《The Divine Works》Book One : Realm of Madness // Chapter Three
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When Graeson became the God of Sanity, the other Divines didn't try to hide their confusion at the situation. When the other Divines married, their spouse got the divine power opposite of theirs. Which is what drew them together in the first place. That redeeming quality that balanced each other out. That's what the Divine couples were, balance. War and Peace, Authority and Patience. Balor's sons had closed themselves off in their realms of elements and were rarely seen anymore.
Thalia's other half would have been Chaos. That was the opposite of her own Divine Grace, order. However, when Graeson ascended the Divine Grace he was given, was Sanity. It was baffling, but they let the matter go. There were things in the works they couldn't understand. At least, things Thalia, Graeson, Balor, and Serenity couldn't understand. They suspected that Hektor and Olivia knew just what they were doing.
For awhile, things were fine, and no one questioned anything. Thalia and Graeson were happy and doing well. The Divine realm was peaceful, and humanity was thriving. Then, Alekzandor was born, and there was panic. Alekzandors Divine Grace was Insanity. The Divines were in a state of unrest, it took Hektor to calm it all.
"It makes sense." He argued. "There is a Divine of Sanity, we need a Divine of madness. There has to be balance among us."
"Then why isn't Graeson the Divine of Chaos?" Balor asked.
"We create enough Chaos for the time being." Was Hektor said without looking at his son. He took his grandson from Graeson's arms and held him close. "He'll be alright."
Thalia broke down crying. She got down on her knees before her father. "Please! Please bless him with a different Grace please!"
Hektor shook his head. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. There has to be balance."
"Exactly!" Thalia screamed scaring the infant. She rose to her feet and glared at her father as tears streamed down her face. "There's already a Divine of Sanity, my son will spend an eternity alone if you don't help him! No one could ever love a Divine of Insanity!"
Hektor glared at his daughter, "Do you mean to tell me that you do not love your son? That I do not love my grandson? That no one here in this realm cares for him?"
Thalia stared at her father in shock. "Of course I love my son! I know that all of you do as well!"
"Which contradicts everything you just said to me Thalia." Hektor said turning his back to her and handing the baby to Olivia who was glaring at her daughter. "Or is it, miss Thalia, Divine of Order, that you are appalled and repulsed by the fact that you have a child of madness? That your precious neat little world will soon be over turned and possibly ruined by an infant?"
Thalia began to cry all over again. "Even if I was afraid of that, Divines cannot change anything in another's realm. My son could not do anything to hurt mine."
"Then have faith my little girl." Hektor said looking back at her. "Nothing is ever hopeless."
Nothing was ever said on the matter again. While they worried for the boy, they let him be, let him come into his own as they would for any other. In private, they worried more, and even pitied the poor boy. As his grace matured with him, any mortal he touched would go insane. The longer he was in contact with them, the more and more their minds withered away with madness, till there was nothing left. It made intimacy impossible.
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Alekzandor himself was fine with it all. As his mother said, no one loved him. At least among the humans. Which made finding his other half that much more difficult. The Divines didn't breed with each other. They found their pair with the humans. Since they all wanted nothing to do with them, he avoided them as well. He didn't even spend time with his family. Once he was able to make his own realm, that's where he stayed. In the old world, his realm would have been considered Hell, or a very very dark trippy version of Wonderland. He rather enjoyed the stories that dealt with those two places.
His realm was full of the insanity of men, and anything Alekzandor could come up with. Horrors no human mind could handle, or at least, not for very long. Depending on where Alekzandor dropped him in his realm. It was because of this, the horror and madness that Alekzandor could wield efficiently, that Hektor gave his grandson all the souls that deserved eternal torment. Later on, Hektor began to send the souls that had sinned greatly in life and needed to pay for what they did. They may not have been there forever, but they would be there till they had suffered enough to repent. Then they could reborn to try again.
But the Realm of Madness wasn't a place the other Divines ever thought of visiting. Even though Alekzandor had a room away from the rest of the realm where his relatives could live in peace.
He secluded himself in his realm, and did what his grandfather tasked him with. He never thought about what he was missing, he never thought about how people avoided him, he never stopped for a second to care that any woman he embraced was technically dead before he let them go. He didn't think about his loneliness. He didn't even think about the mortals who didn't even spare him a second thought either.
When a Divine is prayed to, when their candle is simply touched, they feel their worshippers and it allows them to locate, hear, and answer any prayer the mortal has. However, Alekzandor didn't know what that felt like. Whenever his candles were touched, there was never that warm feeling that his family had described to him. Whenever his candles were touched, there was a cold, hollow feeling. No one had ever prayed to him, and when they touched his candle, most, barely even let their skin touch it. Using other means to take hold of it as if it were a cursed or poison object they wanted nothing to do with. As such, there was a part of Alekzandor that left him feeling empty, hollow. Lost in a black abyss that no light could penetrate.
Until, that one day.
The first time Alekzandor had felt the warmth, full, feeling that his family often talked about, was when Alyson was six years old. Her grandmother had taken out the prayer candles and was teaching the young girl about them. She let the girl hold each candle as she talked about it. It was when she took up the candle that represented Alekzandor that she got the most excited.
Alekzandor had been experimenting with creating a creature from old world stories, dragons. They were nothing more than mindless beasts, capable of nothing if not given specific tasks. They would serve to creature some massive horror to many souls if the experiment was successful. Only he felt a warmth spread through him, and it had him doubling over clutching his heart. The place where the warmth originated from.
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Immediately, he tracked down the source and found the girl. She was small for her age, but he could tell by her lineage she would go to a decent height someday. In the meantime, her small size allowed her to curl up and go unseen if she wanted to. At the moment, she was squealing with delight as she looked at the candle in her hands.
"Gramma! Gramma! Lookey! Lookey!! It's so pretty! Is it for me!?"
"No, dear, that one is not for you." the Grandmother said patiently, watching the girls excitement. "Though, what's been forgotten is the date of the Divine of Insanity's birthday. Your birthday my dear."
"We share the same birthday!!??" Alyson shrieked gleefully. "YAY!!!!!"
"It's not the joyful of a fact dear." the grandmother said as she took hold of the girl and attempted to calm her.
"Why not?"
Alekzandor wanted nothing more than to do something that would make the girl smile again. He couldn't bear to see the smile off her face. She was still holding his candle, and he could feel the confusion she was feeling. He wondered, if the reason for the tears in her eyes, was because of his own that were falling uncontrollably.
"Because, people fear him." The grandmother explained. "Most, even hate the very mention of him and get extremely angry when he is."
"Why?" was all Alyson said.
The Grandmother sighed, obviously not sure how to explain it, or even if there was any good reason behind it. "Because of what he is. He is the Divine of Insanity my darling. People think that's evil, have labeled Alekzandor so, and have avoided him completely. It's said even the Divines avoid him."
Alyson broke down crying and he watched heartbroken as the girl curled into a ball around his candle, and cried the tears he had been unable to cry until that moment.
"Poor Alekzandor!" She wailed. "Poor Alekzandor! He must be so lonely! Everyone hates him, but no one really knows him! That's horrible Gramma!!! That's horrible!!!!"
She was right. Alekzandor had been lonely, only he wasn't aware of it, or rather, he didn't really admit it to himself until now. When there was a warmth, a light, spreading through his soul and shining through the black abyss. The girl immediately became everything to him. He watched over her the rest of the day, she never let go of his candle. She said to her grandmother she didn't want him to be alone anymore. For the first time ever, he smiled a sincere smile. It felt odd on his face. Usually, if there was smile on his face, it was a mad smile, not a real one. The kind one would see a villain make.
That night, she slept curled up around his candle. He stayed by her side, careful not to touch her, and sent her dreams of a place of bright colors and peace. He had made the place once as an experiment. It was something he had read about in a book, and he thought the image would be a nice dream for a child her age. She had brought warmth to him, peace. For the first time in his life, he felt the love a follower, and love her back with everything that he was. He wanted to give at least something back for the gift she'd give him. The next morning however, no about of good dreams could erase what was done.
Alyson's mother and stepfather had arrived to pick her up, and saw what she was sleeping with. They proceeded to yell, and beat Alyson. All the while she clutched his candle and at the last moment, prayed for his help.
The moment the beatings began, Alekzandor had left to get some help. He couldn't intervene, if he did, the mortals would be dead, and he wouldn't tarnish his first follower's impression of him by killing her entire family. Besides the fact that it was also against the laws set by his grandfather. Immediately, he went to his grandmother and his aunt Serenity. The Divines of patience and peace to help. Once they saw the girl, they immediately knew the situation and calmed it. The Divine realm came alive with the gossip of what the girl meant to him, and from that day on, any prayer Alyson had, the Divines answered.
Looking at the grown woman before him, Alekzandor wondered what Alyson would think, or do, if she knew that each of the Divines she had prayed to that night, now stood in her room watching over her as she prayed. Listening to her requests. He smiled at the sight of her, like he always did.
"What do you want us to do mother?" Alekzandor heard his mother Thalia ask.
Alekzandor looked to his grandmother. Olivia had heartbroken look on her face. She hated to see children suffer. It was one of the reasons she had never visited his realm. There were children there who had done terrible things and were being punished for them.
Olivia drew a heavy breath and nodded. "What we always do, we bless this house with our Divine graces and hope for the best."
Each one bent down and kissed the crown of Alyson's head, though she did not feel it. One by one, they vanished after that. When each Divine had left, she blew out their candles Alekzandor had noticed.
His father turned to him before leaving. "You coming?"
Alekzandor shook his head. "She hasn't dismissed me yet."
Graeson merely nodded and vanished. He knew his father had returned to his mothers side. The two were always together, rarely apart. He used to be annoyed by that, but now, he understood the love behind it. He looked back at Alyson, he had been right, she had grown to an average height, and her adorable face because a thing of beauty.
He sat down beside her alter and studied her face, though he knew every look she had, every detail of it by heart.
"You may speak, we're alone."
She drew an unsteady breath, still staring at his candle, she spoke. "My Lord."
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Well everyone that is Chapter Three!!!
Chapter four next week will still be from Alekzandor's point of view.
Hope you enjoyed it and plan to stick around for more!!! the juicy parts are coming!!!!
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