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    Gabriel led us off around the central building, through the crowds  and over the various symbols until we came to a group of young people on  the other side. There were almost a dozen of them, holding court around  a few central figures. Three of them exactly, actually. One girl with  strange miscolored hair, intermittent locks of black and white, and the  same green eyes I saw in the mirror every day.


    Next to her  stood a tall red haired guy about my age, with a haughty sneer on his  face, absurdly gaudy red and gold robes, and amber eyes. The man on the  other side had black hair and slate grey eyes and wore a somber  expression over his suit of gunmetal grey armor.


    "Lady  Chelsea doesn''t want to talk to deal with your monotonous drudgery,  Vincent." Sneered red hair. "If she wanted to be bored out of her skull  she wouldn''t be attending the trials at all."


    The dark  haired guy chuckled. "I suspect any level of boredom is worth avoiding  your presence Nathaniel." He said in a soft, steely voice. "But I think  Lady Chelsea can speak for herself. Unless you''re claiming the marriage  proposals your grandfather has been sending his holiness have been  accepted."


    The world warped around the hands of the red  haired man as white fire blazed into existence. I''d expected to be blown  away by the power of Master ranked Flames of Purification, but since  Zeke''s were higher than that it made sense that these weren''t that  impressive.


    In order to reach D-rank you needed to achieve  a Path, but this guy had done something closer to what I had. He''d  reached master rank with the flames (presumably he was on the job system  so they were just a skill), so they had BECOME his Path. Just an  Illusionary Path, mind you. My Skill had evolved into a Solid Path  early, but still, he had already taken the step that would bring him to  D-rank.


    Gabriel grimaced. "That''s the current youngest  disciple of the Twilight Pope. Vincent Landrey. And the grandson of the  Judgement Pope, Nathaniel Davies. They don''t get along, and Lady Chelsea  is the target of both of their affections. Don''t worry though, the  Saintess never sends her daughter anywhere without protection." He  gestured to where a VERY large blonde man with a braided beard had  stepped up behind the girl I suspected was my sister.


    "The  Lady." Boomed the giant, who had to be at least seven feet tall.  "Chooses her own company, and she doesn''t wish to entertain either of  you brats. Get lost before I stomp your teeth in and wear your faces for  shoes."


    Gabriel actually grinned at that. "And that." He  said smugly. "Is Callen Windermere. The high Crusader. Strongest  F-ranker in the holy order. Technically each papacy has their own high  crusader, but Callen is the Radiant High Crusader, and is generally  considered the strongest of all of them. His Holiness supplies Callen  with resources in exchange for his decision to halt at F-rank and wait  for Lady Chelsea to Ascend."


    The two puffing peacocks both  looked unhappy, and I saw the redhead actually consider attacking, but  apparently Callen was scary enough to make an F-ranked Master worried,  because he whirled and stalked off. Chelsea pouted up at the man. "I  didn''t need you to do that Cal. If I don''t scare them off myself they''ll  never stop pestering me."


    The giant let out a booming  laugh and reached down to tousle her hair, getting a yowl of annoyance  from my sister as she batted at his hand. He ignored it as he beamed  down at her. "I know, little one, but if you cripple or kill one of them  it''ll cause trouble for his Holiness. Best to let me play the bad guy.  It''s what I''m here for."


    She snorted. "As long as you know  I can handle myself." She stifled a small smile. "It WAS rather funny  seeing them flee from you."


    Callen''s eyes, so full of good  cheer, became chips of ice as he tensed, seeming to sense something. He  looked up to see us, but his eyes stopped when he saw Gabriel. His  brows furrowed, and then smoothed out at recognition hit. I took that as  my chance to approach, and Gabriel nodded to the big man and to my  sister in turn. "High Crusader, Lady Chelsea. Greetings to you both."


    "Brightlaw." Said Callen, as if he''d just solved a puzzle. "Archbishop Julian''s son. You''re an Adamant. How is that going?"


    Gabriel  stood a bit taller. "Quite well sir. I recently returned from the  incident at the Moonsong Glade. I''ve even been offered a spot in the  Horizon Citadel after the trial if I do well."


    The big man  nodded. "Impressive. I hope to see you there. I''ll be attending with  her ladyship once she breaks through to E-rank. Why don''t you introduce  us to your companions. They certainly seem like interesting people." I  was having some trouble getting a bead his age. He was older than us,  but if the Horizon Citadel was a school he wasn''t THAT much older. Most  of the impression of age came from him being giant and bearded.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Gabriel nodded. "Right. This is Bethany Lark, youngest daughter of Morgan Lark. This is Nightstrike, and her boyfriend Solomo-"


    "Shane." I cut him off. My eyes glued to my sister as I held out my hand. "Shane Wyndham. My dad is Elijah Wyndham."


    She  froze, staring at me with wide eyes. We stood there like that, for a  minute, before she seemed to realize where she was and cleared her  throat. "Ah, well. Nice to meet you...Shane. My name is Chelsea Anders."  Her tone was a bit shy, but not hostile, and I smiled with relief as  she shook my hand. I also reveled in the knowledge of what my moms last  name was. I''d never actually heard her maiden name mentioned, Zeke just  referred to her as Sasha.


    I wanted to ask her more about  herself, but when I opened my mouth her hand clamped down on mine  harder. Her eyes were widened meaningfully, expression pleading with me  not to say anything. I was confused, but I was willing to play along for  a bit. "Of course." I said with a smile. "I''ve heard a lot about you."


    "That''s  very flattering." She chirped. "But sadly I can''t stay and chat. If  fate wills it, we can meet again inside the trial. It''s so crowded out  here in any case. It''s a terrible environment for getting to know  someone."


    Ah, she was afraid people would listen in. We  could stealth, of course, but that only worked on similar levels of  Ascendant or if the eavesdroppers weren''t focused on you. Anyone  stronger who was paying attention was more than capable of breaching our  stealth with their higher Perception.


    Patting me on the shoulder, she gave me another meaningful smile as she turned to walk away.


    "Ouch."  Hissed Benny from behind me. "That was rough man. I guess she doesn''t  want to talk? I''m sorry Shane, don''t worry too much about it."


    I  cut him off, worried he might say something that tipped her hand. If  she didn''t want people hearing about us being related she probably had a  reason. She hadn''t struck me as a bitchy elitist, and her expression  had contained some genuine fear. "It''s fine. She was busy. I''m sure I  can meet Lady Chelsea later. I didn''t have any pressing business with  her."


    Benny hadn''t been shaking her hand or standing right  in front of her, so he hadn''t noticed the subtext, but he wasn''t stupid  either. My hint was enough for him to realize what was up and shut his  mouth about it.


    The biggest shock for me was meeting  Chelsea, and not just that, but seeing that she was the same age as me.  I''d expected her to be a few years younger, maybe sixteen, but she  looked to be about my age. She might just appear older, but if not, it  meant Chelsea wasn''t just my sister, she was my TWIN. No one had ever  mentioned that, and for some reason it just made everything that much  worse.


    I''d always wanted a twin. It might be a weird thing  to wish for, but the inherent closeness they share, the knowledge that  you were essentially born with a best friend...I''d always been so  jealous of that. Finding out I might have one of my own and had never  been allowed to know her? I was angry, and sad, and frustrated, and a  million other things that all swirled together into a miasma if misery  in my gut.


    Callie grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I don''t  think she knew exactly what I was thinking, but she could feel my pain,  and she wanted me to know she was here for me. I squeezed back. Having  her with me, watching over me, caring about me. It meant more than words  could express. I didn''t know how I''d have taken this alone, but I  didn''t have to find out either.


    My questions could wait.  They''d have to. Until then, we just had to head into the trial. Once we  were in there I''d find Chelsea and finally talk to her about what was  going on. Finally get a real chance to meet my sister. I glanced off the  stone platform, out into the starry void. Powerful Ascendants waited,  and watched, out of sight but not out of mind. They were probably the  ones Chelsea had worried about tipping off. Well, some of them, because  my mom was out there with them. My mom who I hadn''t seen since I was a  child. Who I had maybe one memory of.


    Not  the time for that. I''d worry about meeting mom later after I talked to  Chelsea. My sister could tell me what happened when I was a kid, and  there wasn''t so much baggage there. I was really excited to meet her.  She seemed like a fun person, and probably pretty strong based on her  apparent desire to curb stomp an F-ranked Master.


    Since  it didn''t matter where we ended up going in (that we knew of) we posted  up nearby, claiming our spots. Twelve people wasn''t a big crowd, but it  wasn''t the smallest group here either. I saw more than a few groups of  one or two. Sitting down in one of the lotus circles, I looked around at  my friends. "So, anyone know how this works? These are the entry  circles right?"


    Bethy  nodded. "Yup. Daddy says these are some kind of powerful enchantment  that will separate our soul and whisk it off into the trial. You can''t  die in there, but if your avatar gets hurt it''ll cause soul damage. We  also can''t bring equipment in. Not really, anyway. We can bring in the  images, but they don''t have the same powers."


    I  cursed internally. That meant my staff was going to be staying out  here. It didn''t matter though, in the week of travel during my downtime,  I''d been working on something new. The initial seeds of my own unique  staff art, which would blend my Path and combat style together  perfectly.


    It  wasn''t DONE yet, obviously, but it would give me a leg up, especially  since I''d already trained my soul halfway to yellow. While a lot of the  elites here had gone further, there was a huge group of people. Most of  them would probably be weaker than we were.


    My  thoughts were interrupted by a clanging sound, like a phantom bell that  shook the ground we were sitting on. "It''s time." Said Gabriel  solemnly. "We should come in close together, but I''m not sure of  anything. The rules change often, so don''t take anything for granted."  The brazier in the center of the building erupted in a fountain of  golden flames, the energy sweeping out into the symbols and surrounding  us, then the light was blotting out my vision, and we were falling.