Chapter Eighty-Two

Ellie braced herself, expecting them to collide with the jagged wall of rocks that the ivy-covered. She squeezed her eyes shut, digging her nails into Avery’s skin. *He’s lost his fucking mind*, she thought frantically.

“Calm down, Ellie. You don’t think I’d intentionally put you in harm’s way, do you?” Avery asked with a chuckle. Her eyes popped open as he let her slide carefully down until her feet touched the hard rock.

“A… cave?” she asked curiously. Avery nodded and held out his hand. He summoned a soft warm light and balanced it lazily in his palm.

They were only twenty or so feet from the entrance, but already she couldn’t hear the sounds from outside – the ivy had done a very effective job of blocking everything out. And, as strange as it was, she found herself walking to one of the walls and placing her hand softly on it.

There was something about this cave that seemed… alive. The walls were warm and seemed to hum lowly beneath her hand. A slight breeze passed up the cave and back down slowly, humid, and soft, almost like the breath of a slumbering giant. Water dripped from somewhere far ahead of them, echoing lightly in the cave.

“What is this place?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know for sure… but I have a rough idea of what it could be.” He began walking forward slowly, and Ellie reluctantly pulled away from the wall to keep pace with him.

“What do you think it is?”

“As you know, we serve the Moon Goddess. She is the creator of all living beings, and we consider Her as our most holy deity. But she is not the only one we worship.”

Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise. “There’s more than just the Moon Goddess?” she asked incredulously. Avery nodded solemnly, his eyes observing the cave respectfully as they walked.

“While the Moon Goddess is credited for giving us life, She is not the one who created this earth. I won’t go into detail, but the gist of it is that there are four others: the Sun God, the Water God, the Fire Goddess, and the Earth Goddess.

“The Earth Goddess, content to live with the others, created the earth. She sculpted the land from Her own hard flesh and carved it to Her liking. She encouraged the other gods to create their own worlds, and so they did.

“Some are made of water, others of fire, and so on. Yet, for all their power and companionship, the gods felt lonely. They wanted to share their creations with someone – something. And so, the Moon Goddess, being the ruler of them all, drew her power up and created animals.”

He paused as they came to a fork in the tunnel. He shot her a smile and turned right, leading her down a narrowing cave.

“These animals were the purest and most innocent of all creatures. They lived graciously off the land and for a while, the other gods were content…”

“What happened?” Ellie asked nervously. The way Avery grimaced at the question made her stomach roll.

“The gods… the gods got bored again. They had all the power they could ever want, but now they wanted to be worshipped. They wanted to be loved and adored. So, the Moon Goddess drew more power and created the first humans and fae-folk.

“They lived harmoniously and worshipped the gods as they desired. The people prospered and the lands were bountiful. Everything was as it should have been.” He stopped and extinguished the magic.

Ellie hadn’t even realized that the cave had slowly become lit by a large assortment of flora. They were like the plants in Melinoe’s room, but their colors were soft and warm. Avery began walking again, and Ellie hurried beside him.

“The Fire Goddess and the Water God grew jealous of the others. The Moon Goddess was worshipped for bringing the night sky and the moon, the Sun God was worshipped for bringing the warmth that comes with the daylight, and the Earth Goddess was worshipped for the bountiful crops that were harvested. Likewise, the Water God was worshipped for the rain and rivers while the Fire Goddess was worshipped for the fires that kept them warm and helped keep them fed – but it wasn’t enough.

“They wanted more recognition, more attention. Water and Fire are fickle and hard to control. The smallest perceived slight could send them into a rampage. And so, feeling like they weren’t loved, they wreaked havoc on the land.”

Avery suddenly stopped and sat carefully on a moss-covered log, then pulled Ellie down onto his lap. She leaned against his chest, unsettled. *There could only be one reason that the Water God and Fire Goddess weren’t worshipped like they used to be…*

“They annihilated everything," Avery said sadly, confirming her thoughts. "The Earth Goddess did her best to heal the land, but fighting the wrath of two gods was more than She could handle. Broken and betrayed, She lay herself down and rejoined the Earth, sacrificing Herself to save it.

“The Moon Goddess, being Her closest friend, brought eternal darkness to the land. Her lover, the Sun God, did what He could to console her, but losing the Earth Goddess was too much, and She chose to return to the heavens. The Sun God followed Her, but since they were too different, they could never be together. Even now, He chases after Her every night.”

“That’s awful,” Ellie whispered. They were quiet for a while before Ellie spoke again. “So, how did *we* come into existence?” Her voice echoed lowly in the cavern she found herself sitting in.

“Ah. Once the Fire Goddess and the Water God had finally calmed down, they saw the destruction they had caused. It broke their hearts to see what had happened to their loved ones, so they made a bargain with the Moon Goddess.”

“A bargain?”

“Yes. They begged Her to take their powers and remake the life that they had destroyed. They promised to spend their days repenting and helping Her children. It took several years to convince Her before She finally agreed.”

“I don’t understand – how was She able to take their power from them? I know you said She was their ruler, but how could She have had that much power?”

“It's simple: She is The Creator of All. She and the Sun God were the only two beings. They lived for several millennia together before deciding to start a family. But they had sworn to each other that they would not divulge their true roles to their children."

They quiet for a while longer before Avery gently placed Ellie on the log beside him. He stood up and held out his hand. Ellie took it without hesitation and allowed him to lead her through the large foliage that filled the cavern. Their walk was short – only five minutes or so – before they arrived where she assumed Avery had wanted to take her.

A warm, bubbling hot spring lay before them. It was big enough for five or six people and emanated a sweet floral scent. She could see more plants growing beneath the warm water and frowned, suddenly remembering what started their conversation.

“Wait. What does that story have to do with the Earth Goddess?” she asked, confused. Avery smiled slyly and pulled his shirt off.

“This place – this cave – I believe it is where the Earth Goddess became one with the Earth.”