Twenty six protests over the past week. Sixteen road blocks. Four cases of individual violence. One protest teetering on becoming an open riot. Arascus had only given the foundation of a plan to Premier-General Abakwa, a general strategy to which they should stick to rather than a step-by-step plan. The strategy chosen was one of malicious ignorance. Every few days, Abakwa would go on a purposefully tone-deaf speech that talked of national unity and only inflamed the fact that Igos had started to operate as the leader of a single sovereign nation rather than as a partner in a federation of states. Those speeches made sure that the independence never lost motivation, but it was only recently that things had actually started to move forwards.
General Sokolowski looked over at the men and the magicians in the distance. The ash below their feet was starting to turn green with tall grass. A week ago, planes had passed over this area and airdropped millions of seeds. Apparently in the east, near Kirinyaa proper, the Empire was starting to introduce insects and small rodents to kickstart this land’s natural ecosystem. Sokolowski only found it a mere curiosity, as long as the civilians made sure to stay out of the way of the military, he did not care if they were trying to teach lions how to ballet.
In the distance and towards the south, what the soldiers called a stormwall was forming. The magicians would not disperse the raging winds that raced over the Ashlands and created massive duststorms, instead, they would simply buy enough time for Sokolowski’s troops to move out of the way. That was the logic anyway, General Damian Sokolowski was no magician so all he saw was the dust and ash carried by crash into an invisible barrier of solid air. In one moment, the grey-black matter dragged up from the ground started to make a perfectly flat plane. One the winds died down, the storm would leave behind a mountain ride that would collapse under its own weight.
The storm raged on. The stormwall grew. The situation in Southern Ausa grew more chaotic. The First Command Division of General Sokolowski’s Army continued their winding trail through the ashlands.
The pot had started to whistle, it wasn’t going to be long before the boiling water started to spill over.
Olonia clapped her hands behind her back, tilted her head slightly up, took a deep breath, sucked her stomach in, pushed her chest out, killed the smile forming on her lips, looked down, felt the wind sway her royal red cape and her white hair to the side and held the posture. Ahead of her was the market square of Kaczaw, complete with its traditional houses in the front, the golden cobblestones, the stalls and people walking about, the smiles and waves towards the Goddess, the skyscrapers in the distance, the swarm of mages that built yet another of those huge towers, a pair of helicopters that were filming the city for a documentary on what benefits the Empire brought that Olonia herself had ordered to be filmed, and a civilian plane from Allia that was approaching the city’s airport.
A camera clicked. Another. A dozen.
A moment was captured in time.
Olonia turned back around as men were already scrambling around with electronic tablets as they started picking images out. A full team of students from Kaczaw University had requested her presence and sent her a hand-written letter signed by every one of them for a photoshoot which would be submitted to the Imperial Bureau of High Arts. How they had the idea to request a Goddess herself for the shoot, whether it was courage or stupidity or guts or whether they had simply gotten too drunk one night, she did not know. But something in her core respected the sheer audacity of a mortals who would try something like that.
And frankly, if her Lubskans had one trait no one else did, it was sheer audacity. Allia and Doschia were the lands were people thought they wouldn’t even be able to get away with even asking for Divine help. Here, Olonia had crafted such an image for herself that students messaged her to ask for photoshoots. If that was not a success, then Olonia did not know what was.
“It’s perfect!” The boy called Bartek said. He was nineteen, not even twenty yet but frankly, Olonia did not mind the fact he was still a child. She remembered how Fer once said this once to her, that men got too serious as they aged and Divines had to make a conscious effort to remind them of their own humanity if they didn’t want the constant: ‘My Goddess’ or ‘May I please?’ and so on. When Olonia had said not to use the title, the children simply accepted it.
“Look at this one!” Marta caught up to Bartek, all the students were dressed in their best clothes, no doubt to try and impress their Goddess. Marta was waving about her own huge camera too. Olonia towered over them, half again their height. The Goddess’ cloak of snow white hair was as long as Marta was tall. Bartek spun his tablet around to show the image off to Olonia as the rest of the dozen students crowded around, all cheering and exclaiming their thanks.
And Olonia saw the image. Of herself staring up at the city from behind, in her black uniform. She looked like a giant, the angle made her look the same height as the skyscrapers. Another boy passed his tablet. “Like this! Like this!” He was shouting and desperately trying to show off the image to Olonia. It was eye-catching enough that Olonia took the tablet to see it. The boy had made the image all monocoloured black and white, save for Olonia’s red cape and white hair which stood out to make the Lubskan flag.
“That one I like. That one is excellent.” Olonia said, she gave the tablet back and she did not lie, not even a bit. She really meant it, what better way was there to capture her essence then to make her
into the national flag? It was embarrassing that students thought of it and not her. “Send me the images once you have them printed.”“Of course, of course.” The boy replied. “We’ll send you the first prints. Of course, thank you Goddess. Thank you. Thank you really for your time.”
“It was nothing.” Olonia said. This was the third set of images they had today, it had all been in the market square and it took little more than fifteen minutes, plus another fifteen minutes of travel from her office. Olonia treated the expedition as a break from administrating the country rather than some needless task. “But don’t waste these photos, I had time today.” That was true for one and it built up her image. It was one thing to not be detached from the common people, it was another entirely to completely ruin the magic.
“Of course, of course.” The boy replied. Olonia thought of staying and ingratiating herself with the students some more, but as the saying went: One could not grow to miss what was always there. And there was no such thing that inspired love as much as longing. Olonia turned and began to walk.
Fifteen minutes it took to get to the market square, fifteen minutes it took to get back. The traffic in Kaczaw was heavy enough that the Goddess could simply walk down the middle of streets without slowing cars down instead of trying to fit into the pavements. No one would dare hurry the nation’s Goddess along anyway. Olonia walked between old buildings painted in different, bright colours. Each one with great windows framed by wood. And then the buildings themselves had a backdrop of modern skyscrapers. Great twisting amalgamations of glass and steel and concrete that tried to grasp the clouds.
But it was when Olonia got back to the Sejm, where the government was held, that she came to a stop. At the base of the great steps was a woman in a blue suit. Her black hair was much like Olonia’s, save for the fact it was longer. The Goddess of Lubska knew the woman had purple eye, although they were hidden by a pair of black sunglasses. She was stood there, hands in pockets, like a statue. And she was tall. Taller than Olonia.
Olephia, Goddess of Chaos.
Olonia took a deep breath and supposed that Arascus would have sent her here. She knew the God was busy right now so it was no surprise he was using his daughters as messengers. Olephia saw Olonia, her smile became wide and she waved. Olonia saw a pen in one hand and a notebook in another as she closed the distance. “It’s good to see you.”
Did Olephia wanted to be invited inside? Or did she want to talk here? Olephia immediately started to write a reply. ‘It’s good to see you too, how have you been?’
“I’m good.” Olonia replied immediately then realised it wasn’t a good enough answer but one she had given right now. “I’m busy but it’s good.” She made her tone lighter this time.
Olephia wrote her reply back. ‘I heard you’re building the Divine District.’
And just like that, Olonia felt her world crash down. Those words looked like a curse upon her. How should she even reply to this? She was building the Divine District but… Well, she supposed she should explain, shouldn’t she? If Arascus had sent Olephia all way to Kaczaw, then it meant that her pet project had finally fallen into view of the God of Pride. Was it a mistake? Should she have asked? Was Arascus going to stop her? Olonia stood there for a few moments. It was Olephia though, Olephia was all or nothing. The woman was not Anassa, if Olephia wanted to do something, then she would destroy the entire city or she would back out. Olonia called the bluff. “I am. Is there a problem with that?”
Olephia smiled at Olonia, she flipped her dark sunglasses up with one hand and let them let rest on her head. Her purple eyes did not leave Olonia’s blue for a single moment, even as she wrote something down in her notebook and ripped the sheet off for Olonia to read. ‘Why did I not get one?’
Olonia had to re-read the piece of paper several times. She… Olephia… Well of course the Goddess of Chaos wouldn’t… But… Wait… Olephia wanted a place to live? Olonia had sent one to all the major Divines save for the greatest of the great. Arascus had not gotten an invitation either yet, nor had Kassandora, nor Fer or Neneria because… Olonia felt stupid for moment. Of course she hadn’t asked Arascus, he was the damn Emperor! And Kassandora lived on the battlefield! And Olephia was the Goddess of Chaos! To build them a home was an insult! They could have entire cities if they demanded one! Entire provinces even! And Olephia was asking why she did not get a place? “Wait?” Olonia said. “You want a palace?”
Olephia shook her head, her sunglasses fell back down onto her head. She wrote a reply and passed it with one hand to Olephia as she pushed the glasses back up her nose with the other. Olonia read the reply. ‘I would not call it a palace but yes.’
Olonia wanted to burst out in laughter. Olephia had to come her? It was a dream come true! It was exactly what she did not allow herself to expect, because it was far too farcical to even hope for. The Goddess of Chaos wanted a place in Lubska? It was precisely the sort of thing that Olonia’s plan needed! She just didn’t know how to frame the question and yet the answer had decided to waltz right in! “Of course!” Olonia said excitedly. “Of course! Yes! Yes Olephia!”
Olephia smiled in a theatrically smooth manner. She wrote back her reply. ‘Well I did not expect you to be so easy.”
“Easy?”
The reply came back a few seconds later. Olephia wrote so quickly her hand became a blur. ‘I thought I would have to scare you or something. That you weren’t accepting the Daughters.’
“Oh it’s not that!” Olonia, quite frankly, had no clue how to handle a situation like this. She had taken over Lubska in a blunt manner. “It’s…” She trailed off. To think she had not trusted Olephia at the start. Olonia let out a nervous laugh. “I mean, I didn’t think you would want one.”
‘I do.’ Olonia gave the note and smiled. The hand in which she held a pen gave a thumbs up. A truck passing by on the main road finally woke the two Goddesses up.
“Of course, Of course!” Olonia honestly didn’t know what to say. Olephia, still smiling, shook her head and led the pair up the stairs to the Sejm. It was a magnificent structure, all marble columns and with a massive set of wooden doors at the front. Soldiers in regal Imperial armour stood by either side of the door, all holding rifles.
Olephia quickly wrote down another reply. ‘I know you have locations to choose from.’
“For you there’s more.” Olonia replied and Olephia made a surprised face. Her hand once again was a blur as her pen moved ridiculously fast across the paper.
‘Wait really?’
“Really.” Olonia supposed she should explain. “The locations I thought were better were saved for the Daughters.” Olephia smiled.
‘That’s good thinking.’
Olonia stood there staring the Goddess of Chaos, in her blue suit and her sunglasses and with that very content smile. In all honesty, Olonia had started the Divine District project because Lubska could not compete with Rancais, with Doschia or with Allia. It was not even a case of industry or factories or production or experts, it was simply position and population. All those nations had more people and all those nations had better positions. Doschia sat in the very centre of Epa, Rancais was the continent’s entrance from the sea, Allia was an island that was the first stop for ships. Lubska had to compete, but Lubska would not compete through imitation, nor could Olonia lead her nation down a path she saw no future in.
So the Divine District project was formed. One reason was the fact it gave Lubska a totally indispensable position as a new Olympiada. If major Divines made Lubska their home, then Lubska naturally would be favoured in Imperial politics. Not only that, but Divines paid well. Already, a servant, a butler or a maid in any of the dozen Divine palaces in the nation’s south could afford to buy their own home after only a year worth of work. The coffers of Gods and Goddesses were mighty and they simply brought wealth with them.
And the second reason was that Olonia did see a way to do what others did not even see possible: she could re-specialize Lubska from an agricultural powerhouse into the cultural capital of the Empire. As important as agriculture was for now, Kirinyaa and its fertile Ashlands would take over that role in the future, so Lubska had to carve out its own sphere of the economy.
Artisans were difficult and expensive to train, as were stonemasons who still worked by hand. The designers of great palaces were too. Everyone involved in a project of art was frankly but the most important part was that all these jobs needed prestige. An architect could design the most magnificent palaces in the whole world, but they would still be passed over for the architect who had worked on the home of a Divine. Already Lubskan construction teams were heading to Kirinyaa and to Doschia to build great works of art, and it was entirely because of the fact that if they had been good enough for Divinity, mortals had no doubt they would be good enough for humans.
Lubska could not compete with industry, with population, not even with science. It simply lacked the facilities and whatever experts in trained in the arts of physics or chemistry or biology where simply siphoned off to the other Epan nations. But in being a home for Gods? In being a land of art when Doschia was a land of industry? That’s how Lubska could excel. This country would not just become a backwater destined to be forgotten, Olonia would drag Lubska into the stage light of Imperial investments.
Olephia passed her a note once again. ‘I missed your photoshoot.’
Olonia read the note once again. How… Oh. “Did Helenna tell you?”
Olephia smiled smugly. ‘She did.’ And then she quickly started to write a bit more again. ‘If you want, I can paint you for your national library. I don’t mind. I like painting and your colours are striking.’ Olephia wanting her own home in the Lubskan mountains had been the proof of concept Olonia had needed. The Goddess of Chaos offering up her art skills though? Everyone knew she could paint, a single of Olephia’s paintings could buy a town. And Olephia was offering herself up? Not only that, she actually complimented Olonia?
Olonia knew she should have a better reply. A Daughter Goddess of Arascus or a member of the White Pantheon could not doubt conserve their honour when given this proposition. Olonia could not, she practically felt herself melt at the suggestion. “Please do.”