"Once upon a time, humanity lived perilously throughout the beginning of time— birthed into an unforgiving and cold world, where mankind was far beneath the top of the food chain. Humans evolved to become nomadic— constantly moving towards greener pastures, and actively having to avoid gaining the attention of those who would seek to devour them."
"Though as arguably cruel as humanity's early existence was in retrospect, at the time it was seen as fair and just by none other than the almighty himself: the Supreme God, who created all life with intended purposes. For in the unbiased eyes of our maker, all life is equally beneath him— on a grand scale, we are but ants to him."
"As a matter of fact, it was because of the Supreme God's off-handed approach to all life on Earth did certain races of lifeforms begin to not only strive, but began erecting moments of their intellect to stand above what would be later known as the "lesser races". And by "lesser races", I— of course— am referring to feral species: those who lack the ability to create culture, and civilizations of their own. Because— like I just said— in the eyes of our maker, we are all beneath him equally; that's just how far the difference is between us and him."
"He IS called "The Supreme God" for a reason, folks…!"
"Anyway, like I was explaining to you all… Civilizations began to emerge from this planet's multitude of "greater races", and thus with that brings forth expansion of territory, and development of new ideas that progress each and every one of us who are a part of the "greater races". Survival of fittest, so they say…"
"… But in that rat race that happened so long ago, humanity had betrayed the Supreme God's divine plan by conquering and consuming more-and-more of his creation; soon enough once the first empire was fully established, humans were causing mass extinction around the world: droughts, famine, war, you know name. And first, the victims were those who were seen as "subhuman"— elves, goblins, orcs, the fae, beastfolk— anyone who wasn't us, was seen as expendable in the race toward world domination."
"And once we wiped out almost all of those who we had seemed as beneath us, just like the insatiable "Ouroboros", we began turning on each other instead. Fighting for already conquered land, water, food, and other resources— a world-wide war, taking place on a battlefield that was never meant to be solely ours in the end."
"In his infinite wisdom, the Supreme God knew that humanity had doomed the world he had so created, and so he sought forth to perform an ultimate act of divine rectification, so as to undo the damage done by the most evil creation of them all: mankind. Casting holy fire upon what was left of the world— in a catastrophic event known today as "The Fall"— once the ashes had begun settling, and the water and land of his world had once again become habitable, the Supreme God planned on having another go at repopulating the Earth with new creations of his."
"One without mankind to sully his work… Or so, the Supreme God originally intended for."
"Proving ourselves as defiant as ever, humanity had survived the apocalypse itself— rejecting the Supreme God's righteous wraith, and thus exhibiting ourselves as a parabola to him. Religious historians today alike have debated whether such an act of defiance won the Supreme God's approval, or if it had deterred him from us— for scholars discovered a divergence of beliefs, in what's estimated to be about four-hundred years after humanity began roaming the surface once more."
"But what we do know now is that the Supreme God's wrath was spared upon us not by humanity's supposed "indomitable will"— no! No, far be it; for we learn in the Holy Scriptures that it was the Supreme God's very own daughter who stepped between us and her father's righteous fire— taking the brunt of it, so that those who so believe in her and accept her into her life, would have the chance to be here where we all are today, folks."
"For Earth Mother cherished us so much that she burned for us to not only continue on with our existence, but to help rebuild the world in her image— so that one day we all will be accepted into her loving arms, and enter through the gates of Heaven."
"That brings us to today. Within the corners of our world, there are a total of four distinct subcultures of humanity, and each region has established a fundamental religious identity which all stem from the core values established by our ancestors— all of which stem from the worship of the Supreme God."
"Within the icy Northern Region, worship of such idols as "Valkyrie" and "Mother of Darkness"; two very similar deities, where the former represents sex and war with respite, while the latter is worshiped for her unyielding cruelty and pain— two sides of the same coin, which is foretelling of the warmongering culture of the Northern Kingdoms. Reinforcing that observation is their worship of the "Smithy God", who despite being credited with modern metallurgy, is still believed to be just as cruel and terrible as the Mother of Darkness."
"Next, we have the warm sands of the Eastern Region, where the gods of "Trade" and "Knowledge" correspond with their long standing values of stoicism, and of their common beliefs in fair transitions— whether it'd be the monetary sense, or in the "eye-for-an-eye" sense; though, it is important to state that neither are worshiped, but are instead revered as being the creators of all fundamentals of literature, and of science. Scholars have pointed out that the "God of Wisdom", who is neither benevolent or evil, has taken favor of the Eastern Region— ironically due to their lack of religious affiliation, or more so for their pursuit of knowledge as a whole."
"Lastly, there's the fertile rainforests and savannahs of the Southern Regions who, unlike the previously mentioned regions, share our values for the most part. Both our regions worship the benevolent Earth Goddess— who we know to be the daughter of the Supreme God, himself— and thus, both our regions have been blessed with bountiful rainfall, plentiful harvests, and favorable weather conditions! The most prominent difference between the Southern Region and ours is their reverence for the "Goddess of Baths", and for the "Wine Making God"— neither of which have ever been recorded by the Church to answer prayers."
"Notice the juxtaposition between the Northern and Eastern regions, and the Southern and Western Regions: where as we and our neighboring region down below the warm waters of the Meta Sea are blessed with optimal conditions to cultivate our soil, the heretics of the North and East have been scorned with dry deserts, and frigid weather that causes these regions to go to war with themselves and others for resources— just like humanity once did, long before the Supreme God casted his holy fire upon our planet."
"The lesson to take from my words here today is this: remember where you came from, no matter where the journey takes you, or the destination. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it: Earth Mother was given to us as our salvation— a lifeline to the Supreme God— in which we call our Holy Father. Hold reverence to them, less you share the fate of those who once thought themselves above the almighty."
Being amongst the many children who had just bore witness to the latest sermon upon them by their village chief, one gray-haired boy in particular sat feeling discontent with what he had just heard— unlike his young peers, who were all sitting cross legged before the elevated stage where the six foot-tall elder stood behind his polished podium.
Dwelling on more on the history aspect of the sermon, more so than the propagandist narrative that the sixty year-old village chief had just given them, the eleven year-old child had his eyebrows slightly furrowed and lips turned downward into a contemplative frown.
Interrupting his deep thoughts was the crimson-haired girl who had been sitting beside him throughout the entire lecture— the ten year-old girl practically pouncing on his shoulder, as her face got within inches of his left ear.
"So be honest, Ren…! How much of that crap did ya' actually understand…?!" She whispered with a happy and slightly exasperated voice, and had her chin hovering over his chin as he turned his head slightly to side-eye glance into her excited pink gaze.
"I understood enough of it to question it, Beth," Ren whispered back in a low, monotone voice— purposefully being subtle, as he turned his head away from hers to draw possible suspicion away from them.
Watching Ren standing up to his feet, Bethany blinked her eyelids at him while still sitting down with a perplexed look across her smiling face. "What sort of questions are ya yappin' about, brainiac…?" She asked with a raised brow, as she tilted her head toward her shoulder to further express her curiosity.
Offering her a subtle smile, Ren's dusty rose eyes stared down at Bethany with a look of secrecy in them, as he reached his arm down to offer her his pale hand. "I'll share them with you later, alright…?" He whispered back, and couldn't help but to stiffen a quiet chortle from the way Bethany momentarily pouted her lower lip in a playfully disappointed manner.
"Hmph…! Well…! I guess that's fine…!" The red-headed girl with dark overalls said with an over exaggerated sigh, and eagerly grabbed the gray-haired boy's hand before pulling herself up onto her feet. "But just don't do that thing again where you conveniently "forget" what you were gonna tell me, okay…?!"
"Wouldn't dream of it," Ren quipped quietly to her in his same low, seemingly emotionless way of speaking— further reassuring Bethany of his lighthearted intentions by winking playfully at her, which earned him a soft laugh from her.
"You better not, heh," Bethany remarked sassily, before letting go of Ren's hand to slide her into the side pockets of her black denim overalls. "Anyway… How about you come over to the farm to help me pick some stuff? My uncle's gonna be shipping some stuff off to the capital tomorrow, so we're trying to fill the wagon as much as possible."
"That's fine— I just have to check in with Vivi, and see if she'll let me," Ren explained, as he and Bethany began making their way out of the crowded communal hall— respectfully allowing the adults who had been sitting on the wooden pew benches to pass by them first.
Once outside, the young duo were greeted with the warm embrace of the morning sun's cascading light— the white fluffy clouds above casting shadows in their wake, as they passed by, far over their heads. Stretching his arms over his shoulders, Ren let out a low groan as he and Bethany made their way out past the stone-paved entrance courtyard of the large, two-story cottage that served as their village hall.
Once they were out of earshot from any devout adult who might have found what he had to say to be worrisome, Ren made sure to give their surroundings a once over— subtly looking over his shoulder to ensure that they were being followed, as he and Bethany began making walking down the pathway toward the center of the village.
"If "The Fall" was the Supreme God's way of trying to eradicate all life off the face of the Earth, then how do we even know what happened before then?" Ren finally voiced out with slightly narrowed eyelids, as he raised one hand up to his chest to express his exasperated confusion. "With all that talk about "holy fire", you'd imagine that all possible records left behind by any ancient civilization would have burned as well, no?"
Seemingly not having put too much thought into it up until that point, Bethany took a moment to silently ponder Ren's questions— her thin eyebrows furrowed, as she methodically ran her tongue along the inside of her own cheek while letting out a low hum.
"Hmmmmmmm… I wanna say that the Supreme God or Earth Mother told humanity that at some point, buuuuut they're not exactly all that prone to talkin', now are they?" Bethany mused with a half-joking tone in her voice, and let out a muffled chuckle before shaking her head softly to herself.
"But uhhhh… I guess maybe, ummm… Maybe some adventurers, tomb raiders— or something cool like that— found some sort of old records, err… Or like… Documents from the past about it?" Bethany proposed— doing her best to add to the conversation, while somewhat already knowing that the boy beside her had his own theories as well. "Or maybe the Church made it all up— who even freakin' knows at this point?!"
"If that's the case, that doesn't make you wonder just how much of what we were taught was made up?" Ren argued, and waited to further explain his thoughts to Bethany— as the two of them were passing through the wooden market stalls that were all lined up in the village plaza, and ready for the villagers to spend their hard-earned coin at.
"And besides: I'm not saying that you're wrong about stuff we've been told being made up, but in this case, it wouldn't really make much sense for the Church to randomly come up with an ancient and lost civilization from out of nowhere— something had to spark that idea in the first place," Ren continued, as both he and Bethany finally stepped out of the populated stone-laid plaza, and once again had privacy as they walked along the dirt path lead away from the village center.
"Yeah, I guess you're right about that," Bethany said agreeingly, and shrugged her shoulders as the two of them turned a corner on the path. "Every idea has to be inspired by something, right? And you can't make something from nothing," she added, as the two of them quickened their pace while crossing the front yard of one particular grumpy villager.
Not speaking until they finished going through their shortcut, Ren and Bethany both let out their own sighs of relief before he started to wrap up their conversation with, "I absolutely agree with you… And, you know… For what it's worth, I don't think Chief Lovhuag would purposefully lie to us to begin with— I just think he's just parroting what he was taught to believe, and is a bit of a zealot in that sense."
"Uh… Zealot? What's uh… W-What's a "zealot", Ren?" Bethany questioned with an inquisitive look across her still smiling face, as the two of them began walking up the cobblestone steps leading to the front entrance of the boy's single-story cottage.
"A "zealot" is what you'd call someone who's uncompromising when it comes to their ideals— and it doesn't necessarily apply only to religious beliefs," Ren explained without any sense of superiority over Bethany, while instead having a supportive and soft smile of approval across his lips for her to see from the corner of her eyes.
Though she knew better than to have even the slightest of doubts about him, Bethany's childish pride still felt slightly wounded after she found herself not entirely sure what a zealot meant. "Could you, uh… C-Could you dumb that down for me just a LITTLE bit more, heh, haha…?"
Stopping once they were standing before his locked front door, Ren offered her a comforting smile as he reached into the pocket of his gray trousers to retrieve his house key. "Just think of someone who's really, really stubborn, and who'll think they're always right— even if it's obvious that they're not."
"Kehaha, heh~! Kinda like you sometimes, huh Ren~?" Bethany teased jokingly— a toothy grin forming across her spread lips, and her cheeks becoming pink with amusement as the gray-haired boy playfully rolled his red eyes at her.
"Heh, haha… Yeah, I can't argue with that," Ren replied with the virtue of being a good sport, and kept smiling softly as he turned his head forward while staring down at the iron door handle— unlocking it, before particularly pulling open the door.
With Bethany side-stepping behind him, Ren opened the front door to his older sister's cottage fully before announcing, "Vivi, Beth's with me— we're all done listening to the Chief's sermon," in his monotone, and seemingly relaxed voice.
Without missing a beat, his older sister answered back to him, "I'm in the office," with a delicate sounding voice coming from down the hallway that was adjacent to the living room Ren and Bethany had stepped into. "I made breakfast by the way; there's plenty of leftovers on the table! You two should eat while it's still warm!"
More excited than who the food was intended for, Bethany's pink eyes began sparkling as she shouted back enthusiastically with, "Thank you so much, Miss Ashta!" And before she could let her hunger get the best of her, Bethany quickly remembered what the boy was going to ask his older sister, before asking on his behalf, "Miss Ashta, can Ren please come over to help me pick some vegetables?! If ya say yes, then I'll make sure he brings back a whole basket of them!"
"That'd be awfully generous of you, Bethany! If you do, all I ask is that you check in with your parents if that's okay, and to have Ren be back home, BEFORE sundown!" Vivine replied back loudly enough in her kind voice for both children to hear, before adopting a more parental tone as she called out, "Did you hear that, Ren?! I repeat: BE. BACK. BEFORE. SUNDOWN. I don't want you leaving AT sundown, I want you heading back at around three-thirty, okay?!"
Though he was quite mature for his age, Ren still couldn't help but to sassily mock his sister by silently mouthing what she had just said to Bethany— who in turn chortled with a snide grin, before playfully socking him in the shoulder to cut it out.
"Reeeeeen?! Did you hear what I JUST told you?!" Vivine called out once more; a twinge of suspicion in her voice, almost as though she knew that her little brother was up to no good.
Quickly recomposing himself while rubbing the spot where Bethany had punched him harder than she intended to, Ren had a childishly smug look across his softly grinning face as he answered back to Vivine, "Yeah Vivi, of course; I heard you just fine, thank you though!"
"Don't catch an attitude with me, Ren! You wouldn't want me embarrassing you in front of your little girlfriend now, would you~?!" Vivine shouted back in a teasing voice— her own smug grin audible in the way she ended that sentence, as though she knew just how badly her little brother's pale face had just turned crimson red.
Though he couldn't rightfully look her in the eye, Ren could see in his peripheral vision that Bethany's face had become seemingly just as flustered as his was— her lips curling up into a bashful smile, as she too lowered her embarrassed gaze to the wooden floorboards below.
"Tch…! W-Whatever…!" Ren muttered in a barely audible voice, as his arms flattened down along his sides while his palms began to feel suddenly clammy. "W-We should, uh…! E-Eat breakfast, if y-you want to still…!" Ren muttered, while doing his best to hide his very apparent embarrassment.
And though he certainly wasn't fooling anyone with his reddened face— and the way he was tilting his head downward to hide his dusty rose eyes behind his thick gray strands of hair— Bethany decided to play along with it, and also gave it her best shot to seem unphased by Vivine's jab, as she quickly muttered, "'K-Kay, sounds good…!"
Together, the two children made their way through the living room, to where the kitchen and dining room were at in the next room over— the distant sound of Vivine's gleeful soft laughter barely audible from across the inside of the somewhat spacious cottage, as Ren and Bethany tried making it less awkward by sitting themselves on opposite sides of the circular round table with their forks in hand.
And though Ren chose not to utter a single word during grace, he had enough respect for Bethany to keep his head bowed and his eyelids closed as she prayed— listening to her thanking the Earth Mother for their meal, and for her to bless the hands that made it.
"So it be," Bethany whispered in conclusion to her saying grace— signaling for Ren to open his eyelids, as he raised his head up to meet her content, albeit still bashful gaze.
Though there was some stomach-churning tension between them that he wasn't obvious to, by that point he was starting to get accustomed to the metaphorical butterflies swarming around inside of him— and was even beginning to welcome the warm feelings that they brought with them— as he repeated back to her with a warm smile across his lips, "So it be."
Character References:
Ren Ashta = Goblin Slayer
Bethany Heim = Cow Girl
Vivine Ashta = Goblin Slayer's Older Sister
Village Chief Lovhuag = OC