A Maiden's Life
Chapter 1
The Beginning of Life
Note: Hello everyone, I've been wanting to write this story for so long, but because a lot is on my plate right now, it will take quite a while until this story takes off. I'm releasing the first chapter just to see what you guys think of it. More will come, but I want to finish a few more of my current stories before this one becomes a foreground story. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you guys think.
It is said that there's a story of humanity and they're relationship with the gods above. Some say it's myth, others say it's fact. There's no way to tell for sure whether something is true or not so it's purely up to the listener to believe or disbelieve it.
…
It all started at the very beginning. God created man and man worshipped God. However, God knew that this wasn't how it should have been so he bestowed four women with eternal life and they became the Four Goddesses of Life. Those Four Goddesses soon became known as Love, Strength, Fortune, and Misfortune.
Man started to build shrines and monuments for these Goddesses which became their home and their source of power. They were loved throughout all mankind. Everyone went to them for prayer, wisdom, and guidance. With each visit, man gave these Goddesses power through their prayers. Each Goddess provided man with something that they desired whether it be luck in their love life or more success in their years to come. Unfortunately, where there's purity comes impurity.
Man eventually became corrupt and fell to great lows. This is where the Goddess of Misfortune got her name. Man went to her for revenge and selfish wishes. Through some way or another, this Goddess fulfilled their wish.
This way of life couldn't continue.
The Goddesses met with each other to discuss their encounters with man and Misfortune was always the main focus. The other Goddesses asked her to refrain from using her powers, but she refused. Misfortune told them that it was her duty to meet these requests. The other Goddesses knew that this wasn't what God wanted from them. That's when they decided to spread throughout the world, telling man to remain pure and not seek Misfortune for anything. Many people responded to this plea and man slowly moved away from Misfortune.
When God gave these women their powers, all he wanted was for man to worship these women and keep them connected to the world of man. Without worship, the Goddesses would wither and die, never to return to the world of man ever again.
More time went by and the Shrines of the other Goddesses continued to grow and expand. Gateway arches that led to the shrine grounds grew in numbers for them while Misfortune's Shrine started to wither away.
Unable to communicate with his subjects, God watched this tragedy unfold before him. His powers dwindled as man continued to worship the Goddesses that he created. With his dying breath, he bestowed four families with the power of a Shrine Maiden, hoping that it would create balance between the Goddesses.
These Shrine Maidens carried the responsibility as protector and safeguard for these four Goddesses. The Shrine Maidens also carried an important power. They were the one true connection to the human world. Even if their Shrines withered away from human neglect, a Shrine Maiden had the ability to keep their Goddess connected to this world. Without a Shrine Maiden, a Goddess was as good as dead. One family was given to each Goddess and things started to balance themselves for a short amount of time.
Through five generations, this system worked and kept things in check. However, war started to ravage the lands and many of these Maiden families were wiped out. As this happened, the Goddesses lost their Maidens. They eventually found out about this vital connection and knew that they couldn't last long so they came together and used their power to cast the Shrine Maiden gene to as many families as they could. Unfortunately, they didn't have the power of God so these families were not bound to a specific Goddess nor did they give man the ability to know about this gene. Only destiny would lead a Shrine Maiden to their Goddess.
At the turn of the 21st Century, worship to the Goddesses started to take a dip drastically. Religion and culture started to die while modernism and technology rose which forced the Goddesses to seek out more and more Maidens. They had enough power to make anyone their Maiden, but in doing so weakens them and prevents them from granting certain wishes that man may make.
With things starting to settle for the time being, the Goddesses comfortably took refuge in their Shrines and awaited worship from anyone and everyone. The Goddess of Love sat atop the rest. Although man became corrupt, love still resided in their hearts which allowed the Goddess of Love to be so powerful. Her worshippers allowed her to gain 7 Shrine Maidens with a lot power left at her disposal. The Goddess of Strength was next with 4 Shrine Maidens. The Goddess of Fortune with 2 and the Goddess of Misfortune with one.
Now, this story is about a little girl who struggles to find herself in this mess while later becoming one of the greatest Shrine Maidens ever seen.
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Tojo Nozomi has turned 12 years old, the prime year to seek out her Goddess. Her journey was a long and scary one. All around her were signs pointing her to one Goddess or another, but she felt that none of them were the right one for her. She even visited the ones that were pulling her towards them, but she refused to be with them. It wasn't until she came across an old-looking Shrine. She walked down the pathway to the Shrine grounds and saw that most of the gateway arches had collapsed. As she drew closer, she saw that there were only three left standing, but as she took another step, one of them crumbled before her. This was the sign she was looking for. She ran as fast as she could until she entered the Shrine grounds. The whole place felt dark and lonely. She looked around frantically as a tear rolled down her face.
"Hello?! Is anyone here?!" She continued to look around, but there was no response. She then started to walk around the Shrine.
Most of the buildings were either destroyed or starting to collapse. The only one that was intact was the actual Shrine building. The bell and rope were still functional. When she rang the bell, she heard a faint breathing coming from inside, whispering the word "help." She didn't waste another second. She flew through the door and saw a woman on the floor struggling. It was the Goddess. She dropped her things and knelt down beside her.
"It's okay. I'm here to help. I'm a Shrine Maiden."
The Goddess turned her head and did everything she could to open her eyes.
"What is your name," she asked softly.
"Tojo Nozomi."
"I-I'm dying sweety. Will… Will you be my Shrine Maiden?"
"Of course." Nozomi grabbed the Goddess' hand and placed it on her chest. She also placed her one hand on the Goddess' chest. "I, Tojo Nozomi, shall be your Shrine Maiden. I shall protect you from danger and remain loyal to thy Goddess until my dying breath. If thou accept me, I am yours."
"I accept." The Goddess leaned in and kissed her on the lips. At that moment, the room lit up with blinding light and thus, a contract between Goddess and Shrine Maiden was made.
End of Chapter 1