"And then, the man Dyonis received the blessing from the goddess. It was the fruit of his hard earned work, his patience and determination. Never did he falter, he always strifed forward to help all those in need. He is very famous in the south of Ephemestos in the province of Surabaya, I always wanted to travel there to visit his statue in the province's capital, Methios." the rain had long faded, the sunlight pierced through the dark and dissipating clouds. The people were mesmerized when Agapios talked, unable to stand up and go on about their lives.
"The man Dyonis received the blessing of the goddes? His heart must have been from a pureness who nobody could equal. He must live a prosper life in Ephemestos, how envious." old Rulf was sitting very closely near Agapios. He couldn't stop but admire the charisma each word contained.
"No, old Rulf. The man Dyonis has long died, he truly died a hero's death. During the war of the thousand armies, the man Dyonis faced the malicious dragon Alperen on his own. His scales were rumored to be unpenetrable, no arrow, no magic, no blade, nothing could harm his red scales. Upon receiving the blessing of the goddess, the man Dyonis was bestowed such might nobody could equal, not even the Order of The Wizards could." the kids had widened eyes, the adults were frightened and the elders were breathing heavily.
The Order of The Wizards was an order regrouping the best wizards of all the continent. For thousands of years they had fought against the orcs and the forces of Chaos, the wizards of the order were regarded as the mightiest existences, at the time. During the war of the thousand armies, they succumbed under the power of the Generals of Chaos, this signed the end of the order. Their reputation prevailed their destruction, the Order of The Wizards is still respected and popular in this dark era.
"It was in Ephemestos, in the province of Surabaya that the battle took place. Together with the dragon Alperen, the man Dyonis died. He was a true hero, one who I always looked upon. Anyways, this is all in the past now. Five thousand years passed and we have sunked lower than we ever could, we have sunked so low that even the Gods foresakened us." Agapios rubbed his hands together, all the Impurities had left his hands and sullied the temple's ceramic ground.
"Let's not talk about the past anymore, let's concentrate on the present and look forward to the future. I know that many of you are wounded and affamated, my friend Thoman is in the same state, Leana her mother Mirield were too and old Rulf also needs to be healed of his back pain. I will attend to each of you like I've done with many in the past, I will start with the newborns and the kids first." while the kids together with their mothers or fathers alligned, Agapios used his tunic to clean the ceramic ground from the liquid of impurities.
In the plaza, many people looked at the temple in confusion and surprise. The whole city of Lithen was covered by dark clouds, the only place where sunlight was illuminating with grace was the temple of the Goddes of benevolence and hope. The curious ones approached the temple's entrance, their eyes fell on an impressively built blond man touching the kids one by one. To see people observing him didn't deconsentrate nor bother him at all.
"Do not be scared, enter my friends. The Goddess of benevolence and hope does not discriminate, her temple is your home and shelter. Sit down and be at ease." the people outside felt mesmerized by Agapios' voice, their bodies moved by themselves. The people sat down and looked intently at what was going on.
What their eyes saw seemed to be fantasy, something out of the ordinary, a man with the ability to heal all, a case never heard of before. At a certain moment, a mother brought her deaf son to Agapios. Her eyes were filled with hope, the boy on the contrary didn't expect much. He wasn't expecting Agapios to be capable of giving him his hearing.
Compared to sicknesses, deafness in most of the cases comes from a deformity in the functions of the ear itself. With his two warm hands, Agapios covered each ear and brought his forehead against the boy's forehead. The two of them looked into each others eyes.
"You are a courageous boy, deafness is not a gift it is a bane of a comfortable life. You see, I have no sufficient power to shape your ear and correct the deformity-" upon hearing it out of Agapios' mouth, the mother broke in tears. She couldn't stop but hold on Agapios' shoulder. He didn't mind and resumed.
"Your mother loves you more than anything else. She would be capable of enduring an eternity of suffering just for you to get your hearing back. In all honesty, that wouldn't be pleasant at all and that's why I'm here. For I love you and every living being, I shall make use of a power that is unique." everyone inside the temple tried to get closer to catch but a glimpse of the said unique power.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" the boy yelled, the pain he was enduring at the moment was excruciating. Blood seeped out from in between Agapios' fingers, he slow removed his hands. The people looked at the boy's ears, their jaws dropped after witnessing this sight.
"His ears have changed forms and size? This is.....I don't have words to express my feelings." many comments such as this could be heard, murmurs echoed in the temple. The boy looked around in shock, he hurriedly moved his head left and right. His hearing, it was back, he could hear everything clearly.
"Look! Savior Agapios' ears have also changed forms and size!" old Rulf was rubbing his beard, the only thing to do now was to maintain his calm and try to understand what was going on. He noticed how the boy's ears became bigger and how Agapios' ears shrinked.
Excitation brewed inside all of the people present, they understood what Agapios had done. This was nothing short but divine, the idea of Agapios been sent by the Gods only consolidated. The unique power consumed enormous amounts of energy, Agapios fell on one of his knees. Old Rulf and nearby men hurriedly acted as a support for Agapios.
"Let savior Agapios rest from now on! For those who still don't know, he has gifted his ears to the boy and he took the deaf ears of for himself! His powers are nothing but divine, spread the news around Lithen. Tell everybody that a man blessed by the Gods has made his appearance, salvation is only a few steps away." the people started to imagine a Lithen devoid of violance, of wrath, of atrocities. They imagined a Lithen filled of love, hope and of endless opportunities.
Agapios was given enough space to rest and sleep, his sword was not coveted at all. It seemed that their hearts were slowly being washed away from all the negativety and that positivety was taking over them. Thoman was more than happy, he couldn't stop but look at Agapios' face.
'Thank you, Agapios!'