The God of Gravity part 2: Olympus

To the East

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"Thank you, Lady Cleopatra," said an old woman when the goddess approached her among the humans gathered in the entrance of her temple.

Cleopatra, the Goddess of the Sand has been made the ruler of the Ra Clan for over a decade. The people admired her beauty and kindness. Her straight black hair is cut short at her shoulder, there are gold jewelry on her braids, and her bangs are cut before her dark, well-defined eyebrows. Her tanned skin is covered with the finest silk the Realm can offer. She has gold jewelry on her neck, on her arms, and down to her feet. She stands barefoot on her floating sand - which she controls telepathically. The other gods and demigods were lining in formation behind her. They are ready to deal with anyone who tries to harm their graceful goddess.

"People of Ra," she announced with grace. "never shall you hesitate to say what you need." She put her hand on her chest. "I am your goddess that will help you to the best I can!"

She rules the Ra Clan and the Ra City that run along the river of Aur. This is the only place in the desert where plants can have their roots enjoy in the moist ground. Thus, agriculture is possible. The rest of the land that stretched to the far east and west of the continent are barren and dry. If plants could absorb sand and make it as a source of food, then life on it could be possible - which is not the case.

The humans cheered and she smiled warmly as the sunlight lit up her face and caught the hearts of the people. She continued to approach more people. The blind, deaf, and the disabled have received gifts from her. They are gifts that may help them continue their lives in prosperity and peace. She loves the people as much as the people love her.

Then the question would be, "Do all of the people love her?"

The Realm is a vast place, and the proximity of an individual knowing things about it is small. One could easily be blinded by the reality that chaos is already starting in the midst of order and harmony. It is just that it is hiding in plain sight or it is just that people tend to be optimistic and ignore them in a way that they blind themselves about the possibilities of events that could happen. Who could argue? Optimism is healthy.

To the far west, near the western coast of the Ra continent, the salty hot wind blew endlessly from the sea. A boy packed things in the bags on the back of the four camels while watching his goddess disturb the wind with her sword. She swings it in the air while holding it with both of her hands. She recalls what her mother taught her about using her katana: The Tamashi no Ken.

Sayuri, the Goddess of Blades has fully recovered after a month being gravely injured. Her wounds and injuries have disappeared but left some scars. In the middle of her left eyebrow where her own sword cut her, there is a vertical scar that left a slit on her eyebrow. She also cut her hair short, in a side-swept pixie cut. She noticed that her long hair gets in the way of her fight, so she cut it with her sword, but then Hiroki fixed it so that at least, her grace can still be noticed.

The sand around her as she swings her sword, flew together, creating a dust cloud that went flying to the east. Hiroki was packing the things as the camels were tied up at the ranch opposite of where the dust flies. Behind him, there is a shack where they stayed for a month now, and where his other companions stayed for a bit while their lady is healing. He is done with the packing, and that signifies their readiness to leave. He walked to the shack and entered through its rickety rotten wooden door. He came in just to see an empty place with empty tables except for the two stools at the bar table.

"Hiroki!" called Jasper looking nearly intoxicated with his cheeks getting red. "Come on, join us for a drink!"

"No, thanks," he refused. "But I'll have water, please," he said to the thin old bartender with a rugged face, long mustache, and baggy eyes. The old man looked at him in disdain.

Jasper laughed so hard that he tapped at the table. "Ordering water at the bar," he exhaled while rubbing his watery eyes. "Classic. Hiroki, you're freakin' rude. This is a bar, not a place to come in and order tap water."

"I'm thirsty, underage, and unlike you I have to keep my mind straight so that we can get out of the desert, alive. Look what you did to Jack! He thinks he's a god!"

"I am the god of alcohol," said Jack drunkenly. "That's....." He hiccuped. "to be precise." Then he slammed his face on the table.

Jasper laughed so hard. "I told him to say that... Anyways, my man," he talked to the old bartender. "Give this kid a drink of your most delicious non-alcoholic beverage, if you please."

"Comin' right up," said the old man and started to mix juices of different flavors.

Hiroki just sat next to Jasper while he waited for his drink. Then a minute later, the old man gave him a long glass of tropical fruit juice. The ice cooled the whole beverage until water condensed at the sides of the glass. He quickly sipped using the straw and sighed in satisfaction. The bartender went to deal with something in the kitchen.

Then for a moment, Jasper became serious after the last gulp of his drink in a shot glass. He asks, "Where's Lady Sayuri?"

"On the sand, practicing her sword."

He just nodded and blinked his eyes a lot of times, because he feels dizzy. "I kinda miss the company of Thabisa."

"Yeah, me too. Well, we can't help it."

"Yeah."

"How sure are you that we are going in the right direction?"

"I'm not sure how sure I am."

Hiroki frowned. "Do you want Lady Sayuri to kill you?"

"I told her about it, and she didn't react violently. It means she's okay with it. I explained to her that ever since we departed from South Columba, I don't have any clue about how to track the Masked League anymore. So, she said that we should just go east, specifically to the Ra City because it is the only fertile land in this whole continent - and that's why I hypothesized that's the place they went."

"But have you been in that place?"

"In Ra City? Once."

"Then what was it like?"

"Well, it's kinda disturbingly well-ordered when we came. I was with my family, so my mother and sister were there too. My parents discussed things with the leader of Ra Clan back then, and it gave me time to explore the city a little bit. It was not a large city, but a long one. Hectares of fields ran along the river of Aur, enjoying the water that runs through it. The water comes from the glaciers at the south that melted and stretched quarter-way across the globe, draining to the north sea which surrounds the Olympus Capital. What disturbed me is that the southern part of the continent must have some vegetation, because it is surrounded by two major oceans. But there has been no storm that naturally occurred. It really disturbed me pretty well."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that someone made it that way, because I discovered in the archives of Olympus, that this continent was once a very fertile land like the thick forest in South Columba. So, what kind of people who can bend nature?"

"Gods?"

"Yes, and the reason for that is the feud between Olympus and the Ra clan a thousand years ago. Olympus is very conservative in keeping its place as the dominating clan, so if something that could potentially become more powerful than them, they immediately deal with it with such atrocity. Their reason was to maintain balance. Only one clan shall be at the top. If it happens that two clans have the same amount of power, it will result in division and competition of who gets the most prayers."

"So, Olympus did this?"

"Yeah, I know, and it is horrible. I was shocked myself when I discovered it because I thought that the Ra Continent is just unlucky to have a poor geographical location. The past gods of Olympus starved the continent from water and hid the truth from everybody. Of course, except for me and the smartest deities I know on Olympus. We know if we uttered it to everybody, it will catastrophic."

"But that isn't right."

"Yes, I agree, but what the results of it that counts. Don't think that peace in the Realm is achieved without blood - which is not. It is for the greater good - as they would say, and the results are already seen in the n***d eye. Having only one Supreme Clan to rule the Realm, is the way to make things stable. But obviously, it has some flaws. Every artificial thing has its own flaws, that is why there are rogue gods who defy Olympus like what's happening in Mars right now and the guys we are chasing halfway across the globe."

"But the people don't deserve to suffer like this. They are innocent."

"That is why I told you before, that Olympus killed millions if not billions in the name of keeping peace."

Hiroki shuddered while holding on to his glass. Then something came up in his mind. "But wait, are the current Olympians are like this?"

"Well, no. I could say that the current administration is the greatest in history. Every clan is satisfied with how the current Olympians treat them."

"If that's the case, then why don't the Ra Clan complain about their current situation? Olympus terraformed planets, and they are neglecting this desert?"

"Good point," remarked Jasper. "But that's what I'm trying to figure out. What could be the reason that stops them from fertilizing this whole continent?" He rubbed his chin. "We'll find out sooner or later, but let's go before Lady Sayuri gets impatient." He pulled his purse from his pocket and left the p*****t on the top of the table. "Jack," he said while shaking Jack's shoulder. "Let's go."

"Okay," said Jack and seems that he's not that drunk anymore.

They stood up and exited the bar while Jasper helps Jack walk straight. Hiroki pulled two camels and brought them to his goddess. Sayuri is still practicing her sword and stopped as Hiroki approached her. Jack and Jasper already rode on their camels.

"My lady," he says. "we are ready to depart."

She sheathed her sword and jumped over the camel. It groaned nervously as soon as she rode it. They figured out that the camel is afraid of her presence, and the other camels were also afraid of her. She just frowned like she always does, so she summoned a chair of blades, but Jasper intervened.

"Don't waste your energy, my lady," he said as he climbed down. "We will be traveling the vast desert and we will need every ounce of energy that we have. We will put all of our supplies on the two camels, Jack and Hiroki will ride the two, and I will be giving you a ride as a camel. Is that alright, my lady?"

She nodded, and he transformed into a two-humped camel like the other camels. Hiroki transferred the saddle onto him, then finally, Sayuri rode on the camel Jasper. Jack and Hiroki pulled the other camels and they started their way deeper into the desert.

To the east, they went.

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