Erytheia had been meaning to contact Ida since that day when they banished the Blight. But he’d been kept busy in his own wonder and relocating the Code. When he’d had a moment he called her and asked to meet at a park they met at before.
Still, he felt oddly nervous. He’s gotten all flustered when he had last seen her. Spouting wings and manifesting a Sailor Crystal had him not knowing how to act. Why was he so awkward?
“So, what’s it like?”
Not much less awkward, but at least he had words this time.
Quote:
‘It’s fascinating, a voice said; it was distorted and warbled. A split second later, the ghostly figure of a woman appeared. She was pale, but there was a bit of color, like she wasn’t supposed to look so washed out and faded.
Time and hardship had damaged the compact, but it seemed it still had a message to share.
The woman appeared to be sitting and her hands were folded neatly on what appeared to be a desk. She had a kind, tired expression, but she seemed invested in the topic.
‘I met someone the other day, with glowing marks across their skin. It isn’t the first time, but it’s still a rarity. There’s so much beauty in this universe. So many mysteries we don’t have the answers to. But to think that any world, any Wonder, has the capacity to share its power. Ah,’ she sighed wistfully and leaned back a bit.
‘It gives me so much hope, you know. I feel a darkness spreading. I’ve had another nightmare earlier this week. But you know, when I met that Knight, with the glowing symbols, I had hope again. I felt refreshed. There’s still goodness. There’s still so much worth fighting for. I don’t want to see any light dimmed.'
There was a sadness in her voice, like she might have been thinking of it more than just a vague statement. It lingered on her face, but a smile replaced it.
'The light is a blessing. To find any Knight, any Senshi, who has devoted themselves to such transcendence is truly a worthwhile ally. Such loyalty and dedication is hard to come by, but I will never doubt them. I hope to meet more, if such a thing is possible. I'd like to unearth the secrets behind it. Not just because I worry that we're in danger, but...'
Her image flickered again, and she spoke for a moment but there was no sound. The hologram hummed for a moment and then her voice cut back in, soft at first, and then regaining volume. '--and I think those worlds are better protected. Richer with life, and healthier. It is admirable to meet someone so devoted to the care of any place. And I know they will do what they feel in their heart is right. I have great respect for such dedication. Perhaps, one day, the Moon will bestow upon us such graces, too.'
She smiled again, kind and hopeful. It reached her eyes. 'I'll look into it give you an update when I can. If you find anyone like that, send them my regards. I'd love to meet them. I'll talk to you soon. Be safe.'
When Ida had gotten the call, she hadn't really known what to expect. Erytheia was nice and she liked seeing him, but it was also strange not to have some pressing thing that needed doing. And on top of that, she wasn't entirely sure if things were the same between them or not now that she'd gained her crystal.
Sitting on a park bench next to him, listening to the noises of the city at night, she'd felt awkward wondering if he felt awkward around her now. She didn't feel different, not really... but how were other people supposed to know she hadn't really changed, inside? All she could really do was keep acting normal and find ways to show them. She might have more power now, but she was still just Ida... doing her best and always willing to help where she could.
The question, finally, came sort of out of the blue and for a moment, Ida blinked at her companion and tried to sort out how to answer.
"What is what like?" Ida returned, a bit unsure what he was asking. Being a princess? She didn't even know where to start with that answer. Like wearing hand-me-down clothes that were too big for you? Like getting a job everyone thought you were ready for, when you'd just been fooling everyone all along to think you were actually competent?
Erytheia had been a bit dumb-struck when Ida had first sprouted wings, but now it was simply his can’t-figure-out-how to-be-social-with-out-making-it-awkward way springing up at the most inopportune time. He took a breath. And started over.
“How are you doing?” He looked sincere and like he was trying to gauge Ida’s reaction now. Less questions letting themselves fly like haphazard arrows and more genuine concern. “I know the battle was a lot and then things out a little bit heated on your wonder. I…”
He recalled how hard it was for him to ask for help and he didn’t want to presume he knew where she was right now.
“… just wanted to make sure your wonder — and you — are okay.”
"Oh! I'm fine!" She said automatically, hardly thinking about it. She amended it quickly, offering him a wry smile. "Well, I mean, its all kinda new, and I am trying to figure out what I'm going to do now, but... I'm okay. Its probably going to take a while to really get used to it."
Not to mention all the history she had, tied up in false memories of the last time she'd been a princess. So many things had been different, then, and so much had happened since. She'd given up on the idea she would ever reach that level, whatever her memories said, but now here was again, and different. Stronger, maybe.
"I know that I want to find ways to use this new power to help our people in whatever way we need. I have so much power now, it has to be useful for something. I may not exactly know how or all the ways, but I know there have to be things I can do... Even using it to fight, if that's what's needed." She said, her voice firming.
“As long as you’re okay.” Erytheia said, a bit skeptically.
She’d answered so quickly that it reminded him of himself sometimes. He’d be quick to make sure people thought he was alright. He wondered if it was the same with Ida.
“It all does sound new. What was it like when you transcended? You took to that change just fine, right?”
Ida's expression softened and her smile was genuine as she reached out to touch Erytheia's forearm and giving him a little, reassuring squeeze.
"I am okay." She said, putting emphasis on her words. "Its new and strange, but I'm going to figure it out." Whatever that took, she was at least determined. She didn't have any easy answers, but there were people that needed her. She had to step up for them.
"When I transcended?" Ida repeated, her gaze tilting up as she thought back on it. "That was... eight years ago, I think. There was... a lot going on in my life, around then." Clasping her hands together in her lap, she took time settling her feet out in front of her, her booted ankles crossed one over the other. Half slouched, she let herself sort through the memories, some of the pain of them dulled with time and some of it still fairly recent.
"I had lost someone very important to me, and coming here to my asteroid was a reflex, a retreat to somewhere safe and comforting. I'd always felt like Ida embraced me whenever I came here... like it radiated warmth from the soil up and into me. I always wanted to take care of it and I'd made it a habit to come as often as I was able, even if all I did was play around like a little kid." She said, her smile turning rueful. "I remember finding something that was like a tie to my past self... this old ritual meant to book end one life and open another. I felt so... driven, to pledge myself to being a senshi and protecting both my asteroid and Earth that I was willing to give up my name for it."
She slanted a glance over at him, shrugging self consciously. "It seemed very dramatic and self-sacrificing, at the time. I wasn't 'Orah' any more, I was 'Ida', like I could give up my civilian life to live as a senshi above anything else. I think part of it was that I was convinced I was going to die young. I couldn't see myself living more than five, maybe ten years fighting in this war, so it didn't feel like I was giving up that much. And devoting myself completely to all this..." And she waved a hand, gesturing at herself, the park, the stars above them. "It felt very grand, and very right. I didn't expect anything to happen, of course... transcendence was so new I'd never even seen someone with glowing markings before. I didn't know what to call it... but some part of what I did stirred my planet, and I felt this rush of new energy. For me, at least, it was like... touching the soul of my planet, or having it speak to me. Like, directly into my soul. It felt wonderful... I suddenly had this new bond to my asteroid and I could feel it so much more keenly than I had before. And the things I could do, afterwards, were pretty cool."
“If you need any help figuring it out, let me know.” He was glad she was okay. Something so new… he wondered how many others there were who could truly relate to her situation. Erytheia only knew less than a handful of other royal senshi in existence. At the very least, he could listen.
“I think I understand what you mean about your homeworld.” He said when she referred to losing someone important and finding comfort in her world. “My wonder has helped me with the one I lost.” He tried not to think of Tama now. There were things he wanted to hear from Ida.
When she talked about transcendence and never having seen it before, he remembered what the Moon Hologram he found had said: ‘I met someone the other day, with glowing marks across their skin. It isn’t the first time, but it’s still a rarity.’
So, transcendence was rare, too. He hoped Ida did not feel alone. If the Code had taught him anything when it was placed in its new home, it was that we weren’t alone in this strange magical situation they’d all been caught up in.
Lacing her fingers together in her lap, Ida let her eyes half close as she thought about it, remembering things that were half recent and half another lifetime ago.
"When one Ida dies, the council of leaders would go out and find the new child that would be the new Ida. They would be trained in Ida's duties until they were old enough to take on the role fully. Then they would go to the nursery where a special kind of tree is grown. All the saplings bud off a mother tree and are collected and preserved for when someone dies." She explained, hoping to give him some context for what she had done. "The new Ida takes one of those saplings to the grave of the former Ida and plants the tree there. These trees serve as grave markers, as well as a place to store information about the person in the grave they mark. Their genetic make up, name, age, all of that. You can touch the tree and it will display it. Regular people have their family or whoever is burying them plant the tree for them, but Ida does it for themselves, as a way of closing their old life and taking on the full duties and responsibilities of the new one."
Ida looked over as she finished, thinking about that moment. It was hard not to compare it to now... how she had been with a different cosmos knight then and shared it with her. It had, in many ways, planted a seed for their relationship along with the grave sapling.
"No one ever planted the sapling for the last Ida. When I found the last sapling in the nursery, I remembered what they were for and decided to do that ritual for myself."
‘Regular people have their family or whoever is burying them plant the tree for them, but Ida does it for themselves, as a way of closing their old life and taking on the full duties and responsibilities of the new one.’
Erytheia thought about what Ida had said about the ritual for some time. What had it meant by ‘closing their old life’? The knight knew that all senshi were reincarnated — the starseed would return to the Galaxy Cauldron at death and would then be born into the next senshi of the same star. In fact, every starseed went to Cosmos and the Cauldron for rebirth, yet senshi all seemed to have past lives that were senshi as well. He knew some knights did, too. Yuki was his ancestor and he was not reincarnated from the past Erytheia. Yet, he likely have a past life of some kind, wouldn’t he? Civilians could be reborn as well. Or could one be a new starseed entirely?
“So the prior Ida was prevented from doing the ritual themselves? or…” His voice became sad as he recalled what he knew about the end of the Silver Millennium. “You are the next Ida.”
The tone in his voice made her glance at him and there was an echoing sadness in her own smile.
"I'm the next Ida. It took a thousand or more years for me to find my way back, but I did. I don't know how the old Ida died or why it took so long for me to be reborn. I was worried at first that I wouldn't find a sapling... back then, my asteroid hadn't revived much and most things were still dead. All the little pods that held the saplings were cracked open and the little trees were dead too. Even the mother tree was dead... I was very lucky to find one that was still sealed and alive, after all this time." She said as she spread her hands.
"Why do you ask about transcendence? You asked if I took to the change okay. Have you heard of anyone who didn't? Or... are you worried it might happen to you, and you don't want it?"
It was hard to imagine anyone not wanting it. Even when she'd heard whispers of people who thought transcendence was like shackling yourself... she still didn't know how anyone could experience what she had, and not feel fortunate for it. Ida kept her voice neutral though, encouraging him to speak what was on his mind. From the outside, perhaps transcendence was intimidating. She could sympathize with that.
“I found this old compact. It had a message in it. Some sort of hologram. But Yuki didn’t know anything about it.”
It was strange for his ancestor not to know anything about a subject. He’d traveled far before being stationed on Erytheia. He knew Yuki had resented being assigned Erytheia since it was so remote and distant of a wonder, but he never voiced his feelings.
‘I feel a darkness spreading. I’ve had another nightmare earlier this week. But you know, when I met that Knight, with the glowing symbols, I had hope again.’
He couldn’t help thinking of what the woman in the image had said.
“It mentioned transcendence. It made me think of how it might happen. My wonder… it never had any life at all before but a single tree. Yet even that was taken away when just a small Chaos Seed reawakened. The one butterfly I saw that day never reappeared and the tree died when we destroyed the Chaos and I had to find a new home for the Code Piece. And even it took five Cosmos knights to house it in the beacon.”
He paused, finding he was getting ahead of himself again.
“It’s all so strange how all of this works sometimes. I always thought my ancestor could tell me everything. But it’s like he can’t help me much now. I thought maybe you’d need someone to talk with and wanted you to know I’m here for that kind of thing.”
Tucking her hands between her knees, Ida felt her whole self soften and there was genuine warmth in her smile.
"I really appreciate that. I'm so used to being the one to take care of everyone else, I don't really get a lot of it the other way around. Not that I'm complaining, really, I've always been able to take care of myself. But its nice. And its really nice of you to offer." She said, shrugging.
"I don't know a lot about our history in the ancient times. Its interesting to know transcendence existed then. I thought it was something new when it first started happening. It must have been pretty rare, if your ancestor didn't know about it... but they were all human once, right? There was no way they could know everything..."
Ancestors were a bit beyond Ida's experience too, though she had met a couple over the years. The spirits of knights of the past, waiting at their wonder for their successor to arrive. Did they feel the passage of time? Had they stayed willingly? What was their motivation, beyond the need to teach the knight that came after them? As a senshi, the code piece and ancestors were quite foreign to her experience.
"Hopefully now that things are resolved, your wonder will begin to grow back on its own. If you keep taking care of it, I'm sure it'll come back even faster. And if you ever feel like you need some seedlings, I can always give you some."
“I hope it grows back soon. I think it just needs time to heal. What happened to it was really rough on it and the Code Piece. It was hard on Yuki, too. He felt so guilty for not having completely sealed it away in his own time.”
He got up, his legs ansty and ready to move again.
“I’d love some seedlings! I need to go back to my wonder soon to check up on it again. Maybe planting some will help. If you need anything or want to just talk, let me know.” He smiled. “I’ll owe you for the seedlings.”
Ida rose when he did, brushing off the back of her skirt from any dirt it might have picked up.
"I'll get some seedlings ready and let you know when to pick them up. And I'll reach out, if I need to talk to someone. I really appreciate that you offer." She said with a soft smile. "We'll see each other again soon. I hope you have a good trip."
She had a lot of her own things to think about in the mean time. It was good to talk to someone, she didn't do that nearly enough these days.
