The Spark Divine

a m a l i a It is not without some bemusement that Amalia regards the enraptured god, surprised from her stupor by the being's sudden delight. It startles the ghost of a smile onto her lips, the first such shape to grace her face since she woke from the sleep of the nearly-dead. The small gryphon's easy charm, its purr and pleasure at being touched... it reminds the girl of why she values life, the things that make Vi paramount in her thoughts. Still absorbed in the kitten on her lap, the girl nods in time to Ludo's words, bittersweet understanding written on her face. She has been given a second chance at life. She needs to make it count. Ludo's request is an unexpected one, but it is the thing the girl needs. Knowledge, faith, a task to do- it emboldens her, and for a moment she feels the slightest flicker of familiar fire within her belly, an eager thirst for purpose. To help lost souls, to guide them home: the not-dead girl bows her head, gratitude blooming in her breast. It is not redemption for her sins, but for the first time she sees a path forward unfold, a way to atone the things she has done, the mistakes she has made, the person she has become. Jigano accepts before she can, but the willingness was in her heart before the request was made. "What will happen to them?" she asks, remembering Safrin's words: The Old Ones are without. "Where will they go, when they are found?" Are they freed from the bubble by death? It is not a refusal, simply the inquisitive nature of the girl rousing from its sleep. To welcome Vi is to welcome Mort- and the girl believes it, holds it in her soul. She still loves life, but she has seen death. And there is enough piety in her heart for both.