Sansara
The Daewoo Maepsy has arrived at the Sanctuary. The chauffeur had a hard work to save his vehicle and prevent from hitting to the bare rocks, which protrude from around the corners.
"Oh. There she is." Aldebaran crossed his arms and focused his gaze on the ajar door of the vehicle.
"She has come a long way," Mu whispered. "And even longer before her."
"Months ago Aphrodite applied for the elevator, eventually we have the eighties, but the Grand Master is too old-fashioned for such ideas. Oh, porra! What a girl!"
"Bull, control your tendencies," Mu told him flatly, but he had to admit that the newcomer presented... inviting.
Liwia got out of the car and stretched hard. The worn edge of the denim jacket rose above her waist; it wasn't the most comfortable cloth, but it looked awesome. With a careless movement of her hand, she brushed black strands of hair from her forehead and yawned powerfully. First a taxi ride, then travel by plane, and now a rock rally. She hoped that today they will not require any demonstration of the efficiency. If so, she would charm them with her Slav eyes. Or other part of body. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a blood-red lipstick and painted her lips, bringing her face close to the car mirror.
"There will be troubles with her," Mu muttered.
"Meu amigo! She doesn't wear a mask! I just noticed it." Aldebaran slapped his sizable forehead with a hand big like a shovel. "She has any special permission or what?"
"In her country, women fought so often that they did not have to be ashamed of their sex. At least, that's what the legend says." Knight of the Ram watched as girl was approaching them closely. "If you were at the morning briefing, you would know."
"What, you saying that Greek girls are less brave? Er, just sneak up near their training yards to deny it." Bull bared his fangs in smile.
Liwia pulled harder the strap attached to the silver armor box. She stood before two Golden Saints and gave a respectful bow. Mu had to admit that due to her appearance, he did not expect it.
"Messrs Mu and Aldebaran, I suppose," she said in a fairly low voice for her sixteen years. "Liwia, Silver Knight of Fox. In response to the Grand Master's invitation."
"Welcome, Liwia, to the Temple of Athena." Mu nodded slightly. "A Sanctuary Guest arrives. Will he stay or leave, only his destiny knows. What will be yours?" he asked using words of the sacred tradition.
"Time will tell, it's my choise," she answered with rest of the formula and smiled broadly.
"So it will be," said Mu. "Our Taurus will take you on a tour through all twelve palaces, he will answer the questions and explain the nuances of our temple life. I know you have had a long journey, but every Sanctuary Guest goes through it. Every five years, these tiers learn new footsteps," half-said, half-whispered the Golden Knight.
"I can handle. I was defeating worse opponents than stairs." Still smiling, Liwia improved again the belts from the silver chest.
"We'll talk about this in front of the Grand Master's Temple," Aldebaran winked. "So, Mu, you probably will present us the first House, right?"
"Us? You know the ins and outs of my Temple, you go around here almost every day," snorted Knight of the Aries, but led them to the colonnade, decorating his Palace.
Liwia, more or less, imagined the Houses of the Zodiac like that: richly carved porticos, glistening stone floors, and huge marble statues. The only thing she couldn't imagine were the knights' quarters: did they have small gyms there? Or large bedrooms with four-poster beds? Or maybe their rooms resembled prison cells proper for tough warriors?
"It's an individual matter," Aldebaran answered her as they left Aries House. "I doubt that any of the knights would like to show you the private part of the Palace, out of respect do not even ask them."
Liwia sighed, disappointed, and the Bull just laughed. His own room was more spacious and more visible than the first House. He also had less rounding in the decorations, everything was characterized by a strict, angular practicality, rather than a fluid, elegant line.
"Here is my estate!" Aldebaran boomed, the words echoing away. "Visit, my dear maiden, to your heart's content, because you will not experience such freedom in others Houses."
"Really? Can I?" Liwia did not wait for an answer and, regardless of the weight of the silver crate, ran along a narrow side of the corridor, which she thought was reaching private quarters. First she noticed a stone recess, which turned out to be a shower; next to it was probably a toilet, but the girl walked forward and reached the fork. On the left was the bedroom: simple, practical, with a large, wide bed, just for the giant Aldebaran was. The room had a huge, unobstructed window, from where was a fabulous view of Athens. "I wonder what they see from the Pisces House, then. The globe?" flashed through her mind.
She returned to the fork and followed to the right, where something like the living room was located. Two sofas falling apart, stained with unidentified substances surrounded a large block of wood, which probably was a table. Colorful, homely and... youthful room.
"Hunky-dory!" she exclaimed, seeing the walls plastered with posters of footballers and rock bands.
"He is the hero of the 1970 World Cup." Aldebaran appeared behind her and pointed to the poster with the player, above which was written Pele. "And this-" the knight pointed to another footballer "-is a kind of competition from Argentina. But damn good." In the autographed photo was a smiling man; Maradona Liwia read the initials.
"I know them." The girl smiled, pointing to the poster of Queen band. "My aunt managed to smuggle their album and I secretly showed Bohemian Rhapsody to my friends."
"Oh yeah, good song. They are great too." Bull nodded towards the slightly battered poster of the AC/DC group. "What a voice, if they finally give my gramophone out of repair, I will show you."
"And what happened that it is under repair?"
"Internal affairs of the Golden Knights," he said in an official tone, but he was clearly choking with laughter. "Okay, little one, let's not waste time, we have a long way to go."
She wanted to take outrage at this little one, but finally shrugged. For this big man everyone was of a meager height. Besides, she just began to like him.
After a multitude of stairs, they almost reached the House of Gemini.
"This is Saga's residence," Aldebaran muttered, and Liwia had the impression that the word residence was pronounced bitterly. "Hell knows, if we will find a host, because he has been very busy these days."
"By what? What do you actually do every day? You know, in addition to training and all of this stuff."
"We train students, if we have any," Knight of the Bull began to enumerate. "We deal with the technical condition of the Sanctuary, doing shift-patrols in Athens, Aquarius Camus sometimes even helps in the City Hall or in the court, because, you know, he is a scholar one. Although we are joking that he should earn some extra money in waterworks," the man laughed. "And Saga... is preparing, I think. The Grand Master said some time ago that he has his age and you never know what might happen, so he would like to know now who he have to prepare for his successor. The natural order of things is to choose the oldest among us. However, the age-old Knight of Libra is extremely rare here, basically only in exceptional situations. For reasons he knows only, Roshi sits day after day in the Five Hills Valley in China. So besides him, there are two oldest peers who apply to take the lead: Sagittarius Aiolos and Saga, under the sign of Gemini. I have no idea what this latter is doing day after day, because he is still disappearing, and when he is already present, it is impossible to talk with him normally."
"So, you are Sagittarius supporter?"
Aldebaran gave her an askance look.
"I'm a babbler, I introduce you to the matters of Golden Saints, although I absolutely shouldn't. Enough of this. Anyway, focus now. I don't feel the cosmic energy of Saga, so we'll have to deal with his illusions."
"Illusions?" she asked and when they approached the third House of the Zodiac, she had to rub her eyes. It helped, because after a while she saw only one, not two palaces. They entered the House and a cool shadow enveloped them. Liwia walked half a step behind the Taurus Knight, looking carefully sideways. She had the strange feeling that the Twins' Palace resembled a long corridor. Unrealistically long, because logic suggested that they should have left on the other side of the building a long time ago.
"We need to speed up," Aldebaran muttered and started running. The girl squeezed harder the straps of the chest and tried to keep up with him. Then some chiaroscuro began to cross their path. Liwia felt strange, as if someone were playing with her and laying a path in front of her legs according to his own vision. And she really didn't like when someone was rummaging in her brain. She concentrated her cosmic energy and tried to cut herself off from the visual traps of the maze they ran through. She could almost feel alien consciousness knocking on the door of her mind.
"Faster!" Aldebaran urged. "And stay close to me!"
She kept up. At some point, she felt something like the rush of air that came to her from an absurd place, because from inside of the wall on the left side of the colonnade.
"Follow me!" Bull shouted and turned right there, without losing anything from the speed of his run. Liwia doubted for a moment, they could hit the one meter thick wall after all, but it lasted only a second. She resumed running, leveled herself with the Golden Knight, and wishing that their intuition would prove infallible, she threw herself directly on the cold stone of the palace. She screamed at that moment and suddenly it became bright. She opened her eyes. They stood together at the exit of the third House of the Zodiac.
"Bravo, garota. You did quite well." Aldebaran said appreciatively; he thought that the Grand Master knew what he was doing by inviting her.
"It was... a strange feeling," Liwia murmured, looking back at the angular entrance to the House of Twins. "The host is a powerful knight, right?"
"Yes. At least he is considered as one of the most powerful."
"Oh, one of. Which one else? You, for sure."
"Don't be silly," Aldebaran laughed and climbed the stairs with Liwia. "These are obviously only our presumptions, but in fact there are ones among us whose cosmic energy is extremely powerful. Not that we had the opportunity to find out for ourselves, luckily. But the Golden Saints feel a mutual cosmo much more intensely than the rest."
She realized that he did not answer her question, but she didn't delve into the topic any more. She was only sixteen and could be considered as a hothead, but she wasn't stupid. A little over-zealous inquiry and Aldebaran will pay attention to every word.
They continued climbing.
"Cancer House ahead. It is guarded by Deathmask," said the Golden Knight.
"Cool nickname. And what is his name?"
Aldebaran snorted.
"If I tell you, he would send me to the gates of Hades. Thank you very much, I prefer not. Perhaps one day you will find out, it would make conversations a lot easier, because calling him per Deathmask all the time is embarrassingly pathetic."
The sun was quite high when they reached the fourth palace. Liwia noticed that it had a different shape than the previous ones: built on a cross plan, it invited with a shaded entrance from both sides. Inside, darkness definitely thickened. No windows, no clearances. Darkness and... a cemetery smell?
"Deathmask, huh?" she murmured.
"I will not lie to you, the host is not a role model," Aldebaran opened his eyes wide, which are not used to the lack of light yet.
"I feel offended, Taurus. Get in the fight!"
Golden Cancer Knight emerged from the veil of darkness. He had short, disheveled hair, an olive skin of the southerner, and a flash of madness in his eyes.
"Foda-se você, Italian pussy!"
"Oh my, how rudely! What kind of knight are you? Such behavior next to the lady?"
"In the sense that next to you? You've heard worse," Aldebaran said defiantly.
Liwia was looking from one to the another with her mouth half-open in surprise. Finally, after the ghastly long silence, the men roared and patted their backs.
"What, Macaroni, Milan is catching up, eh? Via dolorosa to Serie A?"
"Say nothing. I have them deep in my ass since the Totonero affair. I support Juventus now. There are rumors that they are supposed to take a Pole to the team." Deathmask glanced at Liwia, and everything in her stomach turned over. "By the way... hello, sweet girl. Welcome to humble doorstep of my home." The man suddenly approached her and kissed her hand before she could do anything. "Don't listen to the nonsense that jealous people talks about me, I wouldn't hurt a fly, my beautiful, let alone a gentle creature like you." He kept holding her hand, and began to stroke her fingers with his thumb.
"Stop it," Aldebaran growled seriously, but Mask stared at the Polish woman's blue eyes.
Until he shout and abruptly withdrew his hand. The inside of the palm was covered with a red burn mark.
"Thank you for your attention, it flatters me immensely, but I'm not dealing with strangers. I don't even know your name," Liwia replied, reassuring her turbulent cosmic energy.
The men laughed again.
"She has a temper, I see," said Cancer, fanning his red hand to cool her a bit. "I think we'll like each other."
"I don't doubt it," said Aldebaran. "Let's go, we are wasting the day."
"So soon?" Mask opposed. "She has not seen my private quarters yet, and she certainly dreams about it."
"I don't doubt it," Taurus repeated, and followed the girl who had hastily moved toward the exit a moment before.
The next steps brought them closer to the Lion House.
"I hope this moron won't bother you," Aldebaran broke the silence and looked at Liwia with concern.
She smiled. And to the knight's surprise, it was a sly smile full of pugnacity.
"I can deal with such. His interest may even be useful to me sometimes. It's better to have someone like him on your side after all, right?"
Aldebaran clogged a little. But in one she was right.
"Yeah, it is better. Don't be fooled by his theatricality, he can kill so easily that you may not even notice. It's not a walking piece of knightly honor, oh no. But maybe I shouldn't judge, in the end each of us went through hell before getting the Golden Armor. Who knows what he had to do in Italy to survive. There are just legends," he sighed.
Liwia was silent for some time, wondering if her training and Fire Test during the Forefathers' Eve were like playing in the sandbox compared to their past. She shook herself of memories when they reached the fifth palace.
"And here we are. This time it will be quickly sightseeing."
"This knight is gay or what?"
At first Aldebaran looked at her confused, and then, when he understood, he roared with laughter.
"Better. Nobody is here at all. In a few days the Golden Lion Armor is going to be awarded to one of the trainees, unless, of course, the armor itself accepts the chosen one. Although there should be no surprise in this regard."
"What do you mean?" she asked. They were approaching the gate of the palace. The whole building reminded her of the Grand Theater in Poznań, which she saw as a little girl. It was probably because of two stone lions on both sides of the entrance and a triangular top of the facade, so typical of Greek architecture.
"The younger brother of Aiolos, the Golden Knight of Sagittarius, trains to get this honor. Knowing Aiolia, he will give his all. He is extremely proud for such a young boy, and at the same time unyielding and brave. A little too madcap, but, well, he is as old as you, so you know," smiled giant.
"Not at all. I am a paragon of restraint."
"Yeah, calm as war."
Their footsteps echoed in the empty corridors between the columns. Shadows danced along the walls, thanks to the torches hung throughout the palace. Red pennants suspended from the ceiling slightly undulated due to onerous drafts.
"Pretty nice," she said, looking around. "And as calmly as we said earlier."
"It won't last long. Aiolia, if he manages to stay here of course, will change this place into a real lion's den. I heard from his brother that he is not a walking example of order. But… you will find enough peace and order in the next palace."
"Virgo Temple."
"Yhm."
"Something's wrong?"
"No, no. Just let's try to get through this House as soon as possible, okay?"
"Do I feel anxiety in you?"
"Virgo Saint just doesn't like being disturbed in his meditations," he replied, sounding convincing, but Liwia felt that Aldebaran didn't want to have much in common with the host of the sixth palace. She felt intrigued.
"Meditations? What, he is some Buddhist?"
"Yes," he answered dully. "If only," added more quietly.
"Another non-Greek? I didn't think so many foreigners would be among the Golden Knights."
"Oh, yes." Aldebaran was happy about this slight change of subject. "Mu is from Tibet, I am from Brazil. Saga, as far as I know, is local. Mask, as you noticed, is an Italian, and Shaka, that is Virgo Knight, is from India. Then we have the Old Master who stays in his homeland, China. Later there is Scorpio Milo: half-Greek, half-Spanish. Aiolos and his brother are native Greeks, Capricorn Shura is a hot-blooded Spaniard, so he is still chattering with Milo about their football teams. Aquarius Camus is Russian after his father and French after his mother, a strange combination, I know, but he prefers polar climate, as if you were asking. What I completely don't understand. And finally Pisces Aphrodite, a similar connection because he is Swede-French. However, he prefers the Cote d'Azur, he also looks as if he just escaped from the catwalk of the Paris fashion show. Oh, and the Grand Master himself, like his student Mu, is from Tibet."
"And I, the icing on the cake," Liwia laughed. "A dose of Slav blood for this multicultural mix. It's good that we all speek English."
"Some don't," Aldebaran sighed. "You should see how Shura tried to get along with Capella, a barrel of laughs. It ended with sign language."
The sun was scorching. Liwia long time ago removed her denim jacket, but she still felt that under the silver box her back getting unbearably wet. She almost missed the cool drizzle, that rained in her homeland in the day she left.
Finally, the sixth Zodiac House emerged from an endless staircase. On both sides of the entrance stood huge statues of some Buddhist deities standing on a platform made of stone lotus. It felt as if they were laughing at tiny people crossing the threshold of the palace. Even Aldebaran was a cute miniature compared to them.
"Okay, let's get it over with," the knight murmured, and very tense entered the building. Liwia followed him.
She took just a few steps and stopped, unknowingly. Wide-open eyes admired the paradise landscape that was all around. The whole valley was bathed in golden sunlight, the grass waved in the wind, the petals of pink flowers danced in the air. The birds chirped on the branches of rose bushes, a stream whispered somewhere nearby. There was an incense scent of sandalwood everywhere. It was beautiful, heavenly beautiful. So why was her heart beating like a hammer, and she got a gooseflesh? The aura of cosmic energy that reached her was warm and calm. So why was she afraid to approach?
Aldebaran gestured to her, not wanting to disturb the silence with his loud voice. It was obvious that he was walking tense, as if dreaming that less than a 150-kilogram body would become a feather and would not make any sound of steps in the ground. The girl's neck was sweat cold. They were getting closer to the source, she felt it.
The illusion dispelled like a golden dream. A knight sat cross-legged in front of them on a slight stepped rise. His hands resting on his knees, the tips of long blond hair lay on the cold floor tiles. The man's eyes were closed.
Liwia stood rooted to the spot. She couldn't explain the sudden impression, but she felt as if she had seen him somewhere before. She waited impatiently for the Golden Knight to look at his guests, but nothing like that happened.
Aldebaran cleared his throat.
"Forgive the intrusion, Shaka, but as you know, we have a guest. This is-"
"I am Liwia, Silver Knight of Fox," the girl regained her voice. She bowed formally and straightened up quickly. She couldn't stop staring at the Virgo Saint. With this meditative pose he reminded her of some eastern god.
There was no answer. Nor any reaction that the host noticed their presence.
"So… we'll go now," Aldebaran muttered, and tugged at the girl's arm, but Liwia broke free from his embrace. She didn't know what's gotten into her, but she couldn't leave this palace like that.
"I just want to say hello," she said, taking two steps forward.
"Liwia!" Aldebaran shouted with a note of fear in his voice.
The girl, however, was like in a trance.
"I just want to say hello," she repeated, still approaching the Golden Knight. She could clearly see his face wrapped in a golden helmet, felt the vibrations of power on her skin, so peaceful that it was terrifying. Then she took the last step. Her body was immediately paralyzed, she could neither move forward nor back. The legs completely refused to obey, as if they did not belong to her. The cosmo impulse jerked her down and she landed on her knees. She was kneeling before the self-proclaimed idol.
"That's it, Shaka!" growled Aldebaran, but he was stopped in half a step, as easily as Liwia before. "I said enough, you goddamn Buddha's incarnation!"
Perhaps it just seemed to her, but she had the impression that the corner of the Virgo's lips slightly raised. The energy pressure has disappeared. She stood up and rubbed her knees, hatefully squinting eyes. She was still staring at the calm figure of the man.
"Buddha's incarnation?" she snorted. "Yeah, for sure. But if it's true, then Buddha did not go well with his nirvana. He wasn't about to be reborn again, right?"
She turned on her heel and joined Taurus. Aldebaran took her arm hastily and they headed toward the exit without looking back.
A pity, because they would see an extremely rare view: Shaka with his eyes open, staring at the girl with some kind of curiosity.
As they move away at a relatively safe distance, Aldebaran yell at Liwia:
"I hope this was your last escapade. When I say to stop, you stop, am I clear? Why you had to approaching?"
"It's him."
"What?"
"He is the most powerful of the Golden Saints."
Aldebaran snorted.
"You think that way because this is the first of us who was arrogant enough to present his power."
"No, that's not the point. This aura..."
The girl looked into his eyes and asked with utmost seriousness:
"Do you know my baptism names?"
"What are you-"
"Liwia Kasandra. And to make it funnier, I deserved my middle name as soon as I was seven. I dreamed of a colorful ball, all cover in blood. My friend from the yard had the same. I asked her to get rid of it, but Tosia went to play, as usual. And here is a classic story: the ball bounces off the wall, flies towards the road, Tośka runs behind it, and then car hit her. She ended up with a broken leg, arm and torn skin, because the car did not go fast. Tosia never talked with me again. About three years later, I dreamed of a lottery ticket. Unfortunately, I didn't see any numbers, so I forgot about the case. Until one day when I was returning with my aunt and uncle from a walk in the park. I noticed some paper lying on the leaves of a water lily in a nearby pond. Since I was always inquisitive, I wanted to reach for it with a stick or even jump, but of course my aunt got rid of such ideas out of my mind. Later, a neighbor told us with excitement how her friend found a lottery coupon in a pond near the park and won so much that he could afford for Fiat 126p."
"Are you saying that you dreamed about Shaka?"
Liwia nodded.
"I knew I had seen this knight somewhere before. I'm sure I saw him in my vision a few years ago."
"So what, he is supposed to pick you a lottery numbers, or do you prefer to beat him because some poor car will crash into his cosmic energy?"
The girl burst out laughing.
"I don't know, time will tell. Maybe this dream was just an announcement of my arrival? Nevertheless... it will sound silly, I know, but I remember the vibrations of his cosmo. Terrifyingly calm, warm and dangerous."
Bull Saint didn't know what to say. He was more inclined to believe that Shaka somehow mixed up in the girl's mind that she would worship him, but, as a matter of fact, he didn't know much about Liwia yet. He decided to watch out for blonde man; in case of another attack on Fox Saint, he will do it differently.
Drowned in their own thoughts, they reached the seventh palace.
"Oh, we're here. This is the House of the Knight of Libra, Palace of the Old Master. As I said, he is currently in the Five Hills Valley. It is said that he has something like two hundred and fifty years."
"Are you kidding me?"
"That's true, I swear to God. I immediately anticipate the question: I do not know how it was possible. Probably something happened during the last Holy War, which Roshi survived, being around our age."
"So he knows what it was like before?"
"Well... yes."
"And?"
"The Old Master says when he wants, he has more important things to do than tell stories."
"But it must be extremely important! After all, it's always one of the gods, right? If there is someone who survived a similar fight-"
"Don't get excited, little one. If anything would help our Athena in a future war, Old Master would make sure that it will be discussed and so on. We just have to execute orders."
Liwia wanted to protest, but eventually gave up. She was surprised by this indifference, because they knew so little about the past incarnations of Athena and the Holy Wars as if all knowledge was dying with their predecessors. Or was carefully hidden, she thought suddenly. But what would be the purpose of such an act – Liwia didn't know. She sighed and looked around the palace.
"You may be interested in the fact," Aldebaran broke the silence, "that the Libra Armor is very different from the others. It not only protects the body, but also allows you to use the twelve weapons that are an integral part of it."
"Ooooh."
"I knew that will be your reaction," the man smiled. "It consists of six pairs of weapons: nunchaku, swords, tridents, three-section staffs, tonfas and sharp-edged shields. Others can use this arsenal only with the permission of the Knight of Libra. He has the right to decide, therefore he is the personification of justice."
"Cool. I would like to try them someday."
"And I hope that will never happen because it would mean that we are totally fucked. If you'll pardon the expression."
"Come on, I'm from Poland, I know a whole range of stronger terms."
"I'm looking forward to hear them one day. Let's go, next stop: Scorpion House!"
Sun was blazing hot. Liwia was constantly correcting the straps from the silver box and panted heavily.
"Not accustomed to such heat, huh?" The Knight of the Bull took off his horned helmet and ruffled his dark, flagged hair. "A few days and you'll get used to it."
"Sure thing. I can handle infernal heat, but never cold."
"You and I have an understanding. Milo, whenever he can, makes fun of his best friend, cold-hearted Camus. Aquarius is unlucky, he will still be the only one who prefers biting frosts to a dog-day."
"So how did they make friends, in spring or autumn?"
"Everyone likes Milo. He can win people over, though he is a typical mean Scorpio. If he is fixated to something, it's over. He is very vigorous and he usually organizes whatever is to be organized. He won't sit still, so don't be surprised when you see him at the vegetable market in the center of Athens or in the sky, if he wants to jump with a parachute. Anyway, look, he couldn't even wait for us calmly at his Zodiac House."
Liwia raised her head: at the top of the stairs, leaning against one of the columns of the eighth palace stood the Golden Knight of Scorpion. He was smiling.
"Hello there. Silver Fox Knight, I suppose? I'm Milo," the young man stretched out his right hand. Liwia shook it. Scorpion was good-looking. Really good-looking.
"Liwia. Great helmet."
"Yeah." Milo took off this piece of armor and gave it to the girl who was fascinated with the scorpion's tail. "After all I got a nice shell."
"Doesn't that interrupt your fight?" Liwia pointed at the tail. "Doesn't it crash when you striking at the speed of light or hitting you in the head when you stop?"
"If so, then too hard to remember this moment," Milo grinned. He led them deep into his palace, presenting the corridor, the room behind the colonnade, which was his vigil place and entrance to private rooms. He was looking at Liwia out of the corner of his eye, appraising every inch of her body. "A dancer?"
Surprised girl confirmed with a nod.
"How did you know?"
"That's our local John Travolta," Aldebaran replied instead. "When he hear any tact, he ask to dance the first woman, who will not run away immediately."
"Well, certainly no one would run away from you, because it's hard to make a break when two hundred kilos traps you."
"Bloody biting scorpion. You'd better see how dusty is your House. The shortest Palace of the Zodiac, and dirty, like at a stadium."
"Ah, it was brought from Aiolos' Palace. You know that he lives with ideas only, dust and dirt are magically repelled from this holy man."
"Yhm. Okay, then we will go to this holy man and ask about his view of the matter."
"He'll say that it's from the Shura's House."
"And what will Shura say?"
"Shura will say: Indeed, this is the vice of the unworthy knight, to lest run over the rag, making the floor a dirty one."
They roared with such laughter that Shura must have heard him these two palaces away. Liwia did not catch the joke.
"You'll understand when we get to the Capricorn House," Aldebaran wiped a tear of amusement.
"Tell the first stiff guy that he owe me one for the bet. His Castilla lose to Real, did you see the match?" asked Milo.
"I had a patrol. White Finale, eh?"
"Yeah, Shura almost chopped with his Excalibur the wall unit in the pub. Oh, and tell the other stiff guy that he is supposed to arrange Russian vodka for Mu's birthday. Well chilled."
"Okay, okay," Aldebaran laughed and together with Liwia started to leave the Scorpion House. The girl looked back, and Milo solemnly saluted for her.
On the way to the ninth Palace, Aldebaran told her a little about Aiolos, the Knight of Sagittarius. The man helps various social organizations several times a week: once he gave lessons in an orphanage, at the other time he took dogs for a walk from the shelter. They knew him in a retirement home, where he found time to listen to stories about old times, and they knew him on the street, where beggars spoke his name.
"What an exemplar, it is hard to believe it," said Liwia.
"Yes, sometimes it's difficult to bear. You know, you have your faults yet you always try to be moral. But if you start comparing yourself to Sagittarius, then even when you keep your hands on the table while eating, you feel defiled."
"You haven't tried, I don't know, humanize him somehow? Piss off, drunk, ridicule?"
"It's not that Aiolos resembles a marble statue: he'll drink if there is the opportunity, he also jokes from time to time. But you have to understand that he is an older brother, he requires a lot from himself to bring up Aiolia well. Replacing parents probably is not very conducive to the easy-going."
They were silent for a moment.
"What about you, little one? What about your family?"
Liwia brushed the stuck strands of hair back from her wet forehead.
"My parents died in an accident nine years ago. Since then, my mother's sister took care of me. Uncle was a firefighter and died during one of the rescue operations, so my aunt was alone with this duty. She had no children, so from the beginning it was not easy for us to get along. But eventually she supported me when I decided to become a knight. Parents did not even want to hear about it," she smiled slightly.
"So you didn't have easy life either."
"Others were in a much worse situation, for example Scutum Saint, Janek, who was training with me. Every day he came to the practise beaten up, whipped. His stepfather had a firm hand, but Janek, though he could, did not defend himself at all. He was afraid that if he awakens his cosmo for a moment, he wouldn't stop. Finally the karma returned: his stepfather overdosed and died in hospital. Janek continued to walk hungry and in tattered clothes, but without bruises. I grew up in a fairly wealthy family: I had private tutors and extracurricular activities: fencing, dancing, archery, horse riding courses. I had access to many things my peers could only dream of: my country does not have the freedom everyone deserves. But this will probably change, Poles have always fought, regardless of the enemy's strength."
"Your parents must have been under a microscope of current authorities."
Liwia sighed.
"Not really. My mother was an archeologist and my father – a paleontologist, they were involved in excavations in the Soviet Union. They found the dinosaur fossils, and by chance they also found substantial deposits of natural gas. They proved that they are useful, and their achievements could be boasted to the world, so we could do more than others. Thanks to foreign trips I learned English quickly, I also know some Russian. Yeah… And then, after all, I shouted in my aunt's face that I wanted to train as a knight, to be one of those my mother told me while traveling around Greece."
There was a moment of silence.
"You probably know that we are all orphans too," said Aldebaran.
"Yes, it's even a rule, right? Fate knows what it is doing, after all a soldier without a family is less afraid to die."
"Not fate, I would say, but Athena. In the end, she also incarnates in an orphaned child. That is why we try to be a family for each other."
Liwia nodded, but she lost in her thoughts about family. Would mother and father be proud of her? What would they say at the sight of her armor? Have they even thought for a moment that this amazing story that was told to them by a friend from China, the story they began to explore, until it turned out to be true, would be shared by their daughter?
She barely noticed that the stairs were over. They were at the threshold of the House of Sagittarius. The columned entrance did not stand out as anything special, but at the top of the portico stood a statue of a winged, arching centaur that made the right impression. The interior, unlike the House of Cancer or Scorpio, was bathed in the golden light of the sun, penetrating through the stone walls with numerous windows. Liwia was extremely curious how the palace host cope during the storm. When they saw him sitting on a stone bench with a book, the question flew out of her head.
They could forge his image in marble. The Greek was tanned, muscled, had dark brown hair, held with a burgundy headband. And he had a charming smile.
"Welcome to the Sagittarius Temple," the man approached Liwia and bowed to her knightly. "My name is Aiolos."
"I know," she replied silly. Then laughed, little abashed and said: "And I am Liwia, Silver Vulpecula Saint."
"I know," answered Sagittarius and happy sparks played in his gaze. "How was your trip?"
"Thank you, quite tolerable, although I'm trying to get used to the heat. Don't you have air conditioning?"
"Air conditioning, elevator, telephone. Everything is not enough ancient."
"It's good that there were stairs in Seneca's time, otherwise you would slide on the ramps," Liwia joked.
Aiolos laughed like a young god. This is probably how Apollo looked like when he wanted to charm someone.
"Let me guess," Liwia continued, pointing at the knight's book. She climbed to the heights of sarcasm. "Is it the Iliad and the Odyssey? Or maybe In Catilinam by Cicero?"
"Eh no. This is Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Camus lent me this when I had nothing to read."
"And what, did you like Rodion?"
"I don't want to have a friend like that. Although M...ask resembles him a little," he muttered.
Liwia made a mental note that she had to check the male Italian names for "M" in the library.
"Why don't you eat something? I still have some fries and a salad."
Liwia looked at Aldebaran pleadingly. She was starving. Fortunately, the giant was not from those who refuse a free meal.
The conversation was loose. The girl promised to go with Aiolos to all those places where the man brings help and give something from herself. Sagittarius also told her about the specific attacks of each knight, at least about those of which he knew. On leaving, Liwia wished his brother a successful passing of the final test to the Golden Knight. With a new dose of strength, they headed for the tenth palace.
"So, now is the Capricorn House, and knight's name is Shura. A Spaniard who chops with his spectral sword Excalibur everything in his way when his favorite football team loses the match. Did I miss something?" asked Liwia.
"The best is yet to come, little one" Aldebaran chuckled.
He was right.
"Welcome. I am Shura, Capricorn Knight. My tabernacle is opening before you. Tell, passerby, who are you?"
"For God's sake, you know perfectly well who are we!" Taurus rolled his eyes.
"Holy thing, tradition," said Capricorn and his cold eyes was saying that he wasn't kidding at all.
"I am Liwia, Silver Knight of Fox," the girl bowed, in accordance with the requirements of the Knighthood Code. Shura nodded approvingly.
"And I'm your uncle," Aldebaran muttered. "What, you don't recognize your uncle?"
Shura's right hand stiffened strangely.
"Come on, man, take it easy," Bull cackled with full breast and patted Capricorn on the back with amusement. Shura's legs bent like broken matches. "You'd better show our new friend your palace. She is very curious about everything."
The host seemed to be slightly more pleased and stiffly led Liwia again to the entrance to his Zodiac House. First, he was whole eternity talking about the stone from which the sculpture of Capricorn was made, then he led her to a beautifully built alcove, where he explained the meaning of each one fresco on the ceiling and almost poetically told about the statue of Athena standing there and offering the sword called Excalibur to the first Knight of Capricorn. Liwia tried to keep her mouth shut but she couldn't. She was only sixteen.
"But this is a mistake! Excalibur is the sword of the legendary King Arthur, a completely different mythology! Not Athena, but Lady of the Lake..."
She paused because the Knight of Capricorn stared at her without blinking.
"Er... hmm, how do you draw your sword, sir?"
Aldebaran burst out laughing somewhere in the back of the room. Obviously he had some witty repartee at the tip of his tongue, but Shura was faster.
"A knight you are, if form cosmo you will, your soul will awake, so the sword you know how to draw."
"I wonder if your Excalibur's blow would be stopped by my two knives," said Liwia, and began to take the armor box off her back.
"What are you doing?" Aldebaran asked anxiously.
"Just a small experiment…"
"Don't you even dare!"
"But-"
"I said: no!"
Liwia sighed and swung the chest back over her back.
"I will be honored if you ever let me test Excalibur's strength on my blades, my lord," Liwia bowed low, expecting a positive response.
Shura looked at her without blinking with his small cold eyes.
"I recommend it not really."
They were leaving when Aldebaran turned and roared.
"Oh, Milo asked me to tell you that you owe him one for betting on Castilla!"
To Liwia he cast a quiet "Run!" and jogged away from the vibrating House of Capricorn.
"A knight the most faithful to Athena?" asked Liwia.
"To Athena and principles. Consistent with his world view: it will survive; inconsistent: it will die in the fumes of pathos."
"Cold and hot at the same time, what a man," Liwia mused.
"Cold? Maybe lukewarm. Soon you will see real cold guy."
And so it was indeed. In the eleventh House of the Zodiac, so different from the rest, because built on the plan of the circle, they found Camus, the Golden Knight of Aquarius. The man got up from a table made of pure ice, left a crystal glass on it and walked slowly, scanning the girl's soul with calm eyes. She thought for a moment and said:
"Zdrastwujcie, Rycari. Mienja zawut Liwia, ja Serebrianyj Rycar Lisa. Spasiba za to, szto ja mogu wojti w wasz dworiec."
Aquarius raised his right eyebrow and gently smiled. The room temperature maybe increased by one degree, but it was still pleasantly cool.
"Not bad, but let's stay with English, in the end Aldebaran would feel hurt by this lack of attention. It could even work on him like a red rag to a bull."
"Oh, it was chilly, Camus, you don't like me."
"You have now a good reason to leave quickly or grab the bull by its horns and fight."
"You're a cold bastard, you know that?"
"Seriously?" asked Liwia disgustedly.
Aldebaran, predictably, burst out croaking, and Aquarius slightly raised the corners of his lips, so probably both reached the heights of good humor.
"Sit down," said Camus. "I'll bring you something to drink."
Liwia, who was tired of the heat outside, gladly slapped into a chair and put her hands on the ice table.
"It's not a good idea, little one. There are still fragments of the skin of your predecessors," said the Golden Knight.
The girl immediately took the limbs from the transparent, steaming slab.
"Please." Aquarius brought a squat jug and two glasses to the table. "It's just lemonade. I have nothing more."
"Chilled," Liwia whispered with delight. She drank to the bottom.
"Milo asked me to tell you-" began Aldebaran, "-that you were supposed to arrange for Mu's birthday-"
"I remember," Aquarius interrupted tiredly. "He thinks I'm a customs office?"
"Well, he knows you go to some offices, but he probably didn't go into the details," Aldebaran took a swig of water straight from the pitcher.
"That's the whole problem, isn't it?" Camus muttered and looked at Liwia. "You look smart, you can help me from time to time in the court."
"Hmm... thank you?"
"You can also come here in the hottest days. Then everyone makes sudden, unannounced visits. But don't come if you run out of ice in drink."
"Seriously? Someone bother?"
"You have no idea how many."
Aquarius followed them as far as shadow reaching his House of the Zodiac. The heat started again, but Liwia greeted it with a smile: the chill of the Aquarius Palace was great, but only for the first few moments. At the end she was getting cold.
"The last House is ahead," said Aldebaran. "It took us a bit, huh? Endless climbing."
"Sansara," murmured Liwia.
"What?"
"Sansara, or eternal journey. This is what Buddhism calls the constant repetition of the cycle of life and death by reincarnation."
"You know a lot about these Eastern topics," he looked at her suspiciously.
Liwia shrugged.
"I've just always been a nerd."
"And you were able to reconcile it with so many extracurricular activities?"
"Nerd can do it," she grinned.
"I thought you converted to Buddhism."
"Nooo. I was a Catholic in fact, but then I saw with my own eyes the souls going straight to Hades. And you know, all the rest associated with the Knights of Athena."
"Some people reconcile it somehow. Me, for example," said Aldebaran. "Apparently, all beliefs are, so to speak, true. In the far North live people who are worshiping Germanic gods from Scandinavian mythology. And these are not just superstitions."
"It's true, my country has dealt with them more than once," Liwia murmured. "So you say that one day I can meet a guy who will be the incarnation of Judas? Or that God has his angel knights who put on special angelic armor?"
"Who knows, little one, who knows?" Bull smiled. "Although they probably would not want to violate the fifth commandment."
The sun began to descend under the horizon when they saw the last Zodiac Palace. Golden rays illuminated the stone entrance.
"What smells so pretty?" Liwia asked in surprise.
"One of two. Either Aphrodite's climbing roses or his French perfume. Let's go."
The interior of the Pisces House resembled a paradise garden. All around writhed fragrant vines and ivy. Most, however, were roses in all varieties and colors. Liwia came over to one of them, leaned in and inhaled a wonderful fragrance. After a while, however, she remembered the vision of Eden that greeted her at the Palace of the Virgo and shuddered involuntarily. She quickly moved away from the flowers.
"These are completely harmless, so go ahead and admire."
The girl glanced to the right; A Golden Knight of Fish has emerged from the corridor. He obviously had a bath recently because his long hair was still a little wet and had an intense fragrance of rose oil. He was wearing a light white tunic whose trimmed with gold thread neckline revealed a piece of chest. The knight tilted his head gracefully and sparks appeared in his blue eyes.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" He approached Liwia and grabbed her chin, lifting her face and watching from every side. "Pretty one, isn't she, Taurus?"
"It will probably upset you, but we are not organizing a beauty contest, Dite," Aldebaran overcame that way.
Liwia began to get nervous: the Pisces Saint treated her like a mare at the market! She jerked her head freeing herself.
"Feisty. That's good, otherwise she won't survive here," the host muttered, then he curtsied – authentically curtsied – and said with a sly smile, combing his hair with his fingers:
"I am Aphrodite, the Golden Pisces Saint, the most beautiful knight in the world. This silver fool, Misty, doesn't hold a candle to me, you'll find out for yourself, just look at his false eyelashes. If you were a man, I would start worrying about my status, but as a woman you are safe. Just stay away from my cosmetics. And now, girl, I will show you around my garden of delights."
"This one in the palace, I hope," Aldebaran murmured, and Fish Knight only made a resonant, pearly laugh.
His Zodiac House was really beautiful. The plants grew well in wall beds, which was probably due to the openwork roof. The stone grid hung, thankfully, only above the flowerbeds, otherwise the Fish Knight would take a shower during every downpour.
"What's your name, honey?" he asked, presenting the view from the balcony. The globe could not be seen, but the landscape was breathtaking anyway. She replied.
"So, Liwia, I will tell you something from the bottom of my heart: we, beautiful ones, do not have the easiest life; jealousy is trying to touch us through weak people with a small mind and poor sense of style, so be above that, my dear. And bring all gossips," he winked.
"E..."
"Ok, I have to comb my hair properly, so go away, shoo!"
Liwia was glad to finally get some fresh air, but reality disappointed her. On the sides of the stairs leading to the Palace of the Grand Master and the Temple of Athena, were flowerpots densely sown by red roses.
"Watch out for these, little one," the Knight of the Bull pointed to all the flowers in front of them. "These are Demonic Roses, a trap for the enemies of the Sanctuary. When the enemy enters this path, the roses fall everywhere, pricking and intoxicating an unwanted guest."
"And none of those friendly people never accidentally touched the spikes? Inhaled the pollen?"
Aldebaran scratched his dark bristles.
"Well… it happened. There were various bets during boozing, you know. But that's why I warn you," he concluded in a matter-of-fact tone.
They walked in silence for some time.
"What is he like?"
"Hm?"
"The Grand Master."
"Ah. He's okay. He knows what to do, finally he has seen a lot in his life. Thanks to him, the Sanctuary came back to life. He watches over armor tournaments, follows the events in different countries so that he does not miss anything. He even introduced a training program for knights and non-knights, and thanks to him the training grounds were expanded and well equipped. Admittedly, he did not agree to a real gym, arguing that you could carry boulders as well, but there is nothing to complain about. And he watches over Athena."
Liwia raised her blue eyes at him.
"It's all true? Athena is three years old and is locked in her temple?"
Aldebaran snorted.
"She's not locked, Saintias Guardians and the Grand Master watch over her. This is the law established by Athena herself in ancient times: until her earthly incarnation reaches five years, she will not show herself to the knights. Her power must solidify in her child body before she appears to the world."
"It's a bit sad," Liwia said. "She'll only see a few faces for two more years. She doesn't know children's fun, she doesn't have peers. The words closure or prison still come to mind."
"What are you talking about?" Taurus shook his head. "You forget that this is not an ordinary girl. Anyway, you'll see for yourself in two years. You're lucky, you'll be here."
"I wonder what she looks like," Liwia mused. "You know, existing monuments do not stimulate the imagination."
"There are wagers of course, if you want you can deposit money. Deathmask collects bets."
"And you? You bet?"
"Sure. In my opinion she will be a brunette with fiery red eyes. After all, she is the goddess of war, right?"
Liwia chuckled. Somehow she always imagined Athena as a brown-haired, blue-eyed warrior woman with a proud look and a haughty attitude. She had some savings, so why not?
The roses ended as suddenly as a staircase. Liwia's mouth widened; she was staring at the huge building, which grew before her eyes. The palace was two-storey, densely surrounded by slender columns. The first floor was additionally decorated with balconies, from which, she thought, the Grand Master looked at the entire Sanctuary.
"I think it's time to don the Cloth, little one," said Aldebaran, stepping back a bit.
The girl nodded, put the denim jacket on the ground and removed the box. The metal glistened in the sun, presenting the engraved figure of a jumping fox. Liwia closed her eyes and summoned her cosmic energy. She felt a familiar warmth when the chest began to open. It was a nice feeling as if her best friend had appeared before her.
She jumped briskly and felt each piece of armor cling to her body. First the chest plate looking like karacena, which snapped on the sides to fit her torso. It was blood-red, and the plates bent under every movement. Then unsymmetrical shoulder parts – one, a spaulder, ended on the shoulder itself, the other one, a pauldron, descended in layers of plates up to the forearm; both were also blood red. Then vambraces – both crimson – and gauntlets. The right one, from the short spaulder side, was red in color, while the left one was snow-white, thanks to which, together with the long segmental pauldron and vambrace, it resembled a fox tail. The thin black rim formed a belt that crossed the breastplate at the waist. Greaves and sabatons were also black. A second rim fell on her head, this time red, with two triangular ends on both sides of her temples. And at the end on her back landed two thin long knives, her two claws, her two shoulder extensions. They snapped in metal sheaths with a quiet click, and Liwia looked proudly at Aldebaran. She finally felt worthy of this place.
"Beautiful armor," said the Golden Knight. "Very practical. Some of female knights cloths are, so to speak, extremely useless, because they are charmingly scanty. Ok, let's go to the Grand Master."
They entered the shadow of the palace. Huge portraits hung in gold frames on both sides of the inner colonnade. Strangely, they did not depict the Grand Masters over the centuries, nor were they visions of Athena. Each painting portrayed one of 88 armor managed by the Grand Master with the consent of the goddess. Liwia was turning her head to left and right so often, that her neck began to hurt, but finally she found what she wanted. Her armor looked beautiful, the shape of a fox with a downy from layers of metal tail made the right impression. The portrayed Gold Cloths made an even greater impression. Liwia admired each one because it was interesting to see them in a disembodied form (and see the Golden Armor of Gemini, Leo, Libra and Pisces at all). She involuntarily looked at the Virgo Cloth. Praying girl. Inspired, winged, facing the sky. Liwia felt some uncomfortable tightness in her stomach and looked away.
Portraits of the armors of the most powerful knights hung next to the huge white door, inlaid with pure gold. One could admire them, but Liwia was associated only with the dubious taste of Soviet aristocrats.
Aldebaran knocked on one of the gates wings and the wooden echo was carried away. He waited a moment, then pushed the door open and walked across the crimson carpet toward the throne looming at the end of the great hall. White and red curtains seemed to separate the chamber from the rest of the palace. The cold gray-green floor was polished to a high gloss and hit the eyes with reflected light. Liwia hesitantly followed Bull Saint.
The Grand Master rose from the throne. She thought he would be sitting there until the girl kneels down and swears allegiance. Meanwhile, the tall man approached them slowly and she began to distinguish his features. He had a good face, she thought. Gentle. His cosmic energy was just as gentle and warm. Violet eyes looked at her from the depths of a crimson helmet, the symbol of his office, and long light green hair fell on a navy blue, ornate robe.
Liwia fell to one knee and bowed her head in a gesture of respect.
"Welcome, Liwia, the Silver Vulpecula Saint," said the Grand Master.
"Thank you, my lord, for the honor you have given me," she said without looking up. All she saw was a dark blue robe and a flash of Aldebaran's golden greave.
"May your visit be an experience and a lerning for you, and for us: an opportunity to meet another knightly heart. Now, renew the vows you made when you first put on your armor. Do you swear to defend Athena, even at the cost of your life?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear to fight for peace and justice without dishonoring your cloth with unworthy deeds?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear allegiance to the Grand Master, head of all eighty-eight Saints of Athena and protector of the Holy Sanctuary in Greece?"
"I swear."
"Then arise, Liwia, and be our guest," the Grand Master smiled at the girl; she was slightly confused by the whole situation. "Please, tell me, what is going on in Poland. How are the moods?"
They went to one of the balconies, where all three sat in rattan armchairs. Liwia told everything she knew: about people's dissatisfaction with meat prices and the unavailability of all goods; she told about readiness to strike and the need to create independent trade unions. The Grand Master nodded and watched his interlocutor closely. Very closely.
"Forgive me," he raised his hand in an apologetic gesture. "You just remind me… someone I knew."
"And you also talked to this person about workers' protests in Poland, sir?" She gave him a fierce smile.
"No," he answered quite seriously. "About the Treaty of Three Black Eagles."
Startled, she didn't say anything when the Grand Master suddenly changed the subject.
"Aldebaran, I think it's time for you to go. You must show Liwia surroundings of the Sanctuary and her apartment. Here-" he took out a roll of paper and gave it to the girl. „This is a list of your weekly duties, just for starters, later you will know what to to do. Work with other knights, not only with the Golden ones, but, of course, treat their orders as a matter of priority. By the way: how do you find defenders of the Temple of Athena?"
Liwia hesitated for a moment, not knowing how much she would reveal.
"Positive, Grand Master. Most received me with surprisingly open and friendly way. I did not expect such a warm welcome."
"Hmm… Most?"
"Nothing to talk about, sir. I am a stranger here-"
"It's about Shaka, Grand Master," Aldebaran interrupted unexpectedly, and the older man raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "He's acting like a smart ass. He uses cosmo to humiliate everyone around him, excluding only his pompous students. I loyally warn you, Grand Pope, that next time there will be a fight between us two."
"And you tell me that right to my face, knight?" Grand Master's tone suddenly became sharp. "You know that the fight between the Golden Knights is forbidden. If there will be a need, I will solve the problem, you have to come to me directly with it, I am clear?"
"Yes, sir," Aldebaran murmured in displeasure and nodded at Liwia. The girl bowed in goodbye and walked after Bull. She was surprised, that they didn't go to the same side of the building as they entered.
"Did you think that the Grand Master's Chambers could only be reached through the twelve Zodiac Houses?" The giant laughed. "There's a faster way to the bottom. During the war it was constantly destroyed and in times of peace regularly repaired. That is why it is uneven, dangerous and ugly, like a nightmare. Ladies first," he pointed at the top step, almost impossible to see through the sharp rocks protruding everywhere.
And indeed, they were going down this steep descent carefully, but much faster. It was still late afternoon when they reached the foot of the Sanctuary. Bull Saint showed her practice squares and the Greek Colosseum, which was an arena during tournaments, competitions, armor fights and occasionally fair performances. Liwia also saw the so-called canteen: a building with long tables, where knights, if they wanted, ate meals together. At the end she saw a small houses, barely larger than mud huts, where each of the warriors had his own space. There was no point in comparing them to the Twelve Palaces, but in the end not everyone was the Zodiac's chosen one anointed by fate and Athena.
The Polish girl thanked Aldebaran; The Golden Knight wished her a quiet night and went away. Liwia closed the door, looked around the austere, simple interior and sat down on the hard bed. She unfolded the card she had received from the Grand Master. Trainings, patrols in Athens, supplying the Sanctuary with goods, helping the Gold in their activities, work on the expansion of training squares and participation in free lectures at one of Athens' colleges.
Liwia sighed, but after a moment a smile appeared on her face.
It was going to be interesting.
Annotations:
I would like to mention a few things about fanfic:
1) Maybe someone has already noticed, but I decided to change the canonical age of knights and other characters. I take this story seriously, so the characters will be more serious in age, to fit them with the problems they face. Athena, finally sixteen, is in my opinion more appropriate than a thirteen-year-old girl.
2) "Saint Seiya" not only entertained but also taught, so I also wanted to learn through a fanfic and I was often doing a research and gathrering various informations (you will not believe how much a person can learn, wanting to give Shaka some gift or let knights talk about football).
3) Fanfic will be linguistically dirty and brutal. You have been warned.
4) Music inspirations will appear from time to time. I encourage you to listen :)
5) The patron constellation of the main heroine (Vulpecula) was described by Jan Hevelius. The most common name is "Little fox" or "Little fox with goose", but the form "Fox" also appears, and it definitely suited me. And the very fact that a Polish girl has the armor of a constellation that was found in the sky by the astronomer from Gdańsk is cool for me :)
6) Some knights in this story will be called knights of constellations that do not exist in the sky (there is no such constellation as the Crystal). I stated that some of them will be commonly called in some way, although their patronage constellations will be called differently (Agora is called the Knight of the Lotus, but I made him a Knight of the Compass, because there is no such constellation as Lotos). For Liwia's master, Gerard, I got the common name of Swallow Saint, because of the color of his armor and my reference to "The Witcher" (such a constellation existed only in the Mesopotamia and this is actually one of the two Pisces. And the Wolf constellation was already occupied by Nachi ). Officially in my history Gerard will be a Knight of Lynx.
7) I added a second nationality to some of the Golden Knights, because they suited me very well, e.g. when I thought of Milo, I immediately had some Latin songs in my head, and the Pisces Saint was the quintessence of Parisian style, I couldn't leave it like that.
8) Please, comment my story, nothing more drives the writing as someone's opinion and assurance that it is not all wasted :)