* * *
After about a week in their new home, things started to feel normal again. The strangeness of the situation never fully faded from their minds, but their new surroundings and acquaintances started to feel natural. Between the comforts, conveniences, and abundant food, it was hard to complain about anything. Even though Kira disliked the idea of sitting on the council, the plethora of servants that were now constantly attending to her and Kaya’s every whim and need did make her feel less anxious about the idea of ruling.
Living as one of these Gods was rather blissful, at least until the girls met Master Yu-On. He was an elderly, grey-haired lesser one who was to become their private tutor and chaperone around the palace.
“I am not your friend,” Yu-On announced when he first met them. “I am not your mother or your father, your brother or your sister. I am not family and I will not be easy on you. I have been teaching children my entire life and have already seen all the tricks and pranks you could ever think of! I highly advise you spare us all a lot of time and frustration, and just do as I tell you.”
Kira and Kaya were bemused by this strange new man, and found many of his quirks quite humorous; a fact that they soon learned was best kept to themselves, as Yu-On carried a wooden cane he was prone to using as a disciplinary rod whenever he felt slighted.
Despite his prickly exterior, Master Yu-On was actually a very interesting and engaging teacher. He rarely seemed irritated by questions or interruptions so long as they led to opportunities for learning, and after a few weeks of working with the girls he even seemed to become proud of them. Kira even overheard him telling Thanatos how amazed he was at how rapidly they were learning.
As much as she doubted she would enjoy learning, Kira found she had an insatiable hunger for the knowledge and lessons Yu-On offered. Learning to read and write came naturally, both to her and Kaya, and after only a month they were nearly fluent in the strange written language of Tython.
Once they had nearly mastered reading and writing, Master Yu-On began to teach them more advanced subjects. Each day they studied astronomy, physics and mathematics, and history and culture. Both girls were fascinated by all of it, but Kira was particularly entranced by the study of astronomy. She learned about the stars in the heavens and how they were created. She even started to understand things she could have never guessed at before, like how the rising and falling of the sun was really an illusion due to planetary rotation and how it was this rotation that created the gravity that kept them on the ground.
Yu-On also taught them about the twelve kingdoms and the planets that supported them. He explained that the kingdoms encompassed only a small portion of the galaxy, and that aside from the very recent discovery of Earth, no new life or civilizations had been discovered for thousands of years.
“Master Yu-on, how did the twelve kingdoms begin? Were there always twelve?” Kaya asked one day during their history lesson.
“An intriguing question, and perhaps my favorite to answer,” he replied, beaming with pride. “Do you want the short explanation or the long one?”
“Maybe just the short version, for today,” Kira teased, knowing full well that when Yu-On gave the long version of anything, he could go on for hours.
Yu-On shrugged, “So be it. Long ago, before there were twelve kingdoms, the galaxy was chaotic and uncivilized. The various planets that now comprise the heavenly kingdoms were mostly overrun with vegetation and wild beasts, except for one. Tython was ruled over by the Gods, even then, and was the only truly civilized planet in the galaxy. One day, Velion’s father Kronus decided to explore the galaxy and colonize the wild planets. On the first planet he searched, he discovered the lesser ones, who at the time were an uncivilized and weak species. In his greatness and charity, Kronus decided to take the lesser ones under his wing and teach them to be civilized. He taught them how to read and write, and eventually molded them into the hard-working, industrious people we now know.”
“Sort of how he did on Earth?” Kira wondered
“Yes, apparently so; although he spent more time with the lesser ones than he did with your people.”
“What happened next?!” Kaya interrupted, apparently worried that Kira’s comment had derailed the story.
“Glad you are so eager to learn, little one. Well, after Kronus taught the lesser ones how to be civilized, he took them from their planet and spread them across the galaxy.”
“Why did he do that?” Kaya asked.
“Well you see, Kronus, in his infinite wisdom, saw the usefulness of the lesser ones, and spread them across the inhabitable planets in the galaxy in order to expand his kingdom.”
“You mean he enslaved them to do the work for him,” Kira snapped sarcastically.
Master Yu-On did not reply right away, but instead leveled Kira with an ambiguous stare. Seeming to decide something he said, “Yes. He did enslave them, Mistress Kira.”
“What gave him that right?” Kira asked, ignoring the dismayed look on Kaya’s face.
Yu-On paused again, squinting at Kira with curiosity. “Well, that is the right of a God over his subjects, is it not?”
Kira sighed and crossed her arms. “Maybe, but how do we know that he was a God?”
This time Yu-On forced a smile. “An honest question, which I am obligated not to answer. Only a God, such as yourself, is permitted to question such things,” he finished, lowering his eyes to the ground diplomatically.
Kira was confused. Exchanging a concerned look with Kaya, she asked, “Wait… you really think we are Gods?”
“Why of course, Mistress Kira. You have been appointed a seat on the Council of Twelve, which only a God is permitted to be on.” Yu-On maintained his lowered gaze, appearing to be frightened. It was the first time in months of knowing him that he showed any sort of weakness. From the minute they met, he commanded such respect and fierceness that this was not like him at all.
“Yu-On… are you frightened?” Kira asked, confused.
Yu-On did not reply at first, but after a moment he spoke with a trembling voice, saying, “I do not wish to displease you, Mistress Kira.”
“Displease me? I thought you were my teacher, how would you displease me?” Kira asked, bewildered.
“It is true that I am your teacher, but you are my ruler and superior, Mistress Kira. I am afraid that you are trying to get me to blaspheme the Gods, which I will not do.” He looked back up at her with a fierce gaze.
Taken aback by the sudden change in her teacher, Kira was unsure of how to respond. Uncrossing her arms she said, “Master Yu-On, I am not trying to get you to blaspheme anything. I was just asking a question. You have to forgive me; I do not come from Tython and am not always aware of how to act. On Earth, there are no lesser ones and certainly no slaves.”
Yu-On looked thoroughly confused. “You mean, when you were a God on Earth, you let your people live in freedom?”
Both Kira and Kaya burst into laughter, which only served to further confuse Yu-On. “No, no. You misunderstand. On Earth I wasn’t a God. I was just a girl who liked to hunt.”
Yu-On looked mortified at first, but after a moment he grinned broadly and said, “You are playing a joke on me, aren’t you, Mistress Kira? Not a God!” he exclaimed, laughing nervously.
Kira looked at Kaya, who just shrugged. Feeling a pang of sadness, Kira realized that Yu-On would never really understand. He had been a slave his whole life, and was taught that it was right for the Gods to rule over him. Shaking her head, Kira replied softly, “Just… never mind. You were telling us about Kronus and the lesser ones, weren’t you?”
Yu-On still looked confused, but seemed relieved at the changing of the subject. “Yes! Where was I… oh yes! Kronus commanded the lesser ones to spread his kingdom across the galaxy and so they did, but not without strife. Even though most of the inhabitable planets were uncivilized, there were several that did have primitive civilizations on them.”
“What happened to those??
?? Kaya asked anxiously.
“Well, in short they were either destroyed, or taken over. All of them resisted the rightful rule of Kronus at first, but only a few were wise enough to surrender in time. In fact there are many battles recorded in the history texts that talk about the great powers of Kronus and how, with his powerful scythe, he was able to defeat whole armies singlehandedly.”
“Wow, and he did this all by himself?” Kaya gasped.
“Well, yes and no. History does have a tendency to exaggerate the facts. Kronus did have some impressive victories of his own, but most of the time he was supported by his three sons, Hadius, Velion, and Pisus; all of whom are quite powerful in their own regard.”
“So if Kronus was such a legend, then why isn’t he ruling the twelve kingdoms now?” Kira asked. The question had been bothering her for some time now, having heard so much about the great Kronus.
“A most interesting tale, and perhaps my favorite. After conquering and civilizing many of the planets that now comprise the twelve kingdoms, the Gods stumbled across an ancient civilization, called the Centuri.”
“Who were they?” Kaya asked, completely enthralled.
“They were a highly advanced species, with great technology and power, but when they met Kronus they deceived him.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is hard to explain, but I’ll do my best. You see, at that time, Kronus had grown weary from fighting war after war. He desired an era of peace, but as powerful as the Gods were, they didn’t have the means to keep order on all of the conquered planets. So he made a deal with the Centuri, agreeing to make them a noble caste only answerable to him, if they would use their strength to police the planets. But what Kronus didn’t know, was that the Centuri plotted to overthrow his kingdom and rule the planets in his stead. So through craft and deceit the leader of the Centuri, Ophiron, formulated a plan to lure Kronus away and kill him, but somehow Kronus learned of the treachery. Instead of going alone, he brought his three sons with him.”
“What happened? Did Ophiron kill Kronus?” Kaya interrupted anxiously.
Yu-On smiled, “No. Because Kronus had brought his sons with him, they were able to overpower Ophiron and kill him. But the three brothers knew that if the Centuri found out about Ophiron’s death, they would rebel and wreak havoc across the galaxy, plunging it into a never ending war.”
“So what did they do?” Kira asked, finding herself also engrossed in the story.
Yu-On seemed pleased and pressed on, “In order to avoid such a long conflict, Hadius, Velion and Pisus formulated a plan. They went to Ophiron’s second in command and told him what had occurred.”
“But you said if the Centuri found out they would declare war. How did the brothers avoid that?” Kira objected, confused.
“They made an agreement with Ophiron’s second in command, that if the three brothers overthrew their father and cast him into prison for his crime, the Centuri would leave the galaxy peacefully, never to return.”
“Did it work?” Kaya blurted.
“Surprisingly, it did. I can’t explain it, honestly. The three brothers captured Kronus and as promised, they stripped him of his armor and scythe, and cast him into an unbreakable prison on the planet Nyxia.”
“And the Centuri just left? Never to come back?” Kira asked in disbelief.
“Yes, which is the part that I cannot explain. They had complete control over the kingdom and could have possibly overthrown the Gods, but they chose not to. There are rumors that the three brothers gave something to the Centuri to convince them to leave, but there is no proof to back such a claim. Whatever the reason, the Centuri left and haven’t been seen in thousands of years.”
Kira was burning with questions, but before she could ask any, there was a chime at the door and Velion himself strode into the room. Beaming from ear to ear he walked up to the girls and asked, “How are we today? I trust Master Yu-On isn’t boring you too much?”
Kira was still wary of Velion, having spent very little time with him, so she didn’t respond. Kaya apparently didn’t share that reservation, as she exclaimed, “Not at all! He was just telling us about how you and your brothers threw your father Kronus in prison!!”
Kira glared at Kaya and gulped hard, unsure of how Velion would react to such a glib description of the incident. To her surprise he seemed to take it in stride. “Oh, that story? I think it must be his favorite, as he does love to tell it whenever he can.”
Deciding to be bold, Kira asked, “Was it a difficult decision to overthrow Kronus?”
Velion paused, leveling an approving look at her. “You know what I like about you, Kira? You aren’t afraid to speak your mind, even if you sometimes shouldn’t. The short answer is no, it was not a difficult decision. My father didn’t really give us any choice, honestly. If we hadn’t made our bargain with the Centuri, we would probably still be fighting a war as we speak.”
“Does Kronus see it that way?” Kira pressed, ignoring an alarmed look on Yu-On’s face.
Velion’s smile faded, and with a more serious tone he replied, “My father was always more hungry for power than he should have been, and in the end it was his undoing. What Yu-On hasn’t told you and doesn’t know, is how my father became the supreme ruler to begin with.” Yu-On looked thoroughly surprised and with wide, eager eyes, sat down to listen to Velion.
Unflinching at Velion’s change in demeanor Kira asked, “How did he?”
“My grandfather, Varuna, was once the supreme ruler of the galaxy, and saw fit to leave it as it was, primordial and natural, but my father Kronus disagreed with him. You see, my father felt that we were wasting the resources available to us and were failing to achieve our potential as supreme rulers over all life. So one day, after failing to convince Varuna that the people of Tython should colonize the other planets, my father conceived a plan to betray him. Pretending to apologize for his lack of respect, my father lured Varuna to a ship that was in orbit above Tython, asking him to come alone. Once Varuna boarded the ship, my father captured him and imprisoned him.”
“Is Varuna still alive?” Kira inquired.
Velion considered her for a moment, finally saying, “It’s hard to say. Although he would never tell me what happened, I believe that my father flew his ship as close as he could to the center of the galaxy, and set my grandfather adrift towards the black hole that resides there.” He finished, looking melancholic.
Kira shuddered at the thought, having learned just a few days earlier what a black hole was. “How do you know, if he never told you?” Kira wondered.
Velion’s look of melancholy was replaced with a softer expression of pride. “Very clever, Kira. I know because when he returned to Tython without my grandfather, I checked the ship’s navigation log.”
“Why didn’t you go after Varuna if you knew where he was?” Kaya interjected.
Velion gave a halfhearted smile and said, “I tried. But when my father figured out what I was doing, he stopped me and told me that if I continued, he would kill Aeria. She was just an infant at the time.”
Everyone remained silent after he finished, not knowing what to say to break the silence. Finally, after a few awkward moments, Velion spoke up. “I almost forgot why I came. It’s time that the two of you had these. I’m sorry it took so long to get them too you, but Aithos is the one who makes them, and he has been busy.” Velion pulled out two small, gleaming cylinders, similar to the one they found in the Black Wood, and handed one to each girl. “It is customary for members of the royal family to have one of these. Keep them with you at all times, understand?” He asked, giving them a reproachful look until both girls nodded.
“What exactly are they? I mean I know I found one, but I don’t really know what they do.”
“They are personal holodisks and they serve a great number of functions. As you are already aware, they have a mapping system that will work anywhere you go in the galaxy, but they also serve as communication devices. If yo
u get separated or lost, you can use it to contact any of the council members, and to set it as an emergency beacon that will summon a life pod.” He indicated each button as he described their function.
“A life pod?” Kaya repeated, curiously.
“It’s an emergency ship that follows your holodisk around. Right now, there is one in orbit above Tython for each of you. If you press the last button that says emergency… not now!” Velion scolded, stopping Kaya from pressing the button. She gave him a sheepish look and set the holodisk down. “As I was saying, if you press that button, your life pod will respond and will come rescue you wherever you are, even if you are underground or in a building. Once it finds you, it will serve both as a shuttle to take you to the nearest civilized planet, and as a medical bay that heals most injuries and ailments.”
Kira was impressed at the idea, but hoped that she would never need use that function. “Does it do anything else?” she wondered, noticing that there were several more buttons that he hadn’t addressed.
“Yes. As your sister witnessed, it can heal most ailments and cure most diseases. Also it can turn any organic material into an edible substance if needed, although I wouldn’t advise relying on that unless you must. It might be edible, but it is usually far from appetizing,” he warned. “It can also purify any water source of bacteria or parasites, and has a powerful cutting laser, in case you find yourself trapped somewhere or need to cut through something. Lastly, it can serve as a camera and audio recorder.”
“Wow… this thing can really do anything, can’t it? Why are we the only ones who get these?” Kira wondered.
Velion seemed amused at the question. “Well first, because we are the only ones who can use them. If you gave yours to Yu-On, he wouldn’t be able to make it work. Second, because they are extremely difficult to make and require rare materials… well I guess the materials aren’t as rare as they used to be, now that we’ve found Earth.”
The room went awkwardly silent after he finished his sentence. The cavalier mention of Earth was unexpected, but Kira jumped on the opportunity, asking, “How is the mining operation going? Has Aithos been able to study my people?”
Velion looked at her uncomfortably. “So far he has submitted two reports, both of which were promising. I’d like to say that all has gone as planned, but there was a skirmish between the soldiers we left and a local population,” he said quietly. “Not your village of course!” he added quickly before she could respond.
“What kind of skirmish?” Kira inquired.
“Well, apparently a roaming party of bandits stumbled across my soldiers, and for some reason decided to attack them. Only one of my men was injured, but most of the bandits were killed before being driven off,” he finished awkwardly.
Kira didn’t know how to take the news. She didn’t love the idea that humans were dying at the hands of Velion’s men, but she had seen firsthand how vicious bandits could be. “Well if they attacked first, then I guess it serves them right,” she concluded.
“Will we ever get to go back to Earth?” Kaya interrupted without really thinking.
Velion seemed taken aback by the question and stuttered, “Uh… yes… eventually. But for now just try to enjoy your time on Tython, and try to learn as much as you can from Yu-On. He is our best instructor.” Velion smiled awkwardly and turned to leave the room.
Before he made it to the door Kira spoke up, “Velion…” He stopped short and turned to look at her with an inquisitive expression. “Thank you… for the holodisks.” Kira said, holding the metallic cylinder in the air. He smiled and turned to leave again. “And everything else too,” Kira finished, but this time Velion didn’t turn. He just hesitated a moment before leaving the room.
Master Yu-On stood again as the girls examined their holodisks. “Now where were we? Perhaps we’ve had enough history for today. Let’s learn about algebra!”
Kaya groaned, but Kira smiled. Maybe being stuck on Tython wouldn’t be so bad after all.