In the reflection of the stars, we see the past.

Around us live the clues of the present.

Future is invisible.

Infinite roads, impossible to decipher.

Unavoidable truth, even for the Tellers.

They do not gaze upon the ways, nor possess the keys of this world.

They only watch the constants of the past and present, visible to all, and use them to prophesize the constants of the future.

No God helps them in their task, not even their master, Jormun.

They are simply witnesses to events that always have been, and will always be.

Lessons to young tellers.

Nay walked slowly. Her whole body was hurting, not only her ribs, some most likely broken, her arm or jaw, but all her muscles and a bit shamefully, her butt. She felt like she had been sitting down and perfectly still for a long time.

How long had she been unconscious, hours? Days?

The artificial lights of the maze-like corridors gave her no temporal reference. She entered discreetly inside a room to her right. The way every room had its door opened let the young Legio hide easily when she spotted Rreicos coming in her direction, but it also meant she sometimes had to just turn around when people were already inside. They could have spotted her cross past, and her current appearance: a ripped shirt and leather armour, was quite conspicuous. They would have sounded the alarm immediately. Nay would have been happy to find another nun disguise but knew it was unlikely for such a lucky thing to happen again.

If only she knew where she was going. Her superficial knowledge of the cathedral’s map didn’t help, as she couldn’t differentiate one corridor from another.

Nothing, except…

“Finally!” She whispered. After more than ten minutes wandering aimlessly, sneakily pass occupied rooms or heading back when she could not, Nay finally found what she was looking for.

A cloister. Her joy was short-lived though. It was currently night, which meant she had stayed unconscious at least six hours, and moreover, she had counted on the sun to reorient herself. With the light of the city, stars would not be…

The young Legio hurriedly crouched behind the stone wall separating the corridor from the beautiful inner garden. There were no lights in the cloister, and it was only because of her sixth sense that she had noticed the man in the middle of the miniature park. He felt old and was stargazing peacefully.

Stars?

Nay jumped the wall, landing softly on the well-groomed grass on the other side. She hid behind a bush, noticing as she did that the old man was a priest, considering what he was wearing, and that he was sitting on a bench, its legs resting on the bare ground. She looked up. Despite it being seemingly impossible, the sky was filled with shiny stars, as if she were still in the Striavie desert. Nay felt the magic in effect, different inside the cloister than in the rest of the cathedral. It was quite the poetic enchantment, but currently, Nay was more interested in the opportunity it gave her. She could deduce where north was. As such, she would find the exit. But instead of going right away, she took another glance at the priest from behind her hiding spot. The odour of flowers inside her bush was quite strong, rosaces most definitely, but it still smelled nice. The man’s Rreico didn’t explain why Nay had interrupted her escape. He wasn’t a God-Touched, and even if she had been intrigued by his emotions of sadness and nostalgia, those were quite the common occurrence.

He was holding something in his hands.

A piece of paper?

“Strange evening, isn’t it?” His voice was tired, slow.

Nay did not understand. He had not spotted her, as he did not know where she was. His Rreico showed no signs of it.

Was he thinking out loud?

“Sometimes, I brought my students here. At night, for our lessons. Our stories are written up there, after all.”

The young Legio felt something, like a piece of a puzzle had snapped in its place inside her head. Her own Rreico was aching together with his. He had no idea she was here, but he knew.

She rose to her feet and walked towards him.

The priest turned around, pausing when he saw her come forwards.

“Oh. You are Nay, aren’t you?” He was looking at the stars again.

The young Legio didn’t answer, stopping two yards away from him. His robes were of the colour green. This man was a Teller of Truths.

“You must be trying to escape?”

“I am.” Nay answered simply.

“Why stop for this poor, useless master? You are not my end.”

“I…I think it’s because I have something to tell you.”

The Teller lifted the letter in his hand.

“I have received it already.”

There was a short silence.

“Am I going to escape successfully?”

He turned around to look at her for a while. He was smiling.

“No idea. Your future has only one truth, and I do not answer questions for free. Nonetheless, I believe I can say that stopping for a while to gaze at the stars with an old man will not change the end result.”

Nay sat down and looked towards the lights in the sky.

“He…he was quite extraordinary.” She began.

“Ha ha ha, true, even though he would not have like to be described as such.”

“I could have…Had I known what was eating at him…”

“False. To understand, you need to live it. You could not truly understand before living it.”

A shooting star fell, like a teardrop from the sky.

“Strange night,” Nay repeated.

The old man nodded. Minutes passed.

“You should leave now. It will not be much longer before they find the Archbishop. Thank you, for sharing this moment with me.”

“I…I thank you, master Yglasion.”

“Oh, don’t forget this. It belongs to you. Take care of it this time.” He held out the letter to her, and Nay took it delicately.

She folded the paper, put it back inside her pocket, then exited the cloister.

She had a weird certainty that this was the first and last time she would cross paths with master Yglasion.

She found the door leading to the central nave five minutes later. The large amount of Rreicos on the other side left no doubt about it. She waited for the right moment, then took her chances and left to mingle with the refugees. There were a lot less at this late hour, but the cathedral was opened all the time. Her clothes brought a few looks onto her, but she was out before the alarm had been given.

Nay had successfully escaped.

The plaza was forever singing its soft song of wind, and Nay walked towards her mother’s apartment. She didn’t think she would find her there, too much time had passed, but she wanted to make sure her family had managed to leave as well.

She wasn’t worried about an ambush, as Sage Defin’s body hadn’t been discovered yet, the bells being still silent. As such, there was no reason anyone would be waiting for her, but it was possible a few guards were there, investigating Ra’fa and Lisana's whereabouts.

The Rreico would tell her.

Nay arrived in front of the building with no mishaps on the way. Beautiful exterior stairs were leading to the apartments. Nay climbed to the third floor and stayed hidden there for a few minutes. She concentrated on the Rreico; her senses perturbed by the multiple rhythms of life on the street underneath.

The apartment above her was empty. Nay took the stairs again, and walked calmly towards the gold oak door. It wasn’t locked.

She entered.

It seemed as if a tornado had passed inside. The mattresses had been torn and thrown on the ground, the wooden floor had been crushed open to find potential hidden alcoves. Clothes, kitchenware and pretty much everything else was scattered all over the place.

Nay smiled. Guards had been here, and that meant her mother and Lisana had successfully gotten away.

She now needed to find her family in the enormous city again, but at least this time she had a name: Pompidour.

She could not stay here and didn’t have any money. She had to rest and recast her arm. Despite the messy room, she found something to make a wooden brace. She also found Trinne’s travel bag thrown on the floor of the balcony, still in one piece. It was empty, and Nay found her broken cooking pan just next to it.

“Banshee’s bastards!” She swore.

She collected what she could: Some of Ra’fa’s clothes, slightly too big for her, a brassiere, some bandages, half a bottle of disinfectant and medicinal herbs. She wasn’t going to lose time and make her wooden brace now, but she was going to waste time and take a shower. The luxurious bathroom, almost empty originally, had been mostly left alone by the city guards, and the warm water coming out of the shower was too tempting to be ignored.

It could have been the last chance she had to wash in weeks.

In the middle of her shower, Nay heard the bells of the Cathedral ring. At the thirteenth hit, she knew they had found the Archbishop.

She didn’t bother putting her leather armour back on but kept the dagger in a makeshift scabbard on her belt. It was more a tool than a weapon, but she felt safer with the metal close to her, nonetheless.

She picked up an extra blanket, in case she found somewhere safe to sleep, got out and closed the apartment door behind her.

It was now deep into the night, but Nay had passed quite a few police patrols on her way through the roads of Leïn, they had not managed to catch her unaware. She had decided to hide in one of the numerous parks of the city. The start of autumn brought with it cold nights, and Nay was happy she had thought to take some extra covers.

Despite this, her sleep was short-lived. After barely an hour, the empty park wasn’t anymore, and Nay woke up, alerted by the presence of someone coming closer. She jumped to her feet, hand on her dagger. The abrupt movement brought a pained grimace to her face.

“Oh miss, don’t fret, I’m not here to hurt you.”

Nay had a hard time distinguishing who was standing in front of her. He was between two lampposts, hidden in the shadows.

“Who are you?”

His Rreico was tranquil, as if he were used to approaching lone girls in the middle of the night.

He moved under the artificial lights. His hands were trembling excessively.

“I am Tristan, I don’t have a roof of my own, like you.”

No lies in his words.

“So? Is the park not big enough for the both of us?”

He was of medium build, in his fifties. His red hair was dirty, and his clothes mismatched. One of his eyes was white, milky, while the other a soft and welcoming green.

“No, but we can’t sleep here. I am helping the volunteers to find people like us. There are places welcoming us, you know?”

Nay let her guard fall. He seemed sincere, and really worried about her.

“I’d rather stay discreet.”

The man smiled. “I understand. They don’t ask questions; they are not policemen. Whatever problems you had with your parents; they wouldn’t want you to sleep outside. You can follow me from afar, see for yourself.”

He was mistaking her for a teenager eloping. Which was a good misunderstanding, as far as the young Legio was concerned.

“I’m not the only one going around looking for people in parks, police do it too.” He continued.

Nay sighed: that changed things.

“Fine, I’ll follow you.”

He had a big smile. “Perfect!”

Nay followed the man out, unfortunately for her, he seemed the talkative kind.

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Do you have a job?”

“No.”

“I see. The people working where we go are very nice, they help young ones like you find an employer very often.”

“…That seems too good to be true. Was it implemented to handle the refugees?” Nay commented.

The homeless man cackled audibly. “No, those ones are housed by the Church. Where we go was created through the Imperatrix’s law, She helps the most unfortunate. She often says that her greatest riches are Her people.”

“Mhh.” Nay remembered Makaka. That city was also part of the Imperatrix’s kingdom, and despite that, beggars had been innumerable. “Funny justice, one only concerning a few.”

“What?”

“Nothing. What about you then?”

“Me?”

Nay stopped talking. A group of guards was approaching from the other side of the street. She took a sharp turn in a side-alley, under the surprised gaze of the homeless man.

“Where are you going? Young girl, wait!”

“If you really want to help me, shut up and follow me.”

The man didn’t react, standing still. He noticed the guards coming towards him too late.

“Tristan.” One of the guards called out to him. Nay swore internally, ducking behind an empty barrel.

“Hyrin sir.” He answered. “What is it?”

“We’re looking for a young woman, dark hair, wears leather armour. Her eyes are very noticeable, grey like a cloud. She’s also quite tall. Didn’t you see her around your usual spots by any chance?”

Tristan looked towards where she was hidden.

“Tristan?”

“Erm…I…no. I saw no-one with leather armour. Is she dangerous?”

“Very, but she’s hurt. If you see her, don’t play the hero, come and find us right away, ok?”

“Of course, mister Hyrin.”

“Good lad. Have a good night.”

“Good night officers.”

The guards left, and Nay emerged from her hiding place.

“You didn’t have to do that, thanks.”

“So, it was you they were talking about?... You didn’t elope.” Nay felt that he wasn’t sure he had done the right choice. She noticed his trembling hands once again, they hadn’t stopped doing that even once.

“No, I knocked out a priest of Ja.” She wasn’t lying.

“What!? But that’s wrong!”

“He undressed me.”

Tristan let out a surprised shout. “I don’t believe you! A priest would never do something like that!”

“I am not lying to you. Now, show me where I can sleep, or go warn the guards, but I’m tired and have no time to lose.”

Tristan seemed a bit lost, clearly overtaken by the turns of events.

“If I go look for them, you’ll be gone.”

“Yes.”

“A young woman really shouldn’t be sleeping outside.” He seemed decided. “And, well, you don’t seem mean to me.”

“Mean? No, I don’t think I can be described as such.”

She followed the homeless man through the city.

“Where are we going?”

“Throughout the city, there are more than ten places where people without roofs can sleep. They even put out metal stoves to let us heat ourselves when it is cold, and volunteers give out food there during the day. The closest to us is in front of the third church of Ja.” A horrified look appeared on his face. “Don’t tell me that’s where you knocked out the perverted priest, right?”

Nay smiled. “No, no. The third church of Ja…?”

The trembling man nodded. “Speaking of, there we are.”

The paved road changed to show a rustic square lit up by oil lampposts. The church was simple and the buildings around it made of wood. The whole plaza looked like a village, filled with greeneries, lots of trees and little grass lawns. They were still in the middle of the city of Leïn, though.

“Woaw.” Said Nay out loud.

“I like it too. Before they built Leïn, there was a village here. The Imperatrix decided to keep it as it was, to make something like a museum of the past.”

“What’s this plaza called?” She asked.

“Erm…the Imperatrix square, I think. Not very original, but as rumours tell it, She likes this place.”

Nay examined her surroundings once again, foolishly trying to find a red-haired woman in the middle of the darkness and few passers-by. Obviously, her friend wasn’t there. It had been weeks since she and Trinne were supposed to meet here.

“Our destination is the old party hall. You’re coming?” Tristan went towards a large building, similar to the Jasminn in size and style.

Nay carefully followed him in, but as he had promised, no guards were present. She thought priests were going to welcome them, but instead, it was a young noble, barely older than her.

“Hey Tristan, how are you?” A young man, dressed in clothes perfectly tailored to his slender build, left his wooden counter as they entered.

Nay took a quick look at the room behind him. It was simplistic in design. Just a large surface of floorboards, flat and empty, no furniture, lit up through electric bulbs hanging from the ceiling. There were some chairs and tables, but they had been piled up at the back, and in another corner was a pyramid of logs ready to be burned. Metal stoves had been placed willy-nilly. Two groups of half a dozen homeless people were gathered around the two stoves that had been lit up.

“Oh, yes I am good uh…” Tristan began answering hesitantly.

“Marco. You brought us someone with you again?”

Nay had lowered her hood; he couldn’t see her eyes. He looked her over for a while.

“Marco! Sorry, I had forgotten. Yes, she is…erm she doesn’t want to say, just wants to spend the night.”

“We don’t ask questions, you know that. She is welcome here, a lot of empty spaces, it’s not that cold yet.”

“Great!”

Their exchange had been quite natural, as if it had happened a lot in the past.

“I just need to know, is she armed?”

Tristan seemed confused by the question, and Nay intervened.

“Only my dagger.”

Marco nodded. “Good, you can keep it, but please come to us if someone bothers you. Me and Jia, my girlfriend over there…” He pointed towards a young woman in nun clothing giving out blankets. “…we prefer taking care of the troublemakers ourselves. I received military training; you can trust me.”

Nay knew that was the truth. He was tall, his lean body could have made you think he was on the frail side, but Nay could see through the facade and was perfectly aware of the impressive balance in his muscles. His hands also showed the signs of intense training with the blades.

She left to go settle in one of the empty corners, under a window closed by a wooden plank flap. She was quickly joined by the young woman distributing blankets.

“Hi! If you need anything, I am Jia.”

Nay almost gave away her name, taken aback by the excessive warmth and big brown eyes of the young adult. “Erm…no I have my own blanket.”

“If you’re hungry, want to read something, or…”

“Newspaper.” Nay cut her off abruptly.

Jia gave her a surprised look, not expecting the sudden vehemence in the young woman’s voice.

“Erm…sure, no problem, I’ll bring you that.”

“…wait no…I…yeah thank you.” Nay had a foreboding feeling. This night had been strange from beginning till end. Her meeting master Yglasion, being brought to where she and Trinne were supposed to have reunited…She had second-guessed herself, scared of knowing what had happened in Gite, but thinking about her friend had pushed her above her doubts. She needed to know.

She snuggled in her blanket. She did not sit next to a stove, as it was surrounded by strangers. She wasn’t cold anyway, the large hall slightly warmer than the outside.

Minutes passed, and Jia finally brought her the journal.

“Here you go.” She smiled. “Good news, for once.

Nay almost ripped the paper out of her hands.

“I’m staying here all night. There is a room next to the entrance where me and Marco take shifts to sleep. You can knock there if you don’t find us. Also, it’s been a long time since we had any problem with…overly familiar guys, but stay sharp, okay?”

“Understood.” Nay wasn’t looking at her anymore.

While Jia was leaving, Nay was rereading the first page.

She didn’t dare believe what she was seeing.

They said that the Angel had gone back north, to the Unbroken ones.

Gite was free.

Nay began laughing like a madwoman.

“AND DON’T COME BACK YOU PIECE OF HIVERE DRO…Aouch.” She had jumped back to her feet too quickly, and her ribs were expressing their disapproval.