In the northern reaches of the continent was situated the kingdom of Pheoa. While it was comparable in size to its neighbor to the south, that being Celeduun, it had much less fertile farmland. This was because the kingdom was quite mountainous and had a large swath of ocean surrounding it. Thankfully these mountains gave opportunity to harvest vast amounts of precious metals and gemstones, commodities the people made great use of in trading by both land and sea. This allowed them to purchase food to make up for any lack they might suffer unable to grow it themselves. Because of their proficiency in trade the people of Pheoa enjoyed more exotic goods such as spices more often than those of its neighbors.
Of course the great wealth of Pheoa was not simply distributed equally among its peoples. No instead the vast majority of it was concentrated in the ruling class, which was a terrible fusion of both noble and merchant. Yes it was the rich who ruled in these lands, their copious fortunes allowing them greater control as they could stifle competition before threats could be made manifest. This cemented oligarchy is not completely unopposed as there was still a king, though the monarchy had precious little power to do anything of note. It was better than nothing though as the common folk would say. Such sayings coming more from a feeling of helplessness than support for either faction.
Due to the concentration of wealth alongside the relative lack of farming, times of famine were more common in Pheoa as well. These famines were often centered around specific areas and generally were the places quite far from the ocean ports. That was where the wealthiest people lived and thus were most insulated from food shortages. There were other causes sometimes as well, such as poor management by local lords or pestilence. However it was the mountainous terrain and wealth inequality that were the largest factors. It was not easy being poor and the poor suffered greatest in times of need.
One such collection of poor citizens were going through a rough patch indeed this winter. They lived in a small town named Centrus, its name derived from the fact it was once in the center of the kingdom. However that was far in the past and since then both the capital and southern boarder had moved northward due to conflicts. Now they were located quite close to the kingdom's southern boarder with Celeduun and were situated at the base of the Henjuk Mountains with a vast river directly to their north. There were also large forests all around them though not extremely close.
Their population was around six-hundred and while they had more access to fertile land than most they still found themselves in the midst of a famine this year. This was in part due to the early onset of winter, but also due to the fact their crops were often redistributed to other smaller settlements in times of need. With such a sudden and harsh winter it was no surprise that the state military itself would come to confiscate much of their supplies which exacerbated the already dire situation.
In addition to the famine they found themselves in the people of Centrus had another terrible disaster thrust upon them. For inexplicable reasons the military had also begun to conscript, or rather kidnap, citizens for hitherto unknown purposes. From what they had heard this was taking place all over the kingdom and not localized to their own province. It wasn't for military reasons as the people taken were both male and female, young and old. They were taken to parts unknown and never heard from again which one might assume meant they had been condemned to the mines as work slaves, though having full citizens subjected to such treatment was unheard of.
Regardless of where the people were going this left the already struggling population of Centrus with even less help to go around. Less mouths to feed seemed like a good thing but it also meant less hands to help with hunting and fishing. Those things being the last hope of any a town in times of great need. Without the needed manpower however the town was left starving and freezing in the midst of a time of great confusion, their desperation growing by the day.
In fact their desperation had grown so great that they had considered the impossible. To the south in the Kingdom of Celeduun there had been rumors of an actual goddess appearing, one that wasn't terrible to her worshipers despite being considered mighty. Not much was known about her besides her name and supposed portfolio: Jenna the Goddess of Light and Knowledge. Supposedly she was quite merciful and performed great miracles for her worshipers.
Perhaps it was in this goddess that the citizens of Centrus could find their salvation. Such blasphemous utterances would normally never be so much as whispered among their populace, but these were times more desperate than most. Even the threat of execution for goddess worship and the risk that this goddess was like those the myths spoke about was of little consequence at this point. They would all be dead soon from the cold or starvation. At least if this goddess was a merciful as they said they would die with full bellies.
Irmi Emerlie was a young man of twenty-two, with purplish hair that went down to his neck, blue-violet eyes, and pale skin. One of the doomed souls in this small town. Being the son of a grocer and one himself by trade he knew more than anyone just how hopeless the situation they were in was. Both his parents had died during this famine, the combination of the cold and lack of food too much for them to survive in their advanced age. Thus the family business, or what was left of it, had been left to him. He was alone now as his brother had been recruited by the military a couple months ago and never heard from again.
At this very moment he was on his way to speak with the magistrate of Centrus in order to deliver the news they both knew had been inevitable. The last stores of food his family had access too had been rationed out and their starvation was all but inevitable. While he walked he wondered if it was too late for them to all just flee into the hills and hope for the wilds to sustain them. There was a village to the west that supposedly did such a thing. The poor bastards were already dead most likely.
Up to the door of the magistrate's manor he walked, clutching his simple fur coat tighter to his body as the chill wind of winter swirled around him. His knuckles rapped upon the door and he winced due to the pain. It took only a few moments before the door was answered and he came to face the man himself. The relative warmth of the indoors rushed out and was quickly wiped away by the wind.
Yubber Marcott was the man who stood before him now. Light red hair that was quite short, deep blue eyes, and crème skin. He was a man who had never wanted for anything up until now. Though his manner of rule was quite laid back and lacked the interference he did have a prideful nature, though overall he was one of those overseers who was actually loved by his subjects.
Standing behind the man was the worried looking wife Haily. She was only forty, just four years younger than her husband. Her hair was quite long down into her back in a light shade of red, her eyes blue like her husband's with tan skin. She had been a farmer's child before somehow catching the eye of her rich husband in their youth. Her hardworking nature greatly counteracting her inherited sense of self worth. Their only son had long since left to pursue a career in mercantile leaving the two alone in their large home.
Irmi bowed and then stood up straight again.
“Greetings sir.” He said respectfully. “I... Well I'm afraid I've come to deliver bad news.”
Yubber frowned at the younger man and his face darkened.
“Has it finally come to this?” He asked. “Well out with it son.”
Irmi nodded. “I'm afraid the last of the stores my family business had in reserve has been rationed out. The other suppliers are in similar states. I'm sorry sir.”
Haily who had been silent until now reached out to touch her husband's shoulder. Her voice was somber and her face grim.
“We have no other choice. If the stories are true we have to at least try.”
Yubber's frown deepened at it almost looked like he would turn around to reprimand his wife. However his expression instead turned to one of true despair as the defeat washed over him. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Then after a few moments he opened them again and looked past Irmi as if the gray winter day would have answers.
“I suppose it can't really hurt.” He said finally. “If its true and we are all killed at least it shall be a mercy. If it turns out to all be lies we shall have no choice but to flee into the hills, to our deaths no doubt.” He then looked directly at Irmi. “Son go and round up everyone left. We'll all gather in the square and pray to this goddess. Tell them to gather whatever possessions they wish in preparation for if it turns out to be false hope we shall leave southward immediately. I'd rather risk Celeduun than die here.”
Irmi nodded and took a step back.
“Of course sir.”
Without saying another word the young man turned and walked away, for nothing more needed to be said. This was their last hope and last chance before they took the one option that was worst of all. Many would stay even knowing they would die, such was the stubbornness to keep from leaving their family homes. It was dark and depressing no matter how you looked at it.
Thus did the grocer go about and notify everyone in town of the magistrate's words, what was left of the town guard joining him in the delivery of news. The whole process of crier and gathering of the townspeople took a couple of hours, as though there were once half a dozen hundred people living here there were only a few hundred left.
In the center of town in the large square did the people of Centrus gather for this last hurrah before their final decisions were made. Together the young and old gathered around in a large circle, the women and the men shoulder to shoulder in the winter's cold embrace. Mothers held their chilled children and those household animals that hadn't been eaten yet followed their owners in preparation for the journey ahead should this fail. For what were the chances that a goddess truly existed? More so that she would aid people from a foreign nation in their time of need?
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Irmi stood there close to a married couple close to his own age, their two young children clinging to their parent's legs. The lot of them looked in rough shape just as everyone he looked at did. Here they all stood huddled in the cold after hobbling from their homes, the looks of desperation and despair clear on all the faces he saw.
In the center of the large circle of people stood a small bonfire, the last of the town's firewood brought together in an offering pier. They would soon have no use for it regardless as they couldn't haul it with them on the road. It's orange flames warmed them for perhaps the last time they would ever experience. A small comfort in the face of the uncaring nature of the world.
Standing in front of this fire was the magistrate Yubber who had begun to lead them all in a prayer to this foreign goddess. He raised his hands and urged others to do the same as he cried out into the sky.
“Oh goddess from the south!” Yubber began. “We the people of Centrus call out to you for mercy and succor in our greatest time of need! Though we are not from your kingdom we beg that you show us mercy. For without your aid we shall all surely die in this winter's hateful embrace. Come visit upon us a miracle and we shall worship you for all of our lives! We beg of you!”
The other townspeople put out cries of their own, their pleas for salvation halfhearted due to either exhaustion or lack of faith in the venture. Up into the uncaring gray clouds their voices rose, the light wind whisking their words away to parts unknown. Had this goddess even heard their prayers? Did she truly exist? It seemed either could be held as true as no answer came to them, the cruel winter air their only present reply.
Everyone had begun looking around and coming to terms with their reality. The mockery they had just made of themselves floating in the front of their minds and bringing many people great shame. Now they would leave their town and homes to wander the wilderness until the elements finally gave them their eternal rest. Such would be their fate in this cruel life.
Irmi was just in the midst of giving in to despair when he noticed something strange. Others noticed it too and all eyes once again turned to the bonfire in the middle of the square. It had begun to flicker as if a wind separate from the one brought on by winter was caressing it. Was it simply a trick from their exhausted eyes and minds?
No it couldn't be for what was happening soon became unignorable. The very sky itself began to darken as if night was arriving much sooner than it should, the winds feeling as if they were gathering to the south in the large street leading out of town. Then unbelievably a large ring of light formed on the ground there, its golden glow illuminating the growing darkness. No one would have believed it if not for the fact they all were seeing the same thing.
Then a sight that filled all who witnessed it great terror appeared as if from a waking nightmare. There rising from the portal was a little girl dressed in furs of blue and gold, her eyes alight with fire as her very skin glowing with golden light. What brought upon the true terror was the sheer size of the girl, her body rising upwards further and further until she stood more than two-hundred feet above them all. The very buildings of the town were like stones at her feet as her immense boots thundered down and shook the earth with terrible termors.
Her hair was glowing with divine brilliance and her gaze pierced the very soul with its intense purpose. The sky soon brightened once again and then further until it was if she shone like the sun itself. Even the very air begun to warm as if in spring, the winds that swirled about them now full of energy like fire. In this wind the long flowing hair of the girl swayed about alight with its own golden light, every fiber of her being expelling radiance in a grand display of power.
She looked down upon the gathered people with a studying gaze, her look intense but with an odd feeling of softness behind their fierce eyes. It seemed cared little to the state of stunned disbelief the townspeople were trapped in. The vast array of ogling eyes not causing her to so much as flinch. The winds died down as did the glow surrounding her, though the extra light and warmth radiating from her continued to make the town feel like a summer day. She then spoke, her voice booming despite sounding like the child she looked.
“You called for me?” She said with a tone that somehow defied whatever expectations one had.
Yubber as the magistrate was expected to reply and he was doing his best to recover from the absolute worldview destroying revelation he was bearing witness to. He stumbled towards the towering young goddess unable to find his voice.
“I... I...” He stammered. “W-We called... True g-goddess...”
The massive goddess shifted her weight to her right leg and lifted her left arm up so her hand was at her chin. She looked quite unsurprised and unbothered with the reaction she was getting from the people below. Almost as if she was used to such things and expected it. Her expression also softened greatly as if she was taking pity on the humans below her.
“Yes its me.” She said. “Jenna the Goddess of Light and Knowledge. It seems ya'll are in quite the pickle huh?”
She looked around the crowd and town again, an almost pained look in the depths of her eyes. This was quickly replaced with a look of confidence and pride as she straightened up her posture and placed her hands on her hips. An almost arrogant grin appeared on her face which filled the people she was addressing with a pang of fear that their worst nightmares were coming to life.
“I'll tell you what.” She said lifting her left hand and holding it out to the side. “If you do what I tell you I'll save your little town. You might not be official worshipers but I'll do you a favor this once.” Her intense eyes scanned down over the crowd waiting for a response. “Whattya say?”
There was no need to come to a consensus as many of the crowed offered up their obedience while the rest stayed silent in petrified fear of the goddess that towered above their town. What true choice did they have now? They had summoned this divine being into their midst and now their fates were in her hands.
Yubber, perhaps out of obligation as their overseer, gave an official reply. His knees still shaking now out of terror instead of cold as the warm air had given him a mite bit of strength back.
“What is it you ask of us goddess?” He asked bowing to one knee while craning his neck to look up at her face high above.
The goddess lowered her left hand and pointed at the fire, a grin that could almost be described as evil appearing across her face.
“See that fire?” She asked rhetorically. “I'm gunna do something my father might have done in the past. An object lesson.” Her hand lowered to her side as she continued. “I want ya'll to take all the food you have left and throw it into the fire!”
A symphony of gasps and cries erupted from the crowed as they couldn't believe what they had just heard. Such a nonsensical and unimaginably cruel demand was just like those the goddesses of old would have thrust upon their subordinates.
The goddess let out a quiet chuckle and spoke again, her voice dominating the air.
“That's right! I want every last scrap of food you have thrown into the fire right now! You want my help don't you?”
Did she know that they had taken all they had left on their persons? Surely this was just a sadistic way for her to eliminate a population from the kingdom of her enemies. Though at this point the townspeople had no choice for if they disobeyed she would surely kill them in a much more violent manner. No one said a word to either each other or her as the crowed began silently obeying. Even their magistrate had no other option but to obey.
One by one the people came forward and removed what little food they had left from their clothing and pockets, their tears falling to the ground amidst the melting snow while the stifled sobs of the populace wafted into the uncaring sky. Moldy bread and raw vegetables all were tossed into the blaze, what little meat thrown on charring with the sound of sizzling rising into the air. There was an overwhelming smell of a cooking meal that swirled upon the wind through those gathered here. It only made their stomachs growl and the hunger pains worsen as the wasted food burned away before their eyes.
During all of this the young goddess watched on with what could only be interpreted as a look of sadistic glee on her face. No one could ever see the small smile she had as anything else. She was a goddess and her heart was filled with hatred for humanity and wanted only to sow further suffering to her own depraved ends. This was but another moment she was taking advantage of a desperate people like she did in Celeduun. A crueler act none present could imagine.
Finally once the last of the people's food had been cast into the flames the goddess stood straight once again. Her back bent as an evil cackle escaped her throat, echoing all around like a peal of thunder. She spoke again in a voice that seemed much delighted in the suffering it had caused.
“That's right!” She said aloud and proudly. “I'm the evil goddess ya'll should fear!”
Then all in a moment she straightened her back and smiled down at them in a way that was so clearly out of genuine kindness their bias could no longer interpret it in a negative light.
“Well test over. See ya!”
With those final words said the great golden portal once again opened beneath her and she jumped up and into it, slipping down into the hole in the ground like a rabbit leaping into its burrow. Within a couple seconds her entire body vanished from whence it came which was unbelievable considering her size.
At the same time the bonfire burst into an inferno, the raging flames swirling around like a tornado of cackling power. It caused all present to jump backwards as the heated plasma swirled upwards into the now gray sky. The wind was almost scorching as the portal closed and the chilling winds of winter rushed in to mix with the heat. Even the light that had previously basked their town dimmed to the same depressing light that the winter had previously delivered upon them.
What happened next however was so shocking that even to this day when the tale is told few believe it. The great bonfire that had just erupted like a volcano in an instant went out with not a lick of flame remaining. In the place of a pile of ask however was a miracle beyond comprehension. There piled as high as a house and just as wide was a mountain of food. The sheer wight and volume was enough to feed the entire town for a year or more by the conservative estimate. Upon the winter wind came the smell and in the gray light of the day was laid out before them a feast of incredible value.
Heaps of freshly baked bread mixed together with a seemingly endless verity of vegetables both green and brown. Cured meats piled high with the lack of spices rubbed within stealing no impact from the delightful sight. There was even large globs of golden butter the size of horses mixed within that radiated with the smell of savory fats. This endless feast was all smashed together in a sloppy pile, though such lack of foreplanning did little to dampen the spirits of a people who had just reigned themselves to the deepest of despairs.
Irmi looked on in utter disbelief as his mind refused to accept such a miracle had been visited upon them. Yet the food was as real as the pain in his stomach for as the people went forward to touch it their hands came away messy with the rubbings of such a feast. Sobs of despair turned into ones of utter elation as the minds of the townspeople almost broke from the sheer relief this bounty brought. He too couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks as the new nature of reality forced itself upon him.
They were saved. Their families would be fed throughout the winter and beyond. This salvation had visited such a small and ignored town as Centrus due to the whims of a goddess from a foreign nation. Had all that cruelty merely been a test? Was this her true nature? Whichever was true it was obvious now that all the tales they had heard about this goddess in Celeduun spoke true, for she was everything they claimed her to be. For weal or for woe she was a goddess unlike any other and worthy to be praised.