Mystery of the Cosmos: Episode 6

EPISODE 6

"Lady Diqa, were you able to translate the text?" Kohra asked Diqa.

"Yes. However, the translation is just as quizzical as the text itself. I was able to roughly translate it to common language"

"What does it say?"

"It's a bunch of numbers and letters with them at first. Then the last line says 'Destination; Jonathan's Keep'. That's all that's written on it"

"Ituli, do you know about this Jonathan's Keep she speaks of?"

"During the war, the invaders started conquering land for themselves and marking territories. They spoke a different language than ours so their fortresses had different names. Those territories of theirs have been occupied by Terrian natives so we can't determine where it is"

"Well, Ituli, it seems like this is where your usefulness comes in. You know where these territories are, find this Jonathan's Keep and look for clues. Let Lady Diqa accompany you"

"Your majesty, is this really okay?" Diqa protested.

"I'll send Jeir to the principality. She'll take good care of it. To the rest of us, let's start preparing for war. They have contraptions that can negate our magix so we need to fight fire with fire. We have to advance or our home would be snatched from us. You are all excused now" Kohra concluded.

The rulers stood and left the hall. Sol walked up to Diqa and the two went to discuss.

"Your wife left you, hun? You even got another one the next day. How nice it must be to be a royal" Diqa said sarcastically.

"Don't mock me. I can't do anything against those ministers or those stupid traditions"

"Sol, we haven't seen each other for how many months and you've gotten stupid. You're the king, you can make new traditions. You can abdicate. You could kill those ministers of yours or remove them with some law. You've given your wife the impression you don't truly love her. Oh, is it because she couldn't bear a heir for you?"

"I was caught on the spot and things went by so fast. I wanted to find her and persuade her to come back with me"

"You think she'll go back with you? Which woman do you think will bear such humiliation, much less an Ataliyan?"

"Diqa, please advise me. Help me. I'm at my wit's end"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop pursuing after her and focus on the war to come. You've laid your bed, now you must lie on it. If you'll excuse me, I have to follow a god in search of how to stop those invaders. You're on your own" Diqa said and walked away.

Sol sighed and watched her retreating figure. It was times like these he wished Alea was still around.
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Travelling with Ituli was tiresome. Diqa was naturally quiet but he was just irritating. He was a god, an original one no less, making his ego bigger than the planet itself. 

"Lord Ituli, how much farther till we get to our destination?"

"About a day's ride more. It's in a far off continent"

"Alright" she shut up again. It wasn't in her to say anything. Her thoughts wandered off and she thought of Sol, of Alea. It was this same god that tried to harm her beloved Alea. However angry at him she might be, He was a god. There was nothig she could do.

"I can sense ill intent directed at me from anywhere, no matter how small. What's the reason for your hate towards me?"

"Alea. You tried to hurt her. No, you hurt her. She suffered all the time she was on Terria because of you"

"The daughter of the moon. Well, it makes sense you would hate me. I did what I thought necessary to protect my people. I won't ask for your forgiveness, I know it won't be granted. I am not sorry for what happened to her but she should be grateful to me"

"For making her life miserable?"

"For helping her understand the meaning of life. Why do you think a celestial would be forced from their perch to live on the earth? It is simply for them to understand life and by doing that, understand their duties better. However, the duties of a celestial involves them just surviving. I planned to invoke them"

"Why? What would make you desperate enough to bring them out?"

"I have seen what is to come. The gods themselves are powerless. Only deities can at least stand their grounds. Without the help from celestials, Terria is as good as gone. With it, the whole cosmos"

"Wasn't there a better way of doing this?"

"You think I haven't tried hun? I have talked and begged the god council and the celestials. I cannot even ascend to deityhood because of this burden I carry. I ran out of options. Tell me, Lady Diqa, wouldn't you do anything to protect the principality?"

"........" Diqa couldn't reply. She was obligated to become leader, being appointed by her late master but she couldn't say she loved the principality enough to protect it. 

"I see. Well, witches were always very irritating"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You were forced to become the leader or something like that? Witches are fond of doing so. Their twisted ways of thinking makes me wonder why the principality still stands after all this time. Your founder was one twisted schemer. 

Look, however frustrating your people become, you must remember you are the leader and a leader does everything for their people. 

Kohra was almost killed by the very people she vowed to serve. Her own cousin led the rebellion. Many of her family and friends died. Yet, she still reigns over Ataliya as their Queen.

You are a leader. Act like one"

"You think yourself worthy of giving me such a lecture"

"I'm a rotten being, inside out. But the cosmos knows I would do anything for the sun elves. I am their founder and I am their leader. They put their trust in me that whosoever I do is to protect them. To me, that is enough reason to dirty my hands"

"You have no need for dirtying your hands"

"You're a witch, you aren't really worthy of saying that to me. 

Let's rest here tonight. You're a mortal. You must be tired"

Diqa argued no more and retired for the night. Ituli's words played over and over in her head, making her reconsider the decisions she had made. 

Ituli however, stayed up all night and watched the sun rise. His eyesight was better than hers and he was already looking at a sign post that read in bold letters, Jonathan's Keep.