Elysium Empire- May.4, 2024
The air is hot and dry. Though summer had barely even begun, the 60 or so people attending a yard sale are regretting having left their sunglasses and caps at home. The forecast said it would be a light warmth with mostly breeze until nightfall.
Instead, they were faced with a blistering heat that was bearing down upon them like chains.
Two ice-cream trucks had stopped making their rounds and had simply parked nearby. Business was clearly booming as kids kept dragging their parents back for more freezies.
It was very noisy, on top of being very sweaty.
Standing in front of one of the heavily laden tables, a young chestnut haired woman is busy examining a collection of, what she was told, was old jewelry. A lot of them were badly chipped and some she suspected were outright fakes.
Yanking her hair up so she could fan her neck, Bonnie Demont abandoned her browsing and went to find shade. She would have grabbed something from the ice-cream truck as well, but that would deplete her garage sale allowance.
Feeling a hint of breeze next to a lilac tree, she stepped closer and closed her eyes. Though the sweet scent of the purple flowers filled her nose, it still did nothing to ease the tight knot of bitterness and frustration that was tightly lodged in her stomach.
Not long ago, she had enough money to spend on anything she desired. Now she was having to choose between cheap ice-cream from a dingy ice-cream truck and chipped jewelry from a yard sale.
Bonnie let out a unamused chuckle and shook her head.
Still, she should count her blessings rather than dwell in her losses. As hard as her life was now, it would be significantly worse if not for her older sister who refused to give up.
Speaking of, where had Dixie gone? Did she melt into a pile of goo from the heat?
The yard sale was massive. Three different families had converged to sell their hand me downs.
And they often went to different areas whenever they shopped. Unlike her, Dixie was more interested in books than accessories.
Forcing a hard smile on her face, Bonnie flounced over to another table of random knickknacks.
Further down, another chestnut haired woman with similar features was shifting through a large collection of books.
Dixie Demont's demeanor was that of someone attending a funeral. Her face was unnaturally pale, stress lines had formed on her forehead, and the continued lack of proper sleep had left her looking like a racoon.
Her lips twisted into a grimace, even as her hands moved robotically.
She was too busy pretending to be strong for her little sister to also pretend to be happy. Depression, heartbreak, betrayal and financial hardships had wrecked her more than she was willing to admit. She was a proud and stubborn woman who refused to break.
Sweating under the scorching sun, she opened book after book with the hopes of finding something that would distract her mind. She was tired of going to bed weeping every night.
Two full years had passed since her graduation and she had yet to find a job which matched her degree. To make matters worse, her increasing student debt was slowly crushing her soul now that their wealthy father had cut them off.
Fredrick Demont, sole patriarch of the Demont family, had bounced all her calls and ignored all of her texts and emails before proceeding to block her number completely. Hers and Bonnie's. The man was clearly determined to act as though he didn't even have daughters.
All because of that bitch!
Weren't evil stepmothers just meant to be villains in fairytales? Strictly confined to the pages of the book? Why did this one have to step out and ruin everything?
Dixie ran a hand through her hair as a tear slid down her nose. She cursed out loud and wiped away her weakness. Several heads turned in her direction. Dixie blushed furiously and waddled away. Normally her outbursts happened indoors.
She walked over to another table laden with books. The collection appeared very worn out. Her eyes lingered on one placed off to the side. There was no title or author name, just a black cover with a white infinity symbol drawn in the center.
How peculiar.
She smiled politely at the old woman seated behind the table and pointed at the book, asking for the price. The elderly lady looked a bit confused at first, then her expression quickly shifted into surprise. She looked back and forth between Dixie's finger and the invisible book.
Could it be? After all this time? Had the Goddess granted Elysium another hope?
"I'm....sorry, young girl, but which book are you referring to?" She asked, her voice laced with anticipation.
Dixie's brows furrowed in confusion. She tapped her finger on the black cover. It was hot at touch. "This one right here."
The woman's wrinkled face lit up with curiosity. "Can you describe what you see on the cover?"
"Ah, an infinity symbol."
The lady gasped and clasped her hands together. "Take it then, young lady! This token is now yours!"
Dixie's eyebrow arched at the strange choice of words. She inquired about the cost again.
"No cost, it's yours! If you can see it then that means it has chosen you! Or rather, SHE has chosen you!"
Dixie pressed her lips together. "What are you talking about?"
The elderly woman's eyes became dreamy. "Our Protector, of course! Goddess Kartara!"
Dixie smirked. So, she was dealing with a practitioner of Kartaranism. Hence the woman's cryptic way of speaking. What were the odds of her encountering an adherent of this fringe religion? Less than 1% of the entire population. It was an old faith which had once thrived in the empire. A form of paganism which lost its impact upon the minds of the citizens over 400 years ago.
According to historians, after the fall of the royal Cromwell family, the Kingdom of Elysium was taken over by the queen of the northern Kingdom of Imperium. After the conquest, she combined the two kingdoms together and formed what was modern day Elysium. The landscape was so massive Elysium became known as an empire rather than a kingdom, and the queen took on the title of empress.
Apparently, the entire ruling class, as well all members of the church in Elysium had died from a poisonous, red fog. There was a manuscript uncovered about an Oracle who lived at the time in which she stated that the red mist was a punishment from Goddess Kartara. Punishment for what, that was still a mystery.
Scientists and historians alike concluded that the red fog was caused by natural elements in the air and the mass deaths were likely the result of an infectious disease.
Theologians argued that it was a magical punishment and had nothing to do with natural causes as the victims were not masses of random people but only the ruling class and church officials.
There was still an ongoing debate and Dixie and Bonnie had found it all to be very interesting when they heard their history teacher talk about it.
Subsequently, the central cathedral of Goddess Kartara was destroyed by the conquering army. And hundreds of years later, Elysium was as atheistic as it could possibly be.
The sisters had studied the history of Kartaranism in high school. Though currently irrelevant, it was what had founded the birth of Elysium.
Withdrawing from her thoughts, Dixie pulled out her wallet. "I cannot take this book for free. I appreciate your generosity, but please charge me for it."
The old woman shook her head. "I cannot charge you for it. That would be breaking her rules."
"What--are you referring to your Goddess?" Dixie chuckled in amusement.
"Yes! As you've already guessed I'm sure, I am a worshipper of the Almighty, Goddess Kartara. And I must give this book to you for free because not only did you see it, but you also saw the symbol. Her symbol!"
"I thought the Goddess's symbol was a sword?" Dixie inquired, bits of her former lessons surfacing in her mind.
The old lady smiled. "Yes, the Holy Sword of Goddess Kartara is the most revered relic, but many don't know that the infinity symbol is its subset. It represents the impact of the Goddess's magic throughout the times."
Although Dixie was intrigued, she wasn't in the mood for a lengthy conversation. She was hungry, hot and tired.
She picked up another book at random and asked for its price. The old lady sold it to her for $15 dollars and placed the black book on top of it.
"You must take this. Please do not argue with me. I am an Auror. I know a lot. I've seen a lot. I see things most people cannot see."
Dixie was baited again. "Are you a fortune teller?"