A Real Goddess Would Let Nobody Die

"Is it true that Goddesses never ever forget anything?" a boy asked.

"Hmmm," Kennalaria replied. "It's true that Our memories are perfect. I can remember everything since I turned twenty-five in the same way that you remember something that happened a few seconds ago, like you currently remember asking that question. But, We don't remember everything automatically. We still need to search Our memories for things, and We can, hmmm, how do I explain this?"

This was a difficult concept to explain to five-year-olds.

"Sometimes, you do something that you know you aren't supposed to do. It's not that you've forgotten that it's bad. You just acted without using your memories. In the same way, We remember everything, but We can sometimes act without using Our memories properly. It is similar to forgetting."

"Can You make a sword?" asked a girl who couldn't wait any more.

"Not a full sword, not like My Sisters, but I can make a needle. Make sure not to stare directly at it for too long, especially when you're close. My Essence can hurt your eyes, if you're not careful."

Kennalaria squeezed out as much mana as She could, at the cost of faint mana exhaustion, and a hand-length needle of transparent violet crystal, saturated with twinkling stars, rose smoothly out of Her palm, pointing upward without threatening to topple, in defiance of gravity. Most mages lacked the ability to do more than materialize a drop of mana, and maybe eventually get it to harden into a kind of misshapen marble. Most mages treated their magic as a day job, not the sacred purpose of their existence, had not been personally tutored by Goddesses full-time since the age of five, and had not inherited Her Mother's talent.

The Violet Goddess' little needle was apparently good enough for the class. Ortilly watched with amusement as her pupils formed a queue, completely wordlessly and unprompted, to get a closer look. Apparently, all you needed to do to get them on their best behavior with the sheer weight of your unspoken authority was be a Goddess. It may have helped that the whole of Umpoz was more relaxed than usual today from Love's aura.

The Goddesses' swords always were popular with children. There was a romance to them, and they were tangible in a way that appealed to children, raw and colorful magic that could be touched directly. Plus, if there was any doubt of the Goddesses' perfect benevolence, the distinctive appearance of Their Essence dispelled that. Mages said that the appearance of mana reflected the soul. If that was true, the Goddesses were as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Pure sunlight, perfect light-eating void, flawless ruby, and glittering starscape: even mages who could make analogous objects didn't make any that looked like divine artifacts, like what the Goddesses produced. Instead, they might make frozen glowing milk, a soot-based ink, or wood painted red. Nobody else made violet anything.

When the children were satisfied, the interview continued.

"Can You sing like the White Goddess?" another student asked.

Her Teacher was intrigued. Good question!

"I'm not nearly so skilled as She is. She has been practicing for nearly 9000 years."

If the standard for being skilled was to be a peer of the Goddess of Song...ha!

"But, She has been giving Me lessons since I was a child, and I have inherited Her voice, like everything else. She says She is proud of My skill, so I think I must be skilled. I will be giving My first public performance at the celebration of the new millennium this year, in Solenn. You can listen then, and see what you think!"

Ortilly's eyes widened. This was not public information. The tourism and hospitality industries would very much like to know.

----

The crowd in the Temple of the Beginning, soon to become an audience, was buzzing. The simple knowledge that the Violet Goddess was going to be performing in some way from dusk to midnight to celebrate the start of the ninth millennium of the Age of the Goddesses had caused a furor by itself, but none had known exactly what to expect. Now, everyone could see the set, and what it implied.

There were platforms, bars, ropes, rings, and the like everywhere, suspended in the air. Everyone knew what this meant. Tonight's singing Goddess would not be dancing in the Fountain. This was going to be different. And, everyone knew that the Goddess of Joy had a more...high-tempo personality than Her Mother. Could it be that this would be more of a pop concert than Her Mother's classical non-lyrical performances?

At last, the lights went out aside from the illumination provided by the Fountain's Essence. Joy Herself suddenly appeared on a random platform, sporting the exact appearance depicted in Her statue, and waved both arms rapidly. No spotlight was required. Her Own intrinsic radiance was more than enough.

After the roar of enthusiasm quieted, She spoke.

"Hiiiiii everyone! I want to thank the singers of the abyss for agreeing to accompany Me today!"

Chirruping filled the Dome in acknowledgment. This was now feeling very close to the legendary opening ceremony of this very Temple from more than 7000 years ago.

"And thank you all for coming! And thanks to everyone watching!"

Kennalaria waved to the recorder that was streaming Her live to several billion people. She remembered how bashful She had been when first exiting the Temple door during Her debut at Izzie's 8000th birthday, blushing and trying to hide behind Her Sisters to escape the audience's adoration. Tonight, the nameplate beneath Her on the broadcast read "Violet Goddess Kennalaria." Of course it did. That was Who She was.

As a child, She had been embarrassed at how cute everyone thought She was. Why? What did She have to be embarrassed about? Did Her appearance hurt people? No, they loved it. Was She ashamed of Her appearance? No, She was as beautiful as Her Mother, and very thankful for that. Did She want people not to see Her? No, it made people happy and She was proud of it. Was it bad to be praised? No, so long as She did not become conceited. Did She owe any apologies for being Her? No, there was no fraud or cheating or pretending; She was simply the luckiest person Who had ever been born, and She would pay it forward forever.

Kennalaria's Mother had walked the fine line between diffidence and arrogance in the face of nearly nine millennia of worship. Kennalaria would do the same. Her Mother had used Her gifts for the good of all. So would Her Daughter.

So, look. Behold. This is your Goddess. I exist for you. I am yours to look at, if you wish. I am unashamed, because there is no such thing as too fabulous. And, listen. I will show you why you worship. I am the Daughter of the Goddess of Song, and Goddesses do not do half-measures.

The upbeat background music, as sugary as sweetfluff, started on cue. The crowd lost its mind. Goddesses had sung before, but never like this.

~~I'm never one to stay still, never ever for loooong.~~

She jumped to a seated position on a bar, gloved hands gripping it on either side, shiny legs swinging off below, in sync with Her head rocking back and forth, in time with the music.

~~If you ever wanna catch Me you will need to be quick.~~

She saluted with two fingers of Her right hand, then jumped to a hammock position inside a ring, right leg hanging lazily out, now wagging Her left index finger in time with the music.

~~I am ex-tra-or-din-ar-y; so is My sooong.~~

And now She was lying on Her stomach on a platform, legs curled onto Her back.

~~So if you wanna beat Me you will need a new trick.~~

Now She was hanging inverted from a ring, holding Herself on with the back of Her knees.

~~Jump! Jump! Try to catch Me if you dare!~~

Glittery dancing on a platform, now.

~~Jump! Jump! 'less you're a Goddess, I don't care!~~

With a dismissive wag of Her finger followed by an equally dismissive wave, She turned around as if to strut away, and appeared on another platform.

...

----

What even was that? In this world, the Goddess of Joy Herself puts on a thrilling acrobatics and dancing display that no one else could possibly replicate, since it prominently featured Her unique magic. That would be performance enough, but She also incorporates original vocals, at a quality that leaves no doubt that She is, in fact, the Daughter of the Goddess of Song. All of this, because She "likes to make the world sparkle," and it's the 8000th anniversary of the night Justice and Salvation vanquished the ancient evil.

The Goddesses won such a total victory in this world that One of Them literally just danced and sang a sugar pop song in Their Temple on the grave of Their most powerful and malevolent foe, the one that was immolated with Justice's Sunfire.

And it's all free?! The recording is in the public domain?! Anyone audacious enough to invite a comparison could make a cover?!

The world was feeling very Lucky indeed.