I Am a Seed

 We sat in the grand library above the temple in profound silence for a long while. I had no clue what to even say after a conversation like that. I didn't think she hated me. But at the same time, I simply couldn’t believe that leaving me to flounder on my own, wallowing in mental troubles while she could have stepped in at any time, was an act of love. For some reason, I still felt the weight of expectation.

In the midst of my reminiscing on my time in this world, wondering just how much my mother had seen — even the bathroom? Or when I bathed with Lynn? — Damos spoke up.

“So, Lady Aurea. Or, um, Miss Camellia’s Mom,” he said, drawing all eyes in the room to where he sat. “You’re… also from that other world?”

Mom slowly nodded. “Yes. When I died in an accident there, I woke up here, much in a similar way to Camellia. Though I woke up on land, in Sylvios,” she explained.

A concerned hum came from my right. Lynn, having finished crying with me, wore a perplexed expression. “But if that’s the case,” she said, wiping her eyes, “then how did you end up all the way up here?”

“This is where the story grows complicated.” Aurea stood up and strolled to one of the bookshelves, her white dress trailing behind her. She plucked a book from it, and flipped through as she spoke.

“Much like you all, I prepared for and completed my own share of ascension trials in the form of the ‘Trail’ of Ascension.”

“Wait,” Damos interjected, “you mean you only had to do the hike thing? Just because you were born on land instead? That’s not fair at all. People from The Bed have to do twice as much work for the same result,” he realized.

“So it is. Unfortunate, I suppose,” Aurea said, somewhat unconcerned with the obvious injustice.

Despite that, and despite my earlier outrage, Aurea’s story intrigued me. I wanted to know more. “Why did you do it, though?”

“Tethys explained that the trials were a measure of worthiness, yes?” Mom looked at each of us. We nodded. “What she didn’t say, however, is what champions would be worthy of.”

Flipping to a particular page, she came over and sat back down, showing it to us. It was a drawing of the three realms — sea, land, and sky — with arrowed lines connecting them. “The true purpose of the Trials of Ascension,” she pointed at the first connection, “and the Trail of Ascension — what a ridiculous name,” she pointed at the second, muttering under her breath, “is, in addition to allowing people to move from one realm to another, to seek and elevate potential candidates.”

Damos took the bait. “Candidates for what?”

Aurea snapped the book shut with a thud for dramatic effect. “Godhood.”

I didn’t quite connect the dots, but I could see the realization dawn on Lynn. “You mean to say,” she chewed on her words, “that both Tethys and Sylvia were…”

Aurea gravely nodded, confirming her thought, “Yes. Just like me, they were once mortal, too. In fact, just like you, I had my own aspect, one out of place from the rest of the world.” She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the ghostly visage of an owl appeared overlaid on her face, her eyes sporting massive pupils that seemed to penetrate your mind. She dismissed it with a wave.

“Why, though?” I asked. “How come we both got bird aspects, even though you appeared on land and I, in the sea?”

“As I understand it, this is simply because you are my daughter, Camellia. No matter the world, we are connected by that unbreakable bond,” Aurea said with a gentle smile.

“So you passed the challenges and were determined to be a good candidate to become a goddess?” Damos returned to the topic at hand. “But why? What made you so special?”

Mom pointed at me. “The very same thing that makes her special. We come from another world. Our souls are different. Not better, mind you, but different.”

Slowly, I put two and two together. “Wait, but wouldn’t that mean that Tethys and Sylvia also came from our world?”

“Indeed, though they are far older than I. Their reigns have been going on for millennia. But time moves differently between worlds.” Mom looked over. “For example: to you, Camellia, I passed away not even a year ago, according to your father’s letter. But I have been Aurea for over two hundred years, here.” She rested her hand on her chin, against the armrest. “That said, I have my suspicions that Sylvia was an old queen of England in her past life, what with that ridiculous arrogance of hers,” she sighed.

For the first time since I stepped foot into this library, I laughed. It felt good. “That would make a lot of sense.”

“So that’s the answer? Camellia is just… a goddess embryo?” Lynn’s voice was crestfallen, for some reason.

“Well, not quite. Think of her more as a seed.” She gestured to a potted plant next to her, one bearing the beginnings of what looked to be oranges. “With the proper care and environment, she could grow to be a strong and powerful tree. Or, she could live her whole life under the soil, without ever seeing the sun.” She put her hands out, eyes widening. “Not that one is better than the other, of course! Simply that the path her life will take is not predetermined.”

I leaned back. It was a lot to take in. I had the potential to become a goddess, just like Tethys, Sylvia, and apparently, my mother.

“Which brings us to the most important part, Camellia.”

“Huh? What else is there, Mom?”

She smiled. “By making it all the way up here, you have proven yourself worthy; you’re eligible to take the final trial and become a goddess. And Tethys just so happens to be looking to retire.”