A Real Goddess Would Let Nobody Die

"Until tomorrow, think on today's lesson from Scripture: the Black Goddess teaches that we should be proud of our own achievements, skills, and virtues, and also celebrate those of others."

The sky priestess bowed and stepped back inside the sanctuary. Most of her audience started to return to the portals, but Pem stayed for a while, staring at where she had been standing. He had come here every morning for months, starting as soon as he had learned that these sessions happened and anyone could go. Every one of those mornings, he had stood right here, near the front but off to the side, even though he had to get up very early nowadays to get such a good spot. Over time, the crowds had grown so large that, a few weeks ago, the priestess began to use a divine item that made her voice carry throughout the Armory, so everyone could at least hear her, though most couldn't see her. It was a sort of sky-necklace, which sat at the base of her throat, and looked like it had always belonged there.

Pem sighed at the empty space in front of the door to the sanctuary. Every morning went like this. Every morning, he lost his nerve.

Was it too much to hope that she would say a little about herself, one of these times, without him needing to ask?

She looked young, not even twenty, but for all Pem knew, she could be centuries old! From what she said, it didn't seem like there were any half-Goddesses, but she also said everyone from the Sacred Realm lived long lives, so he didn't know what to believe. There were rumors saying she was from the Emmoyer domain, but Sfeneff swore they were false, that he would have heard about anyone like her, and everyone else from Emmoyer agreed, at least everyone Pem talked to. They had to be right: What former Emmoyer slave was a Helper who could talk about what she had seen and heard in the Sacred Realm?! It made him wonder: If she had tried to walk across the field that day, like the Sky Goddess, would the mud also have been afraid to touch her, too? She certainly looked that way. The Sky Goddess had made many cleaning items, and they worked miracles, but they didn't make a person look polished.

Sighing again, with resignation, Pem finally headed for the portal back to First Blessed. The people of former Unit 038 were as proud as ever that their humble patch of ground had been the first one visited by the Sky Goddess and Her Helper.

He knew the pattern, by now. All these questions and more would rattle around in his skull until pre-dawn twilight tomorrow. He would promise himself that this time he would ask her something. And at the end, he would be staring at the empty spot in front of the door while wishing it was tomorrow already, just like he had today, and yesterday, and the day before. Unfortunately, the courage needed to run toward a volley of fireballs was not the same as the courage needed to talk to a holy sky priestess dressed in daylight.

Pem sighed again, as he trudged along.

It was just, if she was there to talk about herself, she would, right? She was there to do her job, to teach about the Goddesses and the Scripture, and listen to people's problems, and tell everyone what her Goddess was planning, and all that stuff. Important priestess stuff. Pem was just Pem, some random side character who had gotten to play at being a holy sky warrior for a week.

He passed through the aisles, shelves on both sides towering to twice his height, all filled with the Sky Goddess' creations. Any single one of these sacred treasures, on any of these shelves, could have bought him thirty times over, easy. Probably more.

But the Sky Goddess would never take that or any price, not for him or anyone else. Pem reminded himself of that, often. Melara was living proof.

When he reached the aisle filled with lightning wands, he paused. He had stopped here many times, but never once touched anything, not since returning what he had borrowed.

But by now, Pem knew that the Goddess truly wouldn't mind.

First, he prayed, in part to make his intentions clear. Once he felt proper, he reverently lifted one of the rods from its resting place.

There was nothing else like this: Real divine power, gleaming in his mind, beckoning to him, begging him to use it to punish the unforgivable and unforgiven.

A slave his whole life, shoving his face in the mud whenever and wherever he was told, not even knowing where he came from, then a week feeling like this, fighting in Her name, shoving True Divinity into the unbelievers' faces until at last they could no longer deny Who had damned them.

But that week had ended.

With the same reverence as he'd used to lift it, Pem returned the lightning wand to its place on the shelf. The power left his mind, and he was just Pem again. After another prayer, he continued to the portals, stepped onto the one for outgoing traffic to First Blessed, and returned to the ground.

Using the portals was technically the same as firing lightning bolts, but it wasn't really the same at all. Still, better than nothing.

Pem squinted into the morning Sun's greeting from across the field. This year's harvest would be poor, there was no getting around it after such a messed up planting, but the crop was coming in alright, considering. It turned out that the work went a lot better if you owned what you were growing, and weren't getting terrorized, and weren't starving, and could get healing when you needed it, and had breaks at midday, and all-around felt like the world was going to be alright.

Like most villages, First Blessed had made its pair of portals part of a shrine, which Pem had helped to build. It was a circular area, about twenty paces across, with a brick wall about knee-high running all along the outer edge, except for where the path from the village came in. Inside the wall was a garden of flowers, all facing up toward the open sky above. The path through the garden was paved with bricks, and cut straight to the center of the circle, where the portals were. They looked like twin pools of still, clean water, mirroring the sky, one for heading to the Armory, and one for returning.

Pem was currently guilty of dawdling on the return portal for longer than he should. It was supposed to be kept clear, mostly to prevent accidents, even though anyone trying to use its sister in the Armory would be able to tell that someone was still linked on this end. When he finally stepped off, it was in the direction of the shrine's centerpiece: a life-sized statue of the Sky Goddess. The portals sat about one pace to either side of Her.

Most villages had picked from a few standard designs that showed the Goddess playing Her instrument, but the people of First Blessed had requested and received a unique one. Theirs showed the Sky Goddess kneeling, mostly naked, looking down at a girl burned as if she were firewood, who was carefully cradled against Her chest, and wrapped in Her clothing. Near the statue's knees, on a small plate of sky, there was a cleaning item, shaped liked a flower and stem. It was strictly for use on the shrine, or for cleansing yourself before going to the Armory.

Pem was in a nostalgic mood today. He knelt behind the statue to recreate the original scene, from his perspective. It still felt surreal, that he had actually been a firsthand witness--within arm's reach!--of such a grand miracle.

The shrine could always use tending, and Pem felt motivated. No one would be upset if he got to work here, instead of heading for the crops--both jobs needed doing. He started weeding the garden.

By the time he finished pruning all the flowers, it was right around the start of the midday break period. Before heading down to the village for lunch, he sat on the shrine's encircling wall, next to his pile of weeds and clippings, to review his morning's work.

The priestess appeared on the portal for traffic coming from the Armory, next to the Sky Goddess and two boys from the sanctuary.

'Really?' Pem thought, shaking his head at himself. 'You've got it this bad, huh? Alright, time to wake up. You'll be lucky if you didn't snooze all the way through lunch.'

"Hello Pem!" the Goddess called, as the priestess disappeared.

'Wowwww. Not only does the Sky Goddess Herself know your name, She even recognizes you on sight!? Rein it in, hotshot. This is getting pathetic.'

"Is all of that from this morning?" the Goddess asked, pointing at the pile next to him. "Very impressive, and thank you! No wonder the shrine looks so flawless! Let Me introduce everyone. This is Gwell." She patted the older boy's shoulder. "And this is Vellum." She patted the younger boy's shoulder. He was around Melara's age. "Gwell, Vellum, meet Pem! He's one of the helpers who fought so everyone could be free, and it was his mud piles that saved Melara."

...Pem wasn't waking up.

The priestess reappeared, with more children from the sanctuary, and the Goddess spun toward them. Gwell went with Her, but Vellum walked over to Pem, a little tentatively.

"You fought the supervisors?" That was definitely awe.

Pem nodded, still not completely sure that this was real.

"I did."

"Did you get shot at?! Was it scary?! Did you get any?!" And that was breathless excitement.

Pem blinked at the rapid-fire questions. He knew what the big eyes and everything all meant. To this boy, Pem was a real life hero, and that felt weird.

"...I did get shot at. Fireballs were the worst. You can see 'em coming at you, and they look all, uh..." He searched for the words. "Like they're going to burn you away? Roaring and roiling, all angry, and...hot?" Pem was relieved that Vellum didn't seem to think his description was lame. "But it wasn't too scary, because we had the Sky Goddess' weapons and shields. And the supervisors couldn't surprise us, since the Messenger always told us where they were."

"And did you get any?!" Vellum asked again, still wide-eyed, still breathless. "With Her weapons?!"

"I did get a few, I think. With lightning. But I don't know exactly how many. It's sometimes hard to tell who it was that actually got 'em."

Vellum twisted around, back toward the portals. Pem sensed that he wanted to share his find with the other sanctuary children, but the Sky Goddess was still reassuring everyone that the priestess had brought to the shrine so far. Pem was not surprised that they needed reassuring, in fact he was surprised to see them here on the ground in the first place: everyone knew why these children lived in the sanctuary, and why they never left.

Vellum didn't seem too disappointed that nobody was paying attention. He picked up right where he left off.

"I bet you're who the Sunset God brought items for!"

Huh?

"Sunset God?"

"Mmhmm! He's married to the Sky Goddess!"

There were a lot of things that this should have made Pem wonder about, but what came to mind was, 'So, it's not just the Sky Goddess and Her Sisters. The priestess probably is a half-Goddess, then, or something like that. Thought so.'

"I see. Is He with you, coming here? What exactly did He bring?"

"Yeah, He's at the other portal! And, um, there's a rod, and a...like a ball?"

"From the shelves?"

"Yup! He picked 'em up on the way here."

"The rod shoots lightning," Pem explained. "And the ball makes shields."

Vellum's eyes found a way to shine even brighter.

"I knew it! He said there was someone--"

"Vellum! Who's your friend?"

Nonononono. Please no. Pem should have predicted this, but he'd gotten caught up talking with Vellum. He needed more time, to prepare. Just, just give him, he needed a minute, to--Ahhh! Should he stand? Or was it more polite to keep sitting on the wall, so he stayed below her?

Too late. The priestess was already standing in front of him.

Definitely a half-Goddess. Or something.

"This is Pem!" Vellum gushed. "He fought the supervisors, and saved Melara!"

She looked at Pem's pile of weeds and clippings, then ran her eyes over the shrine's flower garden.

"And he takes care of the shrine," she approved, quietly. The priestess leaned into a little bow, and her earrings caught the midday Sun as they dangled out from under her hair. "Thank you, Pem. Everyone loves helpers."

Panicking, Pem shot to his feet and began to match her bow for some reason, except he recoiled when he realized how close his head would end up to hers, which caused him to lose balance and flop back onto the wall. Smooth.

Unfortunately, he had not dug any holes in advance this time, so there were none for him to jump into. Even if there were, the priestess was misunderstanding about Melara, and it wasn't right to let her think highly of him for something he hadn't actually done. No choice, no excuses, no waiting for tomorrow: He had to clear that up, here and now, or he was no better than a liar.

"I didn't really save Melara," he told her. "I just made some piles of mud, that Sfeneff and a few other guys pushed on top of her, to put her out. It was completely by chance. That's all."

The priestess said nothing, at first, staring through him with unfocussed eyes. Suddenly, the blue markings on her face glinted in the sunlight as she smiled, and her eyes snapped back to the present.

"The Sunset God tells me that he remembers it differently. It was you who did not give up, and suggested that the Sky Goddess may be able to help. Whenever Melara helps someone, in her life, it will be possible only because you helped her, and that chain will never end. The death howl of a tragedy is beautiful beyond words, and echoes for eternity."

Pem resolved that, starting now, he would never again underestimate the depth of True Divinity.

"I am needed at the portal," she said. "The last of the children are ready to come through."

She glided off. Pem put his elbows on his knees, leaned over so his forehead was on his fists, and siiiiiiiiiiiighed. He heard Vellum sit beside him on the wall.

"Telf's pretty cool, huh?" the boy said.

"Yeah." That was one way to put it.

"She brought us to the portal, all by herself. Me, Gwell, and Arelvi," he bragged.

Pem snorted. A heroine straight out of a bedtime story, literally sent from the heavens to save orphans from the cruelty of the false gods.

"She has a lot of fans," he continued. "The Armory gets all filled up, every morning!"

'Have mercy, kid. I'm already dead,' Pem thought, but Vellum had more to share.

"The Sunset God said that He got the Sky Goddess to marry Him by being really honest." Pem's own fan leaned toward him, and signaled for Pem to do the same, so he could whisper a secret. "He's the God of Courtship. That's getting a girl to like you."

It was at this moment that the Sunset God appeared on the platform, next to the priestess, with a toddler and two girls around Vellum and Melara's age standing in front. As Vellum claimed, He was holding a pair of the Sky Goddess' items in the crook of one arm.

Pem had always wondered why the sky was blue, and then he'd seen the Sky Goddess. Afterward, he'd wondered why it changed color at sunset. Now he'd seen the Sunset God. But then, why more of a pinkish-red at sunrise?

...Ahhhh. She had been blurry, but he'd seen enough of the Red Goddess to figure it out. True Divinity was something else.

"Come on!" Vellum urged. "Let's go watch!"

"Watch?"

"You'll see!"

Well, what was Pem supposed to do? Run away?

As he walked over, the Sky Goddess repeated Her introduction of him, for all the other children, then introduced all of them. While She spoke, it sunk in, for Pem: Being someone who had fought and beaten the false gods and their minions, even for just a week, was no small thing for these kids. No small thing at all.

When She finished, the Sunset God introduced Himself.

"And you can call me Zyriko, if you like." Nope. Nobody was that shameless. Not with the Sky Goddess, either. "So, we're all here because we would like to visit Melara's house. Could you show us the way, and help protect everyone?"

This was a True God, so the lightning wand in His hand was the exact same one Pem had picked up this morning.

"I would be honored," he answered, managing against the odds to bow properly. "Our village was mostly destroyed, so we're still in tents while the new housing is built. Everyone is at the end of that path." He pointed to the gap in the wall of the shrine. "You can pretty much see them, just down the hill."

"Excellent! Thank you!" replied the Sunset God.

As He stepped toward Pem, to hand over the divine items, Pem heard Him in his mind.

<There is no reason to expect any danger--this is mostly for the children's peace of mind--but every village has its idiot. If necessary, please carry the Sky Goddess back to the portal, no matter Her protests.>

Accepting the tools of War, Pem felt Her power, just like always.

<I understand completely,> he answered. It was disturbingly easy to imagine the Sky Goddess throwing Herself at an attacker to buy everyone time. If stopping that required blasphemy, so be it.

The Sunset God nodded in thanks, then walked back over to the portal.

"Now, I won't keep you all waiting!" He announced.

He hunched over, and made a dark crystal orb in His right hand, shielding it with His left hand and torso as if to protect a candle flame from the wind.

"Ready?"

"Wait!" called the toddler--that was Arelvi. She ran to grab the priestess, and pulled her to a better spot. "Okay!"

Permission granted, the God straightened His back, and moved His hand. His audience gasped and squealed. The crystal became a red-orange setting Sun, bleeding red light into His blue glow.

As cool as it was to watch the Sunset God create one in His palm, Pem was most amazed at its effect on the Sky Goddess. He looked up, half expecting Her Sky to have turned sunset red even though it was noon, but She seemed to have contained the effect to just Her Own face.

Her husband smirked at Her. Chuckling, He made a simple bench, sat down, and patted the spot next to Him.

"They've made such a wonderful flower garden," He said. "It would be a shame not to appreciate it."

The Sky Goddess wobbled over and took Her seat. Their blue glows merged seamlessly, and the red from Their shared bench blended into it.

"Good wife."

Taking Her hand, He put the little setting Sun in Her palm, and closed Her fingers around the bottom. It melted into a puddle when He pulled His Own hand away. Red and blue light weaved together, dancing across the surface of the liquid sunset in the Goddess' palm.

'The God of getting a girl to like you,' huh?

'Young Vellum, big bro Pem has some bad news,' Pem thought. 'Seems like there's a bit more to it than just being honest.'

For a few heartbeats, the only sound was wind rustling the flowers.

"Sosanny! Come fly!" Arelvi cried, and reached up to the Sunset God.

Chuckling again, He pulled her onto His lap.

The Sky Goddess shook Herself, looked up from Her palm, and beckoned Sosanny over with a nod and smile. The girl hesitated, but eventually walked over, only to hesitate again, shuffling in place in front of the Goddess.

She patted Her lap with Her clean arm while Her husband absorbed the red off the other one. "If you want!"

Gingerly, Sosanny sat down. Within a few seconds of the Goddess' arms closing around her, she was gleaming.

"Ready?"

"Go!" Arelvi burst.

"...Ready." Sosanny's answer was a lot quieter.

The bench rose slowly to about Pem's height off the ground.

"That's where Melara lives." The Sunset God pointed with one arm while the other kept His squirming and squealing passenger firmly clamped down. Sosanny nodded silently.

After a few seconds, the bench returned to the ground.

"Everyone who wants a turn can go later, but we need to get down to the village," the Sunset God declared. "If we don't get moving, Pem won't have time for lunch!"

When She reached the edge of the brick-paved shrine, Pem watched with amusement, and interest, as the Sky Goddess cautiously placed one foot on the packed-dirt path to the village. She sighed in relief when the ground held firm, but Pem was a little disappointed. He had been hoping to see if the priestess could walk on the ground normally, but the true test apparently required a muddy field.

They set out down the hill.

<About your prayer, this morning.> Pem once again heard the Sunset God's voice, directly in his mind. <If it is your sincere wish to continue fighting the false gods, that is possible. Would you like to discuss it, while we're walking?>

Pem's skin started itching, and his pulse hammered in his throat. <Yes.>

<The first option is joining 'Keyic security.'>

<The fake supervisors?>

<Yes, the ones who helped during the revolt. I am guessing, though, that this option is not the best fit. It involves learning a lot of fancy protocol and other nonsense to fool the false gods into thinking you're a normal supervisor. It's as much about looking the part of a supervisor as actually fighting.>

The God was right, of course. That was not exactly what Pem wanted.

<There's a second option?>

<Yes. Please keep what I am about to say secret.>

Pem sucked in air. <I promise.>

Arelvi was sick of walking, so the Sunset God lifted her onto His shoulders.

<This current pause in the fighting is temporary,> He began. <People living in tents, like in First Blessed, is unacceptable. Huts are unacceptable. We need to improve living standards, before doing anything else. But eventually, every single lineage will face the same reckoning as the Limbots. We will need warriors who are not pretending to be anything other than agents of the Sky Goddess' damnation. Keyic security would provide you with combat instruction, but you would not bother studying protocol, or standing guard.>

That was more like it.

<This is the more dangerous option. Our enemies turning their own people into hostages is a major problem for us. Stopping that, by being disruptive deep in enemy territory, would be one of your most important jobs. You know the risks even better than I do. If you're interested anyway, go to the nexus and knock on the door when you're ready to commit. The priestess will tell you what to do next.>

Finding the courage to disturb the priestess would be the hardest part.

<Thank You,> Pem said.

<No, thank you.>

They were at the 'village' now, really a smattering of round blue tents amongst the ruins of Unit 038. Pem couldn't see anyone out and about from where he was, but that wasn't strange for midday break. This was a time for resting at home with family, by the will of the Goddess. People took it seriously.

"Canyll and Melara are in the first one, closest to the shrine," he said, pointing.

"Sosanny, Ginta, what do you think?" the Sky Goddess asked. "Want to go get her?"

The pair giggled and sort of sneaked over to the tent's entrance together, while everyone else stayed off to the side.

"Melara!" the girls called, one after the other.

Pem hoped Canyll survived this.

"Sosanny?! Kahuk. And Ginta?!" Melara's voice was muffled, but it was clear that she doubted her own ears.

"Surprise!" Sosanny sang, when the flap opened.

"Hiii." Ginta waved.

"You--. Mom--huk--can they come in?!"

"I don't think we'll all fit," Sosanny hinted. Ginta snickered and pointed.

Melara stepped outside, and her hands flew to the top of her head. She couldn't see perfectly, but even blurry sight was good enough.

"Everyone thought We should come to you, this time!" the Sky Goddess said. Canyll would have an idea of what was going on, hearing Her voice. "Surprise!"

Poor Melara didn't know what to do, looking at presumably her mother, inside, then at Sosanny and Ginta, who were cackling at the entrance, then at everyone else outside, including the unfamiliar Sunset God.

Pem walked over to check on Canyll. Leaning over to look inside the tent, he saw her in the same pose as her daughter, hands on the top of her head, but holding one of Melara's special items. He smiled at her.

"I met them at the portal, by chance!" he explained.

The Sky Goddess knelt next to Melara, Sosanny, and Ginta.

"Is your cough still about the same?" She asked.

"Yes. Only really--kahuk--when I talk," Melara answered. "Thank You."

The Sky Goddess' earrings flapped as She shook Her head.

"You are welcome. Don't worry about it," She assured her. "Vision getting better?"

"Yes. I can recognize everyone from here, except...?"

"Yes, I'll introduce you!" She waved the Sunset God over. "And that's good to hear! My Sister says that if the scarring in your lungs isn't spreading yet, it never will, and your eyes might keep getting better with time. But only if you keep using those items She made!"

"I was doing her eyes, just now," Canyll rasped. She knelt in the entryway, and held out with cupped hands the specialized healer, which had to be placed against Melara's eyelids.

"Perfect!" The Sky Goddess took the item. "Are you wearing the other one all the time?"

"Yup! Kahuk." Melara pulled her shirt up a little, to show the intricate sky blue mesh undershirt beneath it.

The Goddess touched a fingertip to it, to reapply Her blessing.

"Don't be shy, once it gets tight," She instructed. "I'll make you a new one as soon as you need it. I just need to see how you grow, before I can!"

In the meantime, the Sunset God had hunched over next to Her, ready to repeat His show from earlier.

"Now, I promised an introduction! This is My husband, Zyriko. He's the Sunset God!"

"Watch!" Vellum urged.

Pem nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't noticed the boy walking up behind him, which was a reminder that he was supposed to be keeping watch. It was a good thing that nothing bad could really happen, since there were no false gods or supervisors in First Blessed. Unit 038 had those, but Unit 038 had been destroyed.

Good riddance.