Of Ice, Death & Monsters

Chapter 106 : And The Garden Within

20 Days Ago.

The Garden of Mokosh. A simple Name, for a simple domain and center point of a civilization.

“Mokosh? The goddess of the earth?” I turned my head to find one of the newly found souls here on the grass. They had tall, messy blond hair, their skin was pale with scarred flesh, and they looked middle-aged, wearing a rugged leather-strewn cloth that appeared to be more like a tunic.

“Mokusa? The Goddess of Fate and Weaving?” This time it was a young girl. Perhaps a teen, she had quite soft skin, unblemished with light brown hair, braided with a cap. Her own clothes seemed to be akin to cotton and linen, a lot more refined and elegant.

“Mokosh? Another one of those spirits? Of earth this time?” The confused voice came from what I could only describe as a knight. He even wore shining armor, and that’s when my eyes widened as I saw a familiar symbol on the hilt of their sword. It was that of a golden tree.

“Balthalem…” I muttered under my breath. It was one of the fighters of the war that Balthalem waged on Galfania. How intriguing, so even they were revived? That’s alarming; it seemed there was no limit to this event. What if monsters were revived? Or if there were stories of dead gods, what if they came back?

This situation was a lot more dangerous than it seemed, but for some reason, it made her quite excited, as if she were a young gal again, ready to go off to an adventure.

“A-a goddess? For real? Well, that’s wonderful! Amazing! I wonder if I could take a picture of her.” I then spotted a Middle Ages woman wearing what I could only take as adventuring gear, with shorts, and legs covered in bandanas as if to wrap around injuries, and those classic brown round hats.

She also had an old camera wrapped around her neck in a sling and a revolver on her hip. She must have been one of the explorers from before.

Actually, the more I looked around, the more I spotted them. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of people that weren’t just Gornyedi, but rather beings from either across Galfania or even beyond it. These were the ones from… The Smorodina.

Their voices finally made me remember, and it made me realize. These were the people I needed to save, that I needed to help. They were trapped here, one way or another, and now they’ve been given a second chance to pursue their Destiny!

However, as I was distracted by my own thoughts once more, I could barely hear the shouting that was ongoing until I noticed the woman with the camera take a step back.

“Why are we here?”

“What’s going on?”

“Can we get back home?”

“Where‘s my father?”

“I need to get back to my brothers quickly!”

“What’s going on out there?”

The voices grew louder, and a few of them were trying to leave, only for the Gornyedi to form a small blockade around us, trapping everyone in as they closed in like Riot Police. 

“You are all here to be judged, and to be examined.” One of them called out as they closed in. 

That much was true enough, but a lot of people don’t like being told what to do, even if it would be completely and utterly reasonable to do. Sometimes people simply like to be unreasonable and cause chaos.

And a few of those types of people were here. I could feel the unrest, I could feel the voices. I need to calm them down. A show of force? Would they respect a gun? Better yet, would the Gornyedi? They seemed peaceful, but this was also their territory.

Or perhaps, it didn’t matter at all. I had to take that step forward to find out. I strolled into the garden and as soon as the grass touched my feet, I felt a whirring sensation in my mind. 

It felt… Powerful, akin to when I connected to the Smorodina as if I was hooked up to a generator. My entire body felt like it could explode at any second.

I flicked my wrist, summoning a microphone from the cruise ship, and spoke out.

“Everyone, calm down. We are here to get to the bottom of the situation. We all need to act accordingly so that this can be over as quickly as possible.”

My voice rang out, but there was something else mixed in it, quite literally. I felt a strange presence in the air, narrowing my eyes and focusing, I found it to be… Pollen? Yes, it was pollen, golden pollen that flew around from the flowers towards the people. 

I noticed that everyone who inhaled or had the pollen touch them in any way had their pupils dilate. They all relaxed as if they had taken painkillers. Curious about that prospect, I reached up and touched one of the pollen specks.

Immediately, I felt a surge of calmness wash over me, a sort of strange numbing feeling injected into my very body. It must be some kind of Magick, very potent ones at that.

Then, from all around the city, from the upside-down forest above, to the garden below, and to all the buildings and cave walls that there would be. A voice emerged. It spoke to our minds and to our souls. It was like the trees themselves were speaking, the waters themselves were murmuring, and even the animals were beginning to cry out at once.

“All those who have the desire to live out their lives, enter into the expanse of the garden.”

All together, we walked towards the garden. I took the stride to go beyond anyone else, of course, joining in the fray, I was about to step into the waters before a Gornyedi stopped me. He was much more muscular compared to the rest of the Gornyedi I found, although perhaps I should not call it muscular; I haven’t exactly figured out their composition. Although he was wearing what seemed to be a natural robe of sorts sewn from leaves and pine needles.

“Do not enter yet, merely gather around.” He spoke very clearly; his voice resonated with every single person here. It was similar to Zmey, but infinitely weaker, of course. Although there seemed to be some sort of authority in the voice.

He then turned to a female Gornyedi. Her body was as tall, but of course, much slimmer, akin to a human female. Her skin also appeared to be rock-like, and yet her hair seemed to be woven in, like they were knitted into her head. She wore a priestess's robe, adorned with a large needle in one hand, and a shepherd’s crook in the other.

She walked around the perimeter of the lake, placing a shepherd’s crook every few steps. Well, not exactly placed. She summoned them from the ground, forming a circle before running a loop through it with the thread before raising her hand. 

Suddenly, one of the branches above extended downwards, towards the center of the lake, forming a hook.

The Gornyedi Priestess walked around the lake, with each step she took, a little piece of earth supported her body, allowing her to get to the other side before looping the hook with the thread. The tree branch then rose upwards, carrying the thread up high, connecting the ceiling, earth, and lake together.

Then, the branch snapped from the tension, pulling with it the entire tree, uprooting it from the ceiling above like a hatchet. All of a sudden, a majestic and awesome presence radiated throughout the land. It was as if the air itself became life incarnate itself. 

The earth itself took a breath, shuddering as if it were alive. Plants began to grow rampant all across the city. I could physically feel life spans measured by the decades, maybe even by the centuries, being added to my own. It was pure, as if I was witnessing the planet being born again in its most primal and beautiful state. 

Everything was beautiful, and when the figure came down the hatch, everything I felt was magnified many times over, as if the act of life itself was made into a show, a wondrous and beautiful show.

Finally, I saw it, or rather her: The figure was a beautiful woman, her body looked to be carved from marble, her hair was as green as the grass, flowing and woven perfectly. She was wreathed in vines and thorns, yet she looked so gentle.

Her entire form constantly shifted, from young to old, to motherly, and to so much more. It was as if I was staring into a kaleidoscope, constantly shifting to fit my view, to fit my perception.

She settled down in the middle of the lake, which suddenly sprang to life. Fish appeared where she stepped, and they flowed around happily, circling all around the woman.

It was obvious who she was. What she was, this power, this grace. I witnessed nuclear blasts with less awe than what was shown in front of me, and it was simply a woman.

No, not simply a woman. She was a goddess. It was so clear. There was nothing else to come close to this. 

Already, I found myself on my knees, as was everyone else around me. Each person, even those who simply regarded her as a spirit from before, knelt. All the Gornyedi knelt, and it even felt like every single living being knelt.

“All hath gathered here today, whether mine people, outsiders, or those who have lost their lives. All those are welcome within my domain. One may choose to stay, to live in my domain, if and only if they choose to stand with me. As part of my world. Those who do not may only stay under the supervision of one of those who chose to be a part of me. And those who reject my nature wholeheartedly and wish death upon me, I shall ensure that they shall become examples.”

Up above her, the trees rattled, whispering and murmuring as I understood the situation. It seems that this earth mother does have some skeletons in her closet. Or perhaps more accurately, trees in her yard.

Many people began to murmur amongst themselves, talking to one another, but as soon as Mokosh opened her mouth, they were all silent once again. 

“Now I shall talk to those who hold questions, and those whom I have need for.”

In that instant, she stared straight at me. I returned the favor, smiling back. Without another word, several earthen domes sprang up from the ground, covering groups of people, including my own. Luckily, it was illuminated, not by any conventional light source, but rather by Mokosh, who somehow manifested earth from the ground up to face me.

“Greetings, oh Chosen of the Caretaker and the Emissaries of the Southern Watcher. What business do you have to come into my domain?” Her voice was normal here; she seemed so… Human now, but that’s possibly because this wasn’t her, most likely a constructed clone.

“Greetings, goddess Mokosh. I am Marian, yes, the Caretaker’s Chosen, and I have come to ask for an alliance. I’m sure you, of all people, have noticed what has happened of late.”

“Yes… I’m well aware of the trouble caused in the Smorodina and now even in the Prawia. My husband is very angry, but he also knows that this is a prime moment for us to return. I must agree with him on that. However, for that to happen, I myself must first grow in power and domain to pave the way for the god’s arrival.”

She then reached out her hand to me. “So, if you desire to help in such a task, I would gladly extend the alliance to you as well.”