As long as the Sun still rises every morning

An idea blossomed while he swam. If he was lucky, no, if he was right, he would be able to put it in motion that same night. With the stars and the Moon as his compass, he changed course for the south.

He ignored his body’s screams of exhaustion and kept on going until he arrived at the familiar rocky formation he was seeking. He prepared himself mentally, taking a big breath, and dove down.

For the second time that evening, he swam below the rocks, only this time he was familiar with the path and its length. Barely ten seconds later, he emerged into a hidden grotto, illuminated by torches.

A dozen of surprised eyes, accompanied by the tips of several different weapons, surrounded him. He rose both hands and shook his wet hair off his face.

“… Arthem?”, inquired the person holding one of the swords.

“Indeed”, responded the accused. “May I come out of the water? I don’t mind if you keep your weapons aimed at me, but I’m cold.”

Glances were shared back at forth among the group, until eventually, they gave him some space, without completely removing their threats. He crawled out of the ocean and sprawled his body onto the cave floor, catching his breath.

“What are you doing here?”, asked a female voice in an accusatory tone. “They are looking for you. They said you committed treason.”

“I thought it would be safe here, Anne”, responded Arthem after a few labored breaths. “And I really, really hoped you guys would be meeting tonight, since the Council called for an extraordinary one for themselves.”

“I heard he killed someone”, added a redhead man. Whispers started going around the group.

“Haven’t we all, Vik?”, Arthem sat up with his hands above his head, shrugging. This was a truth all Solarists had to live with, even if they believed their cause was righteous.

“What do you want, Arthem?”, the blonde woman called Anne cut in. “Why are you here?”

Arthem looked at her with an enigmatic smile. “I saw the prophecy.”

Murmurs spread through the group once more, and he let them a few seconds to process his statement.

“Why should we believe you?”, interjected someone else. “You abandoned us years ago. Do you even have proof?”

Arthem sighed theatrically, shaking his head. “Have you not seen how hard they are looking for me? Just for good old murder, really?”

“Also”, he added after a few seconds, once again letting everyone around him think about his words. “I know why the Council is meeting tonight.”

“Why?”, asked Vik, with his dagger still pointed towards Arthem’s face.

“The Moon Priest is dead”, he announced. “I saw it with my own eyes. I was the one who made the report to the Council.”

Surprise and shock surfaced on the faces of everyone around him, soon after transforming into excitement. Weapons were lowered, and eventually, dropped, as smiles and happy glances were exchanged.

“Why do you look happy about it?”, inquired Arthem, earning himself another round of confused looks. “The world is still ending, you know. An Eclipse is coming, one that will not pass.”

“What do you mean? Is our duty not over, now that the Moon Priest is dead?”, Anne asked him, sitting down in front of him, and prompting others to do the same. Soon after, Arthem was surrounded, only this time, he didn’t feel threatened anymore.

“No, Anne”, he shook his head, and looked deep into her eyes. “The Moon was using the Moon Priest to give Himself power. He will now use that power to force an Eclipse. I heard Him say so with my own ears.”

“You talked with the Moon God?”, a surprised female voice asked behind him. He turned his head and nodded. It was a young woman he did not recognize, but then again, it had been years since he had last met with the dissenting Solarists.

“Yes, I did. The Moon Priest summoned Him, and then, He betrayed her. She was not the herald of the end, she was just a tool He used and discarded without thought”, he said, looking at his fist with anger. “I do not think anyone here will be surprised to hear this, but the Council knew more than they told us.”

Arthem savored the expectant gazes fixated on him, waiting with baited breath for him to continue his story. “I saw the prophecy. It is a series of murals, depicting events that have passed, or are destined to pass. I do not know yet what they mean, but I suspect the Moon Priest had an important role in what is yet to come. They kept this from us, who knows why. And now, she is gone, and I do not trust the Council has a plan, or the intention to do anything at all.”

Most of the group nodded at his assertion. No one who was here, in this cave, believed the Council had their best interests at heart, or even those of the rest of the world.

“Surely, as much as we hate them, myself included, there must be something”, someone piped in, trying to stay hopeful. “Our Goddess must have prepared for this eventuality.”

What a convenient, yet predictable, assertion. “There was a Great Spirit of the Sun guarding the prophecy”, he embellished the truth, letting them fill in the gaps of the heroic acts he would have had to commit to go through it. “She told me that the Sun Goddess will not help us”, he paused for dramatic effect. “She said… Our holy mission was not given to us by the Sun Goddess. She does not care about the world at all.”

The crowd gasped in disbelief around him.

"Then, what have we been doing all this time? Where did the prophecy come from?", another unknown voice inquired.

Arthem shook his head. "I apologize, I do not know. I share your doubts about us, about the prophecy. But I have seen it. It is definitely real. The Gods are scheming to cause the end of everything for their own selfish desires. We have been manipulated for generations by those who have gained power and control by using this information."

“Is it over?”, asked Anne, mirroring what most of them were thinking. “Did we fail?”

“I have a plan”, Arthem stated. “A plan to show everyone what is happening, and that will expose the lies of the Council. If they won’t act on their own, we will enlist every Solarist, and do something ourselves. But for that, I need your help.”

“What do you need us to do?”, Vik inquired, his eyes shining with admiration and determination.

Valeria Tyllel was so, so sleepy.

The extraordinary meeting of the Council had run through the night, and yet, nothing of use had been decided, or even said at all. She kept poking at the spikes covering her Spirit's body, a maroon hedgehog, to force herself to stay awake.

She had brought them news of the demise of the Moon Priest, but they had spent hours debating if it was a good or a bad thing, actually. To a loud majority, the Moon Priest was evil incarnate, single-handedly responsible for the end of the world. Her death was the Solarists’ ultimate purpose, and now, it was done, finally. Those who opposed this point of view argued that the prophecy seemed to indicate the Moon Priest doing something that brought the world back to its natural state, so they had wanted to capture her instead, and torture her moderately to extract information and cooperation from her.

Valeria didn’t really agree with either of them, or care, but she was glad she had been the one to share the information. The Matriarch, her aunt, seemed fairly impressed with her. It would probably earn her some points in the upcoming succession. Her father, and several of her cousins, members of the Council as well, had not been so happy about it. Valeria didn’t care about that, either.

They could not reach a consensus regarding if it was good or bad news, what they should do, if anything, how to announce it, or who would do it. So when the night started threatening to come to an end, they decided to take a break for morning prayer and breakfast. Somehow, they had been able to agree on that.

Accompanied by their bodyguards, the Council and the Matriarch made for their usual prayer balcony, overseeing the main plaza where the rest of the Solarists would be. Most had already arrived by the time they did.

Murmurs spread across the crowd; their meaning indiscernible from their elevated position. Slowly, the night sky was dyed in red and pink, announcing the imminent appearance of the Sun.

“Silence”, commanded the Matriarch. Almost immediately, the brouhaha dissipated into expectant silence. She raised her hands, facing the horizon, and began leading the prayer.

Soon after, her singing voice was joined by many more, all of them grateful that their Goddess had graced them with Her presence another morning.

Valeria was deep in thought about the upcoming meeting when she noticed a commotion down below. Several people had stopped singing, or were off tempo, or were plainly just yelling, it appeared.

“Are they so incapable that they cannot even follow along the same prayer they do every morning?”, she thought, annoyed. This incident would not be without consequence.

However, before she could really see what had transpired, a fellow councilman gasped in shock, losing his words as well. Valeria turned her attention to the people below, who had formed a circle around something.

A shining figure, a woman with dark copper skin and long blond hair. She was wearing a long, light blue robe adorned in white gemstones.

Valeria would have asked who the mysterious woman was, but she was interrupted by an unknown female voice, resonating within her heart, and those of everyone around her. 

Although, deep in her heart, she knew exactly who She was. 

“Who dares call for me?”, she asked.

Confused murmurs rose from the crowd once more, yet no one was brave enough to respond to her directly.

“It’s the Goddess!”, a lone voice yelled, protected by the anonymity of the mob surrounding them. The murmurs got louder with each second, repeating “the Sun” and “the Goddess” with awe, confirming what they all already were aware of just by looking at her.

“I said, who dares call for me?”, she repeated, this time her voice even more commanding.

A blonde woman stepped closer, kneeling down in front of the shining figure. “We did, oh Goddess who gives us life.”

The Goddess turned her attention to the woman. “Why?”, she asked, simply.

“Because, my Lady, Shadows have invaded Your world, the Moon will soon summon an Eclipse and end everything”, the lone soldier answered.

“And what of it?”, the Sun inquired, cutting through the laments of the Solarists, reminded of their plight.

“We did as You asked, my Lady. The Moon Priest of Your prophecy is no more, and yet, an Eclipse will come anyway. Will You lend us Your wisdom once more, and help us defeat this plight?”, this got a bigger reaction from the members of the Council than anything else. Somehow, the information had leaked. Valeria had a really good idea of who was responsible.

Through the crowd below them, confusion and joy spread. Valeria could vaguely make out several variations of “The Moon Priest is dead?”, “We have done it!”, and “We are all doomed!”.

“I do not know of any prophecy, child. And I have not asked anything of you, other than your devotion”, responded the Sun.

The sound of waves crashing against the cliff could be heard above the overwhelming silence that weighed down the entire city all of a sudden.

“But, my Goddess”, muttered the woman, confused. “Was it not You who shared this holy burden with us, who wished for us to could stop the Eclipse, and save the world?”

“Foolish humans”, the Goddess glared down at the one addressing Her. “The Eclipse is the only thing I wish for. This is all you will ever be useful for, so be grateful. Now, release me, before I make you.”

A shiver ran down the spine of every person in attendance. Something was suddenly missing, something that had just been there, something very important. When it was over, the form of the Goddess was no more.

Chaos took over the crowd, turning it into an uncontrollable mob. The members of the Council, too, were in disarray, not knowing what had just happened, or how to deal with it.

“Is it true, Your Excellencies?”, dared ask one of their bodyguards. Valeria glared at him with such disdain that he simply went back to his position without any further words.

“Enough!”, the powerful voice of the Matriarch resonated through the plaza. “Whoever is responsible of this farce, of this trickery, step forth at once!”

Murmurs echoed through the crowd as they regarded each other with confusion and distrust.

“Do you deny it, then, Matriarch?”, the woman who had conversed with the glowing figure stepped forth, and a respectful circle formed around her. "Was that not the Sun, our Goddess, denying everything we stand for?"

“Nonsense!”, the Matriarch denied what every person in attendance knew, deep down, was the truth. “Apprehend that woman at once!”

Those in her immediate vicinity looked at each other, unsure what to do. Someone took a tentative step forward, but was interrupted by yet another loud voice.

“What will you believe, Solarists?”, inquired someone above even the Council. “What you are told, or what you have seen and heard by yourselves?”

Valerie turned around, towards the voice. Above them, standing on the roof, was a young man, illuminated by the rising Sun.

“Arthem!”, she exclaimed, earning her surprised looks from her fellow Council members. But she had not bothered to share the name of the one who had told her about the news, and so, they did not recognize it.

“What is the meaning of this?”, yelled the Matriarch, now facing the man towering over them all.

“Your Matriarch and your Council have no intention of sharing the truth with you!”, Arthem ignored her completely, directing his speech to the people below. “Deep down, you know that was the Sun Goddess. You saw Her with your own eyes, and you heard Her words. The Moon Priest is dead! The Eclipse is coming! And only we can do something about it!”

“Guards!”, the Matriarch gave up on trying to stop him from talking by appealing to his obedience. “What are you waiting for? Get him!”

They hesitated at first, but the pure, unfiltered wrath she regarded Arthem with instilled a primal fear in them. They scrambled to leave as fast as they were able, some going inside, and one trying to reach the roof by climbing the facade.

“What can we even do, if what you say is true?”, asked a different, male voice in the crowd. Others cried out in agreement.

“Today, my brothers and sisters, you summoned the Goddess with your own power. Your faith, which She trampled on, brings Her to our realm and binds Her”, he responded. “We are many. We are strong. If the Gods do not care about us, or the world, I say we rid the world of Them, and make our own destiny!”

Arthem rose one hand towards the sky triumphantly, and waited for a reaction. Silence fell through the crowd. Even with what they had seen, and heard, what he was asking of them was the highest level of treason, and blasphemy. Valeria thought him an irredeemable fool, although she somewhat admired his courage. It would be a shame to have to get rid of someone like that, but if he wasn’t with them, he was too dangerous to keep alive.

The scene was abruptly interrupted by the five guards who had finally caught up to him. Their weapons were pointed towards Arthem, who slowly rose his second hand towards the sky, as well, transforming his determined gesture into one of surrender.

“Save the world for me, Solarists”, he declared, as he was being apprehended.

Suddenly, the crowd snapped out of it. Through it all, the Solarists were extremely proud of their holy duty. And, most importantly, they were extremely devout to the Sun Goddess, their patron, who had entrusted them with this fate. The same Goddess who, deep inside, they all understood they had just met, and who had denied them this, the reason of their whole existence. Chaos spread once more, only this time, it was loud protests and questions, for Arthem, for the Council, and for the Goddess Herself.

“We are many! We are strong!”, hollered someone. Others soon joined them, and started mobilizing.

“Let him go!”, added another voice. “Let him speak!”, screams of agreement and complaints echoed the sentiment.

Valeria, along with the rest of the Council, turned towards the Matriarch, who was white as a sheet. Someone started trying to flee, promptly followed by everyone else. In the eyes of the mob, this was an admission of guilt.

But they had nowhere to go. A wave of angry Solarists waited for them at the stairs, so the Council retreated backwards, to the balcony once more. A barrage of questions rained down on them, yet no one dared to speak, for fear of further provoking the mob.

“Seize them”, a voice above them said. Arthem was standing up among the guards, proudly. He had somehow won them over, although it was most probably the effect of the angry crowd more than anything. “And then, we will seize our destiny.”

“What a bothersome child”, thought Valerie as she was tackled and apprehended.