Who was Iskander

As they prepared to set off into the vast universe once more, the crew of the golden hind was taken aback by an unexpected sight - a spear, resembling the ones used by Perizad warriors.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean? And how did they even find us?" Edward bellowed, eyeing the weapon with suspicion.

Undeterred, Doreen bravely approached the spear and spotted a letter attached to it. "It says we're supposed to report to the head priest of the Perizad temple in Babylus if we ever find ourselves on Sassan," she read aloud.

Yosef, on the other hand, was more concerned about the damage the spear had caused to their ship. "Well, at least now we know who to go to if we want to fix the hole in the deck," he quipped, pointing at the gaping hole left behind by the spear.

~~

As they traveled towards the world of Sassan, Rufus asked Doreen about the legendary figure of Iskander.

"Why do you want to know about him?" Doreen asked.

"Well, I heard Iskander played a major role on the world of Sassan. Might as well understand and know about him," Rufus explained.

Doreen began to recount tales of Iskander's feats, each more incredible than the last. "He defeated Shiva, the destroyer god of the Svarga Loka heaven, on the river of Hydaspes, a feat no god could claim to have done. He beheaded the terrifying leviathan Sphinx named Unesh, who terrorized the moon world of Kamut, and established the city of Iskandria in its place, where he is still worshipped as a god even to this day. He even confronted an infamous pirate god of Araknes, named Kacyl, near a collapsing star and emerged victorious."

Rufus was in awe of Iskander's power and accomplishments. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"He said that he wished to challenge death itself, so he traveled to the collapsed universe and entered the rift to the underworld with two of his flying fortresses. He returned with just one. When he came back, his eyes were calm, like he had gotten there what he was looking for," Doreen replied.

Rufus was curious about Iskander's fate. "So he is a god of the Olympus heaven?" he asked.

"No, he died. Lived a life of a mortal, dying at the age of thirty-two to the regular flu. His death shook the universe as much as his conquests. Many believe he was actually an illegitimate child of Zeus, but he never claimed this and said he had no connection to him," Doreen explained.

~~

On the second day of the voyage, everything was quiet. Making the time pass on the gravity ship was hard. Everyone had gotten used to the regular sights the universe had to offer.

As the ship sailed on, the space grew still and quiet, almost unnaturally so. But then, in the distance, a flicker of movement caught Rufus's eyes. And then another, and another, until a swarm of flying fish flew past the ship. The air hummed with the beating of thousands of tiny dragonfly wings, and the ship was engulfed in a flurry of iridescent scales and darting bodies.

"Wow, I've never seen this many in one place before!" Suomi exclaimed, her voice ringing out loudly across the deck.

But as quickly as the swarm had appeared, it was gone, replaced by a sudden gust of wind that rocked the ship violently. And then, an immense presence made itself known.

"What the hell was that?" Joan exclaimed.

An almost divine aura filled the air, and they looked down under the ship to see something they could barely comprehend. It was an entire continent, or so it seemed, but it was alive, and it was moving. Scales the size of hills glinted in the starlight, and a multitude of eyes stared back at them, each one large.

"What is that?!" Amala shouted in shock, her eyes wide with amazement.

"That must be a heavenly leviathan. A leviathan that can be seen as a god," Suomi said in awe, still unable to contain her excitement.

"Well, this was a fun journey. Nice knowing you guys," Yosef said, his voice tinged with fear.

"Wait!" Suomi yelled, her voice cutting through the air like a knife.

The large ship-sized eyes looked at the golden hind. It moved slightly so it wouldn't crash into the golden hind. It simply stared at them, observing them.

"What is it doing? Is it trying to crash into us?" Amala asked, fear evident in her voice.

"It's not. We were the ones who were accidentally crashing into it. But it dodged us. Now it is trying to communicate with us to move and make way," Suomi explained, her mind racing with excitement and curiosity.

"You understand it?" Amala asked.

"No, but heavenly leviathans are practically gods and intelligent beings, though not able to speak. They are many times older than most of the gods and most are gentle by nature. They have evolved far beyond the point of needing to even eat. They are beings of endless life," Suomi said, her words pouring out in a rush.

"Yosef! Move the golden hind out of the way," Rufus ordered.

The vessel steered away and the enormous leviathan swam by them, in a different direction.

As the leviathan swam closer, the true scale of the creature became apparent. Its body was a twisting mass of gleaming scales, shimmering in the light of the distant stars. The creature's many eyes glinted in the dim light, each one the size of a house. Its immense maw opened and closed, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that glinted in the starlight.

As it swam past the ship, the leviathan's fins seemed to stretch on forever, each one rippling through the void like a living wave. The creature's breath billowed from its many airholes, a great plume of vapor that hung in the vacuum like a dense fog.

The sound of its passing was like thunder, a deep rumbling that shook the ship to its core. The golden hind shuddered as the leviathan swam close. Many swarms of flying fish flew close by, like they were its people, following their god.

The leviathan turned the gaze of one of its eyes at them, and for a moment, the universe seemed to stand still. Its gaze was both ancient and all-knowing as if it had seen the birth and death of countless worlds.

"It's... it's magnificent," Suomi breathed, her voice filled with wonder and awe.

Doreen nodded, her eyes wide as she took in the sight. "I've never seen anything like it," she murmured.

Edward's grin faded, his expression turning serious as he stared at the leviathan. "It's... it's like a god," he said quietly.

Rufus nodded, his eyes never leaving the creature. "It certainly has the power and majesty of one," he agreed.