# THE CELESTIAL MESSAGE & THE MESSENGER #
The Land of Celestia was considered the holy grounds. The temple of Kairosiki stood in the far west end of the land. It was a magnificent edifice which was built by the ancestors of the Kalindris clan. The temple was built with a moat, which was filled with water. This water was directly connected to the sea of Celestia on the west shore. So, there was a continuous flow of water around the moat. The drawbridge would stand the length of the moat to the temple grounds.
The temple grounds were enormous & were maintained so beautifully with all varieties of flowers, trees & plants. The far north end of the temple grounds had the mountain end of Mount Gloria. At its peak, it had a water body called the Sacred Pool of Gloria & the mountain ended near the temple grounds, where there was a small but divine waterfall. It was believed that at the beginning of days all clans lived in the land of Celestia & worshipped Kairosiki as the great goddess apart from their own goddess but as years went by, each clan discovered the rest of Venus, making those lands as their own & as civilization bloomed, their visit to the temple grounds of Celestia declined &now only the Kalindris visit the temple grounds of Celestia.
Kairai is the eldest of the venutians & she was respected by all clans in Venus. She has seen many emperors rise & fall. Of all the emperors, she liked Kalimperia because she was not like the other emperors. Most of them were barbaric & tyrannical. But Kali was a sensible & lovable emperor who took care of her people. That night, when Lumi saw the creature & went missing, Kairai got a vision in her sleep, where she saw a metallic creature that was tall & big, which was roaming the lands of Venus & was dominating the Venutians. It looked like the end of the Venutians.
The vision reflects the old drawings in the caves which their ancestors had drawn. Those drawings consisted of many characters, portraying bigger beings dominating the smaller ones. The Kalindris’ ancestors predicted that at some point in the future, they would become extinct by an invasion by bigger beings whom they called DHATUNS. Those Dhatuns would come from the sky & that would be the darkest day, Venus would have ever seen. The air would become warmer & the Venus would look bloodier.
Kairai’s vision shook her to her core. Kairai emerged from her temple to gaze at the sky. To her surprise, she could see a new star with a red tail in the sky. Kairosas predict the future not only by visions but also by the planetary arrangements. Kairai woke up all the Kairosas & when they woke up, every Kairosas had the same type of vision in their dream. The 9 elders of Kairosas were terrified of this vision. They knew that someday this could happen, but they didn’t realize that it would happen in their lifetime.
The Kairosas believe that they are all connected. They held each other’s hands & made a big circle, and started praying. They call this the life circle. The 9 elders sat & in the middle of them they drew a strange symbol which consisted of a double circle, one being bigger than the other. Then, divided the circle into nine parts with each part having symbols portraying different animals & birds. The 9 elders sat in each part & started rolling peculiar-coloured stones & were trying to predict the future based on the falling pattern of the stones. To their surprise, all 9 elders’ stones fell in the same pattern, which was impossible. All these patterns indicate that the end is near.
Kairai decided to send a messenger to the emperor’s palace to request the presence of Kali in the temple at the earliest. The 9 elders knew that this messenger had to be a trusted person & should carry this news to the emperor. They did not want anyone to know the vision until the emperor knew, so Kairai decided to send SORANIA for this job. Sorania was 5.8 feet tall, with teal-coloured eyes, thick eyebrows, and a blunt nose. She had a thick jawline & when she smiled, one would say that Sorania had concealed her fierce character in that cute, pleasant smile. Short black hair braided with silver streaks alternating with her braided black hair. Her beautiful appearance would look like she is a charlatan with no fighting warrior skills. She had her left side nose pierced with a nose ring studded with a stone gifted by Pyropeia.
Sorania was a student of Pyropeia & was very close to her. Pyropeia was a mentor for Sorania. When Pyropeia was training Sorania, it looked like mother and daughter. After Pyropeia, Sorania was considered to be the greatest warrior & some believed that someday Sorania would be the head of Zhathiks. Sorania always wanted to be by the side of Pyropeia & serve the emperor, but Pyropeia knew that a fierce warrior & a trustworthy leader was needed to be with the Kairosas. So, this decision made Sorania disappointed, but then she understood Pyropeia’s intention. Days passed & Sorania became a confidante of Kairai.
As usual, Sorania was looking into the security levels inside the temple & she noticed Kairai at a distance. She realised Kairai was waiting for her. Kairai called Sorania inside the temple & said that a great danger was approaching the gynastry. She must deliver this news to the emperor & no one else can know about it. Kairai gave a pendant, which, when touched, would show the vision &the emperor would know what to do & Kairai also gave the coin of the temple, which is a symbol of trust.
Kairai “Only the emperor can get the entire message & no one other than her. Guard it with your life”
Kairai did not burden Sorania with the details of the vision because if she were caught by the enemies, the message might be revealed, so to avoid any gaps in the loop, Kairai just said it was an important message. Kairai put a spell on the pendant so that only the emperor could see the vision & for others, it was an ordinary pendant. Sorania understood the seriousness & she started immediately.
Sorania prepared to travel to the gynastry of Aphrodica. The journey to the palace from the temple would take more than a couple of months & it’s a dangerous route to travel alone. The journey consists of jungles, mountains, volcanoes, oceans, dangerous animals & more dangerous enemies of the Aphrodica. Travelling alone on her Zhila is a perilous mission, but she knew that she had to do it.
Zhila is the ancestor of tigers, which were used by warriors in much the same way as horses. Zhila’s were bigger than saw-toothed tigers, but with a mane on their neck & a fluffy, yet strong, tail. The eyes of the Zhila were round & dark hazel coloured with varied colored specks in them. zhilas were majestic creatures with horns, which protected their masters at all costs. They are the most loyal creatures & would die of starvation if their master was dead.
Sorania called her Zhila, as Nabu, which in their language, Kalinda means wise messenger. Sorania cannot take anyone with her. She had to do this alone & needed a disguise so no one would find out who she was because when people come to know that the head of the temple guards herself is carrying the message, then everyone would know that the message should be very important. The enemies could take advantage of this, which could lead to a war. The idea of war would cause a wave of rumours & confusion, which is the last thing Venus needs now.
Already, there have been rebels led by Regina who are planning to take over Aphrodica from Kalimperia, because a few believe that Regina is the true descendant of their deity, Ishtari. Thepeopleworshipping Ishtari call themselves Ishtaricas & live in Ishtar. They are otherwise called the Northerners as they occupy the northern pole of Venus. They believe that their deity was the true god & they must be the ones ruling Venus. They don’t go to Celestia Island to worship. There have been multiple efforts & battles for the emperorship between the two groups.
The other clans have been in union with the Kalindris & all the Queens of other clans have accepted Kalimperia as their emperor & submitted their loyalty to her. Though the other Queens do not support Regina directly, they sometimes indirectly support Regina in return for a second place in power if she becomes the emperor.
Among all the queens, Hathor, the queen of Thanaxia, often extends her warm arms to Regina & her motives. Thanaxia is the land of black magic. People of Thanaxia worship the goddess of death, Keresza. People of Thanaxia celebrate a festival for the god of death Keresza, yearly in front of Keresza’s enormous colossus & invite all the gynastries to the festival. The festival is called Nekyria & it lasts for 9 days.
It was believed that whoever did not attend Nekyria risked dying at an early age. It was a myth, but people still believed it. Although the festival is dedicated to the god of death, they celebrate life. After all, what can make someone celebrate one’s life more than a reminder of death? Many came to the festival not only out of fear of death but also because it was fun.
It was a festival where people could see all the queens & no one committed any crime until the festival came to an end. Because it was believed that Keresza herself roamed the gynastry & would guard those who came to see her. The ancestors believe that worshipping Keresza can postpone death.
The queen of VYLONIA, Vaticia was a close & loyal friend to the emperor Kalimperia. Vaticia is one of the queens, the entire Venus respects & is afraid of, because she is a fierce warrior who has never been defeated in battles, & she has an undefeated army. Her army had the fiercest warriors Venus had ever seen, and the rumours were that when her warriors swung their swords, it would be so fast that they could cut metal like a slice of fruit & the enemies could not even see the blade of their swords.
Their warriors train from the age of 10 under odd conditions. They go to the Elyriae island in the Elyriae sea as a young girl & when they come out of the island, they come out as a fierce warrior. The Elyriae island has a myth that Zeucica their God trained on the island when she was wounded by the Aloadae, which tried to destroy the Gods. Aloadae was a mystical creature with 5 heads which tried to overthrow the Gods.
Some say that there were times when many Gods were fighting with each other for power & forgetting their innate duties & were involved in explicit activities. So, as a reminder, the eastern God Kairosiki created a creature to defeat the Gods so they would come to their senses. When this Aloadae became very powerful & undefeated in the battle, Zeucica the Goddess of the sky fought the Aloadae & got wounded so much that she had to find a place to recuperate. Zeucica rested on Elyriae island & nature taught her the value of humility &importance of the Gods, in doing their duties.
Zeucica regained her enlightenment there & returned from the island & defeated the Aloadae. So, the people of Vylonia believe that warriors who survived the Elyriae island get the power of Zeucica & some even believe that Aloadae is still resting under the waters & silently guarding the lands. Sometimes, even Gods slip from their duties & become ordinary people, who must be reminded by the universe to attain enlightenment & become Gods again. Sorania, the guardian of the secret, has to cross these treacherous gynastries to reach Aphrodica. The lands of these gynastries, though separate, are all connected as a circle with the great IANTHEA ocean in the centre. So, if one wishes to travel, they have to travel through all these lands at some point in their travel.
Sorania must either cross the northern route or the southern route through the IANTHEA Ocean. If she takes the northern route, she will come across the arch-nemesis of Aphrodica, the Ishtaricas. If Sorania takes the southern route, she might be safe, but still, she is going to be in danger because the queen of Thanaxia is a friend of Queen Regina. Sorania didn’t have much time to decide about it, so she took the southern route disguised as a sword merchant & began her journey.
Sorania started preparing for her perilous journey. She has to prepare her Zhila Nabu for the journey. Zhilas, though used like horses, are carnivores. They do not eat any plants. Their teeth arrangements look more ferocious than a tiger’s teeth. Their canines can pull a big whale, like a piece of meat. They eat a great meal, but eat once every 2 weeks. They adapt to tough conditions & are one of the fastest animals on Venus. They can swim in the waters like fish. Therefore, the Zhilas are excellent animals for transportation.
Nabu was very fond of Sorania. Nabu loved Sorania & sometimes when they trained, they would look like siblings playing with each other. Nabu understands Sorania like her shadows. It’s a wonder how a hardcore carnivore can connect to a person & fall in love with them. These connections between different species clearly state that love doesn’t need words to express itself. So, for love to exist, it doesn’t need complex things like beauty, power, money, gender, or species. Love just needs life. Love finds its way in those with life.
Sorania covered Nabu’s back with the richest & toughest leathery rug called Numuna, over which Sorania placed her saddle to sit & ride on Nabu, so Sorania’s weight & protracted journey won’t hurt Nabu. Numuna is made from the skin of sheep, which is made of both leather & wool. It keeps the Zhilas comfortable both in hot & cold weather. Sorania fed Nabu with a hearty meal before the journey, so Nabu didn’t need feeding often. Sorania wielded her sword out of her scabbard and looked at it. It brought her the memories of war, where she fought alongside the emperor & Pyropeia. That sword was gifted by the emperor to Sorania as a gift for her excellent fighting valour & skill, after one of the wars called the “battle of Cetaria”, between the Ishtaricas & Kalindris for the land of Cetaria, which lasted for more than a couple of years and was won by Kalindris finally because Sorania beheaded one of the fiercest commanders of Ishtar, Zeike, who led the battlefield.
Sorania loved her emperor, Kalimperia, with all her heart because Kali was one of the reasons Sorania is alive today. As the memories flashed before her eyes, Sorania loaded her sword into her scabbard & she loaded a few more swords with their scabbards, along with some food & water for the journey on the back of Nabu.
Sorania called Mexi, the knight of the temple guards, to hand over the in-charge pendant so she could attend to the temple proceedings. Sora informed Mexi that she was going to Aphrodica to discuss internal affairs. Sora didn’t want anyone to know about the message, so she kept it as an official matter of affairs.
Mexi was perplexed about Sorania’s decision & she asked, “Domina, with all due respect. Do you need to go by yourself? Can’t we send a soldier or a messenger to deliver the proceedings? because this would leave the temple vulnerable to be attacked by rebels or enemies without the high command”.
Sorania said, “It was the decision by the Kairai herself, not even the emperor talks back to her decisions, so I have no choice but to go. But I’m going through the southern route to Aphrodica, so I will ask Zhephy, the commander of the Therion city, to send a battalion of Marsh soldiers to protect the temple & help you with the temple proceedings”.
Marsh soldiers are one of the most brutal soldiers & were called ‘Therions’, which means wild beasts. They behaved like ferocious possessed animals in war. They are larger than usual Venutians & eat raw meat. They are ruthless killing machines, but their obedience is flawless. When they march in their black armour, it would look like a death march.
When Mexi heard the name Therions, she was terrified & relieved at the same time, because though they behaved like beasts, they were the essential chaos needed for the moment. Sorania climbed on Nabu’s back & looked back at the temple in choked desolation. Though it was a decision by the Kairai, Sorania didn’t feel good about leaving Celestia. It was a mixed feeling for her because, though she was excited to see Kalimperia & Pyropeia, her innate soldier’s gut instinct told her it was not going to be the same when she returned to the temple. Sorania started her journey. Nabu slowly began to move, taking Sorania farther away from the temple grounds. The guards opened the enormous gates of the temple grounds.
The myth is that the gate was the first thing the goddess Kairosiki created after she created the Kalindris. The gate depicts both a protector & is considered an entrance to enlightenment, & many believe that the goddess herself holds the gate together to keep the Venutions safe. Sorania rode like a beacon of light towards the city of Therions to get the Therion battalion to guard the temple grounds of Celestia.