Miranda was carrying a towel and a bowl of warm water. She walked hurriedly but was careful not to drop the items. Voldar’s door was half opened. Miranda peeked in through the gap and saw Voldar sleeping on floor. She entered his room, carefully approaching him, Miranda sat beside him. She wet the towel with warm water and lightly applied it on his forehead. With a soft groan, Voldar woke up....

  “Sorry young master... I didn’t mean to wake you.

  “It’s alright Nan. I was just a bit tired.” Voldar replied in a soft voice.

  Voldar didn’t make his usual storytelling requests. Miranda could tell that Voldar was upset. So she took the initiative to lighten up his mood.

  “Young master... Do you know how this world was created?”

  Voldar answered with disinterest, “The Gods created Eldis...”

  Miranda gave out a light chuckle. “Well that’s the abridged version.”

  Voldar, now turned towards Miranda. He looked at her with his glowing eyes. Miranda was relieved to see that Voldar was back to his usual attitude.

  Miranda started her story.

  “Long ago, when there existed nothing but darkness, three entities had come into being. Baheraza, The Creator; Shafozor, The Preserver; and Ormofaz, The Destroyer... They were the first beings to ever exist in this dark universe. Baheraza and Ormofaz contradicted the powers of each other. So they were in a state of eternal battle. But this constant collision of their powers, meant the destruction of the dark universe. So, Shafozor stepped in. The Preserver channeled his power towards the collision and as soon as the powers of all the three entities merged, the collision point solidified into a vast sphere. This vast sphere was the planet Eldis. Delighted with their creation, the Gods decided to stop their meaningless quarrel and brought life into their creation. The Creation Gods gave life to other entities, the lower Gods. They were tasked with looking after the contents of Eldis. So, the light that rejuvenates, the dark that frightens, the land that supports, the wind that gives life, the water that cools, and the fire that burns, are all due to the assistance and goodwill of the Lower Gods.”

  Voldar was listening carefully, absorbing every detail of the story like a sponge.

  When the tale ended, Voldar asked Miranda a peculiar question.

  “Nan..... Why does no one pray to the Creation Gods?”

  With a light smile on her face, Miranda answered, “It is because nobody believes in them anymore. Just after Mother Apostle gave her life to save Eldis, humanity started praying to the Gods again. But no one received blessings from the Creation Gods. Since more than two hundred years have passed and there wasn’t any Apostles of the Creation Gods, people just stopped believing in them.”

  Voldar jumped up enthusiastically. “I believe in them!”

  Miranda chuckled softly. “Dear young master you didn’t even know about them until now.”

  “Yes... But I want to believe in them. I want them to exist.” Voldar said with a saddened look.

  “But why?” Miranda expressed her curiosity.

  “They gave us life and we forgot about them. That seems a bit ungrateful.” Voldar stood up while he spoke.

  “Oh sweet child, how thoughtful of you. But now you must go to bed. It’s getting late young master. Come, I’ll tuck you in.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Voldar’s thirst for knowledge was unquenchable. He had already made up his mind to find out more about the Creation Gods. But that was a task for the next day. Now, he must enjoy the happiness given by his dreams or conquer the battles awaiting in his nightmares.

  -

  Voldar spent most of his free time in the academy’s library. He had no friends, and the practical classes were useless to him. So he would sneak out from the classes and hide in the library, away from the cruel world, engrossed in the books. The librarian, Wrik, was fond of Voldar. Not many students visited the library. Voldar was the only company he had.

  “Tell me, Voldar, how may I assist you today?” he said this with a bright smile on his face.

  “Are there any books on the Gods?”

  “Why yes there are many. Are you looking for something in particular?”

  Voldar hesitated. “Do you have books on the Creation Gods?” He said softly.

  Wrik looked at him for quite sometime. Then, he answered.

  “There might be one or two, but I have to check the storage. Wait here, I’ll go and fetch them.”

  Taking out a keycard from the drawer, Wrik left his counter and went towards the left wall of the library. He then channeled his spiritiz through the keycard and placed it on the wall. The wall started to recede into unseen compartments and a staircase opened up, leading to some sort of a basement. Voldar watched in awe as the librarian headed down.

  A few minutes later, he came back with two dusty books.

  “Here they are. You can keep them. I highly doubt that anyone would want a book on the Creation Gods.” He looked at Voldar, his face seemed gloomy. “Well except you, of course. You are the only person, in this entire academy, who likes to read.” Voldar’s face was brightened by these words. Voldar stepped out of the library, and decided to attend the few minutes of class that was left.

  That evening, he started his research on the Gods. He opened a heavy, dusty book named ‘Theories of Creation’. Voldar spent four hours, reading the book. He was lost in the world of those pages. He had taken a liking to Shafozor. He didn’t understand why but something about The Preserver, attracted him. Voldar didn’t realise what time it was until Miranda came into his room.

  “Young master, you should be sleeping now... Why are still reading the book?” Miranda approached him.

  “I was just going to bed Nan.” Voldar gave a mischievous smile. Miranda gave him a look of disbelief. She was about to put him to bed, when Volzen entered the room.

  Voldar immediately got off the bed and stood still.

  “You will be coming to Soren with me. Pack your things by tomorrow. AND DON’T TAKE ANY UNNECESSARY ITEMS!” Volzen stormed off without uttering another word.

  Voldar just stood there still trying to grasp the situation.

  -

  “I THINK I TOLD YOU NOT TO PACK ANY UNNECESSARY ITEMS!!” Volzen shouted.

  Apparently, Voldar woke up early to pack his things. But he didn’t notice his father passing by his room when he tried to sneak in the book.

  Volzen entered the room and snatched away the book. He glanced upon the table. There was another book sitting on it. He took both of the books and threw them out of the window.

  “I can’t believe that a son of mine would be into fairytales. ‘Gods of Creation’ and ‘Theories of Creation’-PATHETIC FAIRYTALES! That’s what they are.”

  At this point Voldar didn’t even feel anything. He was accustomed to this. He did not encounter his father everyday but whenever he did, it always ended badly for Voldar. Sometimes, Voldar wanted to run away. But he was weak. He wouldn’t survive a day in the outside world. So he endured the insults without protesting.

  His father left the room and a few minutes later, Miranda entered with the books which were thrown out. Voldar’s face lit up with joy. Miranda was the only one who was nice to him. The other workers in the mansion wouldn’t even look at Voldar. They would act like he didn’t even exist.

  “Young master....” Miranda kept the books on the table. “Keep the books somewhere hidden, so that the Grandmaster would not notice them.” Miranda put a hand on his shoulder.

  Voldar took the books and put them in his baggage. Although he knew his father would kill him if he found out, but when did he ever listen to his father.

  Miranda did advise him against taking the books with him, but he couldn’t be convinced. He had developed an interest in the Gods and he would not let anyone stop him from satisfying his curiosity.