Her beginnings, her departure, and connection to Zrephia

In the very beginning, five goddesses came to this world and gave it life. They created the oceans and the continents. Grew trees on land and weed in the seas. They filled the world with all mater of animals; birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Once the world was a paradise, they started the creation of the sentient peoples. Sio created the elves and gave them the gift of longevity and then created the fairies and gave them wings to fly with. The dwarves were given life by Belnu who granted them the gift of industry. Taelindra breathed life into the beastkind whom she gave the ability to control their metabolism. To be able to store fat in their bodies when food is plentiful as well as be able to spend long periods without any food. She also created the harpies whom instead she gifted with the genitals of both sexes. Then Imris gave life to the humans whom she presented with the gift of innovation. Finally, Aena wanted to have children as well, but she had difficulty creating them. So, her sister Sio gave her some of her elves, whom Aena could change and granted them the gift to control their fertility.

The goddesses lived together with their creations and the world was a paradise. Eventually, the goddesses fell in love with some of their sons and had their children. Those children that were born from Imris were easy to recognize, for they all had their mother’s eyes.

Then a great evil came to this world. A Great Demon, the likes of which mortals like us cannot imagine, entered this world with the desire to destroy it. It started its reign of terror by corrupting the mortals it came across, turning them into demons.

The goddesses fought back. They told their children to hold back the demon invasion while they dealt with the Great Demon. They succeeded in killing him and once he was dead, the lesser demons fled and went into hiding. It was then that the goddesses discovered that the Fairies had never shown up for battle. They had been too afraid to fight the demons. This angered Sio, who then made it so all the fairy adventurers lost her blessings and became non-adventurers again. From that day, it has been impossible for fairies to become awakened again.

The harpies, on the other hand, did show up for battle, but didn’t have the courage to stay. At some point, they broke ranks and fled the battlefield. For their cowardice, the beastkind goddess took away their male reproductive organs. For she considered them no longer worthy of it. Leaving them dependable on other species.

But the goddesses knew that wherever the Great Demon came from, it could spawn other demons like him. Imagine what could have happened if 5 of these demons came to our world all at once. So the goddesses decided to travel there and defeat them before they were able to come here.

Before they left though, the goddesses gathered their biological descendants, the ones they personally gave birth to, and told them to become the guides for their people. In the case of Imris’ descendants, they became the first kings for us humans and settled in Zrephia.

I carefully listen to each of the Priest’s words as I sometimes sip from the wine. This is the first time I am actually getting an explanation of what the red eyes mean. I already knew that long ago it was a sign of Zrephian royalty. Now I discover that before Zrephia, it was a sign of Imris’ lineage. Despite all this new information, it still doesn’t explain my case. And I am also wondering why Amelia still hasn’t joined us.

“That is all very interesting, mister Gabriel.” I tell the Priest. “But I have already determined that there is no possible way I could be a descendant from the Zrephian royals. So that does not explain the color of my eyes.”

“You are correct, mister Darx. The Church has been aware of you for a couple months now.” The Priest says. “We have investigated both your parents and neither of them have red eyes. This is important for the red eyes are always passed down from parent to child. There is also never a gap between the generations. If a parent with the red eyes has a child, but the child didn’t inherit the red eyes, the lineage of the goddess ends with the parent, and the grandchild cannot hope to get it’s grandparent’s red eyes. So, we have a different theory as to why you have the eyes of the goddess while neither of your parents do.”

“Ok. What is it you believe?” I ask.

“It is our belief that Imris discovered that her lineage has died out. In order to correct that mistake, the church believes she has first impregnated herself, and then transferred her child into the womb of a human woman, to bear that child into our world.”

The Priest then leans toward me and says, “It is my belief that this child is you.”

I calmly reply with, “No.”

I place the glass on his table and then repeat, “No. Just no. I can’t be. I won’t accept it.”

“It is certainly a hard thing to accept, mister Darx. But how else do you explain being born from a woman who had a damaged womb?” The Priest asks me. “I am sure she told you about her injury. That she is supposed to be barren. How could she possibly achieve a pregnancy without the help of the goddess?”

I stand up and look the Priest into his eyes. “My mother is Ilene.” I say. “Not Imris.”

“But of course Ilene is your mother.” The Priest replies as he stands up as well. “She bore you, raised you, and did so expertly. You are a fine young man with a great moral compass, which is evidence to Ilene having been a great mother to you. But you also have a biological connection to Imris herself.”

I turn away from the Priest and take a few steps. I have a hard time accepting any of this.

“I heard that you have been having issues with your dreams.” I hear Gabriel say. “Instead of dreams, perhaps these are attempts of Imris to make a connection with you. If you like, the Church could try and help you making a clear connection so we can receive her commands.”

I don’t think Ophelia is Imris trying to contact me. The Priest is certainly wrong about that. But perhaps, he can provide me with information that can make me connect with her. Perhaps that way I can discover where she is and how to save her. If I play this right, maybe I can get the Church to help me save Ophelia.

“I don’t know. Maybe? I have no evidence for it, so I don’t want to embrace the certainty that those dreams are Imris trying to contact me. But I also don’t have certainty that it isn’t.” I say, trying to create some plausible deniability for me. “So, if you could provide me with information, like how to better control them, I would certainly be grateful.”

“Wonderful.” The Priest says with a great smile. “I will task the entirety of the Church to gather all possible information on dreams, visions and telepathic communications. Once this is solved, you will be able to accept your place as a descendant of the goddess and we shall enter a new golden age.”

I am highly doubtful about his hopes. But I better keep him as an ally for now. I dare not imagine how bad my future will look like if someone like him turns against me.

The Priest also says that I can accept a room in the Cathedral and wait here as his nuns and disciples go through the books and search the information I require. I tell him that is very kind of him, but I already have a place in the Dark Dragon guild.

When my meeting with the Priest is over, I exit his study. In the hallway, I see Sister Charlotte waiting for me.

“So, how did it go?” She asked like a giddy schoolgirl.

I sigh and reply. “Well, it was a lot to take in.”

“I agree.” Charlotte says. “A lot of us had to take some time to come to grips with it. But your rank upgrade in the tournament made everyone realize the Priest’s suspicions are true. You are truly overflowing with the favor of Imris.”

She then comes close to me and grabs my hands. “There are quite a lot of nuns here who find that quite a turn on.”

This time, I very clearly notice her blushing, and the meaning behind it. I pull my hands away from her grasp and say, “Charlotte … I just need to rest for now. I would really appreciate it if you could just take me back to the Dark Dragon guild.”

Charlotte agrees to my request and walks me back to the big hall. There I find that Amelia has returned. Her shirt is clean and dry again, and she also looks not very happy.

She crosses her arms in front of her chest and says, “Darx. You went to see him without me. I thought we were going to go together.”

I feel so bad for Amelia, but given what I just learned, maybe it is better this way. It would have been awkward for Amelia to be there hearing everything.

“I’m sorry, Amelia. I was told you’d show up later.” I start, but I can’t hide my discomfort.

Amelia becomes concerned and asks, “Darx? What’s wrong?”

I sigh and tell her I don’t even know where to start. Then I ask Amelia if we can just go back to the Dark Dragons already. Charlotte offers to let us use the carriage we used to get here. As Amelia and I ride the carriage, I tell her everything the Priest has told me. About Imris having the same color eyes as me and how he believes me to be some kind of messiah.

“I have shown you the question marks on my adventurer card, Amelia.” I say. “This is also not my first rank upgrade. I started as a D rank, then during my training moved to C and at the end of the training upgraded to B. Rank upgrades are so rare people can consider themselves lucky they get even one. Nobody ever gets two. I have already had three. I don’t like it, but the idea that the goddess interferes and helps me out at least makes it plausible.”

I bring both my hands to my face and place them on my nose. When letting my own words sink in, I realize what it actually means for Imris to help me out with the rank upgrades. It means that each upgrade was in fact given, not earned. The realization that I may in fact not have earned anything makes me emotional and I feel my eyes getting watery.

“Amelia. I need you to promise me.” I say with shaky voice. “If it does turn out that I am a chosen by Imris and I am supposed to be some kind of messiah. For the love of everything. Please, continue treating me like you always have. Don’t start worshipping me, don’t place me on a pedestal. Just keep thinking of me like you did before Kase ever came into our lives.”

Amelia comes close to me and hugs my head close to her chest.

“You are not some kind of messiah, Darx. You don’t have the weight of the world on your shoulders. If these Church people do end up treating you like such, I will still be there, treating you like the wannabe adventurer you were a year ago.”

Amelia’s words help me calm down. Now I can feel comforted that at least she is not going to change. I truly do not want to re-experience the whole lack of trust I had with her all over again. If that happens a second time, it might mean the end of our friendship for real.

The carriage then stops at the Dark Dragon guildhall and lets us out. I let Amelia know that I need to be alone for now and talk this over with Kiara. I do ask her to find a quest for us in the meantime. It is fine if the quest is offered from her guild. Amelia agrees and leaves.

Once inside the guildhall I quickly discover Ari and Sophie. They were able to escape the crowd easily with the help of Ari’s Bunshin skill. I can see how suddenly creating 4 clones can help in letting the real one escape. After confirming Ari and Sophie’s safe return, I find Kiara and convince her to come to my room for a chat. There I tell her about everything that happened today. My meeting with Aelbrecht, the 5 gold pieces he gave me on behalf of the princess. My trip to the crafter’s guild and the subsequent mob which gathered. And eventually my trip to the Cathedral and conversation with the Priest.

“I see.” Kiara replies at the end. “So, it seems the Church also has an opinion as to where your red eyes originate from. Though to be fair, I feel you being a long lost Zrephian prince to be more likely than the goddess impregnating your mother.”

“I just don’t know any more. I feel both are impossible.” I sigh. “But there’s got to be some reason. Suppose it is true and I am supposed to be some kind of messiah. What would you then do, Kiara?”

“Well, first off, I would consider myself incredibly lucky, for I would have a messiah as my boyfriend.” Kiara says with a bratty smile. “Second, I would stay close to you, make certain you keep a level head and both feet on the ground, and warn you whenever I feel someone is trying to take advantage of you.”

Kiara’s response makes me smile. She is exactly the kind of person I need her to be, if something like that happens. I give her a hug and give her a few kisses. Then I let her know that I will be studying the books Aelbrecht gave me for the next couple of days. Hopefully this gives the people enough time to forget about me and let everything turn back to normal.