A Real Goddess Would Let Nobody Die

Ortilly had hoped for fifteen years to be able to attend Kennalaria's deification. When she had learned that not only would it be taking place as soon as possible, but also that it would be taking place in Esto's Temple of the Renewal, the closest major Temple to Umpoz, she had wondered if the Goddesses might possibly have planned this based on Her prayer so long ago. She had to attend.

Ortilly knew and had always known, everyone knew and had always known, that Kennalaria was, at Her core, 'merely' a new kind of mage. Like Her Sisters before Her, She was not directly incarnated from pure Essence of Divinity in order to bring blessings to the world. In fact, going by what Kennalaria Herself had just said about being born from Salvation's Essence, She was closer to being this kind of Goddess than any of Her Sisters had been. But no, the new Goddess had been born a human, just like Her Sisters. Their places of birth were known. Their mortal parents' names were known. They were not born divine.

A belief in divine origins was never what had earned this world's Goddesses Their worship. They had never pretended to be anything but unique and powerful mages Who followed a Creed. They were worshipped not because of Their origins, but because They had transcended them.

They all had the power to perform miracles unique to Them. Kennalaria's were modest compared to those of Her Sisters, as She Herself had said, but they were miracles only She could perform, nonetheless.

And, They were tirelessly, actively benevolent, to an unrealistic degree. They owed nothing to anyone, and gave everything anyway. Kennalaria's daily routine for more than a decade, roaming cities as an adorable, inexhaustible bundle of joy while preventing what She called "unlucky mishaps," was world-famous. There was nothing forcing Her to pose for images for or with anyone who asked, or to sign every autograph, or to treat everyone like they were the most important thing to happen to Her that day. She received nothing but starstruck thanks when She prevented people from stubbing their toes, or dropping their food, or saying something they would regret. She had no obligation to sit by the Pool of Salvation and chat with anyone who could summon the courage. She did it all anyway. Every. Single. Day. Humans like this did not exist.

Kennalaria's Sisters could destroy the world with a few thoughts. They had enforced 7996 years of total peace.

They could enrich Themselves beyond imagination, enslave the world, with less effort than They spent eradicating poverty and preventing exploitation. Although no one had ever seen beyond the door of Their Sanctuaries since their construction--the Guards never looked and no one else got close enough--it was well-known that They lived in what amounted to glorified hotel suites.

The Goddesses could declare Themselves exhausted and withdraw from the world, and no one would be able to blame Them. Instead, aside from time spent sleeping, Their 'time off' was almost entirely the time They spent traveling from one city to another. And They had just today inducted a new Sister in order to deprive Themselves of even that.

Miraculous power wielded by infallible compassion: They were worshipped. What could They be but deities, if They did so much more than any human possibly could?

Having finished the deification ceremony, Kennalaria was now wandering through the Dome, greeting Her audience and thanking them for attending. It was unlikely that She would come upon Ortilly, since there were more than a hundred thousand other spectators in attendance, but she stayed anyway, hoping. This was the Goddess of Luck, after all. Maybe Ortilly would get lucky. She was willing to wait.

As she watched Her move through the crowd, Ortilly smiled at how easy it was to track Her. She was very sparkly. It fit Her so well. You needed to be larger-than-life to be able to wear an outfit like that without looking ridiculous, and it was hard to imagine Kennalaria wearing anything else.

Hours passed like this. The crowd thinned, but Kennalaria was still moving among those who remained, and She was getting close to Ortilly. Her pulse was pounding. She had been waiting for this for fifteen years, hoping to have another chance to speak to Her. It seemed like such a small thing, just a bracelet pulled from a river and a few consoling words, but correcting that perception was exactly why Ortilly was here. It was not such a small thing, and she needed to make sure that Kennalaria knew that.

There was no way She would recognize Ortilly after fifteen years, but maybe She would recognize the bracelet. As soon as Ortilly decided that she would try waving it over her head in an attempt to attract the Goddess' attention, Kennalaria appeared in front of her.

"I am glad you're here," She said at once. "I was hoping you would be. I've wanted to tell you how important you were to Me, but We do not often go to Umpoz, and I have no way of contacting you besides standing on that bridge and hoping you pass by. Well, aside from...," She looked a little sheepish, "...I didn't want to ask My Sisters for help."

Ortilly had not the faintest clue what to say to that. This was backwards.

"Before meeting you, before I got your bracelet out of the river, I had never been able to do anything for anyone that My Sisters could not have done better. I felt like a knockoff, a substitute at best, and that accepting deification would be preposterous. But afterward, I felt like I could do something unique to help people, something only I could do, that I could be a real Goddess on My Own merits, a real helper of the highest class."

She did a little pirouette and winking pose, the kind of thing She was famous for.

"I wear fabulous outfits and behave in a way that attracts a lot of attention, that makes people look at Me, and it makes Me happy, because I am proud of Who I am. I am proud of what people see, when they look at Me. I want them to look. I feel lucky to be Me. My Sisters have always cherished Me, have always told Me how special I am. Izena calls Me a Star Temple so often that it's basically My nickname. That love was the fuel for My self-esteem. But helping you get that bracelet out of the river was the first spark. I sparkle, because of that night. Countless millennia from now, people will look at the Goddess of Fortune, Omens, and Twilight, and wonder why She sparkles so. Your bracelet falling in that river is why, and I will always remember that. Thank you for the opportunity to lend a helping hand."

The Goddess bowed to Ortilly. "I never got your name that night. My Sister might know it, but I would prefer to hear it from you directly."

Ortilly was a little bit in shock, but she wasn't about to refuse to answer.

"I am Ortilly," she replied, in a daze. This felt so familiar, nostalgic. "I am a schoolteacher in Umpoz, in a school on the southern side of that bridge. I live on the northern side."

"What do you teach?"

"The Creed, and the history of the Goddesses Who promulgate and model it, to young children."

"That's perfect. Can I stop in, the next time We are in Umpoz? Unfortunately, I don't know when that will be."

...Ortilly really was in the presence of the Goddess of Luck. What was even happening? 'Only the most fabulous futures,' was what.

"Y-yes, of course, I--, everyone would like that very much. You are very popular among the children."

She was really sparkling now. And glowing. Absolutely transcendent. Ortilly found herself speaking without thinking.

"I understand why You would want people to look. You're dazzling."

She giggled. "Thanks! I used to be a little embarrassed about it, but My Sisters always told Me that I have nothing to apologize for, that it's alright for Me to know that I'm," She made quotes with Her fingers, "'a pretty little cutie pie,' and to enjoy being one, that I should be proud of it. My appearance is part of why I feel so very fortunate, but of course that's not what really matters. People who abide by The Creed," She pointed a sparkling hand at Ortilly, "aren't just dazzling on the surface, but to the core. And, it spreads. You make Our world sparkle."

It was the same feeling as back on the bridge. How had Ortilly come here with the intent of telling this person how special She was, and ended up feeling like she was the special one?

"How do You do it?" Ortilly's voice asked. "How do You have the energy? You and Your Sisters, doing this all the time, never slipping? Never having an off day? Loving everyone? Talking to anyone? Helping everyone? How is it possible?"

Kennalaria thought for a moment.

"The details are different for each of Us, but the core is the same. It originates with Menelyn and Izena. They grew up in a world where nobody helped each other, and everyone suffered for it. They are scarred by that experience. It drives Them to help without question, and They feel a sense of profound responsibility to protect the people who place their faith in Them, to be the Goddesses the world needs Them to be, in all respects. And, They motivate each Other, support each Other. And here is the core: Never forget that Izena lingered for 944 years after death with the single-minded goal of helping Menelyn, and Menelyn spent 944 years gathering the strength necessary to help Izena, just as single-mindedly. That mutual love, that superhuman dedication to Their respective Sisters, is what made Them transcendent in a very literal sense. In turn, including Izenakee and Me in that Sisterhood is what makes Us transcendent, more than any other single factor."

She cocked Her head.

"Izenakee feels like She was chosen for a sacred mission. She wanted so badly to be someone special Who could help the Goddesses, and She was. She was not only more useful to Them than She dared to hope, but more than She knew was possible. Izenakee often says 'Her whole life is too impossible to be a dream' and that Her calling as The Listener 'is the purpose of Her existence.' She means every word."

Her head bounced the other way.

"For Me...I just enjoy being Me. I don't know how else to say it. I feel so lucky to be alive, to have all of the things that I have and to be all the things that I am. Every day, I wake up, and as soon as I'm fully lucid, I remember Who I am, I feel that surge of joy, and I want to go out and share that with people, spread it around, return it to the world. To be so lucky as I am and not do anything with it, not share it, would be unforgivable. And, I feel the same way that Menelyn does. I can't abandon people that I could help, especially when I am the only one Who could help them."

Ortilly's eyes drifted to the Pool of Salvation in the background. That was called Divine Essence, but Ortilly had just been granted a revelation. Their real Essence was what Kennalaria had just described. Those last few sentences, commentary on the nature of divinity straight from the mouth of the Violet Goddess Herself, had been scripture in its most pure form. Ortilly committed every word to memory. She could tell that others nearby were doing the same. This impromptu interview had just now become part of universal basic education.

"We love each Other so much that it overflows to the rest of the world," Kennalaria concluded. "Literally, in Izenakee's case. What you feel when you are near the Goddess of Love is what We feel for each Other. We are less affected by Her than others are, because all She does to Us is amplify how We already feel, how Our Sisters already make Us feel, all the time."

...Did any other world have Goddesses like These? Ortilly was skeptical.

"I came here today," she said at last, "to tell You that I meant what I said to You, on the bridge. 'You really are a Goddess.' I wanted to thank You for accepting deification as soon as possible. That answered a prayer that I made, shortly after You left that night. And, that prayer had another part, which You also answered today. Thank You for providing instructions on how to offer You worship, properly. I will never be so effective at it as You are, but I will try."

Ortilly couldn't help her satisfied smirk. It's not every day that a mortal makes a Goddess blush.