The Greatest Sin

Elijah Arad walked through the halls of some ancient dwarven ruin in his Golden armour; a spear in his hand, a sword on his belt, a short red cape gently catching in the draft. Four more of Allasaria’s Seekers prowled behind him.

Holes in walls, blood smeared splattered over the walls. It even reached the ceiling in some places. His heavy boot stepped over the shattered Guguoan blades, it crushed the loose strands of beast fur now stuck together with dried blood and it avoided the treacherous rubble that would have made it next to impossible for a human to fight on.

“Nothing in the western section either.” Beniamin Hausmann reported.

“Then we search deeper, a God’s corpse cannot just into thin air.”

From afar, a tall woman in black watched the party of fifty Seekers make their way into the ancient fort. A section of the mountain above it was charred into a goat’s head. The woman’s cold lips curled into a snakish smile; nostalgia was a pleasant emotion.

Storm clouds rolled in from the East.

Helenna entered Kassandora’s cell without even knocking. She had to be fast today, Allasaria was on high alert after Atis’ death whereas Maisara and Fortia were seen venturing into the Lower Prison far more than was required for just a simple interrogation.

Kassandora was sitting on her chair, feet on the table, eyes closed, looking as if she could be anywhere but the Lower Prison of Olympiada. There was something in that posture that made annoyed Helenna, and then something else that marvelled at the Goddess of War. It wasn’t the easiness, Helenna saw through that immediately: Kassandora’s smile was forced, her humming wasn’t the triumphant march of a band, even that gentle lull of her head looked fake. But the ability to even try and make the best of a situation…

Helenna supposed it was simply a difference of domains. If Love gave up, a new lover would eventually appear; If War gave up, it resulted in a brutal defeat. Kassandora spoke without even opening her eyes. “Nice perfume Helenna.”

“I’m that obvious?” Helenna asked. Kassandora quit that relaxed state and pulled herself up. She smoothed down the grey prison garbs, took her feet off the table and threw her hair around as if that mass of blood-red needed anymore attention being brought to it.

“Nice dress too.” Kassandora asked. “What’s the occasion?” Helenna didn’t need to look down at herself to know the dress was brilliant. A low-cut and tight black concoction of frills and lace which revealed just enough for imagination to fill in the gaps.

“There’s a situation, we’re going to be fast today.” Helenna closed the cell door behind herself and sat down. Kassandora merely waited, Helenna supposed it was going to be like that. “Has Maisara informed you yet?”

“All I know is that Atis has died.” Kassandora said easily. “Or that he was missing in action but we all know what happened.” She rolled those red eyes as if nothing else needed to be said.

“That’s old news by this point, I was talking about the prisoner from Pepayel Airport.”

“That I don’t know about.” There were some Goddesses, like Maisara and Fortia, Elassa was another one, Allasaria could do it too, where they hated Helenna’s lavish displays of emotions. Helenna hated dealing with them, Kassandora had no such issue. Of Love’s hair changed into a vibrant orange and she smiled proudly, this made the whole situation easier.

“Allasaria told me to get information out of him. She couldn’t and Maisara came storming out of the prison after she tried.”

“No surprise there, those two were never good with people.” Helenna’s hair turned red, it was almost as bright as Kassandora’s. Kavaa and Iniri did not gossip like little girls, they thought it was beneath them. Helenna was very much in touch with her inner child though.

“It’s all just demands and bartering. That’s as far as their skills in talking go.” Helenna said and Kassandora nodded along.

“That’s the issue where you’re domain isn’t in touch with humanity.” Kassandora added. “Of Order especially, if we gave a chess set a will it would make Maisara.” Helenna burst out in laughter and clapped her hands. This was exactly what she was missing for the past centuries. “But you said you wanted to be fast today, it’s to do with this prisoner I assume.” Helenna was pulled back into reality by Kassandora and took a heavy breath before she began.

“It is, Leona sent him here along with two dozen men. The men are useless, I’ve had a talk with them already.”

“And?”

“The man is a genius, he’s an elf and everyone knows nothing. They were kept totally in the dark. The most that could be gleamed is two locations of partisan cells and that’s it.”

“Is anyone investigating this?” Kassandora asked.

“Allasaria told Maisara and Fortia to see what they could find.”

“I’ll skip the wait for you. Maisara and Fortia will find cities of gold, reduce them to ruins and then claim they’ve found nothing.” Kassandora said and Helenna burst out in laughter again. “Why did she not send you?”

“Because she’s Allasaria, why would she send me?” Helenna said, she didn’t know if that expression of support from the Goddess of War was real or not.

“She’s a mastermind too great for us to comprehend Helenna. If you want information, she’s not going to send the greatest spymaster of history, she’ll send two common brutes.” Helenna burst out in laughter again. Something in her mind told her to be wary of Kassandora still, but the amount of compliments she received in the past millennia, she could count on her hands. The fact most of them were about her looks didn’t help either. “So this man, why are you coming to with him?”

“I’ve gleamed what Maisara learned.”

“I’d compliment you, but it was Maisara.” Kassandora said to another bout of laughter.

“The man is an elf, his operation was about stealing planes. Three other airports were hit in neighbouring regions too. One of the ports, Tress Ceremonial, it took them an hour to realise planes were missing. Another, Astangrad Central Airport became a bloodbath, the cameras were cut out and when the police arrived, a quarter of the civilians had bled out already. Security was overwhelmed and slaughtered to the last man.”

“And yet the man was captured?”

“He led the largest assault, thirty five men, on Pepayel Regional. We suspect he was trying to steal the 77T transports planes.” Kassandora chuckled.

“I apologize for my lack of knowledge, but a 77T means nothing to me.”

“77T because it carries 77 tons. It’s was built to assist the towns in southern Karaina during their heavy winters when roads get washed away.”

“Big plane then.”

“Big indeed.”

“And he led the largest assault?”

“He did.”

“Judging from the fact Leona caught him, I suppose she was there.”

“She was.” Helenna’s hair grew white. Kassandora was incredible, Maisara would have needed to be told directly.

“And this elf, you’re going to ask why he did it now?”

“This is the crux of the issue.” Helenna said. “I…” Her cheeks started to go red and her hair became a simple brown. “We’ve… there’s a pact between us, isn’t there?”

“Like I said already, I will lead you girls to freedom if you call upon me.”

“I was thinking from your perspective, it’s not… if I were you, I wouldn’t trust me.” Kassandora shrugged and gave her that innocent smile again.

“Beggars can’t be choosers, can they?” Kassandora said. “And from your position, you don’t exactly have any proof I don’t have ulterior motives.”

“I suppose that makes two of us.” Helenna said. “Leona returned to Olympiada for a few days, it’s obvious the fight there took a lot out of her.”

“An elf went up against a Goddess?” Kassandora asked and Helenna shook her head.

“She overexerted herself. There’s…” Helenna’s hair grew black again and she hardened her tone. “I rather, I have a theory about it.”

“And that is?”

“It’s to do with Leona, her state. I don’t believe Leona will be killed.”

“Do you not?”

“I believe she will die of natural causes. Because she’s been fuelling Olephia’s prison all this time – singlehandedly.” Kassandora gave a slow nod to that.

“It does make sense.” Kassandora said. “I just never thought it would have such an effect on her.”

“She has been growing weaker overtime, and if we use Maisara’s theory about her luck holding us together, then she’s using her powers everyday to simply keep the Pantheon functioning. The Pantheon or Olephia, she could handle alone, both, I don’t think so.” Kassandora inclined her head and nodded along.

“You know what Helenna?”

“What?”

“I never thought you would be so calculating. Apologies of course, but I’ve underestimated you.” Helenna smiled and beamed with pride, the vibrant orange returning to her hair. “But it means that Leona’s death is set now. There’s no avoiding it.”

“And that means that the alliance between us has to be set too.” Helenna said. “I want to make it formal Kassandora, there isn’t… any backing down now. I know you keep entertaining Maisara, that is fine, but I want assurance that you won’t turn your back on me.”

“Helenna.” Kassandora said. “Maisara is a good tool to use. Her and Fortia came to me first in this crisis. So I’ll keep playing with them but don’t insult me like that. War, Order and Peace is a combination that cannot work.”

“Fortia’s Peace and Maisara’s Order have a different meaning to them.”

“What can I give you then?”

“I don’t know either.” Helenna said. “But I want to show my loyalty, General.” Kassandora laughed and waved her hand at that.

“Don’t insult yourself like that, a General is made by his army, where is mine?”

“Standing before you is a greatest spymaster in the world, with Kavaa, we have troops skilled in combat and healing. With Iniri, we can feed them, you said it yourself, the army can be mustered and they’ll appear in two days. That’s Kavaa’s own words. But enough, I want to ask about this elf.”

“Ask?” Kassandora said.

“Do you think the Goddess of Love would make a wrong choice of words? Yes, I want to ask. He’s young, just over two hundred. His name, I know you’re familiar with.” Kassandora remained silent. “Ilwin.” Kassandora gave no reaction. “Tremali.”

The Goddess of War blinked, leaned back, laughed, smiled, laughed again, wiped a tear from her eye. She was reduced to a giggling mess, a stunned girl who had just been asked for her hand by the man of her dreams. Helenna sat and watched, her hair brightened again and the road she was going down turned from cobblestone to brilliantly smooth asphalt.

This response could not be a simple pantomime.

Helenna wished someone would react for her like that one day.

“That’s my Iliyal!” Kassandora finally. “General of the Eighth Army, Iliyal Tremali, it’s good to see his offspring are as talented as him!”

“I’m going to see him now, do you want me to inform him of you?” Immediately the mood change. A new Kassandora stepped into the smiling girl that was sat just before her. Cool faced, those red eyes stopped burning like warm winter hearths and became targeted blazes.

“Is Leona here?”

“No.”

“When will she be back?”

“No one knows.”

“Then the risk is too great, tell him I’m here but leave it at that. If he asks, then answer. Draft an escape plan, bring it to me and I’ll make the corrections. If he’s a Tremali, then I don’t think even you’ll be able to get much out of the man.”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

“Go ahead, but the bloodline was blessed by Arascus in the Great War. They have tremendous willpower. If he’s ten generations detached then it will have grown weaker but it’s an elf, fat chance of him anything more than maybe five steps from Iliyal.”

“Even better.”

“I’m glad you’re up for it.” Kassandora said and Helenna’s hair flourished into a bright red. It was those small things that made her like the Goddess of War so much, she simply knew when to say something… something… nice and pleasant, as stupid as that sounded. “If I was in his position though, I would reveal nothing and not believe you about me.”

“You think he won’t?”

“It’s the smartest thing to do in his situation. Do you want a bet?”

“On what?” Helenna grew excited.

“A bottle of wine.” Kassandora said. “It’s been a long time since I had something to drink.”

“And if you lose?”

“I don’t make bets I know I’ll lose.”

“We’ll see about that!” Helenna clapped the table and stood up. “If he tells me anything useful, then you owe me.”

“I’d start raiding the cupboards already if I were you.” Kassandora waved Helenna away. “Now go, you said you’d be fast.”

When Helenna finally left the cell, the corridors descended with a sombre euphoria. A sense… nay, a need she had long buried since the Great War ended and she had resigned herself to being a steward in Olympiada. She wanted someone to think of her as Kassandora did of this Iliyal Tremali, to laugh about her successes with nothing but pure joy. She wanted an end to this plotting and politicking of the Divine Mountain where every move had to be limited as to not upset the other Gods.

She wanted that bond that Kassandora seemed to build so easily.

Kassandora sighed as Helenna left her cell. Some Divines were an unsolvable puzzle, others… others, well, you just needed to knock on the door and they’d lay themselves bare for you.