The consequences of faith and devotion (part II)

Thirteen had changed himself, wearing a simple white tunic that somewhat managed to fit his size, it was a common dress of the clergy, so it had a big goddess symbol on the back and a smaller one over the heart area woven with golden thread.

The church attendant said it was paramount that he would go to the meeting alone since it was an unofficial meeting the presence of a kingdom’s knight was a problem and a demon-like Selie was out of the question for religious reasons.

So Thirteen had to walk the dim-lit corridors up to the room where the meeting would take place, it was a small chapel lit by a big stained glass window depicting a woman with her arms open.

There was a couple of row of pew on both sides, and a big ornated chair behind an ornated marble altar, two littler and less ornated chairs were on both sides of the big one for a total of five chairs.

In the biggest most important-looking chair sat a wizened bald old man with a huge birthmark visible on his bald head.

He had an ornated ceremonial vest and wore a golden symbol similar to the one sown on Thirteen’s articles of clothing, his eyes had barely the shadow of an iris and a pupil in them looking much like those of a blind man.

On his right, there was a young blond man with light brown almost golden eyes, with a similar but less ornated vest.

“You took your damn sweet time youngster,” Said the old man “Name ‘s Leovold, I am the voice of the goddess and I have got some questions for you.”

Thirteen smirked “Well your goddess sure is going through some puberty problems. At least you ain’t her eyes. Ask away, old-timer.”

The younger blond priest sprung from his chair but Leovold stopped him whit a simple gesture as he narrowed his eyelids.

“You are sick” He grumbled as the blond priest returned to a sitting position.

“Oh come on, can’t take a little jab, old man?” Asked Thirteen smiling.

“Quite the contrary; I enjoy a sincere outspoken person, they usually make a good show when the goddess punishes them for their insults. In your case I mean literally. You are sick. Your head is, that I can see.”

It was Thirteen’s time to narrow his eyes to the quick answer by the old priest.

“You can see I am sick. And in the head no less. Are you sure is not some after effect of the hit I took?”

The old man scratched his nose teasing the moles on it.

“I’ve seen my good share of people, I can tell a sick person from a wounded one. You are not wounded anymore.”

-Well now this is a first. One that can see sickness – Thirteen scratched his long beard and he pulled out his deck of cards and started shuffling them.

“Scratch that I guess you could be your goddess eyes in some ways.”

“You seem somewhat aware of it too. Well, I will ask of you to limit your so-called jabs to me, and not involve our goddess in them. Consider it is blaspheme to speak like you did and you are in her holy presence in this church in particular.”

Leovold deepened his voice as he concluded his sentence looking at him.

“I can’t help being a blasphemer I kinda have to know her, your goddess I mean, and I can do so only listening to you. I mean I think you know where I live usually. Are there very religious people that can teach me?”

Thirteen tried a logical emotionless approach to the matter, as he was more confident with it and wanted to remain on neutral ground, for the moment.

Levold grumbled “I see why she didn’t make your tongue fall at the least. She knows your every thought. At the very least you are not the lying kind. You could have fooled the princess and the king into believing you were a hero. You didn’t, I can appreciate that. Keep it up. First things first what’s your name, your real name I mean. “

“Does it really matter? How many heroes did your goddess grant your people ‘till now? Do you remember each of their names?” Asked Thirteen playing with the cards as he adopted a scenic mid-air shuffle.

Leovold massaged his head “You seem to have the wrong idea, youngster. It is not a matter of knowledge, it is a matter of good faith. You being open to us, I mean. As for the other matter, in the history of the kingdom of Cesio, there was only a hero. Hiroshi. And can you avoid playing with those cards here while we talk?”

Thirteen smiled “Good faith. Do people in good faith abduct guys or gals in the next world over?“ he sighed scratching his left eyebrow“How small is the history of Cesio when compared to the story of Edvigla? And what about the other hero that came from the north? What about those before? I know from the princess there are various stories of various heroes, and guess what? Some don’t even carry over their names, so it would be pointless to tell you my name.”

Leovold rolled back his head grumbling “That Sinalta and her obsessions, you do realize some of those stories are so old they might as well be fictional tales? Besides, it’s not like I would have had you here you know ?”

He said, returning his head to a more normal position his eyes focusing on the man that stood defiantly before him.

“I am a firm believer as you might imagine from my position.” He said narrowing his eyelids “That means I will wait with faith ‘till she provides a hero for us. If none arrives before Cesio falls then it only means that the goddess doesn’t see fit to save us. I would still pray she save the human race as a whole since she created us. That’s all there is to it. Were it for me, you wouldn't be here.”

“There’s no such thing as fiction without a hint of truth.“ Said Thirteen smiling “Then again, I am here now. I believe you have an older truth in your possession: the tale of the creation of this world by that goddess of yours, care to share? ”

Leovold smiled “Oh you are interested? It may take a while to tell that story”

Thirteen shrugged sitting in one of the front row lines “I believe I can’t exactly walk out of here without you saying so.” he shuffled his card once again, this time more normally “ And please don’t mind me using these cards is a way I manage the illness you saw.”

Leovold looked at him, as he could see directly into his soul; Thirteen had been serious this time around.

He needed to feel in control, it was something he couldn’t avoid, it was a part of his illness one he had to find ways to appease.

“Before he begins I would like an answer, why did you free the demon?”

Asked the blond priest to Thirteen that sighed.

“To prove a point.” He answered with a matter-of-fact tone and seeing his expression he proceeded. “You see when the princess explained to me the ritual used to call me here she said she asked for someone able to save the world. That’s not necessarily a hero.”

The young priest appeared confused “Able to save the world, that’s the very definition of a hero. I can’t fathom how you would declare not to be a hero from just that.”

Thirteen chuckled “See that’s the matter. What is the world in the first place? The one to cast the spell was Sinalta in the end, so must have been something related to her, in my view. The palace is the princess world so to speak, right? Or is it Sesti? What about Cesio?” He deepened his smile “What if it was Arcvelia?”

“DON’T UTTER THAT BLASPHEMOUS NAME! “ Shouted the young priest with anger, springing again from the seat, but the old one calmed him down.

“Niudan, you idiot, remember where we stand. If you can’t hold your horses down I will make you leave before you lose your head.”

He looked down at Thirteen then, narrowing his eyes.

“You” he grumbled “I wonder what the gods have in mind allowing you such leeway in here. Little jabs my foot, you are prodding us. ”

-This old man is fun and sharp too-

Thirteen smiled as he chuckled “What if I am? How was it? Oh yeah, it’s a matter of bad faith! You see I expect you to lie to me at some point in our little chat.”

Nuidan looked at Leovold and he sighed “Please explain it to him, maybe you will cool down your head a little.”

Nuidan nodded and spoke with a less emotional tone. “ In this room, one cannot lie. Nor use violence, insult the gods or otherwise. “

Thirteen rose an eyebrow “Oh, like in the king’s throne room?” he asked remembering what he was told when he visited that room on his first day in that world.

Leovold laughed a little “Oh please, that’s magic. Here is the divine will acting, that’s like comparing day and night! Besides the major difference is that the circle is set up so one cannot lie to the king when making a request or asking for a pardon for an offense.

Here nobody can, that includes us, priests. If we were to lie or step out of line we would be punished by the goddess herself. You’re welcome to try a little lie to test it.”

“My skin is ” tried Thirteen but he couldn’t finish the sentence for he felt a force pushing back the word he wanted to say, his throat burning a little like a hot liquid was pushed through it.

-It doesn’t feel different than in the palace- He thought scratching his head and he continued “My name is Thirteen” he said without a problem observing the stupefied expression on the younger priest, the older one didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.

“I see” he simply said “So you wanted to know how we humans came to be right?” Thirteen nodded “Very well. In the beginning, there was the sea of time, there was no order so all time could do was be still as a sea of chaos was below it and hindered his progress. From chaos rose the goddess. She was alone in the darkness and she shone her light and saw the vast emptiness of the void.”

He coughed a little, making Nuidan leave the room in a rush.

“As she was shining, from her separated darkness, and took form. It was a dark god, mirroring and opposing her. Where she choose light, he became darkness. Where she was female, he was male. The two of them initially were confused, but they were still alone, and as chaos had divided time began to flow between the two, becoming a river.”

Nuidan returned with a wooden tray bringing a simple clay jug and three ornated glasses. He prayed to make the jug fill in front of the three of them and then he served to drink to Leovold, then he poured one glass from himself, and in the end, he poured a glass to Thirteen that gave a sip only after seeing Leovold downing the glass in one go.

It felt fresh on the tongue but it had a texture different from water; of course not having a sense of taste he couldn’t tell it was like a mix of various fruits juices.

“Ah, sorry. I hope you were thirsty as well. Where was I? Oh right, as time continued to flow the two opposites came to love each other, and they generated a progeny of gods. Each of them brought new aspects as it manifested, but possessing both the light of the goddess and the darkness of the other. When the god of magic came to be, the goddess asked him to use his power and bring shape to the void. He accepted, he and his mother united their powers and shaped the energies of the endless void. Thus they created Edvigla, but the god of darkness became jealous of the result. After all, it was the first time in a long while the goddess didn’t make something whit him. So he poured his power and filled the void with darkness.”

-that is an interesting explanation for the darkness in space-

Thought Thirteen as he sipped from the glass as Leovold gulped another glass down, he was doing all that talking and the chapel was very dry, so it was probably the reason for his thirst.

“The goddess could no longer leave Edvigla, lest see it swallowed by darkness; but her other half kept calling her, and she concentrated a part of her light in a sphere.

She made that sphere of light travel into the void around Edvigla, but the sphere couldn’t hold the power of the goddess and shattered, leaving a trail of light on his path.

Part of it dispersed in the darkness and started shining like gems.

Darkness kept calling and she resorted to asking her sons and daughters for help. The goddess of fertility and the goddess of nature created a sphere, but as the goddess poured part of her power on it and it became a lush forest that propagated down onto Edvigla.

The god of law and the god of justice made a sphere, but the sphere was silvery and reflected order and discipline onto Edvigla, not the light of the goddess.

The god of the sea and the god of trades made a sphere, but it was made of air and water and even if it shone blue, it couldn’t hold and part of it fell on Edvigla creating oceans and rivers and giving breathable air.

The god of magic created a sphere, and like the previous one this one was able to sustain part of the goddess power, becoming a beacon of shining light, a small mirror of the greatness of the goddess herself.”

Thirteen massaged his beard as he listened attentively to the words of Leovold that had to stop once again to drink.

- they are somewhat explaining how what they see in the night sky came to be. If it’s that kind of myth then the next thing they are gonna tell me is how everything rotates around Edvigla.-

He thought as Leovold started speaking once again.

“Our goddess reunited with her lover, but he was still angry, so to appease him she promised to let the world see him too, his power and domain. So she made the sun and the other spheres rotate around Edvigla, in a way that the other spheres reflected light and didn’t allow the darkness to swallow the new world.

For a while, it worked, but once again the goddess wanted something more, she created the animals to populate Edvigla, and this time the dark god united his power with the god of war to create a red sphere in the sky of Edvigla and created the monsters that started ravaging the lands. The goddess was angry at the dark god for the first time, so he conceded to her his powers allowing her to create the dragons, mighty beings that could help maintain the balance. He observed Edvigla and conceded it was beautiful; so he proposed a game. Each god would make a sentient race and see how it performed and worshipped them. Some gods refused the game on the basis they would’ve needed too much to create a race, others accepted, the first was the goddess that created the human race. As the other gods followed her example the dark god realized he would’ve needed the power of all his children and the goddess to make a race, but he couldn’t accept losing so he stole the power all the gods discarded as they created their races, and when his turn came he created the demons; the other gods could only watch in horror as the demons came to be”

Thirteen scratched his right temple raising his left hand, attracting Leovold’s attention.

“What is it?” he asked before using the opportunity to drink again after being served by Nuidan “I have got a question, why would they watch in horror?”

“It should pretty oh, right you don’t have a clue. How can I explain? Oh, right I told you that the other gods were created by the union of the goddess of light and the god of darkness.” Thirteen sighed “Yeah, they both have something from the light and something from the darkness. Like me, in a very broad sense. What of it?”

Leovold looked at him narrowing his eyes “In a very very broad sense, I can concede, but you are not a god. That I can tell. Anyway, it means that it is a power that possesses good traits and bad traits. For example, Light magic is good against the undead, and can be used offensively, but is generally mana taxing and not very flexible like other elements could be. So to make something the gods discarded that kind of bad stuff in a sense.”

Thirteen nodded “I see. Then the races couldn’t tolerate the demons and waged war on them, right? “

Leovold made a no sign with his head “Not exactly, It was more than the demons declared war on the other races to get back what they felt their own”

Thirteen rose an eyebrow as he scratched his head “Something about being complete and similar to the gods, right?”

Leovold nodded “So Sinalta told you this one I guess since it is the first appearance of the hero. “

Thirteen nodded “Something like that, she was less detailed, it was more like since the beginning of the Human race a champion is chosen by the goddess and given blessings to save the world. You told me I don’t have the hero title, but I should have some blessings to be healed, right?”

Leovold grumbled “I will have that brat recite the scriptures each day for a month as punishment. One cannot simply skip to the part he or she likes, the scriptures have to be analyzed as a whole. You have blessings and titles like most of us. They were given to you when you came here. No living being can survive on Edvigla without a blessing.”

-I have a title? And blessings too, hurray...not! - Thirteen frowned and sighed before shuffling his cards. “I guess you can tell what those are. I cannot. Care to share?”

Leovold pondered a while, this time drinking from the ornated glass very slowly.

“Well console yourself, without a priest learning one’s blessings or titles is impossible. But why would I or any other priest here share those with you? You don’t seem open to sharing anything about yourself.”

Thirteen rose an eyebrow “ So you expect me to save this world without knowing the very blessings that allow me to survive?”

Leovold shrugged “Yeah, I mean you kind of made a point with the king you have your knowledge to use right? So even if you knew what kind of blessings you possessed, it’s not likely you would use them for us. “

Thirteen smiled, he left the cards on the desk and slowly clapped the head priest.

“Colour me impressed, you would blackmail the one and only possible savior of this kingdom. Your sermons and teachings must be a blast, Leovold.” He chuckled lowering his hands and placing them on his deck. “You see, the Way of Mastery is to break all the rules. But you have to know them perfectly before you can do this; otherwise, you are not in a position to transcend them.”

Leovold and Nuidan appeared surprised as the circle on the cards lit under his touch.

“You … you are not supposed to use magic as a weapon”

Thirteen shook his head “There are weapons and weapons, in my case, my weapon is knowledge. I wonder, what would happen if I were to ask my deck what kind of blessings I possess .”

He said flipping the cards over as he spread them, while most of them remained white the major arcana were all to be seen. “I see. I guess you might have a hard time understanding what some of those are. Like this one.” he tapped on the card depicting a shape that Leovold could interpret.

Thirteen didn’t consider that both of those priests were very well versed in allegories and could somewhat give meaning to the most obvious images, like the one depicting death he was pointing at.

“You see there’s no line thin enough to separate opposites in my world, things that are a part of a cycle,” He said shuffling his cards back.

“You, you shouldn’t be able to tell! You are no priest!”

Thirteen smiled a little “As I told you, I need to know the rules to break them apart. “

He chuckled “Besides there’s nothing my cards can’t tell.”

“So that’s what that title of yours meant. You are a keeper of knowledge, of all knowledge.”

-so that’s a bullseye, my blessings are related to the major arcana. But how? And in what interpretation? I need to investigate this.-

“I know things, and I am not exactly fond of sharing. Some of the things I know may very well blast this whole world to kingdom come. That’s why I am so reticent on sharing my name. Once again, what guarantees me that you won’t use it to command me? To raise me from the dead? Or whatever else you do with compulsion magic. The problem, for you I mean is that I might interpret the things I know whit my knowledge”

Nuidan appeared confused and asked. “Wait, how can that be a problem?” Only to be reprimanded by Leovold “Fool, he’s from another world entirely, he lives by principles we don’t know to begin with. To put it simply he lacks common sense as you do!”

“Ouch,” Said Thirteen chuckling as he acted hurt, his right hand going above his heart.

“You hurt me! I have common sense, Leovold. The matter is that I act upon a common sense from another world, one you know nothing about. So,will it be good here? Will it be bad? I would give my interpretation of my blessings, and titles, so that I may know and decide.”

Leovold grumbled and started begrudgingly explaining the blessings and the titles to him.