The Goddess of Death and Her Empress

"Keep a close eye on them. If they make a fuss, take them back." Kyrie said to Valina. "No hesitation. No redirection. Lena can not get agitated again. It brings her harm." Valina bowed her head.

"It shall be done, goddess." Valina said. Kyrie went over to the bed, and lightly rubbed Lena's forehead. She sighed softly.

"Wake up soon, little Lena." Her eyes hardened as she looked at them both. "No more trouble from either of you. This is your last chance to serve properly. If you fail this time, you'll stay as a core on a shelf, watching what the Empress is enjoying, and how she rewards her servants. You'll watch, listen, and be unable to speak, interact, or move. You won't be able to sleep, or close your eyes. She does not need disobedient servants." Kyrie left, while Nuri felt a few dozen sets of eyes glare at her.

"The Shadows watch, ladies. All the time." Valina disappeared into a black mist. Nadya looked at Nuri and shook her head.

"You took it too far, Nuri. She did nothing to you. She was nice, wanted to experience our natures, to let us enjoy being alive. She did not deserve your harsh words." Nadya lowered her eyes to Lena's sleeping figure, and sniffed. "She did not deserve it when I flinched away from her. I am not used to someone wanting to be with me like this."

Nuri didn't speak. She didn't know why she rebelled, and didn't know why she forced herself to endure that torturous struggle to get onto this bed. She was offered this position without pain, but she tried to push it away.

It was a very human thing to do, but not something she would ever say was what an Other would do.

Confusion was the primary emotion she felt, and it made her wary.  The longer she was in that bed, the better she felt, which only made her feel more confused.

Why did the presence of the Empress soothe her in ways nothing else could? One more question scared her the most because she was afraid of the answer.

Did the Empress really want her near? If that answer was 'no', it would be even more devastating then being imprisoned on a shelf for centuries.

Unconsciously, both large women shifted their soft bodies closer as a whisper was uttered in their minds.

'Closer. I'm cold.'

* * *

"Elorshin, I am Valina, a Shadow of the goddess, and a servant of the Empress." Valina stood in front of the gate with a grin. There were a dozen wagons lined up, and waiting to enter. The first wagon had an elderly woman seated on the bench.

"I am Melita, one of the waking elders for the Elorshin. We are happy to finally come home." She said with a happy smile.

"Melita, the Empress would come to welcome you herself, but she fell into hibernation again." Valina sighed a bit. "The goddess assures us it should end in the next few days, but in order to proceed according to her orders, bring the other elders to the temple hall. Sol and Hannah will discuss the arrangements with you there." Valina smiled.

"Elorshin, assist your elders to enter. Do not bring any animals inside. Once the arrangements are taken care of, your leaders will give you proper instructions, and the ritual cleansings will commence." Valina spoke loud enough for the entire wagon train to hear. The elder tilted her head.

"Cleansing?"

"It is a ceremony where a worshiper of the goddess soothes her soul in a symbolic gesture. She undergoes the cleansing to introduce her to the Offering, so her heart is full, and her faith is evident to all." Sol said as she appeared. "A cleansing graduates the initiates into acolytes, and helps them to feel close to the goddess, and their guardians." The elder nodded slowly.

"That does make sense. Only those who were at the temple knew these things, but if those are the wishes of the goddess, that is what we shall do." Melita said with a smile.

"Not just the goddess. The temple would not have opened if not for the Empress." Sol said. Melita was a bit surprised. "She wanted the temple to reopen so everyone would know her goddess's name."

"The Empress sounds important." Melita said quietly.

"So important to the goddess that she would split Haven in half in her rush to get to her." Sol smiled a bit. "Her servants are important, but the Empress is on another level."

"Come. We have much to discuss."

* * *

"You are not Elorshin." Vila, one of the waking elders of the Elorshin said.

"No. I was Asmarian when I was human." Sol said with a grin. Her sharp teeth were easy to see. Vila looked at Melita.

"We can not speak of the future of the Elorshin with someone not of the Elorshin." Vila said firmly. Sol's mirth faded.

"You do realize that I am from Haven." Sol said in a calm voice.

"We do. We also have the goddess's instructions that the Elorshin are to remain apart from the rest of Imera." Melita said in a small voice. "We can not disobey the goddess." Sol frowned slightly.

"You do realize that those instructions were issued so that the tribe would remain pure, and remain entirely Elorshin, correct?" Sol asked her.

"We are aware of that." Vila said as she looked down her nose at Sol. Sol was surprised, as it wasn't that she wasn't Elorshin.

"Do you feel superior to me, someone not of the Elorshin?" Sol asked. Vila snorted.

"Isn't it obvious? We were chosen by the goddess!" She said. Immediately, an atmosphere started to fill the room, and one that Sol recognized intimately.

"Well, that answers the question of the Elorshin elders." Sol said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Melita asked, but the atmosphere continued to get heavier, and denser. Sol and the Others were unaffected, but the ones who were human found it difficult to breathe.

"The Empress was chosen by the goddess, and she is not Elorshin. The Others were Offered to the goddess, and chosen to go to Haven. They are Asmarian, Elorshin, Caedian, Adosian, and of the Vhaac. Some come from Aervik, and some of the tribes of Jie have become acolytes." Sol said, while the five Shadows assigned to Lena appeared one after another.

"The Elorshin become the Shadows, and watch over the people as sisters, not superiors." Valina said. "And the fact that you believe the Elorshin are superior means that your heart is not ready to join the Great Temple." Valina lifted her eyes as a mass of energy approached.

Nadya, along with Nuri, carried the Empress in their arms. Her upper body rested against their shoulders as they stood facing each other. Her lower body rested on their arms as they carried her like they were a chair.

Valina immediately lowered herself to her knees, as did the rest of the Others in the hall. Lena's eyes were closed, but once she opened them, the ones in the room felt like they faced the goddess herself.

"We worship the goddess, but serve the Empress." Valina said reverently. The Elorshin were astounded, and unfortunately, still unwilling to kneel.

'You still do not kneel before my chosen mate?' A voice said. A black mist filled the room. The goddess, Kyrie, stepped out of the throne room of her palace, and in front of Lena.

"Those who do not kneel before My Empress will not live."