The All-Mother

“I was talking to Faelar a few days back,” I said, taking a bite of the poached eggs before me. “Elves have had it rough.”

“Nothing but sob stories, sir,” Jaeger mumbled through the food in his mouth. “They could have easily had whatever they wanted.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t your people also have kingdoms of their own?” I pointed my fork toward Jaeger. “How did they fall to Mittengrad?”

“Humans had nothing to do with it,” he said, taking a bite of the turkey placed in front of him. “It was mostly just the Orcs fighting amongst each other which destroyed our kingdoms.”

“Could the two of you not talk while you eat?” Amber pulled out a chair, seating herself beside me. “It’s making me nauseous.”

“This ‘Great King,’ as they call him, what made him want to take over Elven territory?” I asked Jaeger, as I cut through a piece of toast using a silver knife and fork. “From what I read, it resulted in thousands of deaths.”

Before Jaeger could respond, Amber, who had been preoccupied with gathering the weirdest assortment of fruits and meat, answered my question. “He believed that humanity was the only branch that could carry out the All-Mother’s will.”

“The All-Mother?”

A clatter brought my eyes toward Jaeger, whose facial expressions had soured as he dropped the food he had held in his hands onto the plate below.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know of the All-Mother—”

“I’m sure you’re aware, Jaeger, but Aizawa isn’t from Triadell,” Amber said, sipping on some tea. “He isn’t aware of the Covenant.”

I cleared my throat and proceeded to avoid looking at either Jaeger or Amber. Not knowing about the religion that practically everyone followed across the continent, as well as the lie I had told Amber, proceeded to make me feel acutely uneasy.

“The All-Mother existed at a time when the world was barren,” Amber continued, pausing only occasionally to take a bite of food. “She gave birth to three sets of twins: humanity, elves, and orcs all came from her, and thus, built the world we have today.”

“I see.”

Jaeger clasped his hands together and muttered something under his breath that I assumed was a prayer.

“The Orcs came first, you know,” Jaeger said proudly. “That’s why we’ve been gifted with such strength.”

Amber simply rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore Jaeger’s comment as if it were too stupid for her to respond to.

“If you want, you can visit the temple,” Amber said, wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “I’m sure the priestess could give you a scripture to read.”

“I’ve already been a few times,” Jaeger added. “I can take you there right now.”

“Not right now, I have to try and get to Fredreich somehow,” I said as I left the dinner table.

After a miserable attempt to convince Fredreich’s men to grant me an audience as soon as possible, I sat at a faraway desk in the archives, reading “The All-Mother’s Blessings,” a book that contained information on the mythological lore behind these people’s religion.

Skimming over the pages and learning basically the same thing as what Amber had told me, my jaw dropped as I came across a depiction of the All-Mother, holding three sets of twins in her arms as she sat under a tree of some sort. My fingers traced the portrait, as my eyes glued to the page to inspect every stroke, every color. My eyes weren’t deceiving me; the same robes, the white skin and hair, the red eyes I had seen before now lay before me as the All-Mother.

“It’s her,” I whispered as I pushed the hair in front of my head back and leaned back into my chair, the loud creak reverberating through the archive.

Before I could process what had happened, an unreasonably short man walked up to me, dressed in shabby white robes. His beard dropped below his chest, contrasting with the completely bald top of his head. I recognized him immediately as Bardil, the keeper of the archive that I had acquainted myself with.

“Sorry to bother you,” his words slow and whispered, “but His Majesty has called for you.”

“He finally listened, I suppose,” I grabbed the coat I had hung on my chair and put it on.

As soon as I made my way out of the archives, my footsteps came to a halt when two armed guards blocked my way.

“Are you Aizawa?” said one of the taller ones, his voice croaking from within his helmet.

“Yes, I am.”

“Faelar wants to see you as soon as possible,” said the other.

“He’ll have to wait,” I pushed through both of them. “I have an audience with His Majesty.”

“Come see him in the barracks!” one of them called out from behind as I scurried off towards the end of the corridor, making my way to the dreaded throne room.

As I walked across the palace, there seemed to be an unusual rush; soldiers marching to and fro, stopping me at every turn, court officials running around with too much parchment paper for them to carry on their own.

Eventually, I found myself in front of the throne room, armed guards stopping me from entering until they got Fredreich’s approval.

“Let him through,” said a guard entering from within the room, who then proceeded to escort me in.

“Thank you, William, you may now leave,” Fredreich spoke from atop the throne, his face unreadable in the dark.

“But your majesty—”

“You may now leave, William,” Fredreich’s voice speared through William’s words. The guard bowed before leaving me in solitude to face Fredreich.

For a moment, silence lingered. The only sound that could be heard was the cackle of the flames that barely illuminated the stone room as I clenched my hands and strengthened my resolve.