Amentia

Chapter 64 - Departure

The next morning, the girls woke up from the most peaceful sleep they'd had in ages. After the seven days of riding on the hard seats of the cart and then sleeping outdoors, returning to their beds in the caravan was a blessing they almost thanked Aurora for. A simple but very meaningful luxury.

The day also greeted them with the first news bulletin in almost thirty days. The messenger had arrived with a ridiculous number of copies in his bag and delivered one to every single household, the caravan included. Everyone in the village stood outside with their copy and gathered in groups to read the news out loud and discuss them.

The troupe was surprised by the length of the text. Bulletins were usually no longer than ten lines; this one was about forty. In it, the Temple revealed the whole truth about why Amentia had fallen into such violent chaos, starting with the Seers blinding themselves against their will. They revealed exactly the same thing the girls had revealed to the troupe, actually; it wasn't the whole truth, but it was the only truth that wouldn't cause another worldwide outbreak. And it was also possible that the Keeper didn't know his creators were actually human, so he couldn't share news he wasn't aware of.

The text continued with the conveyance of Aurora's deepest apologies. She took full responsibility for her failure, admitting she had let past fears cloud her judgment and turn her irresponsible and unreliable, and thanked the rest of the Gods that kept working while she hid from the world in her high mountain. She knew it was no justification, but it was important to share it.

Much to the girls' surprise, this explanation was followed by the mention of their involvement in the matter. It read, "Amentia might have never seen the light again had it not been for a group of five human girls, who took it upon themselves to fight for our precious world without asking for recognition or retribution, for no reason other than because it was the right thing to do. The credit goes only to them for the safety of everyone who is reading these words. The Gods and the Temple extend their deepest gratitude to them."

Next, it informed that the Portal had been restored and reopened after a three-day joint effort between the Gods and the Keeper. The Seers' invaluable eyesight had been healed and, consequently, the Council had resumed its duties immediately. In the course of the day, there would be a worldwide examination of the crimes committed during the Council's absence. Though, in the interest of justice, Aurora had instructed the Council to adapt the punishments to the situation in which they had taken place and to take into account if anyone surrendered themselves willingly and peacefully before taking the test of innocence. This was because she understood those crimes had been committed under an influence that no one could fight against and that had ultimately been brought on by her actions. The bulletin concluded saying, "Aurora will spend as much time as it is necessary to atone for her lack of judgment and its consequences, and can only hope that all the creatures in Amentia will eventually be able to forgive her."

"That is a fine political statement if I've ever seen one," commented Nina after they finished reading it. The girls nodded in agreement, admitting it had all sounded very professional and sincere at the same time. The Amentian creatures looked at them in confusion, asking what the word "political" meant.

"Oh, you are all so lucky you don't know what a politician is," said Nati, putting a hand on her forehead. "I wish I didn't know."

As announced, Enforcers rolled into the village shortly after the bulletin was spread around. Given the small number of inhabitants left in this village, only two Enforcers were needed to test everyone. Creatures formed in two lines and offered their hand to the authorities when it was their turn. A piece of paper with a magic symbol was placed on the back of their hands and activated with a single word. The symbol glowed and the paper slowly began to disintegrate, something that looked more as if it was being absorbed into the skin. A shiver went up and down the creature's spine as the spell peered into their actions of the past thirty days, looking for specific ones written into the spell. If the symbol disintegrated along with the paper, the creature was free to go, their innocence fully proved. Only two creatures were found guilty, and it was only for minor stealing, so the Enforcers left them with a summoning note to be at the Council within the next five to eight days for sentencing. Overall, the process was very civil and caused no major problems other than heated arguments between the thieves and their victims.