After changing his clothes, The Antithetical walked out of the shop and looked around the village once more. Suddenly, he saw a moving light through the window inside the manor and realized someone was inside. He remembered Silas' words, “Therein, thy inquiries may be resolved, yet new conundrums shall arise” and “Thou canst not present thyself.” The manor seemed enigmatic, but he knew it was the way, he approached it. The door was huge and made of rusty metal, with a doorknocker in the middle. He used it and a hooded figure appeared shortly after.
It was too dark to see the face, but the figure gently removed the hood to reveal a young lady with white golden hair and friendly eyes. “Oh, what a surprise! How long has it been since someone last visited me? Congratulations on taking the first step into, or out of, the spiral of despair. Come with me to the Main Hall,” she said.
She then turned and began walking down a dark corridor lit by candles every few meters. The interior looked completely different from what he expected, with black and violet tiles on the floor and golden cornices on the walls. About those were several paintings and portraits on the wall. Each painting had luxurious frames and smaller frames underneath with information to the corresponding painting. While looking at the painting he felt something weird, it was like he knew all those people, but it was such a faint memory that he couldn’t quite grasp it. But then, he recognized the second to last person, the young lady in the painting.
She had golden white hair, a white dress, and a peculiar mask that depicted a complete contrast. She was standing sideways and looking up, with only the moon mask showing. Her presence radiated serenity, but the background showed a vast city in ruins, with the earth shifting and buildings falling apart, churches burning, and a bleeding sun towering above it all. The last painting was unfinished, and The Antithetical was unable to identify anything. However, he was drawn to the information underneath, which read:
> Though Morgat punisheth the punished,
> Though Aric showeth us the way,
> Though Gorgoth guardeth us from the tainted,
> Queen Danielle helpeth us directly through Her Augur's way.
> ~ Daughter of the Star
“Come follow me,” said the lady. “You’ll have plenty of time to look at these pictures.”
The Antithetical turned around and followed her to the main hall. It was a huge hall with everything one would expect. On the left there were stairs that wound up. In the middle was a table and several chairs decorated with cloth and candles. The walls were full of bookshelves and to the right was a big fireplace. The young lady sat down and began to examine him. She pointed to a chair in front of her and next to the fire, and he sat down.
“My name is Laverna, and I am just a modest lady to guide you in the right direction,” she declared. “We both know where you should go.” She pointed to the bookshelves and said, “Behind it is a door. Go through it and into Farahns Forest. You will reach your first goal after a while, the Manor of Iesos. Everything will be as it should be when you reach there.”
“Wait, I have so many questions. You said your name was Laverna, right? I still don't know what this place is, who you are, why I should listen, and do as you say, but most importantly, who I am?” said the Antithetical, confused.
“The whole story would be too long to explain, so long that by the time I finished, everything would be too late,” she sighed and stood up. “I also think it would be best for you, to experience and discover most of it by yourself. But still–.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
She made her way to the bookshelf, searched for a moment, and found what she was looking for. She grabbed a book, looked at it, blew the dust aside, and sat down again, crossing her legs. The fire created shadows on the wall and her face, constantly shifting between good and dark. When the shadow was cast on her face, the Antithetical had the image of the picture in mind. She sighed again and began:
“I wrote down what has happened, preserving the memories. Everything that has happened since it all began, but as I said, I will not explain everything, most things will reveal themselves when the time is right,” she looked at him with a smile.
He wasn't sure what to think about all of this, but on the other hand, he had no choice but to sit down and listen.
“Let us begin where everything began. 4.2 billion years ago, Prokaryotes appeared the earliest life on Iarraidh was born. For the next three billion nine hundred ninety-seven million years, the Evolution of life on Iarraidh made rapid progress. It was already a cycle of life, sexual reproduction with meiosis and recombination of genetic material from two parents, colonization, and mass extinction. The endless spiral of life and death, kill or be killed, warmth and cold. One can't exist without the other, the higher the highs, the lower the lows, one lives through the “Contrary.” Laverna looked at The Antithetical as she turned the page. “Millennia later, two continents had formed on Iarraidh. They are now called Burelia and Tselgian in the common language. We currently reside in the South of Tselgian, in the Fiafergian Theocracy.” Laverna continued to explain.
The Antithetical exhaled and started to look down at the ground. His hands moved to his head, rubbing his temples.
“This cannot be. I… I don’t remember anything. My Mind is a blank page yet to be written on. Only the word Fiafergian, or rather Fiaferg, sounds a little familiar. I’m sure that I heard it before, I overheard it in the mine… or in my restless dreams.”
“That is most likely the case. The Church Miners are a devoted pack of rotten flesh,” she spat out.
“But what does it mean? What are The Church Miners?” he asked bewildered.
She looked at him and whispered, “That cannot be true… How did this imbecile…” She cleared her throat.
“The Church Miners are a devout and integral part of the world's religious order. They are tasked with the mission of extracting precious minerals and gems from deep within the earth, yes exactly that ore that you extracted day in and out. These minerals are used to adorn the temples and other sacred structures of the Church, as well as being used in various religious rituals and ceremonies. So, you see, the Church Miners are not very simple laborers, but they are servants of the divine. But let me get back on track, we derailed a little bit. Let me first explain the most important parts and more when you return,” she made a small pause and added a noticeably quiet »if you return«. She continued, “Like I already said, Millenia later and after the long War with the Telhalian Theocracy the Lands were ravaged by war. Despair shrouded the lands like a deep and impenetrable fog. Then, Queen Danielle dreamed of bringing wished to transcend humanity and she gave birth of that what curses us now for such a long time. “The Contrary”. She did not rob us of life, but of death. The opposite curse. The curse that does not free us from cruel death but robs us of salvaging death. But how she has managed to do this, and what her motives are, is still to be discovered. You already know, or feel in your heart, that you will be drawn to the city of Allano, where Queen Danielle lives, where you will fulfill your destiny and rid yourself of this burden. For you are the new Antithetical, the Ember already sparked within you, and that is much more than what happens to most of us. You can feel something, something warm, am I not right in saying this? That is what makes you, that is what makes you special, you, you have felt warmth. But now enough of these old tidings, alas, the time has come to go forth.”
The Antithetical was overwhelmed, not sure what to do. The information was whirling around in his head. At first, he thought she was telling him fairy tales, from the establishment of life until the mentioning of that Queen. But the moment she mentioned “drawn to the city of Allano, where Queen Danielle lives”, something stirred in his mind and heart. She was right, there was an Ember that flickered and something in his mind invoked him to go to the city of Allano, to confront the Queen.
“I am not sure If I fully understand the weight of this burden, but my mind is faster than my heart. I may not know the full extent of what lies ahead, but I am willing to face it, to rid myself of this curse,” he accepted.