[This was by far the most vivid and important memory in Marco's mind, so he closed his eyes and concentrated on reliving it as intensely as possible.]
Jezebel felt ready and finally at peace with herself and the entire world. She took a few minutes to observe the room where she and the other novices awaited the initiation ceremony. It was a large, completely empty and unadorned space dedicated exclusively to the antechamber leading to the enormous staircase that ran from the top of the temple, entirely made of white marble, to the ground. The location and orientation of the staircase had been carefully chosen. It faced the sacred river on the east side and was separated from it by a large, flat area that was crowded with people for the occasion. At the time of the ceremony, there was extraordinary visibility at every point to and from the temple, so that both the authorities in the side boxes and every spectator on the plain could easily see and hear even from hundreds of meters away.
Jezebel, like the other novices, was completely naked and shaved, symbolizing their "rebirth" and their entry into the community... much like newborns entering the world, during the central part of the ceremony, each novice had to reach the highest point of the temple and, with open arms, ideally "embracing" the entire crowd, recite the oath of devotion to the community and the priestly order.
The order of presentation of the novices had complex rules; the only clear criterion was that Jezebel, as a "half-breed," was necessarily relegated to the last position, so when the guard announced her turn, she was completely alone in that enormous room.
Jezebel smiled at the guard and rushed, almost running, to the top of the steps, opened her hands, and smiled, illuminating everyone.
The view was breathtaking, practically the entire population was lined up, and yet a deathly silence reigned. A radiant Jezebel recited the oath formula with emphasis and then amazed everyone by exploiting an optional and rarely used ceremonial rule among novices, which consisted of adding a few words to define themselves and their (desired) role in the community: "I have been sent to serve all of you, my beloved people, and it will be my greatest pleasure to fulfill my destiny... I LOVE you, my life is YOURS, I dedicate it to ALL OF YOU."
The deafening silence and palpable perplexity of most of the dignitaries present got shattered by the roar of the crowd. The entire population stood with open arms and waved, cheering loudly toward Jezebel, who in response laughed, cried with joy... and... DANCED.