Neytopia › Part 1: Dawn › Chapter 12

At the bottom of the box

She returned to the southern continent more powerful than she had ever been. There was only one thing she wanted now: the love of the masses. They had to see the god that walked the earth, the most powerful being and the only one they should pray to.

She roamed the southern continent for decades, creating small communities that worshipped her. Her people lived in all kinds of places, from regular villages and towns to underground cave systems. The larger towns and villages usually survived independently for a long time until a larger force conquered them. She now understood empires were doomed to fail, so she preferred to create small but enduring states which would forever remember her through their myths.

When she was satisfied with the South, she sailed North to do the same. But once there she learned about a new kingdom that grew larger by the year. Its king had pure intentions, or so she thought: unifying the the whole North under one religion, one banner. He offered promises of returning the land to the peasants and removing the nobility’s ranks.

She marched to the king’s castle, still under construction, to meet such an honorable conqueror. She claimed to be the emmissary of a powerul southern king. When the gates to the main hall opened, she saw the small man who had visited her in the island, now draped in purple and gold. She had to stop herself from bursting in laughter. She looked around in disbelief. The castle’s walls and the streets were covered with huge images of the giant, or rather, of “the Greater man”.

The official religion also included many past mythical figures, which she considered product of degenerate, cannibalistic, drunken northern tribesmen. They had been retroactively judged as good or bad depending on the answer to the question “How much did they follow the commandments of the Greater man?”

But she didn’t care about small details like making sense. No, she only cared about power and devotion. Her little prank on the small man had worked out great: instead of doing all the hard and tiresome conquering job, she could just convince a fool to do it for her. Meanwhile, she would play the role of the invisible angel of mankind.

She walked up to the king. He was sitting there, talking to four young, beautiful, scarcely-clad women. Then there was a distinct woman further back in full robe, looking at the ground timidly. That woman looked familiar. When the king saw her, he laughed briefly, then turned alternatively to look at her and the other woman.

High priestess, I didn’t know you had a sister!

The two women came closer to examine each other, not believing what they saw. Indeed they were sisters, but how? If she was her sister, then she would be… like her? She remained calm and cold, forcing herself to focus on what really mattered.

I have come here to speak on behalf of the Greater man. He gave you power so you would devote everything to him, which you apparently have done so far. Now He commands you to cleanse this land of the impure, yes, those who insult him with their wicked rites.

Look, this is a nice act, but the prophecy was already fulfilled. The priestess came and showed me and the people the way out of the darkness. There is peace throughout the land, and in a few centuries the whole continent will be at his Great feet. We don’t even have wars anymore. Landowners and tribes come to us, seeking to sell or annex their lands to ours. What else do you want?

No war? What do you mean no war?

She did not understand. Even worse, the king’s explanation was unacceptable. While she had been raising her small communities, some of the territories had been so crude as to reject her. Imagine that! Of course she had crushed them, killing every single one of their inhabitants, burning their cities to the ground and covering their lands with salt. She could not believe that the king had never encountered this common problem.

Sometimes the human spirit cannot be tamed and men endure whatever you throw at them. The only solution is total obliteration. And that’s precisely what she expected from the North: tough, relentless tribes she could pummel into submission. Suddenly the lights in the room shone brightly and she grew larger, speaking with a different voice, the one she had stolen from the giant,

LISTEN NOW, I TELL YOU. YOU WILL DO AS I COMMAND.

The king threw himself to the ground, groveling before her. He recognized the voice. She returned to her regular size and spoke with a sweet tone, so calm it was even more frightening.

Now that we understand each other, this is what you will do: every single man, woman or child who have even slightly offended Him will be burnt in one great pyre. So He demands it. That priestess who is standing by your side is an impostor, a liar and a whore. You will give her to me—She stopped for a moment, seeing the look of horror in the king’s face—I am His envoy, and I alone am in control now. So get this through your skull—She poked his head with her finger—He is always watching, judging every. single. thing. you. do. If you disobey him, He’s there! If you think of disobeying him, HE’S THERE! You are his and his alone. Only through obedience comes redention.

There was no discussion, no response from the king. The priestess kneeled and begged the king to protect her. The king also began to cry, but he knew he was powerless. She grabbed the priestess by the hair and dragged her to the priestess chambers, now hers. The priestess screamed and begged for mercy, to no avail.

She threw the priestess on a chair,

Who are you? Speak.

I-I’m just a priestess. Please, I just, I–I saw the opportunity to help a good king and I did. I never asked for anything for myself. If you don’t believe me, just look at my clothes, at my room. I own nothing of value.

Yes, yes. But you and I both know that’s a lie. I’ll give you one last chance. You will tell me the truth. Who are you and why do you look like me? Are you an impostor? A spy? Are you trying to steal this kingdom from me? MY kingdom!?

Please, no… please—The priestess broke down in cries. She threw herself to the ground and hugged the goddess’ legs—I’m sorry. I won’t come back, I swear. I’ve roamed the North for centuries, I will roam some more…

The goddess pitied the priestess,

Fine, get up and leave.

Thank you, thank you!

But then, the goddess held the priestess’ head firm and looked deep into her eyes. She knew that someone who had gained so much power never gives it up without a fight. She was a threat. And if she was like… her, she was her biggest threat. If she was like her, she was…

Hope?

The woman before her was the worst enemy of mankind, the insidious worm that grows inside you, carving its way out. That woman had invented all the different heavens. That woman had convinced men to do crazy things under the belief that there was an afterlife. Oh, she was her sister alright.

Can you imagine what we could achieve together, you and I? If only I could trust you.

But you can, dear sister.

She extended her arms toward the priestess to embrace her. The two women hugged and the priestess stopped crying. For about four seconds, until she pushed the priestess away, shouting,

No! It’s impossible. Snake, snake!

Please sister, no…

She tore her sister’s robe in a single motion, exposing her pale skin. Then she savagely beat her with a cane, yelling with each strike:

SNAKE! SNAKE! SNAKE!

The cane broke, but she kept beating her sister. Soon her sister stopped crying, and by the time she stopped, her sister was little more than a pile of broken bones over a pool of blood. During her frenzy, the king and guards had walked into her room and now watched in horror. The goddess’ left hand had broken during the beating. She was disturbingly calm.

Time for a fire bath.

The king’s men built the immense pyre with the dissenters she had ordered burned. The king, the nobility and thousands of citizens watched with disgust as the dissenters burned. Then they saw her walk right into the pyre. The whole court hoped that would be the last they heard of her.

At dawn, she walked out of the coals. At noon, the pile of bones in her room became once again her sister.

And the goddess was there, waiting for her sister. Now that she had proof she really was her sister, she knew what to do. The world had room for only one of them, and she wasn’t going to give it up. The two sisters looked at each other’s eyes.

Goodbye, sister.

She pushed her hand through her sister’s chest all the way to her heart and ripped it out with a single motion. Then she ate her sister’s heart to taste the forbidden fruit of hope. She knew her sister would be reborn again and again, so she gathered four masons and sixteen miners and took them to the mountains. There she had them dig right through a lonely mountain to build a thick stone prison which had barely more than her sister’s dimensions, where she placed her sister. Then she had them cover the path that led to her living grave, making it impossible for anyone to find her again.

Her sister would be reborn, find herself in the tomb with no food or water, and die of thirst without anyone ever finding her. She would be reborn and die over and over in a terrible cycle. Once the tomb was sealed, she gathered the masons and miners for payment and instead burned them alive. They were the only ones who knew where she was buried, the only loose end.

Finally, she erased the location from her own mind. The only thing she remembered, and would always remember, was what she had done to her sister.