Chapter 191 - Fake Goddess
On the White Maiden’s plateau, three wooden buildings were under construction around the small stone shrine.
To the left and right were offering houses, where treasures and valuables offered to the maiden would be kept. These long, rectangular buildings were currently incomplete with partial skeletal frames to mark their future footprint.
Behind the shrine, a two story temple was to be built. This represented the earthly residence of the White Maiden, and also contained rooms for shrine maidens who would live on the holy grounds and attend to the shrine.
This building was also roughly framed, however the entry chamber on the first floor had already been mostly constructed. Four walls had been erected and a temporary roof built to enclose the space. The main entrance to the building was as wide as two doorways, with a wall constructed just beyond the door to block the view into the interior of the hall. Visitors could still enter and exit by stepping past the doorway and turning to the left and right to go around the blocking wall.
Past the wall there was a single room with numerous candles that cast a soft, warm light in the space. The framing for future doorways had been built, but were currently boarded up or covered by a canvas curtain. Various rugs had been lain across the dirt as temporary flooring. A small offering table was placed against the wall and filled with bowls of fruit, rice, water and other goods.
This small, isolated room had been set up specifically by Yuzu to be her sanctuary. A private place for her to rest and watch over the shrine while in the physical world.
As the night settled in and the worshipers adjourned to the pavilions and tents, the energy from the prayers grew faint. Feeling the strain in her body from the day’s exertion, Yuzu felt it was time to leave the white world.
A soft white light blossomed in the midst of the enclosed sanctuary as Yuzu’s figure materialized in the physical world. She quietly looked around the bare, incomplete room before stepping over to the offering table.
“I forgot to ask for a chair…” She muttered, gazing at the dishes spread across the table. The rice and several bowls of meat had been hot when they were placed inside the ‘temple’ for offering, but now everything was cold. “…also, they didn’t leave any cutlery.”
Her stomach grumbled as she reached for a bowl of stewed meat. She hesitated before picking up a piece of the meat with her fingers and sticking it in her mouth. She then scooped out some rice from another bowl, pausing again as she couldn’t figure out the best way to eat it with just her fingers.
It was an awkward, unappetizing meal for the famished girl, who couldn’t remember if she had ever eaten a meal without the use of utensils.
“Fitting… for a fake goddess.” Yuzu had a depressed expression as she looked across the room. A cold meal, a lonely night in a strange place. The only bedding she had was a rug on the cold dirt, with several cushions to serve as pillows.
Even Xiang had better accommodations tonight, sleeping in one of the tents for the workers. The White Maiden had arranged for him to hear that Yuzu had found a woman’s only tent for the night, and that they’d be able to see each other in the morning.
In this way Yuzu was able to handle her godly affairs without interruption over the course of this chaotic evening. Though she had managed to save everyone on the plateau and keep the wilderness at bay, the confidence and bravado that she had had in the afternoon had been thoroughly eroded.
Doubt filled her mind as she wondered how she could continue. She felt like a fool who had nearly been burned playing with fire. She’d thought that she had everything under her control, but the near-rebirth of the God of Life clearly showed how little she understood. Yuzu had sent the corrupted Hakuya away into the forest, which was exactly what Prince Deka needed. Yuzu had sent Char Char with Medusa, not realizing the danger she had put her friend in.
Because of her, Char Char had nearly died.
Yuzu set down the half-eaten bowl of food on the table as a heavy feeling weighed down on her head and shoulders.
Because of her, the God of Life had nearly resurrected and brought disaster to Noga and its people.
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Yuzu stood alone in the makeshift ‘temple’ that she had vainly had constructed for herself. The dim candlelight flickered unsteadily from cold gusts of wind that whistled through the cracks in the hastily constructed walls.
She wasn’t a goddess. She was a fraud. A fool who put her friends in danger, and then pretended that it all went according to plan.
It wasn’t just Char Char, either. The two police officers that had arrived with Char Char had also prayed to the White Maiden, requesting her assistance.
“Lord Noga offers his support, what little he can offer at this time, for he is currently occupied across the sea.” Finn had delivered the message, “Nian Xing’s enemies have timed their attack at our most vulnerable moment. We can only beseech you to bring stability to the region until Lord Noga returns.”
Yuzu hadn’t yet replied to the officer. She didn’t know what to say.
“Maybe it’s time to tell Char Char the truth…” Yuzu muttered quietly as she stared at the offering table lined with cold food, “Her grandpa has some Exalted on his staff. Maybe she can find someone that is actually strong enough to protect Noga.”
Yuzu sighed softly, “That’s right… I need to know my limits. Even when it comes to connections, Char Char is better than me. I don’t even know any Exalted who could help.”
The only Exalted person she knew was Argus, and he was just a kid. Not only that, but according to Char Char, Argus had gone away somewhere and wouldn’t be back for a few days at the earliest. Every other Exalted person that Yuzu knew was either someone that Char Char had better connections with, or a bad guy like Abbott Glass or Medusa.
Yuzu’s eyes glinted softly as she paused on that thought, “Medusa… Before she left, didn’t she tell me about a monk who was against Markus Gantt and the Abbott? She said he had some important knowledge, but that he was stuck in a temple in the mountains…”
“Steward Atticus… That was his name.” Yuzu nodded, suddenly feeling like she had a bit of a direction. Medusa had offered this knowledge freely back when she still thought that the White Maiden was helping her, so Yuzu didn’t doubt that the information was genuine. “I wonder if he could help…”
~
As the sun set fully beneath the horizon, the worshipers and workers on the plateau adjourned into the pavilions and tents. A crescent moon rose into the sky, providing a thin veil of silver light that was accentuated by torches and lanterns scattered around the shrine.
Out in the field next to the central prayer area, Finn and Minnie sat around a table on some makeshift benches. An iron lantern provided ample light as they kept an eye over the area.
“We’ve delivered our message to the priests and prayed. If we don’t receive a response, should we just head back?” Minnie sighed, “I guess we need to wait for the girl to return.”
The female officer played with a small coin pouch in her hands, feeling the weight of the coins and idly listening to their muffled jingling. As part of their prayers she had offered two silver marks at the shrine, placing them among the copper bells and leafs that had been left by the other worshipers.
“I doubt you needed to offer the coins.” Finn commented, noting the dissatisfied expression on Minnie’s face, “Spirits don’t need money. You also didn’t have to give so much.”
“It’s not about the amount. Silver has spiritual meaning… I figured it was proper to make an offering.” Minnie said with another sigh. “I’m actually wondering if I should left some more.”
“You gave what you felt was right. I’m sure the Maiden will understand.” Finn muttered, half-heartedly trying to console his companion.
Finn glanced over to one of the larger tents that still glowed from within. Behind the white fabric walls, the silhouettes of people moved about. Somewhere within, Char Char was speaking to the leaders and organizers.
“Char Char has the deepest connection to the White Maiden. She’s our best hope of receiving help.” Finn contemplated quietly, “Although Chief Gwynn didn’t give any details, I think it’s fair to say that Lord Noga is in dire need of the Maiden’s assistance.”
Minnie frowned, “I can believe it… If not for Char Char and the White Maiden… Perhaps we’d all be corrupted by a demonic God or turned into plant food by now.”
Her lips turned up in a wry grin as she glanced over to Finn, “Which way would you rather go?”
“Pardon?” Finn asked.
“Would you rather die from being turned into a mindless thrall, or from being eaten alive by eyeball vines?”
Finn rolled his eyes, letting out an annoyed huff, “If I’m dead anyways then it doesn’t really matter how I go. What’s the use of worrying about it?”
“I think I wouldn’t mind being mind washed.” Minnie said thoughtfully, “Perhaps there would still be a chance of being saved.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to be saved from a parasite infection?” Finn asked, “There are many people who have been cured from Devileyes.”
“Yeah, but have you seen their scars?” Minnie made a face, “I couldn’t live like that.”
“It wouldn’t make much of a difference.” Finn replied coolly.
An angry scowl darkened the young woman’s face as she glared at him, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Finn pretended to not see her expression and was about to respond when his spiritual intuition triggered.
Both officers instinctively looked across the field toward the shrine as a light fragrance of incense wafted in their noses. Long strands of white hair shimmered at the edges of their vision.
“Did you feel that?” Minnie asked, feeling a chill pass through her.
“Yes, I did.” Finn’s eyes hardened as his gaze rested on the small stone shrine at the far end of the field. He felt like he was being drawn toward it by a mysterious force.
“We’re being summoned.”
~
In the large tent to the side of the central praying area, Char Char was sitting at the side of a group of men discussing the events of the day and organizing plans for the following morning. She had a bored look on her face as she sipped at a steaming cup of tea, when she felt her spiritual intuition trigger.
Her eyes turned toward the wall of the tent in the direction of the shrine as a soft illusory voice spoke quietly in her ear.