The following morning, Ophilia woke early and wrote a note to the bishop of Saintsbridge's church. She hadn't been given much of a chance to say that she had arrived the night before because of how late the group had gotten to Saintsbridge, so she decided to take care of her first duties for this step of the Kindling as the sun rose. Once she was finished, she dropped the letter off at the church for one of the priests to pass along to the bishop. In the note, Ophilia proposed meeting with him at the entrance to the town in about three hours, and if there were any issues, he could contact her to shift their plans. When she heard nothing back, Ophilia assumed the plan was going ahead as she had originally intended, prompting her to lead the rest of the travelers to the front of Saintsbridge around the middle of the morning.
The Riverlands air was just as crips and clear as Ophilia remembered, and she couldn't help taking it all in with a smile on her face. Saintsbridge's charm still hadn't worn off on her overnight, and she found herself infatuated with everything from the structure of the shops to the specific shade of green that marked the grass just outside the town. She could certainly see why her parents had wanted to bring her here when she was little; she didn't understand how anyone couldn't just fall in love with Saintsbridge.
Ophilia hummed to herself as she examined a shopfront not far from the front of the town. The rest of the group was with her for moral support, and she was glad they were. Even though she had started coming into herself since setting out on the Kindling, she wanted all the support she could get. She hadn't ever spoken to the bishop of Saintsbridge before, and she couldn't help feeling a bit intimidated at approaching such an important religious figure. Her heart skipped a beat whenever she thought about it for too long, so she opted to stare at the jewelry in the nearby store window to keep herself distracted.
When Ophilia was finished, she glanced up and realized that a man wearing white robes was steadily approaching her. He was on the older side, all of his hair having turned silver long ago. He still carried himself with a degree of regality and calmness though, and that was more than enough to tell Ophilia exactly who he was. She pulled herself up to her full height, and that small action was more than enough to bring the rest of the travelers behind her to silence. They all stared at the man as Ophilia took a small step towards him.
For a moment, Ophilia was afraid that she wouldn't be able to convince herself to speak, but she managed to push the words out even as her heart struggled to keep from screaming at the center of her chest. "Greetings, Your Excellency," Ophilia began, bowing her head and taking her skirt between her fingers to curtsey. "I am Sister Ophilia, and I have come to perform the Kindling."
The older man nodded with a smile. "We welcome you to our parish, Sister Ophilia. I am Bartolo, the bishop of Saintsbridge," he introduced. "I have heard a great deal about you from Archbishop Josef. For you to have come all this way in Sister Lianna's stead..."
Ophilia looked down with a small frown on her face, and she resisted the urge to drag her fingers across the lanthorn to calm her nerves. "I am deeply sorry for the sudden change in plans, Bishop Bartolo," she told him, trying her best to keep her voice as measured as possible.
Bartolo, however, didn't seem to mind, as he simply shook his head with a tender frown on his face. "Think nothing of it, child. I heard of the archbishop's illness in his letter... You have my sympathies."
Ophilia's stomach twisted at the mention of Josef's sickness. All of a sudden, she felt like she was being punched to the ground by all of her previous doubts about going on the Kindling to begin with, and she yearned for the touch of something familiar to keep herself composed. "You are too kind, Your Excellency."
Bartolo closed his eyes in contemplation before he continued, seemingly unaware of Ophilia's masked nerves. "I have not been so blessed as to perform the Kindling myself, but I know the pilgrimage is a trying one." He paused, glancing up and past Ophilia to the rest of the travelers standing behind her. "And yet, there is also much to be gained for one who undertakes it with an open heart and honest mind." He shifted his attention back down to Ophilia next, and she felt as if she was pinned in place by the kindness in his eyes for a moment. He meant nothing by it, but Ophilia's anxious nerves remained prominent regardless. "It will take every ounce of strength and courage, but for the sake of our church and our realm, pray see it through to the end."
Ophilia nodded gently as soon as she was able to convince her body to move once again. "Thank you, Your Excellency. I promise you that I will."
Bartolo smiled at that and gestured out to the town around him. "The people of Saintsbridge have waited with eager hearts for the coming of the Flamebearer," he told her kindly. "The warm light of the Sacred Flame guides and shelters us all to the depths of our hearts and souls." He turned on his heel and gestured for Ophilia to follow him. "Allow me to show you to our cathedral."
Ophilia nodded before taking a step after him. When she realized that she heard nothing from behind herself, she turned around and gestured for the other travelers to follow her. She smiled gently, and Tressa grinned before taking the first step. The others were quick to trail after the merchant, and with that, they began to follow Bartolo through the core of Saintsbridge.
To no one's surprise, the rest of the town was just as beautiful and stunning as the portions that they had seen the night before. Somehow, Saintsbridge was even more lovely in the daylight, and Ophilia couldn't help but realize just how perfect the sunshine seemed to be when it meshed with the rest of the scenery. Her previous doubts began to melt away under the calmness of it all, and she realized once more that she was meant to be here. Aelfric had said that she was destined to carry out the Kindling, but her rationale ran much deeper than that. She felt content and calm for a few moments, and she knew that this was what she needed before the Kindling continued in earnest.
The cathedral was impressive as well, and much like with Goldshore, its spires towered proud and tall over the rest of the town. The sunlight seemed to strike the silvery building perfectly, and Ophilia found herself entranced into stillness at the sight of it. She forced herself to press onwards though, once again remembering just how much Saintsbridge reminded her of every place that she had ever come to call home.
The inside of the cathedral was just as impressive, though it was nowhere near as expansive as the Flamesgrace cathedral was. Still, Ophilia couldn't help staring at every small detail, and she let out a heavenly sigh at the sheer grace of the architecture. The peace of Saintsbridge extended outwards to every part of the town, and that certainly included the cathedral. Ophilia was sure that she would have been able to spend hours enjoying the atmosphere there and exploring for hidden details if she was given the chance. However, she had a duty to take care of for the time being, so she concentrated instead on following in Bartolo's path to the heart of the building.
The Sacred Flame at the heart of the church burned tall and proud at the back of the main prayer room, and Ophilia couldn't help her infatuation as she stared up at the white flickers of fire. She had seen the Sacred Flame a thousand times in Flamesgrace, but something about seeing the familiar fire in a completely different town on the other side of Orsterra caught her by surprise. She stood there still as could be for a long moment, simply allowing the warmth to lick at her features without any hesitation or fear. This was the calming aura she required so desperately, and she was more than happy to embrace it where she could.
"Behold, Sister Ophilia. This is the Sacred Flame of Saintsbridge," Bartolo explained with a grand gesture in the direction of the white fire. He turned to face the flame a moment later, a small frown knotting his features. "I stood in this same spot and witnessed the rite twenty years ago. At that time, the Flame burned strong, but now it wanes and flickers. Almost as if it were sapped of life."
Ophilia swallowed dryly at his words. He was right in saying that the Flame's power was nowhere near as prominent as it had been back in Flamesgrace, and she could tell that even though it was impressive, this was far from being the power that it should have possessed. In the back of her mind, Ophilia heard everything that she had learned from the gods leading up to this point. They had said that something bad was on the horizon for Orsterra, and the travelers were going to have to do everything they could to fight back against the forces of darkness if they wanted to save their home. At the time, Ophilia had wanted to do everything she could, but it felt comparatively distant when lined against all that the group had already been through. Rufus had been an immediate threat, but the tragic future of Orsterra seemed to be less so.
That was, until Ophilia realized just how right Bartolo was about the Flame. She was glad to be able to see the fire for herself after coming all this way, but at the same time, she could tell that there was much more wrong than she could have ever anticipated. She struggled to keep from mentioning just how awful the situation was as she glanced up to Bartolo, her expression tightly curated to ensure no unnecessary details slipped free of her lips. "Do you believe it to be some sort of omen, Your Excellency?" she questioned carefully, already knowing how she felt about it but wanting to hear his thoughts on the matter regardless.
Bartolo simply shook his head. "That I cannot say. But I do believe that the Kindling will restore our flame to its former vigor," he replied. He glanced to where the lanthorn rested at her hip before shifting his focus back to the Sacred Flame. "And now, Sister Ophilia, if you will..."
Ophilia nodded, feeling her heart skip a beat at the reminder of why she was there. She hadn't come to Saintsbridge simply to admire the scenery; it all came down to the Kindling, and she couldn't falter now. She reached for the Ember with anxious hands, doing her best to seem more composed and in control than she felt. "Of course, Your Excellency. I will begin at once," she assured him softly.
Ophilia hesitated as Bartolo made his way up the stairs to the Sacred Flame. She glanced over her shoulder at the other travelers where they were gathered behind her, watching their expressions carefully. All of them had encouragement written in their eyes, a clear sign for her to keep going despite her anxiety. Ophilia couldn't help smiling in response before she turned around and followed Bartolo as well, breathing carefully along the way. She was ready for this. After all she had done to make it this far, she would be able to handle a ritual. The Kindling was the most important rite in all of Orsterra, but given the fact that she had helped to pull apart a trafficking ring, defeated the ruler of a forest, and brought a corrupt monster to justice, this felt like a piece of cake. All of that didn't even factor the gods that the group had defeated up to that point either.
By the time that Ophilia had arrived in front of the Sacred Flame, she had managed to steel her nerves and concentrate her resolve on the gentle dance of the white fire. Everything about it was almost hypnotizing, but she did her best to not allow herself to get distracted. She raised the lanthorn carefully, and the Ember immediately responded once it was in the vicinity of its sibling, glowing brighter and bolder than ever before.
"O great Aelfric, Bringer of the Flame..." Ophilia began, her mind casting itself back to when she had met the goddess the first time. She hadn't heard Aelfric's voice in the back of her head ever since then, but she was sure as could be that Aelfric was still watching over her. In part, Aelfric wanted to see how the Kindling played out now that Ophilia had been declared as the next Flamebearer, but on top of that, she had to ensure that the continent remained at peace. If disaster and catastrophe truly did rest in the near future, then the best she could do was look over her heir with everything she had.
The words that followed came much easier in light of Ophilia's history with Aelfric, and she allowed the Ember to rise a bit closer to the Sacred Flame. "To you I offer my soul and my blood. With your First Flame, I kindle this fire. May it forever shelter the people of this land." Ophilia closed her eyes as the Ember's reaction grew stronger, and the glow was so bright that she could have sworn that it was going to steal her vision, albeit only temporarily. "Through the sacrament of the Kindling, grant us your mercy and your blessing."
As soon as the words had been spoken, the Ember let out a gentle whisper that Ophilia vaguely recognized as matching Aelfric's voice. She opened her eyes and watched as the Sacred Flame began to sing in harmony for one shining moment before falling silent once more, leaving behind only its previous dance. As was to be expected, the fire had grown stronger since Ophilia had spoken, and the cleric couldn't help staring up at the Flame. She hadn't expected the rite to be so simple. It was odd to refer to it as such a thing given how important it was to the continent's safety, but everything had been over so quickly. All that it had taken was a few words and the Ember to correspond with them, and just like that, the Sacred Flame was reinvigorated and sparked to life with the blessing from Aelfric that lived in every fragment Ophilia's body.
The cleric was so caught up in her staring that she didn't even realize Bartolo was approaching her until he was speaking from just over her shoulder. "Ah! See how brightly the Flame shines now!" he smiled fondly. "Thank you, Sister Ophilia."
"Of course," Ophilia replied with a grin of her own as she tucked the lanthorn back in its home at her hip. The Ember seemed happier than ever before, and she could feel its gentle energy soothing her much the same as how the Sacred Flame had a few moments prior. Everything about the moment felt like pure magic, and all Ophilia could do was let it all sink in with a smile on her face.
Bartolo reached out and gently placed a hand on Ophilia's shoulder. "You must be tired after your long journey. Please take this time to rest and recover," he told her gently.
Ophilia nodded. "Thank you, Your Excellency," she began before glancing up to see the rest of the travelers looking back at her. Once again, the warmth that came with exploring a new city filled her chest, and she glanced back over to Bartolo a beat later. "But since I am here, I would love to see more of your fair town."
"You honor us, Sister Ophilia," Bartolo smiled. "But should you not rest first? I would hardly want for you to exhaust yourself."
Ophilia shook her head. "My companions and I arrived in town last night. I am more than prepared to face the day," she assured him. "I shall return to speak with you more a bit later once I've seen more of the town, if that's alright with you."
"Of course," Bartolo responded. "Please make yourself at home. The people of Saintsbridge are more than happy to welcome you."
With that, Ophilia started down the stairs towards the rest of her companions, and she began to walk towards the entrance after gesturing for them to follow her. For a moment, most of the travelers were too shocked with her nonchalance to even realize that she was leaving, but they caught up with themselves soon afterwards. Most eyes drifted to the Sacred Flame before looking back to Ophilia and the lanthorn at her hip as they departed from the cathedral.
Cyrus pulled himself away from the rest of the group and fell into step alongside Ophilia. "I never thought the day would come when I'd witness the Kindling with my own eyes," he admitted. He couldn't help smiling wider as he spoke the words, his nerves refusing to calm themselves under the power of his own excitement. "I keep telling myself to not get overly excited, but frankly, I just can't help myself!"
"I hope that it was more than enough to live up to your expectations," Ophilia replied. "The last thing I would want is for you to have come all this way only to be disappointed by what you saw."
"Of course not, my dear!" Cyrus exclaimed. "That was more than impressive enough... I'm more glad than ever before that I decided to follow you out of Atlasdam that day. Even if I had to leave on less than ideal circumstances, I know that this is the perfect path for me to follow."
"I'm glad to have you at my side too," Ophilia smiled. "I hope that you're looking forward to the next few steps of the Kindling as well. After all, we still need to go to Goldshore before returning to Flamesgrace, so there's a bit of the pilgrimage left to come."
"I'll be there regardless of what happens next," Cyrus assured her. He nodded to himself before reaching into his bag to pull out a small notebook. "I should write this down before I forget what has happened. I want to recall this in stunning detail later on."
Ophilia smiled and nodded at that, allowing her previous uneasiness to melt away in favor of pride. The longer she talked with Cyrus, the more the truth sunk in: she had managed to perform the first step of the Kindling, and she had reinvigorated the Sacred Flame of Saintsbridge. Despite not originally planning to go on the pilgrimage, she had already done incredible things, and she couldn't help her grin as she thought of everything she had accomplished. She was far from being the same girl she had been back in Flamesgrace, and she was proud of herself for it.
As soon as Ophilia stepped out into the sunshine, she let out a small sigh of relief. She didn't realize how much of a weight it was off her shoulders to know that she could perform the Kindling without fear, but it certainly seemed to be working wonders for her already. The conversation with Bartolo and the Kindling ritual that followed had taken less than an hour in total, and that meant that the rest of the group was Ophilia's to do with as she so pleased. She would be able to return to the cathedral a bit later on after she had learned more about the town.
Ophilia wasn't entirely sure where she was headed as she continued to walk away from the cathedral, but she was confident that she was glad to have the break from her own thoughts. As much as she wanted to learn about what had happened to Creek all those years ago, she knew that she couldn't think about it too much when she was in such a good mood. She would be able to ask Bartolo later in the day, but for the moment, she wanted to enjoy everything that she and her companions had managed to accomplish. She had more than earned a short while to have fun, and it seemed as if exploring Saintsbridge was exactly what she was searching for in that department.
"This is all your fault, Emil!"
The cleric had been wandering through the town for about five minutes without a care in the world when she suddenly stopped on the spot at the sound of yelling. She was easily able to locate the source of the yelling to be three young boys. One of them had brown hair, and he appeared to be the one that had cried out to begin with. The second boy had black hair, and as far as Ophilia could tell, he was the child named Emil. The final boy stood a few feet behind his brown-haired companion, and his tresses were a gentle blonde color and combed neatly and close to his face. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife, and Ophilia found herself staring at the top of a small set of stairs nearby.
"I... I..." Emil stammered, staring down at the ground with a frown knotted across his features. He appeared to be shaking ever so slightly, but he did his best to mask it. Even so, he refused to look up at the boys before him, seemingly unwilling to find the confidence or resolve to even make an effort at looking confident.
"We're gonna make you sorry!" the blonde boy cried out as he took a step closer to his friend. Everything about his expression was a perfect picture of rage, and Ophilia found herself caught off guard at the sight of a child looking so completely consumed by anger.
Emil, on the other hand, rested on the opposite end of the spectrum. His sadness and anxiety was becoming much more apparent as the seconds went by, and Ophilia could have sworn that she saw tears welling up in his eyes. "I am sorry! I am!" Emil insisted.
"You think that if you cry, that'll make everything alright?" the blonde boy asked as he crossed his arms. The mocking in his tone had only grown worse with his new question, and Emil looked as if he wanted to sink into the earth from raw embarrassment and shame.
"I'm sorry... I said I was sorry..." Emil repeated, though he was clearly losing his desire to fight back as the argument got more heated. The brown-haired boy took another step towards him, and Emil's tears only grew more prominent in his eyes.
Ophilia couldn't hold herself back any longer, and she surged forward before pushing both Emil and the brown-haired boy away from one another. She glanced back and forth between them carefully. "And what's going on here?" she questioned, not expecting an answer. "Break it up, now, break it up."
"Emil lost Derryl's brooch!" the blonde boy cried out. "It's gone now because of him!"
"I... I'm sorry, Derryl..." Emil murmured, swallowing so that he didn't cry in front of the other boys.
"Sorries aren't going to bring back his brooch! You know how important it is to him!" the blonde boy exclaimed.
Ophilia leaned over and pressed her hands against her knees before looking between all of the boys. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
Derryl huffed before walking up the stairs past the travelers. He ignored all of them to instead concentrate on the blonde boy. "Hmph! Ask Emil, if you really want to know!" he said haughtily. "Come on, Nate. Let's get out of here."
"You said it, Derryl," Nate agreed. He brushed past Emil on his way to meet his friend, shoulder colliding roughly with the other boy's body. Emil stumbled before managing to correct his posture again a moment later, though he rubbed at his eyes to try and dispel his tears before they could continue to fall.
Nate walked up to stand just beside Derryl as the brown-haired boy spoke. "We'll be back for you later, Emil. If you know what's good for you, then you had better find that brooch," he declared.
With that, the two boys pivoted on their heels and walked away, leaving Emil to watch them with tears in his eyes and shaky hands. He swallowed dryly once again before staring down at the ground. Even as Ophilia watched the two boys leave before shifting her focus back to Emil, he refused to look up to meet her gaze.
Ophilia crouched beside Emil before placing one tentative hand on his shoulder. Emil was still for a moment before allowing himself to sink into the touch. "Emil, was it?" she asked of him. He simply nodded, unable to bring himself to speak, and Ophilia took that as her cue to continue. "I'm Sister Ophilia. I'm a cleric journeying on behalf of the church."
"Journeying...?" Emil echoed before recognition flickered across his features. "Oh! Are you here for the Kindling?"
Ophilia nodded. "That's right. But I've already completed the rite, so..." She gave him a small smile, allowing cheerful playfulness to inject itself into her tone. "Are you going to help me look for this brooch or what?"
Emil looked up at her with shock once he had wiped at his tears with his sleeve. "Y-You'd really do that for me?" he questioned.
Ophilia nodded once again. "I really would. So... Cheer up, okay?" She winked to him as she pushed herself back to her full height and extended one hand in his direction.
For a moment, Emil remained still before he managed to shake his nerves off and nod feverishly in agreement. "Thank you, miss! I mean, Sister! Thank you, Reverend Sister!"
"Just Ophilia is fine," Ophilia told him. "Now, let's get down to it." Emil nodded before turning towards the nearby bushes to sift through them, and Ophilia glanced up to the rest of her group where they were standing nearby. "I'm sorry for the delay, but I want to help Emil. If you'd prefer to take care of other things within Saintsbridge, I would be more than happy to catch up with you later."
"Don't worry about it," Tressa assured her before anyone had the chance to interject. "We want to help you, and that means staying at your side now... We can try to find the brooch too. I'm sure the work would go a lot faster if there were even more of us working to figure out where it disappeared to, right?"
"You're right," Ophilia agreed. She glanced to the other members of the group, searching their expressions for any signs of protest, but when she was met with nothing, she nodded once again. "Thank you all for this. I appreciate it."
"Don't worry about it, Phili," Alfyn told her with a wave of one hand. He started down the stairs at that before moving towards the bushes that lined the nearby area, and the others were quick to follow his lead. Ophilia simply smiled after them and wondered what she had done to deserve such an incredible collection of friends.
Ophilia wound up crouching beside Alfyn in the opening stages of the search, and he reached towards one of the bushes before gasping at the sight of them. "What a nice little specimen..." he murmured.
"Is this a special type of bush?" Ophilia questioned as she glanced over to him, realizing that he was referring to the bush rather than the potentially found brooch.
Alfyn nodded. "It's nothin' like what I've seen back home... But it does make sense. You can find lots of rare plants and herbs in these lands," he explained. "Especially lion's ear and sweet wormwood-a dash of each makes nearly every salve more effective. When I was studyin' to be an apothecary, I sometimes came into the Saintsbridge area in search of ingredients."
"I had no idea," Ophilia remarked. "You certainly seem to know a lot about plants, Alfyn."
"They're crucial components in any tincture or potion, so it's part of the job," Alfyn explained. He pointed to a flower found on the bush before continuing. "Here, look at this one. White skullcap, they call it. The petals are good for fevers. I grind them with root starch and honey to help cure some sicknesses. It was one of the first medicines I learned."
"That's incredible," Ophilia smiled. She glanced down to the flower before touching it gently. "It's a beautiful flower too."
Alfyn nodded before curling his fingers around the bud. "Isn't it just?" He sniffed at the center before shaking his head with a fond smile. "It's nice to be back here."
"Maybe you can show me a few of the other plants around here once we're finished searching for the brooch," Ophilia suggested.
Alfyn's eyes lit up, and he nodded as his fingers drifted to the Rose Axe. "I'd love that," he grinned. "And I'm sure this beauty will make it even easier for us to do."
Ophilia nodded her agreement before looking back to the bushes. "I'll be looking forward to it," she beamed. With that, she continued to sift through the leaves for any signs of the brooch that had spurred all of this to begin with. It had to be around there somewhere, and once she found it, she would be able to look forward to a day full of exploring Saintsbridge.
She didn't think that she could have asked for a better way to begin the Kindling anew even if she tried.
Here's a late night chapter! Woohoo!
I've been out of my house for the last few days, so my typing schedule has been kind of skewed towards late nights, and I guess that holds true with this update too. Oh, well. I'm glad that it's here, and I think it was a great way for us to start off Ophilia's second chapter. I love the brighter atmosphere from Ophilia after her recent uncertainties regarding Creek, and it's nice to see her so chipper.
All things considered, this chapter is pretty much the game presented wholesale with two major changes: first off, Bartolo received a letter about everything that happened with the Flamebearer changing. It's a minor detail that I received a question about, so here it is explained in a bit more depth. As for our second change, it would be the location of Alfyn's travel banter. I also edited it a bit to fit with the scene better along with moving it back. Instead of being just after the Kindling rite, I positioned it during the search for the brooch. It's a small shift, but I like this positioning, and I think it's a great way to highlight the relationship between Alfyn and Ophilia while still pushing the story forward. The conversation's placement felt somewhat random previously, so I moved it to feel a bit more natural, and I love how it turned out.
With that said, I think I'm done here for now. Next week, we'll pick up with the search for the brooch before moving on with the rest of Ophilia's chapter two. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital