Aliyel's Return

Aerogena was gone. Fallen knew that, she had destroyed it herself. But that didn’t stop the shock she felt when she saw that absolutely nothing remained of her once-great civilization. Fallen knew that that there was nothing left. But just to be sure, she plunged into the mouth of the volcano. The heat consumed her, flooded though her, and she found it refreshing. Three miles down, she saw a shadow. The shape was unmistakable, but impossible.

Her temple remained. Somehow, over the centuries, The Temple of Aliyel remained untouched by flowing lava and magma. By some force of power, part of Aerogena had survived. And Fallen knew what it was. It called to her, begged her to enter.

Fallen landed on the steps leading up to the mighty temple, and walked in. As she crossed the threshold, she was met with a wall of cold air. Somehow, this building within the volcano had atmosphere.



After two hours of walking, Fallen found herself inside the most holy place of Aliyel's Temple. It was an extensive stone-built hall, with flame-shaped pillars lining the wall, and a rectangular altar at the front. Throughout the hall, burnt corpses of robed human beings lined the floor. As Fallen entered the room, the corpses glowed greenish. A greenish duplicate of each figure emerged from the corpses, and stared at Fallen.

"You killed us. We worshipped you. You owned our lives. And you killed us. What makes you think you're better?" One of the ghostly figures said.

"What makes you think you're better? What makes you think you're better?" the other figures asked, laughing, mocking her. Fallen ignored them, and headed towards the altar.

"You betrayed us. How are you better?" The ghosts demanded. As Fallen reached the altar, one ghost in particular stepped out of the throng. Fallen recognized him almost immediately. It was Toxalen, her former high priest.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"You killed us all. I admit that I was wrong. My teachings were not yours. But that's not what I’m talking about. I was wrong to worship you to begin with. You not only destroyed our entire civilization, but you damned your clergy to eternal damnation in this hellhole! What makes you think you're better?" Toxalen demanded, and the chant began again. The voices of the damned screamed at her, pounding at her mental defenses. Finally, Fallen had had enough. When she spoke, it was with a weak, strained voice. It was almost a whisper....

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"I'm not." As she spoke, the ghosts' chant died off, and they all looked at her. "I'm not better than you. In fact, I’m worse. All any of you did was love me. And not only did I not return that love, I brought you annihilation. So no, I’m not better than you. I'm a lot worse."

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Fallen turned to the altar, and threw herself on her knees. Tears streamed down her face.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">“I don’t know who’s out there, but I know there’s a higher power than myself. I offer my immortality, and my powers… I just want my identity back. I want to be able to speak my name… I give up any ounce of godhood that I possessed; I just want to live my life. Please, take everything.” And as if a great hand had picked her up and threw her, Fallen rose and slammed face first onto the altar.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">It wasn’t unconsciousness, or consciousness, but a state somewhere in between. Fallen floated in a land of grey, only dimly aware of herself being anywhere.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">A burning white light appeared amongst the grey, and spoke to her.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">“Aliyel. At long last, you have returned to us. After we stripped you of all memory but that of your crime, after we stripped you of your power, of your identity… You return to us and beg forgiveness. You always were pompous, egotistical… and seeing you on your knees is gratifying, to say the least.” Fallen wanted to grow angry at that, but was simply too weak. The white light seemed to confer with other whitish lights that seemed to have been indistinguishable from the grey before. After what could have been a few seconds or an eternity, the white light turned its attention back to Fallen.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">“We accept your proposal. We’ll take your immortality, but we’ll let you keep the power of the flame. But we’ll curse you, as well. You will know the minds of others, and marvel at the complexity of what you considered lesser beings. And you will be unable to shut them out. Their thoughts, their feelings, their needs will be on your mind endlessly. Your identity will be built off of those around you. Now go. And do not show your face here again.”

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;">She <span lang="EN" style="color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> awoke on the side of a mountain; unsure of who she was at first. She glanced at her surroundings. Somehow, she knew that something important had happened here. Somehow, she knew that she owed her existence to someone named Tiria. And somehow, she knew that her name was Aliyel.