Anathema - Explanations

Courant had known they would come.

She sat in the back of her temple, feeling them moving toward her, coming for her. She wasn't at all surprised that it was Viriarus who was the first to come to question her - just that it took her this long to come. She ignored the pain that surged through her as Altus’ winds whipped through the temple at Viriarus’ command, but instead watched the former Valkyrie Queen, waiting.

“You flooded the Valkyries. You flooded everything and killed so many. You destroyed areas of our home and made my… made the jungle uninhabitable. And then you threw my sisters together with the Rajputs and made two powerful nations one weak fledgling one. Valkyries chose to live without men. They all had their reasons and they were all very different, but it brought each girl to the same conclusion and lifestyle choice. Still, you forced them from their home and gave them a lifestyle they did not choose, did not want. There is no logic there.” Viriarus spoke, keeping her voice steady and monotone. Courant could hear the anger edging her worse, but it held no flame next to the storm brewing outside the temple.

“Do you dare assume that I destroyed so many mortal beings with no rhyme or reason.” Courant asked, thunder rolling outside. The air moved with a fury, whether from Viriarus or from Altus himself Courant could not be sure. “I am not Rencor, Viriarus; I do not kill for the pleasure in it. Every one of those bodies that perished had a soul, their soul rests in the waters of my home as a reminder of the choices I have made - that others have made - and the consequences of these actions. Death is not something I take lightly.” So many of the gods had been chained to their temples as punishments, the ultimate consequence to years of sinning. She had been given her position because of her sacrifice for her father, how brave and willing she was to give up her own life for a stallion who was willing to trade his own daughter so he could live.

Before Courant or Viriarus could speak further, the winged Queen of the North, Arianah, had entered the temple, adding to the conversation. “Courant... if I remember correctly you once made it known to Altus how I fell for him, you had seen it as clearly as even Elyria herself would have. I come to ask... to know if my connection to you and your waters have grown that I can feel you as I do him. Your ceaseless rains and the resulting floods; my lady were they executed with the purpose of bringing the Valkyrie and Rajputs together as you and Paduan have come to be as one? Is all of this to show them that they can find strength in the unconditional acceptance of others? To reunite them as you and Paduan have reunited?”

Courant was surprised by Arianah’s simple yet optimistic theory, that the reason for the Flood was some romantic symbolism of peace between her and Paduan, between the Valkyries and Rajputs. The sweetness of Arianah’s words gave her an uneasy feeling that made her wish she had never gotten so involved with the mortals in the first place. “Arianah, you’re sweet but this is not about working together or the Valkyries or Rajputs even; that was a bi-product. Please, Viriarus, tell me when in recent history have the Valkyries and Rajputs been able to stay enemies? They constantly fell on the same side of the coin - does it not make sense to put the two together? Please, give me some reason why they could not work well together? If Paduan and I could put our differences aside, I expect you to be able to do the same. You all are better suited to living together; nothing is stopping you from going off and starting your own band of all mares, Viriarus.” She paused for a moment, looking between the two. “Can you think of no reason as to why I would do this?”

Viriarus was the first to speak up. “I assume nothing. Assumptions are dangerous. I am merely stating how it all appears. Not just to me, but also to everyone I speak to. A stallion came to me and asked that I might come and speak to you, for even Delphinium is concerned. It does not at this point matter what your intentions are. What matters is how abandoned, even betrayed, so many of Hoof Prince’s residents feel. I can see no logic now, but that does not mean I do not wish to see logic. I wish, more than anything, to understand. For all of this to have meaning. For the inhabitants of our home and the followers of all elements to be able to comprehend why it all had to happen. For them to trust.” She paused, her anger subsiding. Now she only felt... confusion. “As for the Valkyries and the Rajputs, working together and merging to become one are two different things. You and Paduan work together in much the same way as Synyster and I did, though our relationship was purely a working one. But we were a team. Allies. Two separate entities with a single goal. That did not make us the same. Merging my… the… Valkyries with the Rajputs is like trying to make two individuals share one body. You do not get the best of both. You get one or the other, or a diluted version of the pair.” She paused for a moment, the storm continuing to rage outside. “Help us to understand your reasons.”

Arianah, who had been silent during Viriarus’s monolouge spoke up next, her thoughts weighing heavy in her mind. “If I may, I see no reason for others to feel betrayed or abandoned, do they not think of what they do to those who first gave them their magic? Over and over again I have seen those of our kind conveniently forget about those who gave them their power, casting their reverence aside for 'more pressing matters'.. The same message was passed from Delphinium to me through Broken Dreams as well, I was asked to come here to speak with you, that the rest of us might come to understand why it is you have cast us into a time of ceaseless rain and flooding. I had thought at first that it was to force the Valkyries and the Rajputs together but I do not presume to know your mind or why it is you have chosen to do as you have done.” She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts and looking between the goddess and Viriarus. “I do not know the reason behind your activities, that I could ever fully understand them and neither do I think that it is important for us to understand. I can however see that your flooding has destroyed much of what we had known, that it has set all of us back the result has been a trues between each to the three remaining nations one that gives us each the support we need from the others in order to rebuild our broken homes. It has caused us all to find a reason to set our difference aside in order to see that our homes survive. I for one am grateful for the fresh slate we have been given, for the chance we have been given to start fresh and new without the lingering pain we had created within hoof Prince; this is what I think is important for the rest of us to see.”

Courant looked between the two mortals, wondering if they had more to say. She wasn’t used to such long winded arguments - especially from Viriarus. If only the mortals could understand! “Viriarus, you are not the only one who mourns the loss of the Jungle for it was I who had created it. Back when I was mortal, the Valkyries were created for the protection of mares and to empower them.” She spoke softly and solely to the former Valkyrie Queen, knowing this information meant more to her than Arianah. “A lot of history was lost, but will be uncovered - when the time is right.” She had a knowing smile on her face, her hopes for the future all but drawn out before them.

Turning to Arianah next, she felt pleased that Arianah could see the error of the mortal’s ways. “Arianah, I am glad you can see where a lot of the deities’ frustration lie. Do you know how many of your peers forget who first gave them their elements, who try and gain ranks in temples of multiple gods including the temples of their gods’ enemies. It’s as if ‘loyalty’ means nothing to the mortals...” Courant trailed off, anger starting to fill her once more. Before her stood two who held many elements, though Viriarus’ loyalty always had been with Altus with was clearly evident from the wings she possessed, granted to her when she became his Guardian. “The mortals... They forget where they get their power from, the gods who first gave them their elemental stones and started them on this journey towards this notion of Opal. You’re gaining levels, tokens, elements without so much as a look back! Your ambition blinds you and makes you both selfish and ignorant.” She paused. “By flooding the lands, it has made some sit up and take notice while others are working harder to gain levels and elements. Kingdoms have been all but forgotten about; what small numbers do fill the North, South and the newly birthed Scythia do not bother themselves with the mundane troubles of stealing and fighting for numbers. Ranks in Kingdoms do not matter anymore! The temples have started to fill with concerned followers, the Oracle handing out new elements left and right - this was the flaw in my great plan. Loyalty... Loyalty means nothing to you.”