Rats were crawling in daylight without any fear. Kids and teens were lying lifelessly on the dirty streets. The smell of piss and excrements invaded Agapios' nostril. He caught the disgusting sight of an old man trying to forcefully bring a fairly young girl in a dark and shady alley.
The thing that really shocked him was that nobody seemed to care. It was clear to see that each person in Lithen was fighting with their own inner demons. The guards who were patrolling around the streets were acting like delinquents themselves. Agapios could see them from afar, the ten guards tried to take advantage of an old woman.
"Thoman, what sort of place is this? I never expected Lithen to be this chaotic, what is the Lord doing for his city to be in such a state? How repugnant, I'll have to get to work quickly." Agapios couldn't stand any of this. It was sad to see the Humans doing all of this to themselves. Instead of helping each other, they only sewed more chaos in addition to what the invasion caused.
Agapios made Thoman sit down in the sides of the street. He was sensing Thoman's tiredness, he was already brave enough to have returned to Lithen with his current state. Agapios was proud of him, he was also grateful for his company and future guidance. Agapios walked to the dark and shady alley. There he saw men lying on the ground and eating some red substance.
"Little girl, you'll have to remove all of your clothes and go on all fours if you want me to pay for your medicinal plants. I'm a nice old man, right? People wouldn't even bat an eye when they see you and I'm here, giving you a chance to save your mother." Agapios walked closer to the two of them. The little girl had her eyes widened, one could see her fear by her look only. Her eyes grew a glimmer of hope when she caught sight of Agapios' intimidating stature.
"Disgusting! Old man, you have no decency. To take advantage of a little girl by lying and telling her that you would pay for her medicinal plants. Us Humans have truly sunked low." the old man had his back turned towards Agapios, but he was scared enough when he heard this strong voice filled with authority. He ran away, it didn't look like someone running at all.
"Mister, you must kill him! If he stays alive, how many more victims will he make!? I'm doing my best to help my mother, my father has been escorted by the guards to the restricted area of Lithen. I...I don't know wha-" the little girl broke in tears. Her sadness and anger were through the roof. Agapios was feeling extremely bad for her, he squatted down and carresed the top of her head to calm her raging emotions down.
"Killing is just postponing the problem at heart. This man will one day repent from his actions, his heart has been tainted and needs to be washed. That's the purpose for my presence in Lithen, to wash the city from its corruption." the little girl slowly stopped crying, she wiped the tears off of her red eyes.
"I have no food and I have no coins, I only have my sword and my long white tunic. Tell me, what can I do to appease this little heart of yours?" such attention and care she had not received during her whole childhood. She knew that he was an Ephemest, but she didn't care, it was clear to see that Agapios had a good heart.
"That you don't have food nor coins doesn't matter, you've appeased my heart with your kindness and gentleness. Mister Ephemest, my name is Leana. I will forever be grateful to you." Leana was unique, her hair was all white and her eyes were gray. Agapios was conscious of her beauty, she was like a little diamond growing slowly over the years to become a coveted shiny diamond. If Leana was to stay here until she was an adult, even a teen, she would not live for long with all the evil people living in Lithen.
"Little Leana, it's nice to meet you. My name is Agapios, I'm an Ephemest. I'm here to help people like you, I'm here to help people in need. Would you follow me in my quest of doing so? I can visit your mother if you want to, I'll be able to appease her from whatever sickness she is suffering." Agapios made it clear that he was an Ephemest even though Leana already knew it. He did this to warn her from the path ahead, a path filled with hardships. Leana nodded, she was happy to follow him and even more happy to hear Agapios say that he is able to appease her mother.
Agapios smiled, his bright smile could warm thousands of people's hearts. He took the little hand of Leana and together they walked out of the dark and shady alley. Agapios was curious to know what the restricted area was for. Leana's father was brought there and from what he could puzzle, all those who were escorted from the gate by guards were also brought to the restricted area.
'The guard told me that people like me are to be escorted to the restricted area. Did he mean like....foreign people? Or maybe....' Agapios' eyes fell on Thoman, he was sleeping on the filthy side street. Rats were crawling around him and were biting off parts of his skin. When he walked towards Thoman, the rats stopped biting and made a run for it. Leana didn't dare to look at Thoman's state, she averted her look.
"Poor Thoman, he needs food in urgency. I can only appease him from his pain and reinvigorate his energy. At the limit, I can heal the bite wounds but nothing more." Agapios placed his hand above the wounds on Thoman's legs. Leana's curiosity was stronger than her, she looked at Agapios healing Thoman. His skin regenerated progressively, seconds later, it looked like he was never bitten.
"Leana, this is Thoman. I found him near the stone road leading to here. Look, he doesn't even wake up. This man is truly in a....poor state. Help me lift him up, Leana." together with Leana, Agapios lifted Thoman up. He opened his eyes, but didn't seem to be conscious of his surroundings.
"My mother and a lot of other people find shelter in the temple of the Goddess of benevolence and hope. Everyday we pray to her in hope of getting her mighty benevolence. My mother said that since the end of the invasion fifty years ago, our prayers were not answered anymore." Agapios knew this feeling very well, the feeling of been foresakend by those above.
"You're wrong, little girl. Savior Agapios has been sent by the Gods, he's our savior." Thoman was sure of it, even in his current state he made his opinion clear. Leana only nodded her little head. The three of them walked through the streets infested by rats and feces. The guards and even some young people showed their hostility towards Agapios.
Something cold fell on Agapios' forehead, he looked up. The clouds were getting darker, raindrops were raining down. The people in the streets entered inside their homes and others sought for a refuge. People with bad intentions would shelter kids and women from the rain, but would do many more things once inside.
Not so far from them, twenty stair walks led to the inner-city. The rain only got heavier, Leana trembled from the coldness of the drops. Seeing this, Agapios brought her closer to him. She was not a shy girl at all, she embraced Agapios to get his warmth. When the three of them had walked all the steps, in front of them layed a large circular plaza.
No one was to be seen, it was empty. A large statue 20 meters tall looked down on the plaza. Agapios couldn't avert his eyes from the statue, he was so attracted to it. The Goddess of Benevolence and Hope emanated so much positive energy. The way she held her two hands together, the way her face showed the extent of her unfathomable kindness, it made Agapios so emotional.
"Oooooh, Goddess Ione, this servant of yours has come to show his respect, gratitude and eternal faith!" Agapios walked closer to the statue together with Leana and Thoman. His long white tunic was filled with water, his hair was completely wet but even so, Agapios didn't care. Nothing could stop him from worshipping the Goddess Ione.
"Through you I have learnt the virtues of temperament, chastity, diligence, patience, kindness and humility. Goddess, the people have prayed for the last fifty years! Why don't you and the other Gods answer to our prayers? The people need your divine blessings in this period of darkness!" Agapios looked at the statue with widened eyes, he tried to quel his anger, to extinguish the raging effect it had on his heart.
At the feet of the statue of the Goddess of benevolence and hope was built a little temple, it was nothing too extravagant. It was clear to see that the temple was not taken care of, with its cracks all over the walls and its decayed roof and even the worn out paint of the many drawings.
"Savior Agapios, don't be too hard with the Gods. Right now, we have you. Let's find refuge inside of the temple, I'm starting to freeze." Thoman's skin was slowly returning to its pale color. Agapios nodded and brought the two of them inside. Many people turned their heads to look at the two foreign faces accompanying Leana.
All of the people who were present here were like Agapios and Thoman, they refuged themselves from the rain but also to find some comfort. Yes, the temple of the Goddess comforted their little hearts.