A Real Goddess Would Let Nobody Die

Thunder rumbled again in the north. It was getting closer.

That alone would not make Pem's hands weaken with nervous hope, and yet he was having some trouble grasping his shovel, because this was not just any thunder.

There were no thunderclouds on the northern horizon--there were no clouds in the sky of any kind anywhere--and most of Unit 038's supervisors had rushed off to the north a few hours ago, but not even those signs were why Pem was struggling with his grip.

The sign that had Pem excited was what the Red Goddess had sent him this morning: a vision of fire and lightning destroying figures dressed in fancy black uniforms.

He suppressed a smile. The True Goddesses had heard, and They had answered! The Limbots' cruelty had earned them damnation.

Today.

But for now, time to be a good shoveler. Not all the supervisors had left, and a pair was nearby.

Kshik. And lift. Kshik. And lift. Kshik. And lift.

Kakraaa. Ksharap. Brummshrakaa.

The thunder was getting closer.

Pem had never enjoyed digging so much. Today, it felt like digging graves for the wicked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Pem spotted one of the nearest supervisors fiddling with a 'blessed item' again. He had been doing that a lot in the last few hours, always with that same item.

"Still nothing?" the other grumbled.

"Mmm," the first confirmed. "I don't know what to make of it. Maybe High Command is too busy? Too many calls?"

Pem knew what to make of it. He had to bite his lips to keep from grinning.

"But we should be high priority!" his partner hissed. "It's obviously getting close, and they can't be bothered to tell us anything!? This is ridiculous!"

"Keep it down!" the first hissed back, looking around.

Don't mind Pem. Pem's a good shoveler, he is! How could Pem be listening when he's so focussed on shoveling?

"I'm sure the Keyics have already pacified Emmoyer. Stands to reason there's a lot of mop-up to be done when a lineage lets its whole domain go to shit like that."

'Pacified?' 'Keyics?' Pem didn't know what those meant, but he did know that he liked the idea of a whole domain 'going to shit.' And, as calm as that supervisor was trying to sound, Pem got the sense that he was trying to convince himself that things were fine, as much as anyone.

"How could they have let this happen?" the whiner growled. "Not only lose thousands in the jungle, but let 'em steal weapons, too, and try to cover it up? If Keyic hadn't--"

"Cut it! Look! Those are ours, yeah?"

Pem looked north, without moving his head, only his eyes. On the far side of the muddy field, tilled for the planting, was a clump of dozens of black-uniformed supervisors, running towards them.

No, fleeing towards them, Pem noticed. A thrill spread from the pit of his stomach.

Kshik. And lift. Kshik. And lift. Kshik. And lift.

The complainer cursed as he recognized the same thing.

"Do we liquidate?" he asked.

'Liquidate?' Pem didn't know what that meant, either.

"I--." Mister let's-stay-calm wasn't so relaxed about the situation anymore. "I don't think we can, not with so few of us here. It would get out of hand. Let's--let's keep order, wait, and regroup."

He raised his arm.

"Unit 038, assemble here!" he shouted. "Assemble here! On the ground!"

For the last time, Pem did as he was told, lying facedown on the ground next to the small ditch he had been digging, for this year's seeds. He could endure it, one more time.

Kashrawww. Kaklrap.

One more time. This was fine. He didn't need to be able to see to track the thunder; it was still getting closer. Besides, if his face was in the mud, he didn't need to stop himself from grinning.

"On the ground! Next to that one!"

Pem could hear others from Unit 038 hastening over and lying on the ground to his left and right.

"Fire at will!" the one who seemed to be in command shouted. "Cover them!"

There was a roaring of fireballs and booming of thunder from the supervisors' weapons. There was no return fire--the approaching thunder had stopped--and Pem could guess why. The people of Unit 038 were being used as shields.

"What is happening?!" one of the supervisors shouted over the roar. Those who had been fleeing must have arrived.

"They--" Whoever was shouting now was out of breath. "The rebels. Their weapons, not normal. Keyic--"

"What do you mean, 'not normal?!'"

"Too strong. The kind, no one actually deploys. Only for show. Prestige. They have, thousands, like that. They're all carrying bags of them!"

That was the most delicious tearful frustration Pem had ever heard. He couldn't make out the reply, but he heard what this speaker said next.

"We know! But ask any man here. It's the plain truth! We all know as well as you that no lineage could--Agghh!" the speaker roared in frustration. "The how doesn't matter. Listen: Keyic has betrayed us! They're fighting with the rebels, with the same weapons. We need to tell High Command, but nothing is working."

Pem let himself laugh, as the supervisors continued their increasingly desperate shouting. No one could hear him over the roar, anyway.

Even witnessing all this proof themselves, still these idiots refused to accept the truth. If all the false gods in the world couldn't do something, and yet it had happened, Who did that leave? If all the creations of the false gods were failing, then Who must be responsible?

The True Goddesses could descend to the ground and work miracles in front of the unbelievers, and they would put out their own eyes so they could continue to deny the truth. Accepting the truth meant accepting that they had earned their place on the list of the damned, that they belonged there, unforgivable and unforgiven.

"No, don't!" one of the damned shouted. "We need them alive! Use them, as hostages!"

Pem just kept laughing. The True Goddesses had come! Hostages!? Hostages!? This would only make Them angrier!

On cue, the ground shook as thunderclaps, the roars of bursting fireballs, and thuds of exploding dirt sounded all around him, mixed with screaming.

Pem dared to raise his head just a little, and looked to his right.

With his face no longer shoved into the mud, he could tell that he was covered in a kind of gleaming blue film, and so was the old man lying next to him, half-buried. Fireballs and lightning bolts flew above them, in both directions. He couldn't see any supervisors still standing.

"They already shot some!" The shout came from the direction of the weapons firing at the supervisors. "That one, the girl with a shield! She must still be alive! Help me put her out!"

Pem rose to all fours so he could see further. A girl a few places to his left was on fire. A woman right next to her--that was Canyll, so the girl must be her daughter, Melara--was slapping at her uselessly with her hands, in the slow motion of shock.

Before Pem could stand, some people carrying sky blue divine items sprinted next to Melara, and pushed Pem's piles of mud on top of her until the flames were out.

"Still alive!" said the same man, after uncovering her face. She was still surrounded by blue. The fighting had died down, so he wasn't shouting anymore. "I'll try the healer, but..."

He grimaced.

Pem didn't know much about healing, but he understood. If Melara actually was still alive, that alone was a miracle. Still, if these really were sacred items created by the Goddesses Themselves, then maybe she could be healed? Pem knelt nearby, hoping to see a miracle.

After about a minute, the man shook his head. "I'm sorry. It's just...slowing it down."

Canyll was silently staring through her daughter, blank-faced. She didn't seem to hear, or be aware of the people trying to comfort her from either side.

"Wasn't that made by a True Goddess?" Pem was confused.

"Aye, the Sky Goddess." At least that made a lot of sense, considering the color. "But She can't heal the dead. She says only Her Sister the Sun Goddess can do that, and She is too far away."

"But Melara isn't dead, so shouldn't the Sky Goddess be able to heal her? There's no way an item is just as good as the Goddess Who made it."

The man frowned. "I...I'll ask."

He stared at the candle in his hand for a little while, in prayer. Suddenly, he took a sharp breath.

"The Messenger says we shouldn't try to move her," he announced, speaking rapidly. "Just keep her alive, and--" He turned to shout over his shoulder. "Egorim, put down your platform! The Goddess is coming here!"

Egorim didn't move for two heartbeats, staring back stupidly, then frantically tore at his pack like the fate of the world depended on him getting it open.

"And make sure it's right side up!"

Canyll still showed no awareness of the world.

"Are you from Limbot?" Pem asked quietly, trying to be respectful. "I'm Pem."

"I'm Sfeneff," the man replied, still holding the candle near Melara. "Some are from Limbot; most of those joined us along the way. The rest of us are from Emmoyer, to the north, like me."

"You came to help us? The Goddesses told you to?"

"Kind of. The Sky Goddess said that the thing that makes Her and Her Sisters happiest is when people follow Their Creed: 'Help those who need help, with no expectation of reward.' She said you all need help." He thrust his chin at Melara. "And you sure do. I'm glad we came."

"You've met Her, face-to-face? The Sky Goddess?"

"Aye," he said, eyes growing distant again, like when he was praying. "I'd try to describe Her for you, but I'm not good enough with words." He shook his head. "No, words aren't good enough for Her. Better to see Her yourself. That platform, what Egorim put down, is a portal to Her home. She'll appear on it soon en--"

The Sky Goddess appeared on the platform, holding the hand of a young woman standing next to Her.

That woman must be one of the Blessed, who lived alongside the Goddesses in Their Sacred Realm. Her hair was shinier than black had any right to be, long straight strands of polished stone tied with a gleaming sky blue band, and she was wearing an exact copy of the Goddess' outfit. Pem would have believed she was the Sky Goddess, if the real One wasn't standing next to her. He understood what Sfeneff meant, about words not being good enough.

"Thank you, Telf," the Goddess said. "You should get back to the children."

Telf was looking around nervously, causing her earrings to flap back and forth.

"Are You--. Yonen says You--"

"There are many here who can shield Me, and the Messenger is...being very vigilant. I would take the same risk for Arelvi."

Telf stared across the mud at Melara, started crying, and wiped at her tears.

...Was she a half-Goddess? Her fingernails looked like they had been cut out of the sky, just like the Goddess'.

Nodding rapidly a few times, jaw clenched, Telf released the Goddess' hand, and disappeared.

As the Sky Goddess stepped off the platform into the muddy field, Pem understood the depth of True Divinity a little better, what it meant to be so divine that miracles happened accidentally just because You existed: The mud fled from the Goddess' feet, causing Her to stop and frown down toward the circular hole She was steadily sinking into.

Clearly, the Sky Goddess did not have much experience with the ground. Pem wondered if She would understand the purpose of his shovel.

She sighed, and muttered something to Herself in a language that Pem didn't understand. A sheet of new sky flowed out from beneath Her feet, just large enough for Her to stand on, and carried Her up out of the hole, then over to Melara's side. When She reached the girl, the Goddess kneeled, Her sheet of sky floating just above the mud beneath Her, which nevertheless was repelled away into a kind of crater, like the splash of a rock falling into water.

The world itself seemed to be repelled, too, as afraid to touch Her as the mud.

Pem chuckled nervously. He couldn't help it. A real Goddess was right there! If he was completely shameless, he could reach out and touch the Sky Goddess, the actual Sky Goddess, right now! Or, wait, was he like the mud? Maybe the mud knew better, and he should heed the warning.

Without looking away from Melara, the Goddess announced to no one in particular, "Only filth disappears. While you may have dirt on you, you are not yourselves filthy. Touching Me would only clean the dirt off you."

As if to demonstrate, She very gingerly placed Her hands on Melara, one on the top of her head, and one on her chest.

Until this moment, Canyll had still been completely shut down, staring through her daughter at nothing. Her sense began to return to her when the black mix of char and mud coating Melara started softening around the Goddess' hands, and Melara's hair started to regrow, very slowly. Canyll's eyes followed the Goddess' hands up Her arms to Her face, and she realized what was happening.

"It seems that your daughter may not be beyond My reach," the Goddess explained to her. "But, this alone will not be enough to heal her internal injuries, or her eyes. My clothing is very sacred. Will you help Me put it on her?"

"Mmm," Canyll managed to half-sob, and nodded.

The Sky Goddess removed the dirt above and below Melara by running Her hands around the girl, keeping her supported on a sheet of sky. Then, without warning, She pulled off Her tunic, handed it to Canyll, and told her to slide it around her daughter and the sheet, as gently as she could.

A Goddess was kneeling mostly naked in a muddy, recent battlefield filled with hundreds of people, and the only thing She seemed to be worried about was the one who couldn't see Her.

"Can you bring the portal over?" the Goddess asked Sfeneff. "It should be safe to move her, now. This will require My full power, and a long time. It's best to take her to My home."

"Aye," Sfeneff wheezed, rising. "But, Your glow?"

"Y-You, a-a-alright?" Canyll sobbed.

So, it wasn't just Pem! She really was a little dimmer than when She first appeared.

"I will be fine," She reassured them. "I've let Melara borrow My immortality, to heal. That's all."

...That's all?!

Canyll tried to say something, but she was too incoherent for Pem to make it out.

The Sky Goddess stared at her, and seemed to understand.

"I am a Goddess," She said, so quietly that Pem could barely hear Her. "What is the point of My existence if I do not answer prayers?"

Then, as if reminded, She spoke a little louder, to those watching.

"I am sorry, for breaking My promise to stay with the children. I hope you can forgive Me, given the need. Know that they are still in good hands: The young woman who was with Me earlier, Telf, is what We call a Helper. That is a special title from Our Language for someone who is devoted to helping Us help people. She can be trusted."

Pem was confident that appearing with a Goddess, holding Her hand, dressed the same way and compassionate to the point of tears, had already said what the Goddess just said. She didn't need to reassure anyone.

The Goddess took a deep breath.

"And I am sorry that there are prayers even I cannot answer. I do not mean to ignore those who are grieving--I hear you--but Melara needs My full attention, and the dead are beyond My reach. I promise always to do what I can do, but I cannot do any more than that."

Sfeneff had returned.

"Can you activate the portal, Sfeneff?" She asked. "Grab My shoulder or something, and take Canyll's hand. I have Melara."

"Aye," Sfeneff wheezed again, and did as She said.

Moments later, he reappeared, briefly stared off into the sky on the horizon, then turned to Pem. "Understand?"

Pem rose to his feet, a little unsteadily. "Yes, by which I mean no."

Sfeneff chuckled his wheezing away. When he finished, he spoke to the people of Unit 038 within earshot.

"So, you all have the option of using this magic portal to go to the Sky Goddess' home, if you want. You can hear more about the other offers She makes, there. Or, you can join us, and help to punish the Limbots, with Her blessing, using Her tools of War--we have plenty to go around." He held up his own, and his pack. "Her agents have the Limbot domain surrounded. All that remains is to hunt down the false gods and their minions. But, don't be misled by...what you just saw. We do lose people, and the Sky Goddess is not the Goddess of Life. She can't bring back the dead."

Pem didn't need to think about it for a second.

"You have some that shoot lightning, right?"

Sfeneff smiled grimly, reached into his pack, and tossed Pem a rod the length of Pem's forearm.

"You feel that sack of fluid, offering itself to you?" Sfeneff asked. "That's Her power, there for you to use, if that is your choice."

Pem felt it. What he had to do was so intuitive that he simply extended his arm and shot a lightning bolt into the ground, a little ways off, as his answer.

Now that was a good way to dig a hole.

The Sky Goddess definitely wouldn't understand why anyone used shovels.