The Fall of the Dieties - A Calming Effect

“SAIYA!!!!,” she screamed a curse that had only been whispered in the Times of Old and she could not even begin to understand why such a word left her lips. It seemed as if the very air around her become thicker, as if pulsing with an unfamiliar power. This was the land that was forgotten, the land that housed the deadliest of equine. The Land of the Ancients was brought to life by a traitor.

At the clearing of the Temple of Earth, Sirenne paused long enough to take in the surroundings.

It was beautiful.

A tall, aging, yet youthful oak tree had forced its branches into the gray marble of the Temple while vines and birds crafted a new roof after the old stone one had fallen ages ago. The flowers seemed to not just move but breathe and the songs of the birds made one’s chest actually lift in pleasure. It was a world untouched by the chaos that the Enemy had created but it was a world in danger and there stood Brighton, the master of soil that nourished and the creatures that roamed. His body was unmovable, like the very Earth itself, but his eyes….his eyes contained a thousand sunsets and the peace that made them glow warm even the coldest ice of the Ancients.

“Brighton,” Sirenne breathed. Even though she had never met him (and after Gobardon, who could blame her?), she could clearly recognize that this beautiful creature held great power. She did not jump when his linnet dipped in its flight above her head and landed on Brighton’s left shoulder.

“My word,” came Brighton’s distinctive soft voice. “You have seen better days, Sirenne of the South.”

His calm demeanor was almost irritating, but Sirenne shook off her negative feelings. Her inner Valkyrie was cast aside as she tried for the first time in her life to reason with a male.

“I have seen the Enemy,” Sirenne said through her breaths. “It is coming for you. We must get you out of here or the entire world will fall.”

“Run away from our problems?” A smile was in his eyes. “My, this does not sound like our beloved Sirenne.”

She almost growled in her frustration. “Fine! Let us fight this! Step down from your pedestal and stop meditating! We have a world to save and you are my last hope.”

Brighton smiled and looked toward the horizon where it was always sunrise in his Temple. “Do you know why, through winter, we still fight to survive?”

“There is not time for this, Brighton! I can feel the Enemy’s anger!”

He continued as softly as ever as his butterfly tickled the neck of his linnet and kissed his cheeks with its wings, “Winter is so harsh. It is so dark. The chill is more than we can stand, but we still do not fall. Why? It is so easy to give in, but we work to survive. Why is this, Sirenne?”

He turned toward her and his green eyes glowed, the reflection of the Hoof Prince of Old Lore in his eyes, “It is because we know that spring will come.”

An ice beam broke the silence and struck the butterfly as it tried to escape. Flicking his head forcefully, the Earth sucked away the butterfly and a cave surrounded Sirenne. The Earth moved loudly and a few columns in the Temple fell. Sirenne and the butterfly were hidden from sight.

“But still,” he said deeply, a voice completely different from his normal tone, “we must fight to survive.”