---CATHEDRAL OF THE FRONTIER 3RD PERSON POV

The crowds, predominantly human, yet a good portion of Beast Kin, lined the cobbled streets. They all strived to peer over each other to witness the passing of the Prophet of Aphrodite. Four of Aphrodite’s spawn, Lammasu, male human heads on majestic lion bodies, with large wings tucked back, used means magical to hold the open coffin of the Prophet in the air at hip height. This permitted worshippers to gaze upon a legend of their faith.

A magic beyond common understanding set the Prophet’s face in a permanent, kind smile. Her eyes seemed able to track and look at everyone in the eye who had laid their eyes on her. A simple white linen cloth adorned her body, and equally simple open sandals covered her feet. Lying beside her body, in the crook of her arm, her walking stick of natural wood. One of many over the years, yet this was the last. Many fell to their knees as she drifted by. Others shed tears as well, especially those who, having heard her words, journeyed to the village, town, or city on the Frontier on pilgrimage. The size of the settlement growing over the years.

The tale goes the Prophet convinced a King to set aside a marshland as a jest and a challenge to make use of useless land. The marshland kept the peace between his Kingdom and two other Kingdoms and even touched a remote corner of the Empire. Consecrating a Shrine on the only island high enough to avoid spring rain flooding, she preached to all who would listen. A year later, the congregation grew large enough to maintain the site, so the Prophet left to preach further afield.

Over the years, pilgrims journeyed to the Shrine on the Frontier. They assisted those already there to toil away at excavating a canal leading away from the marshland and towards the coast straddling, much to the delight of the neighbouring Kingdoms, the exact centre of the border separating them, protecting each other’s border from assault with a ditch. The initial work produced a deep, narrow trench to begin the slow draining of the marsh. Once completed, they widened the drain, although not as deep.

After ten years of toil, the excavation of the final sods of soil released the marshland water to the broader grand ditch. Over the next five years, the land transformed from a marsh to a fertile plain, regularly benefiting from spring rains falling into remote mountain and valley catchments, supplying a sophisticated irrigation system constructed around the settlement. The abundance and variety of foods drew more people. A simple Shrine rose to become a Temple; the Temple became a Great Temple, and then after a time, to the surprise of no one, a Cathedral, the first on the human continent.

Unknown to the first King, the Prophet had made a similar request for ownership over the marshland to all the Kings and the Emperor who claimed a portion. If a King disagreed, the Prophet waited for their heir, who, more exposed to the teachings of the Goddess, agreed to gift the useless land to the Goddess of Aphrodite to receive a blessing from the Goddess’ Adepts and Priests. This all occurred during a time of trouble, where weakened nobility led to Kingdoms being broken apart and having one border region secured by a Goddess, viewed as a boon.

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They built the village up around the Shrine. They built the town around the Temple and the city around the Cathedral. A synergy of growth committed to the ever-lasting glory of the Goddess Aphrodite.

They imported the basalt for the Cathedral from the Isles. Some say at great expense, others say as a donation. Whatever the truth, the Cathedral of the Frontier matched the design of the Beast Kin continent Cathedral, the Temple, and the Great Temple, the deliberate beginnings at the insistence of the Prophet.

The procession marched up the wide arc of steps into the Cathedral proper. The High Priestess performed the funeral rites despite the attendance of a Priestess of Dilia. Once done, they took the coffin to an alcove and stood up. The display would remain there until worshippers no longer paid their respects. In other words, forever because the magic that made her appear so lifelike in death when renewed would keep her corpse whole.

---FUTURE BRIEFINGS

The contest of wills across Neoedafos continued over the years. However, the Goddess Aphrodite and her pantheon dominated as the years passed, securing most Beast Kins and converting enough humans to ensure those remaining weren’t a direct threat. Enclaves of Beast Kin establish themselves in the major human cities of the Empire and various Kingdoms. The collapse of noble lineages facilitated this mixing, the first blow when the great fleets floundered, many ships breaking up and drowning the then-current heads of the noble families and, sometimes, their direct heirs. Another blow came when the Beast Kin continent lured the thinned numbers to seek fame, fortune, or personal power in a unique construct called a Dungeon.

The Greek and Roman pantheons were powerless to intrude and establish any presence. Such was the strength of the Goddess Aphrodite; they, like the System Hive, needed to remain content with occasional spying and not much else. Magus Drexel Marner destroyed half the Mage Guilds of the Empire and the Kingdoms before the survivors gathered to unite. With help from several of Aphrodite’s Adepts, they captured him and obliterated his spirit using Death Realm Divine magic. Hrut, taking inspiration from Ottar, the Oaf discovered his calling and, after many years, joined Aphrodite’s pantheon as a God.

Based on her previous forms, Aphrodite’s children spread from the Beast Kin continent to the human continent as captured pairs escaped. Sometimes, with encouragement, their captors, imagining huge profits, bred them so they could sell them. The combination of Aphrodite’s Realms enhanced birth rates and honed their killing methods while being influenced by the Disorder Realm and enhanced by the Truth Realm proved deadly. The creatures spawned much danger and adventure for Beast Kin and Human alike.

The rampaging brood of Aphrodite led more of the population to worship Aphrodite. Her spawn ignored worshippers if they didn’t hunt them or venture into their lairs. The Empire and the Kingdoms tried extermination, which, coupled with the weakening of the noble houses, led to the wholesale breakup of human civilisation, each city protecting itself, each city determining their form of rulership. The Beast Kin civilisation followed a similar path. However, there were many uninhabited places on their continent to maintain separation or strong enough inhabitants, such as the Fire Giants, to maintain their lands.

The End.

P.S. If you have read this chapter on any website except Royal Road, the website has copied my story without my permission.