Edward rushed through the temple, uncaring of the disapproval his undignified pace inspired. Most in the priesthood were entirely ignorant of the deep scripture, not even aware of its existence. Their opinions held no weight with him. The holy one needed to hear the latest news from their informants.
The guards opened the door to the holy one’s meditation chamber after only a brief moment of hesitation. They understood well enough their role was ceremonial. Mithra needed no protection from level six church officials. It was capable of defending not only its own life but also guarding its time. Should Edward intrude without good reason, he would not emerge alive.
Rashnu had been far more forgiving. Edward tried not to think in those terms, but it could not be denied that Mithra had been known throughout all of history as the least charitable of the holy ones. Now he was the only surviving Yazata.
That status meant something more special than even the people of Svarga knew. The ignorant masses believed the Yazata were messengers of the Garuda sent to guide humanity. Edward knew the truth. Mithra might have a divine mission, but it had nothing to do with humans. Before the formation of the human multiverse, the Garuda gathered shards from the corpses of the Ophanim to serve as seeds for the rebirth of the Multitude Who Were One. Because the war between the Dragons and Garudas was fierce and not tilted in the right direction, the Garuda formed the Yazata and planted the surviving seeds within them for safekeeping. Ever since they had been hiding from the Dragons within the human worlds.
Mithra, as the last of its kind, carried the final seed, the one that would restore a god.
The deep scripture, hidden from the unworthy, explained the truth. All that was may still never have been. Until the Ophanim was born, its origin secure, the human multiverse existed in a superposition of real and not real. Only when a remnant of the fallen Multitude Who Are One was planted in the right soil would the timeline become true.
Mithra’s glowing eyes snapped open. “Do you have news of the seer?”
The words on his lips died. The seer? Did it speak of Foresight? “Uh, no, holy one. I came to tell you the truth of what transpired upon the world of Terra.”
“Relay your information, then.” Mithra closed its eyes once more. It would still be listening, Edward knew. If his words displaced the Yazata after barging in as he did, the wings of burning light may make an appearance to slice his throat.
“A Xian with an insight based on converting miasma destroyed the Dragon after the combined forces of humanity proved impotent. The entire body of the Dragon was instantly transformed into cosmic energy in an explosion that briefly made a corner of Terra become like Tian.”
Mithra’s eyes opened. “A Xian? This is interesting news indeed. What is your source?”
“It is the Sage of Perception, a general and one of your hidden servants.”
“Perception is trustworthy. What do we know of this Xian?”
“Very little, holy one. The Sage of Foresight is being interrogated by the followers of Martin Bluff at the moment. We have very few sources among their ranks.”
Mithra’s lips peeled back in disgust. “The false Sage and his movement will not be permitted to interfere with the mission.”
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Edward bowed to hide the concern on his face. President Bluff had begun claiming to be a Sage. When asked by reporters what his insight was, Bluff would claim ‘it has to do with leadership’. The man could not help but make up petty lies to aggrandize himself. His supporters ate up every single one of them and begged for more. People sane enough to realize that every claim of the president was best described by his last name were seldom foolish enough to publicly point that out.
Questioning the actions of Martin Bluff was a good way to end up on ‘the bad list’. While Edward’s dedication to the cause was complete, he dreaded the thought of starting a war between the church and Bluff’s faction. As the scriptures repeatedly stressed, there was no guarantee that the future would work out. All that was could be nothing more than a fever dream if they made the wrong moves. Edward worried that a conflict between Mithra and Bluff wouldn’t go the way it should.
The problem was that the religious demographic had adopted Bluff’s movement with a zeal that the taciturn Mithra could never inspire. Rashnu may have been able to keep hold of the church followers, but as things were direct conflict seemed likely to split the faithful.
“This Xian is my third merge candidate,” Mithra said. “Learn everything about him. Arrange for Foresight to be kept safe. I will not have her executed.”
“Is she another merge candidate, holy one?”
“Yes.” Mithra must have been feeling generous in that moment, because it elaborated. “The Dragon killer, the System, and Foresight. Those are the merge candidates who must survive the next eighteen months. After all this time, the Ophanim’s birth is almost here.”
Edward prostrated himself before retreating from the Yazata’s presence. He had a new mission to be about. There were hidden servants holding various roles within the government and military. Their association was known, of course, but everybody who was somebody in Svarga was part of the faith. The hidden servants were a secret society hidden within another, less discreet secret society.
Weeks passed in a flurry of activity. Edward attended meetings of the Wingless Benefactors at various churches within the capital to speak with promising assets. At one, he approached a government official asking for advice on a legal question. Behind closed and rune-warded doors, that man relayed some of the answers Edward sought. The name of the Xian was Hector Thoreaux and his title was the Lord Dragonbane. This information came directly from Foresight and was verified by the Sage of Truth. Unfortunately, that man did not know the fate of Evelyn Smith.
In another meeting of the Wingless Benefactors, Edward encountered a woman who chaired an oversight committee for the prison system. She was thrilled to be able to provide information to the church. Foresight was being held in a processing facility while President Bluff’s loyalists in the justice department waited for their master to decide on an appropriate punishment. They intended to bypass a trial by claiming it was a matter of national security. It was possible the Sage of Foresight might end up in a shallow grave if the wrong mood hit Bluff.
That was not an acceptable outcome. Unwilling to delay even a single day to request advice, Edward made a decision on the spot and issued a sacred order to the hidden servant. She was to ensure that Evelyn Smith went to the safest place for any prisoner held on Maya: Abyss Penitentiary. No one ever escaped that place.
Which was fine. If they knew where Foresight was, Mithra could go to her at the proper time. Edward felt confident that no containment ritual could stop a Yazata’s arrival. Should Mithra choose Foresight, neither of them would need to worry about escaping. Nothing human could stop the Ophanim once it was reborn.
Edward informed Mithra of his activities and then traveled to the military academy. He spoke with his counterpart there, issuing Coordinator Abigail the mission of ensuring that all of the best teams sent to hunt for Hector Thoreaux had hidden servants embedded within them. After being made aware that the man was a candidate, Abigail swore that she would activate every asset to ensure the Dragonbane would survive until he was needed.
Then it was back to the capital to play politics. Martin Bluff needed something to distract him from Foresight and Dragonbane. And also distract him from Union Central, since the System was a candidate. Fortunately, there was another target for Bluff’s hate. The man could not stand the College of Sages. As much as it personally disgusted Edward to undermine such an exemplary institution, he would sacrifice absolutely anything in service of Mithra’s mission.
All of existence – not just the future, but the past as well – depended on its success.
