Anathema - Birth of a Goddess, Death of a King

“I knew you would be back again.” Delphinium said, not bothering to look up from her work in her garden. The winter was coming quickly in Hoof Prince, the frost killing off anything beautiful that still lingered in the patches of sun. She had to get her garden beds ready for death before she could feed life into them again.

“I have all of the elements. I have Magic and Immortality. What else do I need to do?” Tia Maria asked, her elemental stones glistened in the late afternoon sun. She had been the first one to make it this far, who had the ability to claim the title of Opal Goddess. She wasn’t sure what she had to do, or what it even meant: there had been rumors, claims of what glory the Opal could bring. But the truth of the stone and its duties were a mystery to the residents of Hoof Prince. Tia hoped for some enlightenment.

“You just needed to come to me.” Delphinium said with a smile, watching as the Opal appeared on Tia Maria. “Of all the deity positions I’ve handed out, Tia Maria, this is the heaviest. While you have no element to watch over, no followers to look after, you have to guard the gods. After what happened with Mystic...” She trailed off, the memories of the Ancient still leaving ice chips in her veins. “It cannot happen again.” She paused, her eyes fixed on Tia. “If any of the gods need you, your Opal will let you know. If others make it as far as you do, though, your god-hood can be challenged. Keep an eye on the Ridges.” Delphinium warned, her words heavy in the cool air. She wondered how this would change Tia Maria and if it would be for the good of all of them.

As the Opal Goddess made her way back home, the Hoof Prince stood on the shores of the Isles of Despair.

Unknowing to his bloodline or his Queen he was watching his last morning reach its climax while driftwood and seaweed crashed onto the rocky shoreline. Afterwards, so many would speculate at what had brought death on his doorstep, the unanswered questions to his choice still echoed between the overgrown timber that dotted the southern shoreline. It would seem, though, that the only sounds Zacharias heard as he plunged himself deep within the depths of the sea was the sound of his own heart beat fading and the last echoes of Tia Maria calling his name.