Omake: Red Sweet Pie
Cherium took a breath as the sweet scent began filling her family's room. The smell giving lightness in her steps as she went about her daily chores now that the day's contract labor was done and the received rations sorted.
Red Sweet Pie was amazing dish. Take some of the abundant red spheres around her Tribe's new home, mash them up, and fill a starchy crust in a bowl with them. The pie can be baked on a grill above the fireplace as the supper stew is slowly cooked throughout the day. A sweet finisher to enjoy at the end of day.
The larder was doing well this month. Anything that was lacking she could swap with her other tribemates. Not like our contract employers would give them same thing to every one of the servants. Worries about finding work in a whole new hive have proven largely unfounded. The lower hive of Malum was just as hungry for labor as the one in Janus.
Things have been looking up for Hab Tribe 6572 after the Great Exodus… after Darius. The tribe's specialty of day labor and low end servantry finding welcome buyers once it was clear we weren't gangers or madmen. There was mistrust from the locals, but we were willing to accept lower wages and even just pay in food. Even the fellow hab tribes were willing to accept us when were told them we weren't from Hive Limos.
This acceptance and availability of living space came from a religious war that seems to have started between the Hives. Apparently the local rulers in Limos fell under the sway of Ecclesiarchs preaching a new variant of the Imperial Creed and launched an assault on Monstrum for being "heretics" just a little while before our tribe's arrival. The tale drew a pang of sympathy from Cherium. Having known the pain of religious violence and condemnation can bring.
Hab Tribe 6572 was the local Bishop's favorite scapegoat back in Janus. The tribe's "impurity" caused by their weakened genes saw them driven from the midhive generations ago. Afterwards they became a lightning rod for blame from the clergy whenever dissent brewed in their previous hab block.
Those prideful Ecclesiarchs are always causing trouble with their arrogance and self righteousness. Arguing over whether the Emperor, the object of their worship, had four arms, hated the smallest impurity, or prized change above all else.
All the while the smaller folk like the tribe's former elder are burned at the stake for some priests' theological debate. Even then they are probably no closer to understanding what the Emperor actually wants than before all the bloodshed. It is no way for a person of the cloth to act.
I mean really, suddenly deciding one day that the Emperor has four arms instead of two is ridiculous. Next you'll say that those tales of green skinned giants falling from the stars are real. Load of nonsense it sounds like. Everyone knows humans are the only thinking beings on Monstrum.
If there really were hordes of giants looking to eat every man and babe, why had all talk of them dried up so quick? Probably some fool at a tavern started a rumor while down in their cups and it got out of control. The Planetary Governor over in Deimos more than likely caught wind, blew up the story, had all those soldiers sent to him, and then proclaimed "victory" over the giants to drum up support. Easy to win against something that weren't there in the first place.
Cherium's musings were interrupted by a knock coming at the door of her family's one room home. Checking the chronometer on the wall showed it was not time for the evening's events to start. So who could it be?
Opening the door brought Cherium with the masked face of a blessed Kyron. Only much, much shorter than they supposed to be.
"Greetings! It is I, the blesst Kyron! Here to teach nice tricks and dispents sweet treats!"
Cherium huffed as her daughter Melindian played around in a blessed garment she should not be able to get access to. She knew she left that cabinet locked. Which means she needs to have a word with the tribe's locksmith, or Melindian is getting a bit too enthusiastic with her Servantry lessons.
"Hail blessed Kyron. May you bless me with the presence of my daughter? The stew is done and there might not be a slice of Red Sweet Pie if she is late."
Cherium caught the holy mask before it could touch the ground as Melindian gleefully abandoned it with the temptation of supper. Perhaps her daughter could do with a bit more time with the holy teachings about the veneration of blessed items.
Yet Melindian is still too young for this evening's proceedings. Perhaps Cherium will introduce her to the tribe's deeper mysteries when she has come of age. For now a warm stew and a little treat and she will be sound asleep when Cherium leaves.
—
"Let us begin this evening's Commune to give praise to the Divine Omnipresence!"
"WE GIVE THANKS TO THE DIVINE OMNIPRESENCE! FOR ALL THEY HAVE GIVEN US!"
The chorus resounded in the abandoned maintenance center. Enthralled in reverence to Prophet Mihail's words. The adherents to the Hidden Palm joyfully sang for their object of worship.
"Let us contemplate the First Gift! That which allowed for the Great Exodus!"
Cherium turned her gaze to the husk of Scorchtrekker 89206. The behemoth whose final journey was to be an ark for her tribe.
"It as a time of despair for the tribe after the former elder's death by the hands of the Ecclesiarchs. In our lowest point, the Divine Omnipresence had seen fit to speak to me by using a smoldering and tumbling Ashbush to lead me an abandoned repair depot."
The Scorchtrekker had been turned into a makeshift shrine for the Hidden Palm. Although even without the rigors of the Great Exodus, it was clear why the Scorchtrekker was forgotten.
"PRAISE BE TO THE DIVINE OMNIPRESENCE! FOR GRANTING US THE MEANS OF OUR SALVATION!"
"Through the Scorchtrekker's Holy Guidance Program, the ark was able to divine a path through the Barren Lands to this lost storage center. Allowing us to bypass many obstacles both in the Barren Lands and in entering the hive itself.
For forty days and forty nights, we huddled in the Scorchtrekker's bosom as we made our Great Exodus between the hives. Lives were lost in the journey. Having chosen to give their all to ensure the future of the tribe and for the good of all."
This part always brings Cherium back. That blistering day when one of the trekker's suspendiums snapped. Someone needed to go out or their supplies wouldn't last the journey. A certain death sentence.
Darius. Brave, noble Darius eventually raised his hand. Despite being a father, despite being one of our most able, despite her, he still chose to go out. Maybe it was because of those things.
She still remembers how the final embrace felt. The feel of his skin, the sound of his final words, the tears and thoughts shared between them. What hurt the most was the final request, for her ears alone when the others weren't listening.
"Cherium, do not touch me when they bring me back in. Charred by red and black. Have the feel of this embrace be what you remember me by."
"Let us contemplate the Second Gift. The lifting of our curse and the bringing of true purity to our bodies. Who could refute the Divine Omnipresence's existence after such a blessing."
That was something all in the Tribe were in agreement with. Shortly after entering Hive Malum, the afflictions and diseases caused by their weak genes seem to vanish overnight. That which was the cause of so much suffering and the condemnation by the Ecclesiarchs as the source of sins, cleansed from our bodies.
This was the miracle that brought the entirety of the Tribe in fervent compliance of the Prophet's faith. Where once there was disunity and soul searching, now there was the comfort of unified faith and communal acceptance of our deity's grace. Who could even think of worshiping another after the Divine Omnipresence granted us such a boon?
"PRAISE BE THE BENEFICENCE OF THE DIVINE OMNIPRESENCE! WHO SEEKS THE ONLY OUR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS!"
"Yet the gifts of the Divine Omnipresence did not end there. Let us contemplate the Third Gift. This paradise of green and sweetness."
Their living situation was leaps and bounds better than back in Hive Janus. Before there were bland rations had to hoard and given to men and children to keep up their strength and growth. Now there are enough rations for everyone and even some sweetness to share.
"PRAISE BE THE OMNIPRESENCE'S GENEROSITY! TO ALLOW US TO BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY!"
"It is the rule of the universe that gifts cannot be given without a price. Yet what does the Omnipresence demand of us? Nothing! Not a single command or dictation has been passed down to us beyond living our lives!"
That was the strangest part of being practitioner of the Hidden Palm faith. There were no floggings, not demands for sacrifices, not even a holy place of worship was pointed out to them.
"So what do we do when the Divine Omnipresence does not demand we share our bounty with it? We share it with others!
We must go out and share the blessings of the Divine Omnipresence with those less blessed than us. To bring gifts, balms, and wisdom granted to us to bless the world around us even further!"
That was the conclusion Prophet Mahail and the disciples had reach when trying to determine what the Omnipresence wanted of their tribe. Why would such an entity give so much to their tribe if it not to have them to give in return?
"We do this not for our own benefit or aggrandizement. We mask ourselves and only go by our titles. We are like a flock of winged Kyron, dispensing seeds in time of plenty in thanks for times of bounty!"
She will be a blessing to all. For Melindian. For Darius. For the Tribe. For everyone.
"WE THE ARE THE KYRON! DISPENSING BLESSINGS FOR THE GOOD OF ALL!"
Nothing has felt as good as her doing her being able to perform the duties bestowed as part of the Blessed Flock by the Divine Omnipresence. Truly she is the most blessed person on Monstrum.
—
Happy Halloween everyone. Hoped you enjoyed the Omake.