The Righteous One

Lets return to Astra and see what happens when a deity goes missing and a mortal tries to find her...

Deep in a long forgotten land consumed by war, there sat a temple. The temple was once surrounded by a lush rainforest. Beautiful foliage hid this pyramidal stone structure for millennia. Only now the land was barren, revealing the eroded pyramid to the world. The land was gray and scarred with the scorched remains of bombings and bombardments, but the pyramid remained in tact, only beaten down by the natural progress of time. The land itself held the scars of war, and now the war had moved on. Only the temple stood. 

Forgotten.

Forgotten until two men stepped up to its entrance. In the early haze, Borlen imagined that there would’ve been morning dew cascading down the sides of the pyramid, dropped upon it by ancient trees that hid it for centuries. Now it was alone. His skin flushed to a dark swirling nova as the pseudo-stars twinkled across his cheeks.

“Lou…” He said as he pulled his dense metal helmet off, revealing his short black hair and hardened features, “I can’t believe we did it.” The tall dark skinned man next to him gave a wide smile,

“All in a day’s work, my friend.” Lou replied. 

“Yeah, seriously…” Borlen sighed. He had spent most of his adult life searching. The last temple of the Xella… a forgotten holy relic to his people - to his bloodline - lost to time. It turned out all he needed was the right guide. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Lou. How can I repay you?” He asked.

“Well, my usual charge of course… but you already paid for my services.” Lou replied with a wink. “But I think in good time, you will pay me back, my friend.” Lou put a large hand on Borlen’s armor-clad shoulder and squeezed. 

Borlen was not a small man by any means, but Lou towered over him. He was a long lanky figure with a happy broad face. His short curly hair was receding and he wore a brimmed hat to cover it up. He dressed strangely for a traveler - a dark suit covering his long limbs, and a shawl made of what looked to Borlen like finger bones was draped across his shoulders, cascading down his chest. They had traveled together for two weeks of this journey, and he had learned Lou was a thoughtful and compelling man who knew a lot about the goddess, Guayaxella, and her history as the galaxy sculptor and goddess of peace. 

His goddess.

Lou told him stories of Borlen’s goddess that he had never heard before. It enthralled him. They shared the different myths of Guayaxella’s disappearance and in turn, he told Lou the story of his family’s lineage: What had been done to them.

Borlen was a member of the Eris lineage - the once proud bloodline of champions to the goddess. They were a dishonored family. His ancestor over a thousand years ago was the last member of the Xella people - Guayaxella’s chosen people - to be empowered as the goddess’ champion. Then, he was disgraced; stripped of his power for a lie perpetuated by those who wished for the downfall of Xella people everywhere - that was the story his grandfather told. With the righteous blood of a champion running through his veins, he had to release the goddess from the vessel the myths foretold she was trapped inside and restore honor to his family and the Xella people.

But how did Lou know? How could he know? He was merely human, not blessed by the goddess. Not a Xella. But once Borlen told him what he was looking for, Lou lifted a hand, smiled, and led him along. He was a kind and gentle man who led him right to the pyramid… but every time the Eris noble asked Lou how he knew, Lou smiled, and deflected. He waxed poetically about being an old man who had seen Astra, and all her glory and horrors. One last time before going into the pyramid, he needed to ask, “Lou, before I step into this place that will change the world as we know it forever, I gotta know… how did you know it was here? I mean, I’ve searched for years… how did you know?” Lou chuckled and nodded,

“My friend, The Fates hide nothing from those who aren’t afraid to ask them.” He was a poetic man, this much was true. Unfortunately for Borlen, he never understood poetry. Maybe he was a little too dense, maybe he was just tired from the journey, but all he knew for sure was that Lou didn’t want to tell him straight out what the truth was. Borlen sighed,

“Well… can’t say I didn’t try.” Lou nodded in response and smiled his broad grin. “Lou, it has been a pleasure to know you. When I step outside again, I will be a champion to Guayaxella, and a servant who will bring the Xella from the darkness of the corners of the galaxy into the light of the shining stars.”

“Ah, the prayer of the ancient Xella Protectors I see. Yes, I hope to see a robust religious revival when your goddess awakens… we need more Xella to have faith… we need more faith, that we do.”

“You know your stuff, Lou… well, see ya.” Borlen began checking his armor. It was a power suit made up of a metal alloy of some sort - he didn’t know how it worked or what it was made of, but he knew he spent his family’s fortune on it and they weren’t happy - their tune would change when he came back a champion. System checks came back green so he began loading his rifle, and checking to make sure the energy pack was charged. He dreamt of having one of those new solar rifles he heard about in Pashak when he was passing through, but apparently those were for militants only. Lastly, he pulled a broadsword off his back and checked to see if it was properly oiled - his ancient family heirloom that he knew would prove himself a descendant of the Eris bloodline. 

“Actually, if I may…” Lou said, lifting a hand.

“Yeah?” Borlen asked.

“I know you’re expecting some big bad corrupting force to be guarding her in there, but my dear dear friend, goddess of peace won’t take too kindly to… well… all that.” Lou gestured to Borlen’s weapons, “Maybe leave your weapons of war outside this once.” Borlen nodded, a thoughtful look across his face,

“You know, you’re a smart guy.” Borlen smiled and took his rifle - still loaded and powered up - and set it down on the ground. Lou flinched, but kept his smile in place. He disengaged the power armor, and stepped out of the heavy metal scaffolding built into it for him to stand in. He pulled the sword off the back of the armor then detached the helmet from the suit. Borlen put the helmet on his head and fastened the sword to his back, “Need this at least. How else will she know who I am?” Lou smiled and shook his head,

“She will certainly bless you, that she will.” Without another word, Borlen pushed his way up the stairs of the pyramid that lead up to the entrance. He turned back to wave to his friend, but Lou was gone. Borlen shrugged it off and continued upwards. He noticed that the pyramid itself was fairly weathered. When he looked closely enough, he was sure that he saw old etchings and drawings, and places where there might’ve been color long ago. He wondered how the wind itself could destroy such a beautiful, powerful display of the goddesses’ might. It had to be that the Xella didn’t believe hard enough. They lost her favor, and now they all suffered for it in a world that saw no peace. Borlen could be the hero who brought back peace… he would change the world.

By the time he reached the top of the stairs, he was several stories high. Looking back on the wasteland, he saw a distant city on the horizon. They didn’t know what was coming - salvation was near. He turned to look at the large double doors and sighed with an excited smile on his face, “This is it.” His voice came out as a low grumble, but every feature about him vibrated with excitement. He shoved his shoulder against the center of the two doors and pushed as hard as he could. Slowly, the doors gave way and he was standing in an entryway. It was dark at first, but as the natural light illuminated the space, electrical lighting upon the wall illuminated with a powerful white intensity that lined the stone hallway.

He followed the path in disbelief at what he saw. Even all those years ago, they had electric lights? Maybe they were solar. They seemed a little old fashioned in their bulb design from his limited knowledge but it worked. The walls were etched with an ancient language. The characters reminded him of the old Xella prayer books his grandmother had shown him growing up, but he couldn’t read the words in those nor here so it didn’t matter to him. He shrugged and continued walking his way through the dusty structure. He knew somewhere inside, the goddess’ vessel had to be here.

As he trekked deeper into the pyramid, he began to see a light growing in the distance. He trained all his focus upon it and quickened his pace. He steadied the helmet upon his head - he was starting to realize it was a little too big for him - and took up a brisk jog. He kicked up dirt and dust but he knew it wouldn’t matter when he came back this way. He’d be the servant of a goddess after all. 

As he grew closer to the light, it became brighter, forcing him to squint. The walls around him seemed to dissipate. As he pushed onwards through the blinding light, he found himself walking through a thick fog haze. The light seemed to lessen in intensity, and when he looked around he was no longer in the hallway. All around him was the white light, the ground covered in fog. Behind him, infinite of the same. He looked about in confusion and terror. Where was he? What sort of trick of the mind was this? He had to push forward.

Borlen quickened his pace and began to run through the strange endless space. All around him, a wailing call began to crescendo. The earth itself shook and he felt his feet struggle to steady. The pyramid shuttered and the wail became a piercing scream as though the hands of the unseen director called for ethereal terror. Borlen tripped and stumbled across the ground. The calls of the divine didn’t cease and his ears began to pound in pain - a warning to his mind that it could only handle so much. He pulled his helmet off and threw it to the ground, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut.

It all stopped.

He opened his eyes with hesitance, then pulled his hands away. He was surrounded by the ethereal night. A realm prayed to by the Xella. All around him, the galaxy was being made - woven into existence as the universe expanded, pulling apart, parsing out potential. He stared in awe. He fell into a new world… How did the pyramid connect here? The ethereal night - the goddesses’ home realm.

Then he saw it.

Approaching on the horizon was a strange white orb-like figure. It seemed to flutter across the air as it came nearer and nearer to him. He reached for his helmet and threw it upon his head in haste - it was a good thing it had been transported with him. He pulled his sword from its sheath upon his back and knelt down, shoving its tip into the soft stardust of the ethereal night. He had heard of the orbs - they were structured like armillary spheres. They were caretakers of the galaxy sculptor’s creations. They were orbs of white light wrapped in constantly rotating rings. It was said the rings could move like arms, acting to tend to her divine creations.

“Being of the divine, I come seeking our goddess so that I can free her from -” before he could finish, he realized the orb had let loose one of its rings and lashed it out at him. It reached for him, barely missing as he stumbled away in horror. Borlen flipped his sword over and held it defensively, “Being of the divine, I mean no harm! I only wish to save our goddess from eternal damnation.” The orb gave no reply, and instead another ring extended out at Borlen. He swung his sword, slicing the whipping ring in half. “If you don’t mean to help me, then you must be the thing that imprisons her divinity.” He adjusted his helmet and ran at the being.

The orb threw every piece of its body at him, whips cracking and missing as Borlen cut each one down. All around him, its monstrous arms were spread out, engulfing everything he saw. The ethereal monstrosity would not hold him back, would not stop him from succeeding in his divine journey. 

Borlen stumbled as his helmet snapped off his head, tumbling down behind him. The orb wrapped an arm around it and squeezed the metal until it crushed down into hot dust. He gasped in terror at the thought that it could be him crushed to nothing. Borlen regained his composure and pushed forward. A passing whip cut into his bicep and he cried out in pain as he slashed at the body of the orb. As he made contact, it let out an eldritch screech that made his heart race and his mind twist into terror. The creature began pulsating, its arms flailing and slamming into him. He turned his sword downward and stabbed through the top of the orb and smashed it into the ground. Borlen held the orb there as it writhed and struggled. Behind him, the rotating rings writhed across the floor of the ethereal night. He pushed down deeper into the orb, forcing it into submission. When he saw the rings stop moving, he stopped pushing. 

Borlen collapsed onto the soft ground and sighed. He looked down at his body and realized he was covered in deep cuts and gashes. It looked like after the first one crossed his arm, he didn’t feel the rest pass through him. He wished he would’ve brought his armor… maybe Lou was wrong.

Borlen gasped for air as he watched his mesh bodysuit start to bind over the damage, acting as temporary bandages until he could get first aid. At least the blood loss wouldn’t be too bad. All he needed was to get to Guayaxella and be crowned champion, then he’d be fine. Maybe he’d be able to heal himself. Maybe the goddess would do it for him.

He just had to get to her - find her. 

Somewhere deep inside the pyramid - if he was even still inside. Borlen stood up, placed his foot upon the dimming orb, and ripped out his broadsword. It was torn away with a strangely dry shrrrrk. As he checked the sword for damage, the orb began to glow again, its intensity growing dramatically to the point where he couldn’t see. Borlen dropped his sword and covered his eyes. To him it seemed like a time bomb, the brightness counting up to the inevitable explosion. 

Instead, his thoughts began to be flooded with horrors.

Borlen could see the infinite vastness laid out in front of him. There was a constantly spreading endless destruction of the galaxy looping over and over, like a never ending collection of supernovas imploding. When he looked down, his body was one with the galaxy, his stars were the infinite stars of the universe, and as each giant expanded and collapsed into supernova, he watched his body explode apart. He wished he could scream but he had no mouth. When he reached for his face, his arms were one with the spiraling arms of the galaxy. He was one with all, and all was endless death. He heard his pleas deep inside his mind, but they fell upon a world without his goddess. The land was barren, the galaxy was bound to him, for he could not escape it, this was his fate.

This was everyone’s fate.

This was Borlen Eris’ fate. 

To become part of the cycle, to decay, to die.

He blinked then fully opened his eyes. Borlen was surrounded on all sides by a square room with a domed roof. Through the roof there was a needle-sized hole that projected starlight, barely illuminating the room. He was sitting in the corner of the doorless room. His legs were pulled to his chest, and he could see blood soaking through his bodysuit. He was gasping for air - as though his lungs may have been pierced, and his head was pounding. He couldn’t tell how long he had been here. How long had it been since he passed into the pyramid? When he looked around, there was a lag to his vision that made him dizzy and nauseous. How did he get here?

On the other side of the room he saw what he wanted - what he needed - a large sarcophagus that the room was carved around. The sarcophagus filled him with energy, surged him with hope. Borlen lifted himself off the ground. When he looked down he saw his sword. He stumbled towards it, the room shifting under his feet as he bent down to grab it. He stabbed it into a crack in the floor and steadied himself. Borlen coughed and blood dribbled down his suit. 

He collapsed.

He dragged himself across the floor, blood following in a trail. He abandoned his sword. He wasn’t sure where his helmet was anymore. Maybe it was lost to the ethereal night. Maybe it was in the corner. He couldn’t tell anymore. All that mattered now was opening the sarcophagus. He strained to pull himself up onto the stone prison. Etchings of the stars and the winds of the galaxy were painted in beautiful detail across the top. Borlen put all his weight into the structure and let out a scream of pain as torn muscles and a fractured mind struggled to go on. 

Finally, he heard the crash of the lid crumbling into the stone. He pulled himself up and looked down upon a beautifully wrapped corpse. Beneath him laid a figure covered in pure ceramic white wrapping with gold stars and imagery of the galaxy painted onto it. Across the corpse’s chest was a teal breastplate that reflected him back in its glossy wide heart-shape. He stared at his bloody face and the sick gray color his skin had become. He needed this. He needed her. 

Borlen raised his fist, and threw it down upon the breast plate. It shattered like glass, the chunks of it jamming themselves into his fist. Blood started to pool on the ancient corpse.

The room became filled with a low moan that began to raise in pitch, higher and higher until it was as though a great celestial, angelic being had become the room itself. The darkest corners of the room began to glow. Borlen collapsed to the ground, his arms unable to support him leaning upon the sarcophagus any longer. He stared up at the ceiling, waiting. 

Waiting.

The light ceased, and the celestial song deepened once more into a groan of words he couldn’t understand, but twisted his mind into throbbing knots when he tried. Slowly, the language became familiar to his ear. The voice was deep but melodic, powerful but in a tempo of speech that made it feel like she sang to a tune his ear couldn’t hear. “What fool has raised me from my slumber.” Her tone grumbled across the stone. The room vibrated and he felt it inside his chest. He leaned his head forward, his mind spiraling as his body pleaded for help,

“Goddess…” He croaked out. There was a silence over the room, then a figure leaned over from the other side of the sarcophagus and looked down upon him,

“A child…” She whispered. She had luscious hazel skin with freckles like arms of the galaxy sprawling out across her clear cheeks and trickling down her shoulders like a cloak of beauty to mask the power beneath.

Guayaxella. 

The ethereal sculptor. Goddess of goddesses. Queen to the stars. Daughter of they who came before. A powerhouse hidden behind a gentle face and eyes that glowed with stardust. She took the form of a large plump woman with broad cheeks and a serious face. She glared at him, “Tell me, mortal child: Who are you?”

“Borlen… Eris… here… to claim my place… as your champion… my goddess -” She recoiled in disgust. Her voice howled across a wind of her own making.

“You who disgraced the name Xella? Tainted bloodline. Coagulate upon this floor.” Her words were strange, but he thought he understood. She rejected his destiny. Borlen stared at her, despair in his eyes,

“No, you must be confused…” He pleaded, “We were… champions.” She let out a laugh that sounded more like a melody.

“No no no… you weren’t there. Your ancient father he disgraced the sculptor - he who craves unholy retribution. Disgrace me now. To ruin my slumber. Destroyed my vessel - what in the name of the stars - tainted blood.” She answered her own question and waved a hand at him in disgust. Borlen couldn’t tell if he was only hearing half of what she said or if he heard too much and it was driving him to madness.

“What… what…”

“Murderer. Torturer.” Her voice soared into a high keening yowl, “Drag my name through the graves of the dead - he who calls it righteous - You carry his sword!” She pointed a finger that illuminated the room in a flash of light. “You disgrace my Xella.” She leaned down, her large imposing figure directly over top of him. Her very eyes - stars perpetually erupting into uncontrollable supernovas - began to drive him to the brink of reason, words failed him, his mind warped, his eyes began to bleed. He wailed in pain. The words finally came together, finally made sense, “Your bloodline was my greatest mistake. You. Are. Tainted.” The goddess pulled away from him in contempt.

She waved a hand to him as she turned away. A portal opened before her, the very heavens bending to her every whim. “I’m doing all Xella a favor by letting you die - decay here.” She stepped through the portal, and it sealed shut behind her. Darkness. Silence.

Borlen choked, coughed, and his eyes fluttered shut.

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Borlen awoke with a startle to a figure cloaked in darkness standing over him. In the distance he saw the stars, the moonlight. Even further out across the night sky, he could see the arms of the galaxy racing across the sky. It was a blessing to see them through the pollution. Usually it would be a reason to praise the goddess… but… that had passed. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t respond. He felt too tired to panic. Too tired to move.

The figure knelt down and whispered, “My friend, don’t worry… it will all be over soon. Such journeys as these… gods don’t want us happy, no they don’t.” Borlen felt at peace as the voice spoke to him in a gentle, kind tone. The figure reached out and took his hand, “Listen carefully, this is going to hurt… it always hurts. I promise you - this is a promise, now - everything will be okay. Everything will be okay.” The hand tightened on his.

Borlen squeezed his eyes shut and began remembering everything that made him who he was. He remembered all of it. The lies - they were all lies. He was disgraced. Tainted… cursed. If he had control over his body, he might have been shaking.

Then he remembered how it felt at the time. Happy, prideful, empowering. The descendant of the last champion of his people. The next champion… he was to be all. He was to be a hero and now - no. Now it doesn't matter. Now was… now was different. Borlen’s eyes darted towards the figure. He couldn’t see him, but he felt safe. Borlen felt peace with his hand in the figure’s. He breathed out, the air quivering past his lips,

“I wouldn’t change anything.” He choked out. His hand loosened, falling away from the figure’s.

“I know.”

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.

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Gosh wow, this was such a fun one to put together. I really hope you enjoyed it! I think this is my fastest turn around on writing to publishing (started Wednesday, edited Thursday, posted Friday). Anyways, stay tuned for more not so fun experiences with gods, unfathomable monsters, strange technology, and a weird fusion of these things coming together into the Trials of Astra. The reception has been so amazing and I couldn’t be happier with how things have been going, so thank you to everyone who reads, leaves a like, shares with others, and engages in whatever other way.

Thanks, friends!