“Illi!” Lucilia hissed, elbowing him hard in the ribs. Illito jolted awake, hastily rising with the rest of the congregation as he rubbed his sore chest. He knew how it would look to the other families if he was caught drowsing during the Ecclucia, but the whole ordeal was so tediously long and, seeing as most of the litanies were in Old Unessian, he only had a vague idea of what they were saying anyway. Grateful though he was for his older sister’s warning, he suspected it was more due to her enjoyment of aggressively elbowing him rather than making sure he didn’t embarrass himself and their family.
The Praelucantors’ hymn rose into a deafening crescendo, their Aether-imbued voices reverberating throughout the cathedral. It was rather beautiful once you got used to it, but the first time a young Illito had experienced a Fifth Day Ecclucia in this cathedral the booming voices and haunting echoes had been terrifying. As the last notes dissipated, the congregation, with Illito just slightly behind, made the sign of the Four and the One, bowed, then returned to their seats. The gesture of four fingers across his heart followed by a single pointing upward should’ve been second nature to Illito by now, but he always managed to fumble under the pressure of the congregation’s watchful eyes, often resulting in incorrect numbers of fingers pointed in incorrect directions.
He slumped down as he sat, the unyielding white marble of the pews was less than comfortable, but he’d discovered that if he slid low enough he could rest his head on the back of the pew, the thick layers of his Ecclucia robes acting as a pillow.
The five Praelucantors stood at the edge of the chancel facing the congregation. The Four waited slightly behind the One, their colorful robes representing one of the four mundane elements. On the far left was the stout Praelucantor de Lutium, her simple frock a blocky mix of browns and greens encircled by trails of living ivy. Beside her stood the tall and imposing Praelucantor de Aquium, whose flowing cerulean robes shifted and churned as Illito watched, pooling at her feet as if she was rising from swirling waters. To her left the Praelucantor de Caelium’s billowing white cassock drifted weightless about her diminutive frame, her feet floating inches above the marble dais. Last of the Four, on the far right, was the imperious Praelucantor de Ignia, her severe demeanor a mirror of her clothing. Her robes were all flowing lines and sharp corners that glittered and glowed as she shifted impatiently, bathing her surroundings in flickering orange light.
The Praelucantors, as well as cathedrals, he’d seen during most of his childhood in the rural parts of northern Unessia paled in comparison to the splendor before him: soaring walls and pillars of immaculate white marble, the sides filled with intricate stained-glass mosaics representing the four mundane Essences culminating in the enormous portrait of the Quintessence that filled the entire back wall. Resplendent in a magnificent opalescent gown, arms outstretched benevolently, the glassy Quintessence stood over 30 feet tall, twin suns rising over her shoulders in a perpetual sunrise. The cathedral was positioned so that every morning the suns would perfectly align with their stained-glass counterparts, bathing the congregation in a kaleidoscope of light.
After his grandmother, Vedia Ursinus, had moved their family to the capital city of Sanctia it had taken a while to get used to the intensity and opulence, and now his family was regularly invited to attend Ecclucia at the First Cathedral of Light itself. Illito had begun to get used to the pomp and excess, but today, for the Duquintia, they held nothing back.
At the moment all Four were focused on the One as she raised her arms wide above her, the enormous stained-glass portrait of the Quintessence framed perfectly between her outstretched hands. The One’s ensemble was a stark contrast to the Four’s. Where they wore robes and frocks themed around their Essences with a touch of Aether magic, the One appeared to be cloaked in pure energy, floating several feet off the ground. Her entire body shone with Aether, every color on the spectrum shimmering across her skin. She was almost too bright for Illito to gaze directly upon her, his attempts reminding him of catching the reflection of one of the suns on the rippling waters of Lake Tullia.
The beauty within the cathedral was somewhat marred, however, by the ominous presence of at least fifty Igni Amundai stationed along the three outer walls facing the chancel. The elite martial corps answered directly to the Quintessence and were unmistakable in their brilliant crimson armor, faces invisible behind their gleaming mirrored helmets. They were always present in the First Cathedral during Ecclucia, but Illito had never seen this many. Even after all this time he never got used to them. The mirrored helmets, and the way they stood perfectly still the entire service, were unnerving to say the least.
The One held her position, gleaming face impassive, as the women in the crowd before her moved in unison to replace their hymnals beneath the benches and draw out their Praeceptias. As far as Illito could tell, the presence of the holy book in this part of the Ecclucia was largely ornamental; the Praelucantors would deliver a sermon while the women of the congregation would sit with their books open, intermittently turning pages while attempting to paint their faces with looks of wonder and fascination.
A few seconds later the rustling of the rest of the congregation following suit subsided and every eye returned to the One, still motionless on the slightly raised pedestal between the nave and chancel. Complete stillness reigned, and the One had just begun to lower her arms when a resounding crack rent the silence, sending a cascade of gasps through the crowd. There was a burst of orange light and something tiny streaked over the congregation toward the One.
The One reacted inhumanly fast, narrowly avoiding the projectile as it flashed through the space she had occupied an instant before. It continued past and impacted the portrait of the Quintessence behind her. There was another burst of light and the window exploded, showering the Praelucantors in shards of glass and smoke. Before Illito even finished turning, the Igni Amundai had exploded into action. The Praelucantors were hidden immediately behind a phalanx of crimson soldiers flowing in from both sides of the chancel, fiery Aether shields blossoming between them and the crowd. Panic infused the congregation as they struggled to process, screams filling the cathedral, many standing in preparation to flee.
The crowd parted before the scarlet tide, the attacker quickly abandoned as the congregants rushed to distance themselves. At the epicenter, through the churning sea of panicking humanity, Illito caught sight of a young boy frozen in place, an Aether pistol gripped in his trembling hand. His eyes were wide with shock, tears streaming down his face. The fiery phalanx surged toward him, a Projection of Force blasting bystanders away as they converged on the boy.
The shockwave sent him sprawling sideways, smashing the side of Illito’s face into the lectern. Pain seared through his mind as he fell, sliding off the edge of the pew and onto the cold marble floor. He struggled to stand, a forest of legs surrounding and battering him as they attempted to escape.
“Lucilia?” he cried out. She had been beside him moments before, but it was impossible to identify anyone through the frenzy. A knee caught the side of his face and he collapsed again, blinded by the pain. Vision blurry with tears, he fought to rise but was immediately pinned to the ground as people scrambled over him in their desperation to escape. A heavy foot landed on his chest, knocking the air from his lungs and causing him to double up, gasping for breath. He tucked his knees and twisted, trying to roll under the pew while vainly attempting to protect his face with his arms.
Another foot caught his elbow and he spun back into the aisle as a man tripped over his leg and fell sprawling on top of him. Panic overwhelmed him and he kicked wildly, desperate to get the weight off his chest. The man scrambled off Illito, his scrabbling hands scratching Illito’s face as they sought the marble pew. The weight on his lungs suddenly lifted, Illito gasped and rolled back underneath. Peeking out from behind bloodied hands he saw several others collapsed in his row, similarly struggling to right themselves as the human current swept over them.
“STOP!” a voice boomed, the Aether-imbued word cutting through the din of the crowd with ease. The congregation froze immediately, some mid stride, their voices silenced. The Command echoed through the cathedral, the only sound in the ensuing quiet. Slowly the congregants righted themselves, many, including Illito, crawling out from beneath the pews. Illito stood, wiping the blood from his face, and craned his head toward the chancel. The One stood at her previous position on the pedestal, the Aether energy swirling and crackling around her. Her right hand was outstretched in the universal sign for stop, her left was cocked back as if ready to punch, the scintillating void of her Conduit floating above it as she glared toward the cowering crowd.
Her entire demeanor radiating cold fury, she slowly lowered her hand then gestured toward the sets of huge double doors on either side of the cathedral, which slammed shut at her motion. The crowd had bottlenecked next to both, their escapes stymied by the wall of implacable Igni Amundai.
“Return to your seats,” she said, her low voice carrying through the otherwise silent cathedral. The Igni Amundai blocking the doors did not react, having never abandoned their posts in the first place, but the One was already moving her focus toward the mass of crimson armor surrounding her attacker.
The crowd shifted uncertainly, struggling to transition back from the blind panic moments before. Their indecision faded quickly; nobody refused an order from the One, who was, in this cathedral, also the Warden of Absolution.
They filed slowly back into the pews, doing their best to smooth their disheveled clothes and, abashedly, help those they had just trampled. Illito sat, unsteady, searching the approaching people for his family. Men and women who had, seconds before, clawed and trampled their way over his supine form shuffled back to their seats along his row, their eyes carefully avoiding his bruised and bloodied face.
“Bring him to me," the One growled. Every head in the crowd swiveled from her to the boy, who hung limp in the iron grip of the Igni Amundai flanking him. The two carrying him immediately strode toward the dais, the tips of the boy’s feet scraping across the marble as they dragged him. A third followed close behind, bringing the Aether Pistol and a small bag they had confiscated. The remaining Igni Amundai surrounding him fanned out, forming a wall between the boy and the crowd.
“Illi! Oh by Her light, there you are!” A voice hissed from beside Illito. He turned to find Lucilia beside him again, their parents and his other two sisters seated just beyond her. His sisters and mother were staring at the One with rapt attention, but as he looked, his father turned and met his eyes. His father shot him an apologetic look, shame writ large across his face. Despite his broad shoulders and barrel chest, Tycho Ursinus seemed to shrink before his son’s gaze, tears welling in his eyes. He gave Illito a final, plaintive look, glanced to his wife, then took a deep breath and returned his attention to the One. Illito sank back into the bench, tears mixing with the blood on his face, and turned away from his family.
He felt a sudden squeeze on his arm and turned back. Lucilia had scooted next to him and wrapped her arm around his. She flashed him a quick smile and leaned lightly on his shoulder, seemingly indifferent to the blood now staining her best Ecclucia outfit. The tears slowed, and he managed a wan smile in return before refocusing on the dais.
As the procession neared the One, the Igni Amundai surrounding her tensed. The One made a sharp signal with her hand, and they dismissed their Aether shields so she could clearly survey her assailant. They came to a stop before the dais; the boy slumped between them, held upright only by the Igni Amundai. The Igni Amundai carrying the pistol activated their Conduit and a moment later lifted off the ground, floating up to the dais to present the confiscated belongings to the One.
The One scowled contemptuously at the wilted form before her, then turned and plucked the Aether Pistol from the Igni Amundai. She inspected the weapon, turning it slowly before her, careful to hold it high enough that the entire congregation could see. It glittered, opalescent, in the clear white light of the Aether torches scattered throughout the Cathedral. A wave swept through the crowd as they saw it, hushed murmurs of surprise and alarm filling the room.
About a hand’s length across, the Aether Pistol appeared milky white but shimmered with every color on the spectrum as the light caught it from different angles.
Illito had seen only a few in his time at the capital, as they were highly illegal for the general populace to possess. They were also extremely difficult to create, requiring an exceptionally powerful Aether Weaver, and the Quintessence only allowed for a small number to be crafted each year. Illito was fairly certain his mother had one hidden in her penthouse suite, most of the wealthy and powerful families in Sanctia had them, but he’d never seen it up close.
As far as he understood it, they were filled with unstable Aether and loaded with a small, metal projectile. When the user pulled the tiny lever near the handle something caused the Aether to explode, blasting the projectile forward. It was supposedly quite inaccurate, but the ability to kill from a distance without requiring physical strength or a Conduit made them immensely valuable, especially to Tenebrae, the majority of humanity without access to the Aether magic.
Illito tried to imagine how the boy had managed to smuggle such an illicit weapon into the First Cathedral, filled with Igni Amundai, but it just didn’t make sense. The One seemed shocked as well, but the brief surprise visible on her face flowed quickly into fury as she held the pistol aloft. With a single fluid motion, she summoned her Conduit then released the pistol, leaving it slowly rotating in midair. The cathedral filled with uneasy murmurs as they sat, transfixed by the spinning pistol. Her eyes never leaving the crowd, the One flung her right hand out to the Igni Amundai holding the attacker’s bag. The guard hesitated for a fraction and the One turned, more surprised than angry that her order wasn’t instantly obeyed.
“Your Luminance…” the Igni Amundai said, his voice low and hoarse. Illito had only heard an Igni Amundai speak once before and the voice had sounded the same, as if their vocal cords had been raked over hot coals.
“We have not cleared the items,” he continued. He seemed to be trying to pitch his tone so only for the One could hear, but his rasping voice carried easily throughout the silent cathedral.
The One’s eyes widened at the defiance; her mouth opened but she seemed momentarily too shocked to speak.
“Your safety is our highest concern,” he finished, punctuating the end of the sentence with a short bow. The entire cathedral was frozen in place as tension filled the room. Every eye was locked on the One, as a second later she seemed to regain control of herself and spoke, her voice icy.
“Your objection is noted, and your… diligence commendable.” As she finished she gestured again, and with a shimmer from her Conduit, the bag shot from the Igni Amundai’s grip and into her outstretched hand. He simply inclined his head in a slight bow and stepped back into position with practiced ease. A flood of anxious whispering from the crowd broke the silence.
She let the frightened congregation continue for several seconds before raising a hand for quiet. They silenced immediately, and Illito felt anxiety bloom within him as the One opened the bag and reached inside. With a flourish she withdrew her hand, letting the now empty bag fall to the floor. Clenched in her fist were several small items, but at this distance Illito couldn’t tell what they were. The crowd around him leaned forward, many half standing, their desperation to see at war with the One’s order to remain seated.
The One slowly turned her fist over, her fingers unfurling like opalescent lotus petals. In her palm sat a small silver sphere and a few other objects too tiny for Illito to make out. As her fingers lost contact with the sphere, it immediately began pulsing with soft red light. The frequency of the pulsing accelerated and the Igni Amundai surged forward, their Conduits rippling into existence as they moved.
The One was faster; with a flash from her Conduit she launched it skyward, encased in a translucent white bubble. Several congregants screamed as the crowd instinctively reared backward, every eye watching the bubble sail through the air. There was a muted thump and a flash of flames, but the bubble held, the fiery maelstrom within disappearing a second later. The One dismissed the bubble with a lazy wave of her hand as she surveyed the wide-eyed congregation before her.
“An illegal Aether Pistol, an illegal Aether grenado…” the One listed off, addressing the congregation. “And these,” she continued, raising the tiny objects into the air with her Conduit, “Poison capsules I presume? So as not to be captured alive after my… attempted assassination?”
Illito couldn’t see the boy any longer; the Igni Amundai holding him stood between him and the crowd, but Illito heard no response. The One carried on, clearly not wanting or expecting an actual answer, as the capsules floated up to hover next to the pistol.
“Who sent you?” she asked, her gaze finally returning to the boy. Again there was no answer, and at a quick signal from the One, the Igni Amundai flanking him nodded.
“He’s clean, your Luminance,” one of the Igni Amundai said, her voice as harsh and gravelly as her comrade’s.
“Search him again,” the One hissed, her voice low enough that only the first few rows, including Illito, were able to hear. She turned toward the crowd, face stony, while the Igni Amundai restarted their search. Several seconds later, one of the Igni Amundai straightened, something clutched tightly in a red-gauntleted hand. He moved to show the One, blocking the view of the crowd. A wolfish grin flashed across her face, then was immediately replaced with a somber frown. She motioned the Igni Amundai aside impatiently and addressed the crowd again.
“My children!” She called, her Aether-imbued words echoing as if repeated by a heavenly choir all around them. “By Her Light I have withstood these attempts on my life. Attacked before your eyes in our most sacred Cathedral, on our holiest of days.” She paused, letting the echoes slowly dissipate.
“By Her Light the weapon barely missed. In Her selflessness and nobility our radiant Quintessence saved my humble life, sacrificing instead her own holy likeness.” The One turned, gesturing dramatically to the gigantic stained-glass portrait of the Quintessence, a jagged hole where Her head should be. Golden sunlight streamed through directly onto the One, the myriad colors of the remaining glass bathing her surroundings in shimmering rainbows. Many congregants gasped, as if only now noticing the destruction, and Illito heard several whispers of “By Her Light.” The One turned back to the crowd and Illito saw tears spilling down her face. The Aether energy surrounding her had dimmed, and she floated down to stand before them in a simple white cassock, the golden sunlight refracting as she moved, limning her with a celestial aurora.
“My children,” she said, voice plaintive. “This day you bore witness. Witness not only to an attack on my person, your own Warden of Absolution. Not only to an attack on our First Cathedral of Light, on the holy Duquintia, as you, my faithful, pledged your own hearts to righteousness. Not only to an attack--” She paused as her voice broke, tears flowing freely. Illito suddenly felt engulfed by emotion as overwhelming waves of anguish and betrayal emanated from the One. Many wept freely, and there were shouts of “No!” and “By Her Light!” She took a deep breath then continued.
“Witness not only to an attack on our beloved Quintessence, our Radiant Empress, our Matria Omnia.” She stopped, lowering her head, a picture of sorrow. Illito waited with bated breath, tears welling in his own eyes. Then suddenly the One looked up, arms uplifted, both her hands clenched into fists.
“But an assault on our very way of life,” she cried, voice reaching a crescendo on the last word. “Our faith, our values, our peace and prosperity, are at risk.” Striding forward she raised a hand and another shining bubble appeared and rose into the air before her. Illito strained to see what was inside; it looked like several loose strips of cloth or paper floating freely in the bubble. She gestured toward it.
“Hidden on his person, the Igni Amundai discovered this.” As she finished the bubble popped and the items floated slowly down, falling on the white marble before the front row. A chorus of gasps came from those closest as Illito strained to get a better look. The One continued, slowly enunciating every word to the enrapt cathedral.
“Bel Traten currency.” A frisson swept through the crowd. Whatever they had been expecting, it wasn’t this. The One waited for the whispers to still before she spoke again.
“We have feared this for years, and this brazen attack can only mean one thing. War isn’t coming... it’s already here.”
