Ignite the Sun

The sliver woman studied Calen for a moment.

"You're still confused about some things." She stated. "I'm not as heavily influenced by the curse as my fellow Guardians, perhaps I will be able to answer a few of your questions."

"Could you tell me your real name first?"

"I'm afraid that part isn't even covered by the curse – we don't share our names in this space for a different reason. There are... other things in here, ones that could be very dangerous if they knew your name."

"You mean like, fey? I thought they were an actual myth."

"Not exactly, but human tales of fey are partially based on those creatures – but let us not discuss them here. I will tell you about them once we meet in person, although that might be long way off."

"Am I correct you all look like this because for the same reason?"

"No, this is simply the nature of this realm. True appearance is very to discern in here."

Calen looked at his hands in confusion.

"But I look normal...?"

"To yourself, yes – if someone else were to look at you they would see only a vague silhouette."

Someone else – she purposely didn't use herself as an example, which led Calen to believe the Queen could see him normally.

It wasn't that surprising when he remembered that all of the Guardians used to be gods – apparently even ex divinity allowed for quite extraordinary feats.

Speaking of which:

"You're the Guardian of the Moon, right?"

"Oh?" She smiled. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well, we have only Moon, Stars and Time left as your possible domains – considering that you're silver in this world, Tha-, I mean Shadow, called Isa moon's reflection and the moon domain responded with a blessing when we took the moon rose, I don't see any other options."

"You're correct – but Shadow should be careful with the things he says, just because something isn't directly affected by the curse it doesn't mean the information isn't dangerous."

"...should I tell him that?"

"No need, both Sy and I already scolded him for it." The Queen fell quiet for a moment. "He is the oldest of those who remain, did you know?"

"No, Syl-, Matriarch didn't have a time to tell us much about gods."

"How about I tell you about them then?"

"Really? Just like that?"

"Why not? This information might be lost, but it's not forbidden or cursed." She shrugged. "To start off, I need you to understand that not all gods are the same – not in power or origin."

"I knew about the first part, the second not so much."

"The Gods can be separated into two categories when it comes to their origin – ascended and manifested. The first ones, as the name suggests, are non-divine beings who climbed up the ladder of power and claimed the seat on their own. The Green Lady and The Star Goddess were like that, both started at the very bottom and made their way to the divine throne."

"And the manifested?"

"Those are the gods who were born already in power – personifications of their domains created either from the collective beliefs of lesser beings, or simply because the universe needed them for something, at least that's how the Shadow and the Time God were born respectively."

"That's only four out of six gods." Calen pointed out. "What about you and the Sun God?"

"We were a bit of a special case – neither of those two categories, or both depending on who you ask. Born as Primordial Sovereigns, already firmly connected to a domain, but somehow still not gods. A case like that has not happened before or since."

"Why did you decide to ascend to divinity then? From everything I've heard so far it sounds like a terrible idea."

"I'm afraid this particular question is covered by the curse even for me – but you're right, being a god is... not as good as you'd think."

"Okay – what happened to the other two gods then? The Star Goddess and the Time God, I mean."

"The first one left, the other disappeared – although to be fair the Time God can travel through time, it's entirely possible he just moved around the centuries of suffering and will suddenly pop out once all of this is over..."

Calen heard clear annoyance in the Guardian's voice.

"Did he do something like that before?"

"Many times – he always disappeared right before a large conflict was about to start, and returned only after all the clean-up was done."

"But you're not sure if that's what happened this time...?"

"Yes, he never disappeared for more than a few months at a time but the last time I saw him was before the Sun Kingdom was established."

"What else could've happened to him though? It's not like a God can be killed easily... can they even be killed?"

"Yes, but it can only happen to a god whose tribe was usurped – which means we would have at least another Time God if that's what happened. The most likely scenario is that the universe decided he wasn't needed anymore and simply erased him."

Calen looked at her with a horrified expression.

"Something like that can happen to a god?"

"A manifested one, and only if they desperately cling to their position – it happened with a few domains during the age of wanders. It's part of the reason why Shadow relinquished his throne the very day he was born."

"And the rest of the reason?"

"You'll have to ask him yourself." She smiled. "It's been a pleasure to talk with you, but I'm afraid our time is up – I was able to stop him from directly contacting you, but I can't do anything about the memories and you're about to experience another one. Do you have a last question?"

"When will we be able to meet you?"

"Once you restore six temples, seek out the pale lake monastery – you'll find me there."

The last thing Calen saw before the darkness swallowed him was a gentle smile that vaguely reminded him of Isara.