Max watched the guard with hair so long and full of curls that it seeped out of the bottom of his metallic helm as he stopped at the cross roads that split between what was unknown to Max and what would lead him home. The guard pulled out a set of interlocking stringed together, stones. He uttered under his breath and looked to the paths reverently.
Max approached the guard. “I didn’t get your name before.”
A few moments more and the guard looked to him. “Sedrick.”
“What were you just doing?”
“Praying to one of my Gods, Vanusiil, Lord of Portals.”
“Gods?”
“Yes. Is that also an unfamiliar concept to you?”
Max’s cheeks lit up with redness and he simply turned and continued down the cross road. Once his embarrassment at his lack of knowledge passed, he would seek to learn more.
Phaedra grinned.
#
Max took the opportunity of the quiet trek home to satisfy his curiosity, “So if there is more to this world than the goddess and the she didn’t make the world and she doesn’t guide our hands, who did and who does?”
Phaedra smiled, enjoying the inquisitiveness, “The beginning of it all is still not truly understood. There are a great many that believe that one simply known as The Creator built all that you see. But really, only the First Born and the Scions might know for sure. They don’t really share the fact of what they are.”
In this moment, Max thanked the moons above and whatever god did watch after him for his apparent gift. He liked knowing the lack of annoyance to his questioning. “Okay, and who guides and protects me?”
Phaedra swayed with satisfaction as she continued down the path, barely disturbing the small stones that the guards kicked about,“All in due time, what is important is the results of all of this, not whether a person believes in this beings existence or whether it is a trumped up creation story. The world that existed long ago was forever changed with the death of what some used to call the one true God. That world had been broken, shattered. Now that realm exists as so ten distinct fragments. Some choose to call them dimensions, but you can see them up in the sky. I call them moons. At any rate, the end result is that these different realms are each worlds in and of themselves. Travel is possible between them, but it isn’t always easy. This place, well it is universally called the Old World. It is understood to be the largest of all the fragments. All the other realms revolve aroundor orbit the Old World.”
Max didn’t ask any more questions. This knowledge shattered his world. He stared at the freshly harvested fields of the still distant village. The beliefs he’d been raised with possessed such an empty quality now.
#
That night, when they set up camp, Phaedra and Sedrick would tell tales that Max found fascinating. It sounded almost like they were just making stories to entertain him. He could not believe that all the people in the hamlet were not privy to any of the stories that he had learned. In fact, there were a couple of historical and mythological bits that he read about in the hamlet and just thought that they were fictional stories.
"It’s just so strange that in a world such as this, only the goddess now lives. Is she the new creator?" Max asked trying to put the pieces together.
Phaedra smiled and pulled Max closer to her, "Your little home knows and worships one goddess, but I assure you, there are a great many more out there. If we worked through all the goddesses, we might figure out which goddess you worship, or your people might have made their own idol. Such a thing isn't unheard of but, well, your people are far more isolated than any I have ever encountered.
Now that Max heard all of this, it surprised him that none of the villagers really asked questions to clarify more about the great beings above. "Tell me about some of the other gods. Give me some highlights."
Phaedra giggled, "I'm no priest, but I can tell you about a few things."
"Start with whom, if anyone, you worship. I'm not a priest, but I still worshipped the Goddess, up until now." It delighted Max that she seemed so happy by his inquisitorial nature.
"Sure, and then you tell me about your worship, and we'll figure out where you fit into the greater cosmological puzzle." She settled on to the ground and rested her back against the log they used as a seat upon until that point. "I don't worship a single god. Only priests and a few very focused people worship just one god. I worship a pantheon of gods and goddesses that hold true for me in different parts of life. I wouldn't say that I worship over every meal, but when I feel I could need that extra boost of confidence or energy from the outside, that's when I pray.”
“Do you not want to share exactly what faith?”
“It’s just a complicated subject. We can talk more later. For now, what are the tenants of the goddess?”
Max looked up to the starry night sky through the trees and thought hard, “Well... that’s actually a good question. She helps us with the harvest. She granted us a protector that keeps the crops in good health and keeps the monsters of the outside world out. Now, that sounds kind of silly. Our biggest celebration is harvest day, and we don’t really have any other big holidays.”
Phaedra shrugged, “Max, sounds like a mixture of a couple of gods or one created for convenience's sake. I’d have to see some books or hear some more detailed stories.”
“Yeah, sorry, guess I didn’t really every pay that much attention to the teachings.” Max shrugged this time.
“Don’t bother me one way or another. I follow the path of Shardborn Ascendant. If you’ll remember when I mentioned The Creator before, when it ‘died’,” she motioned with her hands, “it shattered all over this place, probably also caused this place to shatter into all the moons that now orbit it.”
“Okay, that sounds just catastrophic.” Max’s gaze return intently to Phaedra, entertained by her explanations.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“That event is actually commonly called the shattering. Anyway, being of my philosophy means I pray to a number of gods both light and dark that all represent various aspects of life. I follow them because they were all once just people, and so I believe they understand our plight better than the Nobilis, the old servants of The Creator.”
“I can’t understand who ever would have established the land where I come from and why they would keep all this knowledge from their descendants. It’s almost frustrating.”
“At least you are curious. There is still time to learn,” Phaedra rubbed his shoulder warmly.
“So where is your family?” Max wanted to know more about this majestic sword fighter.
Phaedra’s pale face changed to a deep crimson and her expression went sullen, “I... think we should get to bed. The hour is late. Goodnight Max,” she stood before he could respond or reach out to her.
With the awkward moment ending, Max went to bid Sedrick good night. He rounded the rock to spot Sedrick not standing guard but kneeling and praying again. Max didn’t want to interrupt Sedrick’s prayers again. He turned to go rest when Sedrick spoke without looking up. “Max, I’ve thought about where you come from and this goddess of yours. I do believe that your people exclusively worship a goddess known as Kaika, the First Lady.”
Max stopped, but didn’t turn back around. “Thanks. I’ll have to look into that. Hopefully, we can talk about it later. I’ll leave you to your prayers.”
Max lay his head down and curled up under the blanket provided to him. Thoughts of Phaedra kept invading Max’s mind. He thought of the comfort she provided him and the pleasantness of her voice. Max believed Phaedra’s words so easily, putting his other recent company with The Brigand into perspective. The softness of her voice made every description of every historical event, even battles, sound like a somber and genuine affair. He always wanted to feel trust like this for someone, but even back home, he never found anyone to confide and believe in. Back home, he’d probably always be an outcast.
#
Nearing the end of their journey, Max started to recognize the outskirts of his home. Phaedra walked closer to Max and the guards gave the two some space. “The ones that I work for want to protect you. There are people that believe in prophecy. Some of these people are powerful. Many of these people believe that you have some part to play in the prophecy. They do not know what part it is that you play, whether it be of help to them or that you could hinder the eventuality that they believe. Either way, they want to study you. They want to understand. If you are not careful, they will get their chance.”
Phaedra stopped on the edge of the woods. They could just barely see the place through the trees where the fields began and the way to the hamlet lay. She looked around, studying the trees. Her guards held back, outside of the wooded area. She waved them off and headed farther into the forest with Max. As the two of them walked, she started to get a look of interest.
“Max, do you or your fellow citizens ever have encounters with strange beings out here?” She climbed down into the stream with the widest banks. This was the one that The Brigand had easily cleared with a single jump what seemed like so long ago.
Phaedra offered Max a hand to get down into the stream. She seemed delighted to feel the clean, cold water on her boots, soaking into her toes.
Max nodded. “Yes, our goddess’s protector. I saw it on the way out. It looked like floating black liquid. It had some sort of a regular shape, but it fluctuated constantly.”
“Hhhmm.” She delightedly splashed a few steps through the water to the other bank and hitched herself up and back into the leafy ground. “That is definitely no protector from a god. Such creatures do exist, and they are avatars of great power. None of them spend time in such limited capacities as what this one seems to.”
Max nodded as he pulled himself up onto the opposite bank with Phaedra’s help. “It is said that the beast is dangerous unless we are in the bounds of the hamlet. It keeps our crops safe from pests. It does a great job, too.”
There was something comforting about coming back to land that he knew a lot about. Finally, after all of the wisdom and words that Phaedra shared with him, he could talk about something. He felt proud for at least a mere moment in which he was the storyteller.
“Remember that automaton I was telling you about?”
Max yet again nodded. He loved to soak in all this information that Phaedra shared. He also laughed inwardly as maybe he was wrong about being the storyteller at this point.
“Well, there are things like that automaton that are not metallic. This creature seems to be one such case. If I had to guess, I would say that somewhere off in that direction,” she motioned with one of her long, outstretched arms, “there is a station where the beast recharges during the day. These sorts of devices exist in some of the out-of-the-way areas that have not yet been salvaged. Long ago, these things existed everywhere. They were typically not used daily. They were really used for the purpose that you say. A farmer would rarely have to weed or find ways to get rid of insects. The robots would do that for the farmer.”
“Is it just a malfunction then that it kills anyone who runs out into the fields?”
“I’d say it is more likely just that the person who gave it algorithms on what actions to take was an amateur. It could probably be changed to leave people alone.” She placed her hands on her slender hips as she looked out towards the automaton’s possible recharge site. “Don’t let me hold you up any more with my tales of knowledge. You’ve been gone for a couple weeks and there might just be some people in town that fear the worst. Maybe some surprises in the people that missed you are in store. Whatever the case may be, you better get going.”
“Thanks Phaedra. I don’t know if it’s a trick, but you have given me every reason in the world, The Old World,” he smiled, “to trust you. Will I ever see you again?”
“If I have my way, you can bet on it. If you leave the hamlet that is. I would remind you that if you stay, you may just put some of these people in danger. You have not been forgotten by those that wish to use you for their own purposes. I will be waiting in the nearest city, Rotheburg, that you will come across if you travel down this road here and follow the widest path.”
He reached out and hugged her. The embrace surprised her, but she did welcome it. Her long arms wrapped around his body. The embrace provided them both with comfort. They held each other a bit longer than either of them thought would occur. He wondered if she developed any other feelings for him. He would love that. His youthful exuberance and her older wisdom made a good match, and her beauty also held his gaze quite often during this trip back.
“I’ll see you again. Now that I know about the world out there, there is no way I can stay in this place. I’ll find the widest road and I will follow it to the city. City. Wow, I thought those only existed in stories. I bet they are beautiful.”
She squeezed him one last time before letting him go. “Well, some cities are beautiful. There are others, however, that are hideous to behold. They stink of overpopulation and the streets are filled with muck. Watch your step, literally, around the people that frequent those places. As long as you do those things, you will make it.”
“Thanks.”
Just as Phaedra started to pivot away, she stopped herself. “A warning. If you ever hear the name of Daefindel, be wary. My employer sent me to rescue a boy who was being kidnapped for this man. Probably, they were going to use you for some kind of sacrifice. It’s not my duty to understand why you, but you were picked. If you do hear any mention of that name. You should use your best judgment to leave for Rotheburg at once.”
That startled Max. Why would anyone want him? Maybe he’d just been out on the edge of the field at just the wrong time. There seemed to be something special about the hamlet, perhaps, one day, he’d figure it out. While Max lost himself in thought, Phaedra traveled back to the mysterious world beyond.
As Phaedra receded from Max’s view, his thoughts lingered behind. Should he continue forward? He almost turned right about around with the feelings of panic that he started to feel. What if, in that vast world out there, he never saw her again? Was it worth it, just to prove a point that his will was free?
Max shook his head as he plodded on slowly, barely picking up his feet. It would not be right for him to let all of the people he grew up with think he was dead. It was right that at least his parents knew he was still alive. He should be responsible, as much as he wanted to explore the world.
The chance to explore the world and learn even more would come. At least that is what he continued to tell himself to push each step forward towards home.