That’s been my reaction to everything since my parents left. I put it in my head since they weren’t safe, I wasn’t really safe. Everyone was out to get me.
Those reactions got a whole lot worse.
I could always tell when Mellcom, Jeremiah, and the men in the arena started to fall in formation around me.
The same way my heart would beat in my ears then, happened just now in that room.
It felt like the walls were closing in.
I was prepared to claw my way free.
Kyzen could obviously see what I was thinking. For a split second, the fear that they’d leave me behind crossed my mind. That was my first thought.
The second was, they’d never do that if they had a choice. That morphed into, if their father agreed with and approved the High Chancellor’s request, what choice would they have then?
I don’t technically know the ins and outs of directly disobeying the Beginning Gods’ rule, but I assume there’d be consequences that could land us in some deep shit.
It could put me a step closer to being handed over tohim.
“Will the three of you give us a moment, please?” Kyzen asks gently and I take a deep breath as Lambrit, Yemi, and Rose murmur yes. The room falls quiet once again until the door shuts. “Derivius intercepted the request. He’s already denied it.”
I lift my head and find Kyzen staring at me with understanding clear across his face.
“He what? How?”
“Disownment means a lot of things among the Gods. To the realm, the ungodly beings, it’s stripping their worship of him. To his counterparts, it’s a trial by slavery basically. He’s had to do their bidding for many years now. He both dreads it and uses it to his advantage. One of the things they make him do is handle nuisances they don’t want to. A request from the High Chancellor would be one of those things.”
Well, fuck me…it’s literally just like the Attendants.
“Okay, that’s taurnshit, but I get what you’re saying. I don’t understand how or what a formal request even means. Did the High Chancellor not just ask like we would if we were talking to Derivius?”
“No,” Amick says matter-of-factly. “Your lengthy relationship with Derivius has given you the wrong idea of how the Beginning Gods operate. He’s formed aconnection with you and us. Therefore, when we call upon him, he hears it and answers. The other Beginning Gods don’t hear anything they don’t want to hear. Their power, the way it works, is almost indescribable.
“They’re beings as old as the realm. They can manipulate the blessings they’ve been given in many different ways. One of which is blocking out all the sound from those who call upon them. Can you imagine the number of voices you’d hear from every prayer uttered from all over the realm? You’d never be able to hear your own thoughts again.”
“So…all the beings who go to the temples to pray and worship, what? Their requests aren’t really heard, yet the Gods still gain the power from it?”
“Yes, unfortunately. If the call is strong enough, desperate enough, they’d become aware of the request and the being. The prayers from gods are a little different. As you know, we become gods one of two ways. We were either born from godly beings, or you were a Chosen and you went into the Veil. Therefore, our essence is naturally tied to the Beginning Gods.
“When we call upon one of them, a vibration or better yet, an awareness passes through them. They will then decide if they care to acknowledge the call or not. That’s one reason we never say any of their names. Aside from Derivius. They’d hear us call. Prayer or not. We don’t give them, or any of the incredibly strong Domain Gods, an invitation to hear our thoughts or words. Such as the Goddess of Illusion.
“All that leads me into explaining how formal requests came about. Many of the Domain Gods were growing tired of being ignored by the beings they worshipped so profoundly. They threatened to quit praying to them completely. That led to the Beginning Gods explaining, very simply, your prayers overwhelm us and some of the things you’re asking for are ridiculous. You’re gods who could come about the things you’re asking for all on your own if you tried.
“The God of Boundaries recognized that not everything could be ignored. So he implemented the formal request system. The gray stone podium in the Sanctum isn’t just for decoration as some unknowingly believe. It’s the gateway to Valveilious, where gods can submit their formal requests.”
Amick’s explanation has my eyes widening, but I’m still confused.
“The gateway to where?”
“Valveilious. Complete and total opposite to Hellveilious. It’s the elite paradise, where the Beginning Gods and the Domain Gods they’ve invited now live. It’s another part of Godsden but much harder to get to. Firstly, it’s above us.Secondly, you have to know where the God of Boundaries placed the barrier, then you have to be strong enough to starshoot through it.”
I blink repeatedly for a solid thirty seconds at least. “Okay, this is getting to be information overload, so we’re going to circle back to that at another time. Getting back to this formal request taurnshit. Doesn’t that kinda defeat the purpose? Anyone and everyone can just go and write a request, then send it…up.”
Kyzen clears his throat, and my attention moves from Amick to him.
“There are rules in place for a formal request. They have to be greatly significant or there will be punishment for abusing the system. The Domain Gods learned over time that the Beginning Gods were serious about that, so a formal request is rarely sent unless it’s extremely important. Do they still pray to them? Absolutely. The Beginning Gods are known for being very giving when they want something in return and they go right for the ones who’ve stayed loyal no matter what.”
I scoff. “And the High Chancellor being a controlling dick and sending a formal request about me is serious? Derivius andhimgave their orders of what they expected, so you’d think the High Chancellor should be punished for asking them to reconsider what they’ve already declared?”
