The gun-knight Patrizion has served Laterano for many decades. He has forgiven many Sarkaz, and slaughtered many more.
He has heard the Sarkaz curse in fury, cry out in pain, roar in hatred, even plead in despair...
But he has never heard them pray.
And yet, the pregnant Sarkaz now kneels before a holy statue, her hands clasped together, stumbling over the unfamiliar words of liturgy.
The Matriarch stands behind her, her head bowed in prayer as well, the pair bathing in the warm glow. When the Sarkaz trips over a sentence, the Matriarch waits for her.
Patrizion
...
Patrizion
......
Matriarch
All mortals desire peace and happiness, and fear hardship and sorrow.
Matriarch
Therefore, we stand together in prayer, regardless of race.
Patrizion
Matriarch, the Sarkaz...
Matriarch
She has only just left behind the restless life of a wanderer. Now that she is experiencing idleness for the first time in her life, all the worries she has never had time to ponder have rushed to the surface.
But it seems like words may not be so necessary now.
Patrizion
Troubles? I am not troubled.
Matriarch
Are you not troubled, or do you dare not be troubled?
Matriarch
Everyone in Laterano knows that our ancient order was established in response to the prophesied calamity.
Matriarch
As calamity descends, our order is stretched to its limit... yet no one can predict what will become of Laterano one day.
Patrizion
I cannot imagine it, but I have faith it will be beautiful.
Matriarch
You have given too much for it. The granddaughter you never have time to be with, the old friend whose name you've forgotten, and the other old friends you've exiled as guardian of order...
Matriarch
To deny Laterano's future is to deny everything that you have given and sacrificed for it. It is to deny yourself.
Patrizion
...
Matriarch
Have no fear. A sliver of that future has already revealed itself to you.
Matriarch
If the faith of Laterano can bring comfort even to the faithless, if Sarkaz can pray side-by-side with Sankta...
Matriarch
Then our order shall open its arms to all.
Matriarch
There will be no barriers, no one left behind, no unwilling partings.
Patrizion
Sounds like you're describing a dream.
Matriarch
Are we not about to lift the veil that separates dream from reality, before the eyes of all?
Matriarch
A miracle will befall this land when everyone believes that even the most fantastical dream can become reality.
Matriarch
The Nativity must go off without a hitch, Patrizion.
You're blocking the screen, 'Holy Debt Collector'!
Fiammetta
You're the one who decided to sit that far back... not that you're missing anything if I block a few scenes. It's just Eight-Armed Chainsaw Guy, after all.
Fiammetta
And stop quoting random lines from the movie. You're not on a mission or in a briefing. You're in my house!
Lemuen
I kind of like that name. Maybe you can use it as your code name for your next mission.
Fiammetta
Not you too, Lemuen...
Fiammetta
You two sure can work together, when it comes to making up bad code names.
Lemuen
Haha.
Mostima
How's life as a cardinal, Lemuen? Keeping busy?
Lemuen
Busier than when I was in a wheelchair.
Mostima
When was it that you got out of it for good, anyway? I don't remember.
Lemuen
You don't really care much about me, do you? I'm so sad, and the only thing that can comfort me is if you let me feel your horns.
Mostima
Why don't you ask if Holy Debt Collector might let you touch her ear plumage?
Fiammetta
Go ahead. I don't mind.
Lemuen
I never thought it would be the Summit of Nations that brought us back together after all this time.
Fiammetta
It's like every Lateran out there got called back to the city.
Fiammetta
I can understand Legati like Mostima getting recalled, but the old man brought me back when I was in the middle of a high-priority mission to Sargon!
Mostima
...
Mostima
Say, where is your grandpa anyway? He's the one throwing the party, right?
Fiammetta
Should be back soon.
Fiammetta
Who knows what he's up to? All he said was that since he was retiring, he wanted to make an important announcement while everyone's still here.
???
It's nice to see the kids having fun when I get home from work. Makes me feel ten years younger.
Fiammetta
That still makes you really old, Patrizion.
Mostima & Lemuen
Reverend Gun-Knight.
Patrizion
Now, now, are you angry at me for being late, Fia?
Patrizion
I had to turn the office upside-down, trying to find this thing.
Mostima
What's in the package, Reverend?
Patrizion
Open it. Find out for yourself.
Mostima
Wow! A guardian gun?
Lemuen
Looks like it's been around for a while.
Fiammetta
...
Fiammetta
Patrizion. Unless my eyes deceive me...
Patrizion
The first patron firearm I ever had. I picked it when I was twelve. It stayed with me for over a decade, until I became a gun-knight.
Patrizion
Soon, it'll become a true relic, when firearms workshops fade into the history of Laterano.
Patrizion
Take it, Fia.
Fiammetta
What?
Patrizion
A little token. Think of it as fulfilling an old man's wish.
Patrizion
As your mentor, your guardian, some of what I did was... how should I put it...? Regrettable.
Patrizion
You know you weren't the only student I cared for. But I was never a licensed teacher. The other one should have walked a better path.
Fiammetta
Aurela, the gun-knight who killed her cohort? That's a whole different thing.
Fiammetta
If I never walk that 'better path', it's not because of anything so drastic.
Patrizion
It's because you don't have the little whatsis I have over my head. I know.
Patrizion
But I took you in precisely because you were Liberi.
Fiammetta
You never told me that.
Fiammetta
What regret are you trying to make up for this time?
Patrizion
*sigh*... I didn't want to tell you.
Patrizion
The loss of a friendship made me realize that I never truly knew a Liberi.
Patrizion
I thought I was too clumsy. I thought I could learn to get along with the Liberi.
Patrizion
But I was never very good at it.
Patrizion
I worried about your nerves that were constantly on edge, about your obsession over the accident, the anger that boiled within you, and how you struggled to fit in...
Patrizion
But I never knew how to guide you.
Patrizion
For the Sankta, empathy is a window that helps us understand each other. For you, it became a wall that kept you out.
Fiammetta
Hold it, hold it right there—
Fiammetta
Do old people always get so sentimental?
Patrizion
Haha. You don't get it.
Patrizion
What I'm trying to tell you is that everything is going to change after the Summit of Nations.
Patrizion
The prohibition on patron firearms for non-Sankta will be lifted, along with other rules like it. The Law's acceptance of the Liberi will extend far beyond just allowing you to live in the Holy City.
Patrizion
We will truly become one people, Fia.
Fiammetta
Do you think it's enough to just issue a few edicts, close a few workshops, build a shrine, and take in some wanderers?
Patrizion
See? That's your first reaction.
Patrizion
It means that, deep down, you want to share true understanding with Lemuen, with Mostima... with us.
Fiammetta
...
Patrizion
You will understand, Fia.
Patrizion
Then, if you're willing, you can take my place and become a true gun-knight... or go and do whatever else you want to, things that were once open only to the Sankta.
Patrizion
When that day comes, your friends will be there to bear witness, as they do now.
Patrizion
Now, take your guardian gun for a spin.
Lemuen
...
Mostima
...
Fiammetta does not fully understand what the old man said, and her two friends say nothing, but everyone present smiles at her.
She has held many grenade launchers in her time, but she feels a strange sensation come over her as she touches the gun's barrel, like a terrestrial creature touching the sea for the first time.
She cannot tell if the indescribable connection among Sanktas has opened itself to her, or if it is simply a reaction to Patrizion's words.
Patrizion
We were born different, Fia, but our paths must eventually converge.
Patrizion
Nothing makes an old man happier than recognition from his child.
Fiammetta holds the gun tightly and lines up the sights with the door.
Is there anything I can help with, El? To make up for me not recognizing you.
Exusiai
Not so fast.
Exusiai
There's a few things about Laterano I'm really interested in... it's been a long time since I've been here.
Vannini
Oh?
Exusiai
When did the Curia decide to shut down every firearms workshop in the city?
Vannini
It was recent... the edict was sent to all the workshops in the city on the same day.
Vannini
It wasn't that much of a surprise... arms control had been around for as long as I could remember, and it was about time they turned their attention to reforming gun control, after all these years.
Exusiai
Don't you find it strange?
Vannini
Should I?
Vannini
Magister Paganini said there was nothing unusual about shops shutting down and opening up. He'd been talking about closing up for years.
Exusiai
But this is a firearms workshop!
Vannini
D-Does that make a difference?
Exusiai
This is where all Sanktas meet their guardian guns!
Vannini
...
Exusiai
Have all of you forgotten the meaning a Sankta's patron firearm carries?
Exusiai takes out a patron firearm and puts it on the workbench.
She smoothly disassembles it, from the magazine to the barrel to the action to the case ejector...
Exusiai
I'm not a terrorist, or some kind of super-mercenary. I just know my guns like I know my own joints.
Exusiai
I remember how I came into possession of each and every gun—yes, ALL of them.
Exusiai
But the one that left the deepest impression on me was the first one, when I stepped into this little shop, along with my parents and my sister...
Exusiai's hands do not slow down even as she continues talking.
Exusiai
My sister told me that every Sankta has their very own patron firearm, or guardian gun, the same as we were born with our unique halos.
Exusiai
So, picking a guardian gun is like making a friend.
Exusiai
We place our trust in empathy, open our hearts to one another, and learn to get along.
Exusiai
You were what, four or five years-old at the time? You were tiny, didn't have a halo, and you couldn't even talk. We didn't even notice you.
Exusiai
By the time we knew you were there, you had your hands on the scope I had picked, feeling it with a face full of curiosity...
Vannini
Well...
Vannini
Magister Paganini said he found me in the gardens of an Ecclesia Requietum, and brought me back to this workshop.
Vannini
I seem to have, er, problems with speech, and he thought I was mute at first. It took a few years for me to be able to put a few syllables together.
Vannini
I caused him so many headaches. I was never the kind of kid he could be proud of. I sneaked out that day, without even knowing why, and I was so anxious I almost cried...
Exusiai
Put your hand on it, Vani, just like old times.
Vannini
Huh?
Hesitantly, tentatively, Vannini puts her hand on it.
Exusiai
Master Pag put my hand-picked parts together. My mind filled with thoughts when I held it in my hand...
Exusiai
Protect my parents and sister, make new friends, have the coolest graduation ceremony in Laterano... it told me I could do all that.
Exusiai
You felt it, didn't you?
Vannini
...
Exusiai
The stuff you just said wasn't what I remembered at all, Vani.
Exusiai
I remember that I picked my guardian gun with a little girl I didn't know. We watched the fowlbeasts across the street, used the barrel as a talk tube...
Exusiai
She didn't talk, but I could feel what was in her heart when we played together with the parts. That's why I knew she was happy when I saw her reddened eyes at the end.
Exusiai
This is our secret. That's why I didn't say anything to my sis when she asked if I was bullying you.
Exusiai
For me, that wasn't the day I made one friend. It was the day I made two.
Exusiai brandishes her gun, which she has already reassembled, and smiles at the young apprentice gunsmith.
Vannini has her eyes fixed on Exusiai, that sense of confidence and pride that was on her face throughout the process.
Vannini cannot tell where the confidence and pride came from. It is almost like Exusiai is saying, 'I'm a Sankta, and this is a Sankta thing.'
Well, I basically recreated what happened... you still don't remember anything?
Vannini
(Shakes head)
Vannini
B-But I believe you, El.
Exusiai
Uh... huh?
Vannini
I was really sad when Magister Paganini told me this workshop would have to close.
Vannini
I thought it was because I've lived here for so long with him that I didn't want to leave...
Vannini
I believe you about this link that you say patron firearms bring us, El... even though it means that something has happened to the Holy City that I can't comprehend.
Exusiai
Yeah!
Vannini
How can I help?
Exusiai
You've been here in the firearms workshop for so long. Surely you've got a way to help me make an explosion that will shake the city?
You know what she's like. It's not so easy for her to forgive.
Patrizion
What about Andoain?
Lemuen
He left.
Patrizion
If there's anyone who has a right to be angry, it would be you, Lemuen. You were the one who suffered the most.
Lemuen
I can't argue with that, Reverend.
Lemuen
But all emotions change with time.
Lemuen
In the five years that I spent in that coma, Andoain served his sentence in a nomadic abbey, traveling across Terra, offering assistance to our scattered kin as his way of atoning...
Lemuen
Finally, he decided to come back to Laterano, reintegrating as an ordinary Nurturer.
Lemuen
Laterano needs him, and he deserves a second chance.
Patrizion
I'm glad you think that way... what was it you wanted to talk to me about?
Lemuen
Still Fiammetta. You know she insisted on taking firearms courses when she was in school.
Lemuen
She was always the first to show up for class, and the last to leave the firing range. She loved guns in a way nobody could ever doubt... even though she never learned to use one.
Lemuen
But when you gave her your gun and that speech, that look in her eyes...
Lemuen
I couldn't tell if it was doubt or disappointment, but the one thing I know is that it wasn't pure joy.
Patrizion
Is that right...? I thought she would be happy. At least, before Andoain showed up.
Patrizion
I still don't understand how she feels, after all these years...
Lemuen
Your announcement took me by surprise, let alone Fiammetta.
Lemuen
'The prohibition on patron firearms for non-Sankta will be lifted, along with other rules like it.' That part.
Lemuen
Yet the arms control that we've been pushing for so long has only now come to its most important stage.
Patrizion
You mean the two policies conflict?
Lemuen
What I want to ask is, have you received any further revelations?
Lemuen
Have greater goals been bestowed upon our arms control work?
Patrizion
The goal has never changed. All forms of control exist so that everyone will be able to use guns more efficiently, more widely.
Patrizion
The firearms workshops have a long history, but also plenty of flaws. Gunsmiths and customers both put way too much energy into them, trying to make each and every gun unique.
Patrizion
Once the Shrine of Gunsmithing in Pagus Michaelion starts operating for real, Laterano will be able to provide armed support to all nations and all races, when we have to.
Lemuen
If the goal has never changed, why do the changes of the present seem so sudden, so... out of place?
Patrizion
Maybe because we're not so great at imagining the future.
Patrizion
You're right that the Matriarch has bestowed a greater revelation upon me. All will partake of the same revelation at the Nativity.
Patrizion
When the time comes, it won't be just you and Fia; millions of people will gain insight into the future, both inside and outside Laterano.
Patrizion
You're sharp, Lemuen, and I'm sure you understand that our first priority is to make sure that the Nativity goes off without a hitch.
Lemuen
...
Lemuen
I will continue to hunt the criminal trying to blow things up at this important time.
In the end, the gathering parted on less-than-pleasant terms.
He had spent much time mulling over Patrizion's invitation before accepting it.
He was not unprepared for what might happen. But with a new dawn about to break in Laterano, he had decided to come and visit old friends, for reasons that he could not, or would not, put into clear words.
What will become of the past once the new Laterano comes?
He wanted a confirmation, nothing more.
The wind brings a cloud that casts a tiny shadow in a corner of the street. Andoain frowns.
He takes a few steps, then stops and waves over a confessional.
Automated Confessional
...
Automated Confessional
Automated Confessional CONFESS-47, at your service. Please insert your Signa Creditorum or citizen credit card before beginning your confession.
Andoain
...
Andoain
Sorry, I just remembered I have something else I need to do.
Andoain
...
Andoain
It's you.
Nurturer A
Is something the matter? Were you being followed?
Nurturer A
Was that why you waved over a confessional? To check your surroundings? Do we need to call the guards?
Andoain
No, I guess I was just imagining things.
Andoain
Were you looking for me?
Nurturer B
The Matriarch has returned to the Shrine of Nurtury.
Here are the handover documents for five firearms workshops in Pagus Faber. This one's owner, Paganini, has signed the papers.
Lemuen
Good work. The Notarial Hall can take the rest.
Amos
Speaking of which, there are some exceptional circumstances with the workshop on Via Borgos...
Amos
The owner, Paganini, has an apprentice who is going to take her qualification exam. The Curia will have to provide some form of compensation now that the shop has been shut down.
Amos
Her name is Vannini, I think. I happened to pass by her when I left... she had fiery red hair and a bright smile on her face. A really sunny disposition.
Lemuen
...
Lemuen
Via Borgos... sounds familiar.
Lemuen
Look at the files on your terminal, Amos.
Lemuen
That description does not fit Vannini.
Amos
Oh—I...
Lemuen
It's alright. Maybe just a passerby. You said she was a Sankta with fiery red hair?
Amos
She had a hood up, but we were walking towards each other. I got a good look.
