I hope this finds you well. New initiates: welcome to the family. You may already be aware that I'm your Gatekeeper - in other words, my job involves working with you to help you reach the end of your Path, and making sure you're all happy and well provided for. I intend to do this job to the best of my ability. To that end, I, or any of the old guard, am happy to answer any questions you may have during your first weeks here. Being Seekers, I hope you have a lot of them.
— Opening of Violet Hale’s first newsletter to the Seekers since becoming gatekeeper.
Many thought that the destruction of the Old Manse would lead to the end of the Seekers, but to the contrary, the efforts to rebuild seem to have breathed new life into the group as a whole, with a new generation of Seekers stepping up to fill the void left by the death of Gatekeeper Cole Fisher. Rebuilding the Manse took a lot of time, but it has since proven to be the home away from home that it used to be for most of the group. Far from the haunted house look it used to sport, the Manse now sports beautiful, well-kept gardens, including a hedge maze. The grounds are frequently used to host formal events.
Changes to the layout, upgraded facilities and the transfer of what remains of The Archives onto an online server have catapulted the Seekers into the 21st Century. The translation of the archives into multiple languages, including Celestial and Braille, has also greatly improved the feeling of inclusion within the group.
The Seekers responsible for the rebuilding are remembered to this day for their contributions to the organisation as a whole. As the ones responsible for coining the term “Seeker Family,” inspired by the late Ashley Malone, it should come as no surprise that it is with this generation that the Seekers became such a tight-knit group.
— Extract from It All Starts With a Question: A History of the Seekers by Edwin Adel
Following what is now being called the death of heaven, the roster of prominent Seekers was as follows, with roles indicated where appropriate:
Look after each other as you live and work together, as you stretch out your hands towards that elusive and nebulous light you have always been seeking. Teach others freely what you know, tell them your stories, and how best they can achieve their aims for the future. You are all a wonderful group of people, and I can think of no better family with which to spend my days.
— Extract from her opening letter to the Seekers
“I’ve survived disasters which nearly wiped out the entirety of our order. Mess with my paperwork again and you’ll find out why.”
— Julian Thomas to Esther Thorne
She is a friend to anyone who looks for knowledge in the library and the newly digitized Archives, and knows the material in there better than anyone else. If you need something specific from any of our collections, she will be your first port of call.
— Extract from Violet Hale's opening letter to the Seekers
“It takes a lot of bravery, when staring into the infinite abyss, to jump in. It takes so much more to turn away forever. I will never forget what he’s done for so many of us.”
— Extract from Finding Meaning: The Life of a Seeker by Johann Fenton.
“Do I like him? Not particularly. Do I respect him? Very much so. You’re looking at the man who killed Unknown-616. Maybe consider that before mocking the ‘power of friendship,’ next time.”
— Lauren Candela to a new initiate.
“Waitwaitwait, we have a demon groundskeeper now? Well that’s neat, I guess.”
— Sophia Adel
“World-ending, you say? Who cares about that? I’ve got an RC Helicopter, an old broom, some tinfoil, three baked potatoes and Nicholas Queensbury on speed dial. You really didn’t think this through, did you?”
“…”
“I thought not.”
— The end of a recorded phone conversation between Esther Thorne and an individual whose identity is lost to history.
“You probably don’t want to use the Archives right now. Kimaris is in there at the moment.”
“I thought the archives were online…”
“They are.”
“So how-”
“Don’t ask.”
The Seekers will be as they always have, searching for meaning in a world which defies all attempts to find it. Yet it will also grow. The new generations will continue to leave their marks just as so many others have before them.
And perhaps, all things considered, things will take a somewhat brighter turn from here on out.