do you need?” Monique appeared to be annoyed and folded her arms.

“Anna is gone.” 

“What?”

“Let’s go. Everyone’s gathering in her room.”

They immediately proceeded to Anna’s room, which is on the upper floor and the opposite wing side from Monique’s room.  As they’re approaching the room, Navya can be seen on the door. 

“Navya!” Monique called her. Navya looked at them and waved her hand. Inside the room, the representatives gathered. Afina was holding a note left by Anna. She cleared her throat and started to read it.

“If you’re reading this right now. It means that I’ve already disappeared. I was grateful as soon as I read my letter granting the scholarship. I thought coming here would be the most enjoyable thing that happened in my life. But it turned out to be a horrifying one. At first, I was determined but as the days went by I’ve decided to just quit.” 

Everyone looked at each other, they couldn’t put into words how they felt hearing the note. Monique, leaning at the door, grabbed the note from Afina and looked around the room. “When Dara disappeared and Freya died, no one in the school remembered them, right?” Monique asked her colleagues.

“Yes. and that’s kinda frustrating,” Christiaan said.

“What are we going to do now?” Talya asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Anna’s gone.”

“This should not affect us,”

“Wait! I just remembered, during our trip back here from Filerethea, since then, she became strangely silent and always avoiding us.” Paulo gasped.

“It’s up for us to decide if we still want to continue, This is just a reminder that we can still avoid and quit anytime we want. Monique sighed. 

The next morning, the representatives were summoned to the Academy Director’s office. They climbed up a spiral staircase just beside the assembly hall. Inside, the windows were big and it almost occupied the whole wall, overlooking the vast fields and wonderful landscapes of the town.

“Do you all know, why I’ve called for you?”

“No, Sir,” Darren answered, nervous.

Mr. Morn Foringray, the academy director laughed minimally as he noticed the uncertainness of the representatives. He stood up from his huge ancient-like chair and leaned on the front part of his table, facing them.

“Let me tell you a story.” He took an old-looking scroll from his table and rolled it open in front of the representatives.

“Nothing’s is written, Sir.” Navya gasped.

“Exactly. This is a Paragrym. Only a high rank in a well-known organization has this. Being the head of this famous Academy for almost forty years, I was given the privilege to own one by The Royal Council.”

The Royal Council? Monique was suddenly bothered. She glared at the Director and felt suspicion on him.

“This is used to communicate with the other existing worlds but, that’s just a myth. The real purpose of owning this is it shows that the owner has power over a country or a well-known organization.”

“What was your point of telling us that, Sir?” Monique suddenly asked.

”Well, three years ago, I was working on something, out of the blue I just happened to notice some writings on the scroll so I immediately opened it. The myth of the Paragrym is true. At that very moment, I received a message from another world. I’m in deep shock, in the myth, only those who have the best skills in witchcraft and black magic can use this.”

The representatives were puzzled, they seemed to know the person who messaged Mr. Foringray at that time but they all still had doubt and waited for someone to confirm their suspicion. The director laughed and went back to his seat. 

“Your assumptions were true. Yes, it was Juliana Genovesi.” 

Everyone became silent and were dumbfounded. They felt that there’s really a deeper reason why they were sent to Saithilien, more than the scholarship. 

“Here we are!” Penelope exclaimed as she and a colleague went down to a carriage.

They stood in front of a huge office building with a purple flag and a gold rose symbol in the middle, hanging on a pole at the office entrance.

“That’s the Saithilien flag, Let’s go in.”

Inside, they used the old-fashioned lift and proceeded to the topmost floor. They walked through a wide hallway going to a two-doored room, the only room on the floor. Outside the room, there were flags of Saithilien on each side of the door. 

“Penelope! You’re on time. Your father told us that you have something for us.”

“Yes Sir.”

Penelope turned to her colleague and introduced her to the man. “Anna, this is Minister Lucas Lavaud, the head of The Royal Council and our founder of The Divine Ascendance.”

“Hello Anna, welcome to The Royal Council. I heard that you have all the knowledge about this Monique le Clair.”

“Not all Sir, we’re just friends,” Anna said, trembling in nervousness.

“Friends? I see. Betraying a friend is wrong but if it’s for the good of our motherland, you’re making the right decision. I will appoint you here and now as my secretary in The Divine Ascendance.”

“Uhm… I don --... It’s an honor, Sir.” Anna was confused if she’s doing the right decision. Beside her was Penelope suddenly felt a bit jealous of Anna. She glared at her and rolled her eyes.

“As you can see The Royal Council and The Divine Ascendance has the same goal here. To make Saithilien the ultimate superior. Of course with the help of your friend. Don’t worry, Penelope’s father already told me what your friend is and what she can do. It’s been decades that we’re trying to find an extraordinary being like her. She’ll be our tool to supremacy. Are you going to help us?” Mr. Lavaud smirked at her, giving her the look that she doesn’t have any choice.

“Ye -- Yes, Sir,” Anna said confidently but some feeling of hesitancy still ran inside her. 

“That’s a brilliant answer.”