With that Sasha turned and strode out of the room. Seth looked to Sara who was in turn already looking at him.
“Guess we should get to work.” Seth stated and then added as an afterthought. “That is if you want to help. I’m sorry I assumed, I should have asked earlier.”
“That is fine love, if I can find a way to help you, I will do what I can.” Sara answered her voice full of love.
Seth pushed back from the table. Grabbing the bag he rose and waited for Sara to do the same. Sara rose and stepped nimbly around her chair beside him and they walked together down the hall towards their room. Seth retrieved their key and unlocked the door. Allowing Sara to enter in front of him he followed her through and closed the door behind them. Seth tested the door after he locked it assuring himself it was secure. Satisfied, he carried the bag to the seating area where Sara now stood waiting patiently. He joined her in quick order and untied the leather straps securing the top of the bag. Pulling the mouth of the bag open wide Seth peered inside. Assured of its contents Seth then flipped the bag over pouring its contents to the floor in a jumble. Scroll cases and scrolls littered the floor along with several books of varying sizes. Seth eyed the pile with uncertainty, not sure of where to start. Sara on the other hand immediately kneeled upon the floor and went about sorting the items into piles. The first pile consisted of scrolls without cases. The second was comprised of scrolls that were in cases. Finally, the last pile was a short stack of books stacked neatly with the largest at the bottom, and smallest at the top. Sorted as such the task did not seem quite as daunting as it had before and Seth seated himself quickly next to Sara the piles arranged in front of them.
“I guess we can start with the scrolls.” Seth stated noting it was the biggest pile.
Sara nodded in response and she took up the first scroll within her reach and unraveled it quickly to begin reading. Seth followed her lead and he too picked up a scroll and revealed its contents. They read each scroll entirely, pausing between scrolls to exchange details of the Goddess or her followers they had deciphered from the ink. After they had completed the unprotected scrolls they moved on to those in cases. After each document they would share details of its contents and compare those details to others they had previously read. They finished the scrolls contained within the cases in quick order and moved on to the books. Most of the books were small consisting of fewer than fifty pages. Only two of the books were larger volumes each containing several hundred pages. They started with the smaller books and found immediately that the tomes were divided into small sections, each dealing with a specific subject. This allowed them to skip portions they did not need and go directly to the pages they sought. The small books were finished very quickly after this discovery and all that remained unread were the two largest of the books. They each selected one and opened it upon their laps. Flipping through the first few pages they were each surprised to find the books were indexed in a similar fashion to the smaller tomes. The book Seth held was a collection of short histories of the gods. Each god it seemed had its own section within the book and Seth was able to quickly locate the pages pertaining to Ishanya and he began to read them. Sara’s book was not divided as such and she found references to Ishanya in several places in the index of her tome. She flipped to one section, and after she finished it she would return to the index to locate another section. She followed this process until she had gleaned every ounce of information contained in the book about Ishanya. Seeing that Seth had not yet finished she decided to once again scan through the index for anything else that might be useful. Running her fingers across the page she found a heading that caught her attention. The words read “The Heavenly war” and noting the page number Sara flipped the pages until she found it. She read through the passage quickly fore it was not lengthy, and as she finished, Seth too had completed his task. They each closed their books and placed them back on the floor. It had taken several hours but finally their task was completed. They each took a moment to organize their thoughts before sharing the information they had learned. It was Seth who spoke first.
“Ok so up to this point we have read that Ishanya is at best an unpredictable Goddess. She generally has few followers throughout history. Those she did have however were very loyal to her and many of them in the past were blessed by her. Her blessings were for the most part blessings of physical strength, speed or agility. Sometimes the blessing was a combination of the three. Each of those was a physical blessing bestowed upon a worshipper without the gift to control magic. Instead they were given abilities to enhance them in battle. Though I think none of those qualities are what the Goddess has in store for me.” Seth narrated his last sentence barely a whisper.
“Why is that love?” Sara asked, compelling him to explain.
“Borrik said that Ishanya told him that one day I would reward him with strength and a long life. If I am to be able to reward him with such then I see it unlikely she will bless me with a physical trait if I choose to serve her. Besides I also apparently have the gift, and being such I think I am better suited to one of her other blessings. From what we read she has only blessed a few of her followers in the past with gifts of magical power. I think this is due to most people with the gift choosing to serve the more popular gods of magic. But what we do know is that those she did bless with the gift were very powerful, but if I interpret what I have read correctly it is almost as if their powers were unreliable. It is almost as if she chooses to channel her power to her followers as she sees fit, not as they require it. Those she had blessed with her power were also intended for battle however, and their various blessings were more powerful than those of other gods. So it would appear that though she has not blessed anyone in several hundred years, as far as these records show that is, that her blessings are very powerful. I wish we had more information to go on.” Seth said finishing his narration.
“I think I found something that puts it in better perspective.” Sara said a small glimmer in her eyes.
“What is it angel?” Seth asked.
“In this book it tells of a war in the heavens. It is a war in which the gods fight for dominion over our world. But they do not fight one another openly, instead they use their powers to bless those of their followers to wage war here. It also mentions several theories as to why the gods’ gifts vary so much and why some gods no longer have many followers. Let me see if I can summarize it without losing the details.” Sara paused for a moment gathering her thoughts and recalling the passages she had just previously read before starting anew. “The gods’ power, the book states, is determined by how many worshippers the god has. Each of the gods worked together to create our world giving all living things a portion of their power bringing life to the world. Each god seeks to regain the power that each living creature contains. They gain claim of the power through worship. The more followers they have the more powerful the god becomes. The god then chooses to bless some of its followers with that power which in turn usually brings more followers. However a god can choose to retain his power instead of giving blessings. I guess they would do this to bide time while the other gods struggle with one another, wasting their strength so to speak. I think this is what Ishanya has been doing. As the more prevalent gods have been warring silently expending their power she has been waiting for an opportunity. I think that maybe Seth you are that opportunity. Maybe the gods that are in power now have spread themselves too thin, and though they have many followers feeding them power they are siphoning that power back down into those they have blessed. It is all just theory and speculation, but it makes sense to me. Does it seem likely to you? Sara asked Seth hoping she had been able to find the piece of the puzzle that had been eluding him.
Seth thought it over for long moments. He mulled over all they had learned in his mind. Piecing details together within his head he began to create a bigger picture. He now added what Sara speculated and finally the situation appeared more clearly. Seth looked it over inside his mind. The God
dess had been biding her time for hundreds of years. She had waited patiently as the other gods waged war thinking her already defeated. Their arrogance had led them to spread themselves too thin, at least those that battled here in Valdadore. Seth could recall fourteen magnificent temples lining the square. Each of them equal in grandeur, each of them worshipped openly and freely by many. He also could recall one temple hidden amongst the others. A temple only visited recently by three people. Ishanya was the underdog so to speak. She was outdated and outnumbered. Few now lived who even knew her name, yet she had chosen to return to the world, she had chosen Seth to be her champion. Of this much Seth was nearly certain. It was odd however thinking that the gods had given life to the world, giving each life upon it a small portion of themselves. Now however and perhaps since the beginning of time they wanted those small pieces back. They used the races of men and even perhaps beasts as pawns to wage wars and kill each other’s followers to gain strength. It was sickening, yet in some way it all made perfect sense. Seth again retuned his focus to the world beyond his mind. He nodded as he smiled to the small woman he loved.
“My angel you are a genius.” Seth stated knowing if it hadn’t been for her he may have never found the explanation he sought.
“I know now why Ishanya has chosen this time to return.” Seth stated as the thoughts clarified themselves in his head.
“Why my love?” Sara asked intrigued.
“The Kingdom is at war, and with the Choosing ceremony many will be chosen to serve the ranks of the army, the knights, the druids, even the mages. Many of those will be blessed by their gods to enhance their chances to win the war. Those blessings will cost the gods who give them dearly. It will take time for people to recognize the new blessings for what they are and longer still for people to join in worship because of what they witness. So it seems there will be a period of time after The Choosing, yet before the end of the war where several gods will be weakened temporarily. Ishanya is choosing this time to make her move towards a seat of power. It’s perfectly logical yet I think she has not foreseen one problem in her plan.” Seth said grinning widely to himself.
“What is it Seth?” Sara asked in wonder, amazed by his new understanding of the gods.
“Me.” Seth answered simply. “She does not see that I have no ambition to join a religion, I have no want or need to worship a god. I am happy being me just the way I am. I would like the gift of magic. I feel like it is something I must pursue, but I will not trade my freedom for it. That my angel is the flaw of her plans.” Seth said with determination in his voice.
“You know what that means don’t you?” Sara asked her face changing to an expression of concern.
“What is that?” Seth asked.
“It means that you hold the power to change the world. If you stand by and do nothing the war will wage on for who knows how long. Thousands will die and eventually one god will triumph over another just to then be attacked by another god’s followers. Or if you choose to follow Ishanya you might forever change the history of the world, you could maybe even stop the war. I know not what Ishanya wants of you, but perhaps it is worth it in the end to at least find out what it is she desires.” Sara stated watching Seth’s triumphant smile fade into one of disgust.
“Why can the gods not just leave us all alone to live as we choose?” Seth asked. “Why is it we must pay with our lives for their ambition and greed? It seems I have no choice in the matter. I have to at least do what you say, if nothing else maybe I can use my opposition as leverage to gain some advantage on the Goddess. If I play my cards right, maybe I can gain her blessing without swearing myself to her, maybe even I can do some good after all.” Seth said more to himself than anyone else.
It was a suffocating feeling, being tangled in the web of a Goddess. Seth felt like the world literally rested on his shoulders. No matter which direction he chose there would be consequences. He decided then that whichever direction he did choose it would be for the betterment of man, not for a god. He looked to Sara, the one person who shared this knowledge with him, and vowed once again to himself to do all he could to protect her. He would do what was right to make the world his angel lived in a better place.
Seth sat silently for a long time thinking to himself about the predicament he was in. He wanted nothing to do with the gods, though now he knew he had no choice. He tried to imagine how his future would play out. In Seth’s mind he imagined the world as a scale. The scale weighed dozens of different armies, different outcomes. Seth stood at the center of that scale. A movement in any direction would cause an unbalance in the strained equilibrium that now existed. If what he believed and what he felt was the truth, then how could he choose who the winners and losers would be? Thousands or perhaps tens of thousands would die in a drawn out war among the gods. Seth was not familiar with all the other races of men, but he knew it was not right to condemn them to death. No matter which choices might lay before him, none of them were the right choice. None of them were true and just. Each and every outcome Seth could think of led to bloodshed. Each of them evil. Seth tumbled within the darkness of his mind. Consumed by the grief growing within him he was lost for a moment. Lost to the world, lost to his senses, lost to himself. It was only when Sara had risen and come to his side, wrapping her arms around his neck that Seth sought to free himself from the dark thoughts. Returning his mind to the physical world Seth had come to a final decision. He knew well that each and every choice would be one he would regret. However he decided to forever choose the quickest, less costly path to an end. This he hoped might spare lives, and in turn not make him the monster the Goddess planned him to be.
Focusing on Sara to keep his mind from wandering to darker thoughts Seth rose to his feet. Sara rose with him and the two stood for a long moment in each other’s arms.
“I think it is time to adjust your mood.” Sara said, her teasing smile appearing on her lips.
“Is that so?” Seth asked innocently, his dark thoughts fading as he looked to her angelic face.
“Yes let’s go to bed.” Sara replied as she turned and strode across the room exaggerating her hip’s twist as she went.
“To sleep?” Seth asked already knowing the answer.
“Perhaps at some point my love.” Sara said over her shoulder still walking away.
Seth too crossed the room to his side of the bed and began to undress. Unbuttoning his tunic he revealed the small leather bound tome that was his gift from the Goddess. Not wanting to dwell upon his bleak future yet again he tossed the book upon the floor, and using his foot slid it beneath the bed. Undressing quickly Seth crawled into their bed and pulled the covers over himself. Seth had settled into bed just in time to watch Sara pulling the silky top over her shoulders. She faced away from him and he took a moment to admire her beautifully shaped body. Sara turned to face him, once again revealing her barely disguised figure. Seth smiled as Sara crawled into the bed like a graceful feline. Sara too slid beneath the covers and inched her way the remaining distance to Seth’s side. Rolling to her side Sara wrapped one leg loosely over him and laid her head upon his bare chest. Feeling her small warm body pressed once again against his own Seth fought his body’s urges. As Seth tried to sway his changing blood flow Sara slid her hand up his side and began to dance her fingertips across his bare skin. With a loud sigh of defeat Seth let go of his inhibitions and in spite of himself he grinned as Sara watched his face quietly giggling.
The night passed for Seth and Sara much like the previous night. For long hours they experimented pleasurably with one another’s bodies, finally finding sleep when their eyes could remain open no longer.
Late into the night Garret and Ashton stumbled back into the front door of The King’s Herald. Garret swayed this way and that uncontrollably as Ashton attempted to guide and support his larger friend. They precariously made their way through the building and up the stairs to their floor. Guiding Garret through the door to the room they shared Ashton strained as
he led his friend through the room. Bringing the large man to his bed Ashton let him fall heavily upon it. Within mere seconds Garret had begun snoring and Ashton too undressed and climbed into his own bed.
The intoxicating effect of ale and rum was not enough to spare Garret from what sought him this night. Deep in a drunken slumber Garret dreamed lazily about the things he had done and seen previously in the evening. He watched once again as beautiful women swayed and twirled before him in perfect rhythm, dancing to the music of a nearby group of minstrels. Garret’s dream again changed focus as he again visited a booth in the street with his friend. The booth was filled with carved wooden puppets each unique in their design. A small man stood inside the booth smiling, revealing several missing teeth. Again Garret’s dream shifted focus and he stood outside the magnificent temple of Gorandor looking up at its intricately carved walls. Stepping forward Garret began towards the temple’s entrance. He walked through the door that stood open into the evening air and paused to let his eyes adjust to the light within. Garret waited patiently as his eyes adjusted to the new light, and he looked around the temple as it came into focus. The temple’s rows and rows of pews stood unattended as Garret walked between them towards the far end of the room. As he walked he noticed a man kneeling before a statue of Gorandor at the altar across the room from him. As he neared, the man stood and turned to face him. He was a tall man, taller than Garret by a head. He too was thickly muscled with bulging limbs and a thick neck. He had a strong jaw and was clean shaven. His hair was black as night and curled loosely upon his head. Atop his head amongst the black curls sat a shimmering crown of gold studded nearly to entirety with Gems. The man stood facing Garret with a welcoming smile as Garret closed the distance between them. The man looked familiar to Garret yet he could not recall the name of the man nor where they had met. The man began to speak then. At least it looked as if he were speaking. The man formed words with his lips only Garret could not hear them, and thinking the man whispering Garret leaned ever closer in an attempt to decipher the man’s words. No matter how near Garret got, no word escaped the man’s moving lips. As Garret tried in vain to hear the soundless conversation the world again heaved and the temple and the man vanished.
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