Getting out of bed felt like the most difficult thing ever. I groaned as I walked toward the dresser to get changed. I wore a comfortable gown and went to the washroom to freshen up. When I came out and caught up with Astra and Anya, it was about 7 in the morning. Anya's enthusiasm, however, didn't make it seem like she was mad about waking up early.
"Good morning, Moon."
"Good morning, Astra." I smiled at her and gently nudged Anya on the shoulder.
"Why are you so excited? You aren't a morning person." I asked her, but she didn't reply. Instead, she dragged me along with her, to show me.
Quite a lot of people were hustling in the field to build what seemed to be makeshift shops. They often shouted at each other to push everyone to work. I walked through the crowd with Anya and Astra, looking around. The ground looked bare in winter. There was no sign of life, but that was how it was before life began on the planet- dark and empty.
"So? What do we do now?" I asked Astra, who was showing us around and greeting a few people on the way. We stopped near the big oak tree right in the middle of the field.
"Well, Moon, we don't really have much to do except look at the preparations and clean the Türbeh."
My heart skipped a beat when I heard the word.
"Türbeh?"
"Yeah. Türbeh. The tomb of Eternia."
Glimpses of the past kept floating in front of my eyes…
"Oh, Eternia…"
"Eternia…" I whispered.
"What now, Moon?! Come on!!" Anya nagged like a little child. Before I got the chance to speak, Anya pulled me along with her again. With every step I took, my reality seemed to blur right in front of my eyes. As if I wasn't Moon, but Dione. As if this wasn't happening just now- but it's a sequence that had already happened years back. My feet felt too heavy, and even though I didn't want to feel like a stranger to Hestia, my entire being wanted to revolt against the thought of entering the Türbeh.
"Here, take the keys!" Anya handed a bunch of keys to Astra as we stood in front of the tomb that was just in my dreams last night. Beautiful carvings were painted in gold on the huge wooden door in front of us. Astra turned the keys to the lock and with a loud click, the door opened.
"Come inside, Moon, Anya!" Astra's voice echoed as she walked inside. The door opened with a creak, as if in a horror movie, and then, slowly, the lights filtered through the door, illuminating the room.
I was still at the threshold, trying to get a hold of myself. Anya was already inside, opening the windows. As light filled up the entire room, the tomb became visible.
Intricate detailing lined the borders of the tomb. Flower garlands, which were now dry, were placed all over it. Silk clothes were wrapped on the top of the tomb, and decorations from the previous year hung on the walls.
I gulped. The slight damp smell of the room made me feel a little light-headed. My feet swayed, but I didn't fall. Instead, I find myself waking inside the Türbeh, taking in every single detail of the room. Every pillar, every crack, every art, and every single thing present in the Türbeh almost screamed in unison, the story of Dione. With every step I took, and every detail I saw with my eyes, I could almost see the vision I saw in my dreams right in front of my eyes.
"Dione… She… She was right there." I looked toward the tomb. She was standing right there in her dazzling gown. Her pure laughter sounded in every bit of the room. I turned to look at the entrance.
"Just there… the people were celebrating…"
I walked forward to the tomb, almost in a trance. I was seeing the whole vision right in front of my eyes. But as soon as I reached the Tomb, Astra called me.
"Huh?"
"Moon? Are you alright?" She asked.
I was looking a little out of place, but I immediately pulled myself together and smiled at her.
"Y-Yeah! I am fine. I-It's just… I'm looking at everything, you know…"
"Yeah!" She exclaimed, "The Türbeh is the heart of the festival." Astra walked closer to the tomb while I tried to keep my distance from it.
"Every year, the people of Hestia gather here and celebrate the rule of Eternia on our land. They build shops, big and small, and celebrate with lots of different foods! And this tomb, right here," She paused to look at me, "is adorned with flowers, and clothes every year as a sign of respect to Eternia."
"Do… people not visit the Türbeh after the festival?" I asked.
"Well…" Astra almost thought for a second and looked around, taking in the current condition of the Türbeh. "Not a whole lot of people, I'd say. People usually gather around during the festival, pray to Eternia, and then… this tomb just stays in its glory. The tomb is cleaned every day, though. We have attendants to look after the Türbeh."
My heart almost sank. I didn't feel why, but I felt something terribly wrong with that approach. But I couldn't say anything until I knew the History of Eternia.
"Misaii kind of… told me the gist of the festival, but- who exactly… is Eternia? And… Why is she worshiped?"
Astra got back to work while answering my question.
"Eternia isn't a Goddess. We don't really have any tradition of worshiping Gods or Goddesses. As far as I know, Eternia was a human- in fact, a woman." Astra looked at me as if I knew the rest but then continued.
"I only know what others know. As per the legend, Eternia was a woman who rebelled against the Law Of Dissociation and married someone of another clan. Their love was pure and beautiful. It was glorious and brought peace and health into the world. But their union wasn't as peaceful. It was said that their marriage caused a ruckus in their family and neighboring places almost like a war, and ultimately caused her husband to sacrifice his own life. Eternia then renounced all worldly possessions and left the land, never to come back. Her departure caused even bigger troubles. There were droughts, floods, and storms everywhere and a lot of people began to believe that nature had gone mad because of Eternia's grief and wrath."
I was listening intently to Astra, almost visualizing the whole story. But as Astra stopped to clean the windows a little more, I got impatient.
"Then?!"
"Hm?" She said, "Oh, well then, people began searching for Eternia. Even the royals had begun searching for her. Finally, the Lord of Hestia and the Queen announced that they had found Eternia. But Eternia didn't want to come back. Instead, she wanted the world to be filled with love, so she wanted the Law Of Dissociation to be abolished. As a sign, she sent the Lord and her Queen a child and said that her legacy would continue to live through the child."
"Dione…"
I was silent. But her name kept growing louder in my mind. I had so many questions, but so little time to know everything. I almost instinctively rushed up to Astra and grabbed her by her arm and turned her towards me. My eyes showed clear desperation, but Astra was confused.
"Moon, I-?"
"What happened to the child, Astra? W-Was the child really the harbinger of light as they said? Who was the child?"
Astra was dumbfounded, but something in me told me that she didn't want to talk about it. But I was desperate. This information could bring me closer to a lot of answers, and I wanted to know them immediately. But Astra remained silent for a moment, which almost felt like an eternity to me.
"Astra, please, I-"
"Moon, I- I don't know… I-I mean I do know that she grew up to be a great healer and brought back the peace and prosperity of the land, but… I really don't know anything after that… But- why?"
"Oh…" I let go of Astra's arms, not answering her last question. I was once again tormented by my own thoughts.
"Who WAS Dione?! Why do I keep seeing her? What IS my connection with her, after all?"
My thoughts were cut short as both Astra and I heard a scream outside. We both looked at each other for a quick second, because we both knew whose voice it was.
"ANYA!!" I shouted and ran outside, and Astra followed me. I really wasn't ready for another horrific scene and even thinking about it made me panic. I could feel my hands tremble and my feet lose control, as I finally saw Anya, in Vlad's arms.
Astra and I both stopped in our tracks and looked at each other, and then at them. Vlad was walking towards us, with Anya in her arms. She looked just fine to us, and when Vlad finally came close enough, I ran up to Anya.
"Anya!!! What the hell?! What happened to you?! W-We were both so scared!"
Vlad gently set her down, and she held on to me for support.
"Ugh… God, I swear, Moon, these potholes! I was literally just walking around and then I accidentally stepped in a pothole and thought I broke my ankle!" She grumbled.
"Well, it IS obvious that the ground would have potholes! They are building make-shift shops, you stupid girl!" Vlad snapped at her. Although I couldn't help but admire his concern for Anya, I was still really concerned about her foot.
"Anya, can you walk?" I asked. Anya tried to walk, but unfortunately couldn't. I looked at Astra.
"I mean I can try, but… if it doesn't work, I think Vlad would have to carry Anya home, and then maybe we could take her to the clinic to see if everything is alright?"
A sly smile spread across Anya's face, but on seeing me, she controlled herself.
"I think she'll be fine," I said sternly, as Astra and I made her sit at the entrance of the Türbeh. Vlad offered to stay next to her and I had no reason to object. Though Anya shot me a quick smirk, I ignored it and sighed, walking into the Türbeh again.
As if by a magic spell, all the tension seemed to ebb away from my shoulders as soon as I entered the Türbeh. Maybe this is how people feel when they worship Eternia?
I looked at the tomb. It was just there in its full glory. Nobody could ever strip it of its powers or prestige. It remained there as a sign of love, peace, and freedom.
"But as if mocking its glory, all it receives is a festival once a year, garlands that reduce to nothing, and clothes that get covered in dust all year round. Ironic." I laughed, almost forgetting that I wasn't alone there. But Astra didn't seem to mind what I said. Instead, she understood my feelings and respected them. She approached me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Why don't you do the honors?"
"Huh?" I looked at her confused, as she handed me a towel.
"You could clean her up." She pointed at the tomb. My heart beat faster than ever.
"Me? Cleaning the tomb?!"
"Uh- no, no, Astra, I-I think you should do it-" I tried to push the towel back, but she handed it to me almost forcefully and went back to what she was working on.
"What? Am I supposed to do all the work, now?" She said sarcastically, and I laughed weakly. I turned to look at the tomb and saw her again. Right in front of the tomb, was little Dione. She stood there and prayed to Eternia… I could sense her naïvety even from here. I slowly moved closer to the tomb and began removing the dry garlands and dusty clothes. Most of the clothes were silk, and some of them were cotton. The amount of stuff placed on the tomb was a lot. I couldn't believe how much people would do just for a day and then not visit the Türbeh even once after the festival was over. Sadness filled my heart as I kept cleaning the tomb. I couldn't understand why I was feeling so sad, but soon enough, the sadness turned into sheer pain. I could feel the pain in my heart. It was so sharp that I stopped cleaning and leaned on the tomb to get support. My breathing was getting heavier by the second and I was losing consciousness…
"No, no, no! Not this again…"
"1320: The Türbeh at night, months before the festival of Eternia.
Sniffles and sobs filled the Türbeh. The little eight-year-old was sobbing in front of the tomb. She had run away from her room, without letting anybody know. The Türbeh was the only place where she found peace and enlightenment. She felt a strong connection with Eternia, therefore, she loved visiting the tomb whenever possible. But visiting the tomb during her most vulnerable times was like therapy for her. From a very young age, Dione would visit the Türbeh and rant, or cry in front of the tomb. This time, it was something trivial, but Dione really seemed to be affected by it.
"Why do you teach love to people who don't respect love?! They say it's wrong to be close to somebody. They say it hurts you in the end. WHY?! Why, Eternia?! I know MY mother wouldn't say the same." I sniffled.
"I know, she… she would understand. She would support me, because… I'm her blood! Tell me, Oh, Eternia! Where is my mother? Where are MY people? Why can't I find peace anywhere? Why?!"
My sobbing almost turned into wailing, but thankfully, no one was around to hear me. I got closer to the tomb and without giving it a second thought, I hugged the tomb to find peace. Everything seemed to be against love, in this world, and only the tomb of Eternia seemed to give me hope.
"You broke a rule!" A gasp was heard at the entrance. I turned around to notice the same boy from before, Victor. However, I was in no mood to answer. I wiped my tears, but that only made me sob even more. I hugged the tomb tighter, while Victor walked inside, almost mocking me for my vulnerability.
"You're a princess! And you broke a rule! What good will YOU bring to Hestia?!" He laughed mockingly. The pain in my chest grew sharper by the minute and I felt my blood boiling in my veins. He kept laughing at me and going around the tomb until I stood up.
"SHUT UP!!!" I glared at him, and even though my eyes were teary, he could still sense the fire in them. He stopped laughing. I breathed heavily.
"STOP! I DIDN'T BREAK ANY RULES! ETERNIA IS FOR EVERYONE! SHE LOVES EVERYONE EQUALLY! EVERYONE DESERVES TO BE CLOSE TO HER!"
Tears ran down my cheeks again, as I looked down, shaking in anger. I balled up my fists. Victor was silent for a moment and then spoke.
"Then why is the Türbeh always kept closed for the royals? Why are the royals allowed to go into the Türbeh first, during the festival? Why are all these rules implemented by the royals? You are a royal, aren't you? You should either follow the rules or change them if you don't like them. Don't you have the power?"
His question made my little mind wonder. But I knew the answer very well.
"No," I answered, my voice almost as squeaky as a squirrel.
"But… I do believe these weren't the rules of Eternia. She would never… NEVER differentiate between her own subjects." I cried. Victor walked a few steps toward me and looked me in the eyes.
"And why can't you change the rules? You can obviously talk about it to your family."
It was true. I could talk about it, but they wouldn't listen.
"A hunter doesn't lay a trap only to remove it in the end with nothing." I said, sounding a little too diplomatic. But he got his answer.
"I don't have any powers yet, to change this, but… but I will change these rules someday. I will."
"Well, the people abide by it. Who do you want to change it for?"
Victor's voice was calm. That made me even more desperate to prove my point.
"FOR THE PEOPLE!! Of course, they would abide by the rules because they LIVE HERE! They wouldn't want to get executed for anything! But I will change these rules." I sniffled. "I-I know… I can't be the only one who dislikes these rules. Maybe… Maybe I got these dislikes because of my bloodline? Maybe Eternia knows why I feel disappointed?! But… as of now… I really do feel alone. Alone in this big world, with nobody to look up to. Nobody to confide in."
I looked up at Victor and wiped my tears.
"Do you even know how that feels? Being alone? Lonely?!" I laughed mockingly and continued, "I don't think so. Because if you would, you wouldn't BULLY me here! In front of Eternia!"
My words almost seemed to shake him. He kept staring at me blankly, while I resumed crying again, slumping to the floor. Nothing else mattered to me at the moment, other than letting it all out. I felt like hugging Eternia again, even though I knew it wouldn't hug me back. At least its motherly energy would cover me, is all I knew. But instead of Eternia, I felt someone hug me. Someone whose presence I could feel clearly. I only opened my eyes to see Victor hugging me. I was surprised, but not agitated. I was too vulnerable to care. I felt like a toddler getting calmed down by her nanny. I was sobbing like a child in his arms, while he only kept hugging me. No words. Only his warm energy filled me up. It made me feel safe, secure and loved. My heart didn't feel the pain anymore, and I had calmed down completely.
I slowly pulled away and looked at him. He smiled at me.
"Do you know magic?" I asked him meekly.
"No."
"Then… how did you calm me down?" I asked. In response, he only hugged me again. I didn't pull away. It was peaceful like this. I felt like family in his arms.
"Thank you, Victor." I almost whispered, drifting off to sleep.
"You can call me Vic, Dione." He said. I heard it as I fell asleep right there, in his arms, under the protected gaze of Eternia…"
"Current Time:
"Moon?! Moon are you okay?! Moon!!"
Astra's shrill voice brought me back to my senses. I had fallen on the floor against the tomb of Eternia.
"I-I… yeah… W-What happened?" I asked in a weak voice, still trying to recover from another vision.
"I was working around the corner and you were cleaning just now, and then… all of a sudden, you fainted! Although it's only been a few minutes, but… I'm really concerned for you, Moon. This just keeps happening to you. Do you really feel alright?"
I touched my palm to my forehead and took a deep breath.
"Yeah, I… I'm okay… I-I think it's just the dust around here that made me feel nauseous." I said and tried to get up with Astra's help. Astra's face was riddled with pain.
"I'm so sorry, Moon… I knew I shouldn't have let you do all the work by yourself. I'm so sorry, I-"
"Astra, calm down!" I stopped Astra and spoke, looking right into her eyes. I could sense she was guilty, but I wasn't mad at her. I couldn't be, because this wasn't her fault. She had a sense of devotion toward me, but that didn't mean I didn't consider her my friend.
"I'm fine, Astra. It's not that big of a deal! I'm a human, I can fall sick too, you know?"
Though I smiled, Astra continued to worry. It felt really nice to have someone care for me so much, but I finally convinced Astra to continue with her work, while I continued with mine.
After almost an hour, we were done with quite a bit of work. I had cleaned the tomb completely, while Astra had managed to clean a significant part of the room.
"I'll go check on Anya and Vlad real quick, wait for me!"
"Astra, wait, I-" But before I could follow her, she had already left. For a second, I even thought of following her, but I stopped. Almost instinctively, I looked at the tomb. It was true. The tomb really had some magic to it, for all my tensions vanished immediately. I approached the tomb and ran my fingers through the designs on it. I closed my eyes to pray, but I saw nothing other than darkness in front of me. It was all-consuming. I opened my eyes and looked at the tomb. It was there in silence, not interfering with anyone's lives or demanding anything from the people.
"Eternia…" I whispered. I didn't know what else to wish for, or say, in front of Eternia. I was still getting used to all this. I wasn't as ready to break rules as Dione, and neither did I have anybody to pray for. But then, I remembered her actions, her words.
"Love, pure tender friendship."
Wasn't that enough for a human to live peacefully? I immediately closed my eyes and prayed for the same. My mind almost shouted out his name… "Caleb…" and I tried to visualize him, only to see the same blue-green eyes etched in my heart.
I gasped and opened my eyes. There was no one. Only Eternia and me. Even though I was tortured with questions, I couldn't find the strength to cry while hugging Eternia's tomb. But my heart was pounding in my chest. It wasn't a feeling of fear, but something else… Something that even I was afraid to accept. I turned around and dashed to the exit, but my feet stopped right at the threshold.
His blue-green eyes were staring right at me. He was standing outside the door and was about to get in. On seeing me, he stopped and looked around.
"What… What are you doing here?" He looked away. But I couldn't look away from him. Who was he? Why was he so connected to Dione? And why does he keep coming back every time?
"I came here to… clean the Türbeh for the festival."
"Hah, the festival," he laughed mockingly and said, "Yeah. What else can we even expect from people like you?"
"Excuse me?" I said, not quite understanding what he said.
"People hold a festival once a year to please Eternia and expect Eternia to bless them with love, happiness, peace, and health. But then, not a single soul opens the door to the Türbeh until it's time for the festival again. And you really want blessings by cleaning the Türbeh for a day? Funny."
His words seemed to cut me up into pieces, but I couldn't say a word to oppose them. His smug face almost showed that whatever he said was true and that I really couldn't object. But then, Astra came up to us with Anya and Vlad. Anya was walking almost fine.
"Moon was saying the same thing just a while ago, Victor. Do you guys have some sort of synchronized brains or something?" She hit Vic on the shoulder and laughed, but Vic tensed up.
"I- I'll come back later." He said.
"But-" Vlad tried to stop him, but he was on his way. For some reason, I wanted to go after him, but couldn't. Instead, I called out for him.
"Vic!"
My voice made him stop, but he didn't look back. I couldn't figure out what his emotions were without looking at his face, but then he turned to look at me as if nobody else was there. His gaze was soft and compassionate, just like the little boy in my visions. He hesitated, but then took a step towards me, but didn't say a word.
I didn't know what to say either. I didn't even know why I called out for him in the first place. But now that I did, I had to say something…
"I… I was just leaving. You can go inside." I said and looked away. For a split second, I caught a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye, and I saw him struggling to say something, and then, as if he was defeated in a war, stood motionless for a long moment. He then sighed and slowly walked past us, and went into the Türbeh.
Anya looked at Vlad, maybe to understand the situation, but even Vlad was as confused as Anya and Astra were. Only he and I and Eternia knew what really was happening.