No matter how small, everything is part of something larger. Like the small organelles that form a cell, groups of cells form unique tissues, which then form different organs. Those various organs work cohesively like cogs in a machine, creating the body of higher beings. This fundamental law can be reduced or expanded upon indefinitely.
The principle applied not only to what humans understood as “living.” Beyond what mankind’s eyes can see or their minds can comprehend, this great truth applies to all of creation.
A rock may seemingly look inanimate. However, it is like the small components of a cell. The different types of rocks form complex layers of a planet. And a planet is simply another part of a system of planets that fill massive galaxies. Unbeknownst to man, galaxies, too, are bodies for higher beings.
However, that does not mean the smaller parts were not sentient or do not have a will of their own. Higher beings cannot hear the millions of voices that compose themselves. At most, they can only feel or understand the larger components. For example, humans might feel pain from their aching muscles but cannot hear the millions of cells making up those muscles, screaming from their bodies.
In turn, the smaller parts might feel the presence of a higher being, but most know nothing of its true existence. Still, the individual pieces pray to higher beings. Even at a galaxy level, those higher beings still look up to beings more supreme.
However, do not overlook the small contributors of the whole. They are part of the masses that allow the entirety to function.
Yet, in any society, such sentiments will always exist, be they intentional or not. But one must remember that all things great once started small.
Inside an enormous and immaculate temple of the Goddess Terra, located at the capital of the Salford Duchy, an endless group of young adults kneeled shoulder to shoulder in prayer throughout the wide marble floors of the reception hall. A priest in pristine white robes stood high on the top of the steps leading to an altar. A giant ivory statue of a woman of unworldly beauty in flowing robes opened her arms in a welcoming, warm embrace.
“Our patron goddess smiles down upon you all,” Priest Halloway gallantly enunciated for the crowd to hear, but he only looked attentively to a select few of the well-dressed youth before him.
Priest Halloway lifted his hands, closed his eyes, and prayed, “Goddess Terra, mother of our planet, have mercy on your children and bless these newly young adults before you here today.”
As if hearing his plea, the light beaming down from the skylight intensified with a bright golden glow, expanding out and touching all the newly young adults kneeling on the floor. The light soon lifted and returned to normal. The many kneeling on the floor continued glowing with various intensities of the golden light.
However, the group of five young men and five women before Priest Halloway retained the most vibrant light.
The priest smiled jubilantly, knowing he chose the best seeds from this year’s group of newly turned adults. Still, the priest needed to keep his holy image. Gently raising his hands in the air, he addressed the crowd with a practiced smile of compassion.
“Rejoice and praise Goddess Terra! Her benevolence has blessed all of you here with her grace. Find your calling. Go forth and do her will! Share this happy moment with your families. May the Goddess always be with you!”
The sea of newly blessed adults burst into happy chatter, leaving excitedly to greet their families with the good news. The room emptied, but the ten before the priest did not budge. With the others leaving far enough away, Priest Halloway addressed the ten before him.
“You shall meet your noble parents later. Come, the ceremony has yet to be completed for you ten. Future leaders of the world must do more than the average citizen, and thus receive more.”
Standing between a wall and a pillar holding up the temple, an overlooked young man in patched clothes looked on at the ten who climbed the stairs and followed Priest Halloway to an open doorway behind the altar.
Thane tilted his head full of trimmed brown hair in curiosity. He twisted his lanky body around, looking to see if others noticed. Some did but thought nothing of the matter as they headed towards the large opening of the great hall to leave. Everyone knew the Church always kept the heirs of renowned bloodlines after the ceremony, though none of the typical citizens knew why. Thane tapped his sun-tanned fingers against his side out of habit, knowing he was about to do something he wasn’t supposed to do.
A mischievous grin arched up on his slightly handsome face. His brown eyes gleamed with the excitement of possibly discovering the truth behind the mystery. With nonchalant steps, Thane naturally strutted forward as if he, too, was called on to follow the priest.
Climbing up the stairs, the statue of the goddess seemed to peer down at Thane’s presence with interest. Feeling stared at, Thane looked up. He couldn’t help but feel weirded out at the strong feeling, peering down at him by an inanimate statue. Still, he bowed to show his respect, even if it was a mere idol of the Goddess Terra and quickly slipped past. Unknown to Thane, the eyes of the statue followed him out of sight with a smile, arched slightly higher on her face.
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Thane entered the doorway he saw the priest and others move into earlier. A long dim stone hallway greeted his sight, much different from the bright and welcoming great hall outside. Keeping close to the walls, Thane tiptoed past glowing stones, illuminating pockets of areas in the hallway. He glanced at the portraits of previous priests and nobles along the walls, wondering why they hanged in such a vicinity and where the corridor led.
Walking deeper into the hallway, Thane came to a closed double door. Thane looked closely at the aged mahogany doors. Besides the image of the Goddess Terra, depictions of the nine less-worshiped gods were also carved into the doors. Tapping his fingers rapidly on his side, Thane contemplated whether to stop and head back. However, his eyes could not stop but be drawn to the ten gods on the door. Making his decision, he stopped tapping his fingers and slightly crouched down, moving closer to the door handle. He lifted his hand to the large metal ring attached to the door to pull the door open a crack when suddenly-
“Hey. What are you doing?” A young man’s voice asked with a curious tone from behind Thane.
Thane jerked his body straight up, almost jumping out of his skin. He twisted around to find the owner of the voice.
A young man in similar patched-up clothing looked at Thane with emerald-green eyes, wide with expectant intrigue. He stood up on his toes and stretched his neck, trying to look over Thane’s shoulder to see the door behind him.
“Oh, cool!” the young man exclaimed in awe at the door’s carvings.
“Shhhh!” Thane whisper-shouted back, worriedly looking around while covering up the dirty blonde-haired man’s mouth.
The young man nodded, understanding Thane’s intentions. Thane could not help but shake his head at the oblivious lack of awareness of the newcomer.
“Are you trying to get us into trouble?” Thane complained to the young man.
The blonde shook his head, pulling off Thane’s hand, and whispered back.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. It’s not every day you see the ten gods depicted together. I’m Seth. What’s your name? Why did you come here?”
Thane slopped slightly over, suddenly fatigued and feeling like he lost an unrecoverable length of time from his life due to the scare. He did not bother telling Seth his name.
He answered Seth’s question with a question. “Did anyone say that I couldn’t come here?”
“Hmm… No, I guess not. Priest Halloway said nothing of the sort, and no one forbade anyone coming here.”
“See? Now, shush. I’m going to open the door a crack.”
Seth bobbed his head up and down, excited from wanting to know what went on behind the closed doors. Thane grabbed the metal ring, and with the slightest tug, opened a crack large enough for the two to peer inside. The two peepers' eyes stretched wide, shocked by the sight before them.
The ten young adults kneeled again before the priest. However, this time the priest did not stand towards them. He, too, knelt on one knee, looking up at the scene that amazed the two secret onlookers.
The pristine white marble room was humongous, many times the size of the reception area that held the packed crowd who came for their blessings. The massive area oddly had no ceiling. Instead, an endless starry sky filled the space that would be the ceiling. Floating midair in the night sky were ten enormous circular spheres of slightly different sizes and colors, slowly circling one giant fiery sphere in the center. Manifestations of the gods hovered over their associated planets, looking fondly upon the worlds they presided over.
Priest Halloway lifted his hands to the replica of their solar system and their gods and prayed.
“Oh, mighty gods and the merciful Giver of Life, please hear my heartfelt prayer. Your diligent servant comes before you with the ten most talented youth of this year’s ceremony. Please bless them and show them your favor so they may serve your wills and cleanse the ever-growing darkness.”
As if hearing Priest Holloway’s request, all the images of the gods turned and glanced curiously at the ones kneeling before them. All gods except for Terra, for she already gave her blessings, looked closely at the ten, peering into the depths of their souls.
Various emotions flooded the faces of the gods as they peered at each of the ten who would receive some degree of their blessings. Goddess Vaikre, the closest to the blazing Giver of Life, looked at each candidate with curious interest. She glared coldly at a few before moving on to another while nodding her head with a gentle smile.
God Siris, the furthest planet from the Giver of Life, blankly looked at the ten as if still not fully awake. Although no one in the room could hear the gods, God Mestis of the fifth planet seemed to let out a loud belly laugh from evaluating Theo, a giant bear-like man. The other gods glared at Mestis with disgust, as if he passed the foulest toot of gas.
One by one, the gods looked deeply at the ten candidates. However, Priest Halloway gave a face of forlorn. He looked up at the most giant sphere of them all, the brightly burning sun, the Giver of Life. No manifestation appeared over the sun. The priest’s shoulders drooped down with a loss.
Although the eleven gods were very similar in power, the sun was considered the father of the other gods. The priest was again disappointed not seeing the sun god appear for the annual blessing. He knew the sun god’s appearance was rare. However, the Giver of Life did not appear for the ceremony for almost a century. With the ever-encroaching darkness, deep worry and anxiety filled his mind. No one noticed, but Goddess Terra looked on at the priest, understanding the sadness and panic riddled the priest’s face.
She glanced over at the two peeping secretly at the ceremony. They locked eyes, and she smirked. Thane and Seth flinched, aware they were caught by the goddess. However, Goddess Terra lifted her finger to her lips as if telling the two to hush.
She looked around at the other gods and goddesses, speaking something that made them all look up and away from the ten before them.
Some of the god’s jaws looked like they could drop to the floor from what Goddess Terra spoke. A huge debate erupted in the faux night sky. Many gods and goddesses shouted with veins bulging on their faces. Those who laughed, could not help but collapse while holding their bellies.
The raging emotions of the gods sent ripples across the replica of the solar system but also in outer space. The cosmos rumbled and warped with streaks of warring comets and asteroids. Once orbiting in stationary paths, the celestial objects were knocked off course as the wild argument worsened. Collisions from smaller bodies in space sent shards raining down onto some planets. A fight looked imminent.
Those below observing the feuding gods trembled, worried they somehow offended the mighty beings.
However, Priest Halloway’s face lifted with excitement.
An unusually large pair of eyes twitched open above the sun. It narrowed as if rudely awakened mid-slumber from all the noisy bickering of the other gods.
Goddess Terra remained quiet after making the suggestion that led to the impending skirmish. The gods and goddesses who noticed the pair of furious eyes immediately shut up and remained silent.
However, Mestis and Vaikre still went at each other in a shouting match, too caught up in their bickering. The pair of eyes were as large as the body of an entire god. Blood vessels popped in the whites of the eyes, bulging and pulsing with annoyance and anger.
A heavy and foreboding feeling stopped the two higher beings from yelling at each other. Now quiet, they did not want to look over at the scary bright red aura, bursting from the sun.