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Dawn of a New Day: A Story of Empress Hyanithe IX
by Acelon
Chapter 6
The light was bright. The Empress squinted her eyes before opening them, preparing herself. She opened her eyes and realized she was no longer on Jahir beach. She was in a spectacularly beautiful garden. She had never seen or imagined such a place before. She looked down and found she was no longer wearing the armor, but wearing her blue night gown. She had no wound and there was no blood anywhere.
"Do not fear, Empress. You are not harmed."
The voice caused a chill to go down the Empress’s spine.
"Who said that? Show yourself!" the Empress demanded.
A white mist slowly formed in front of her. A feminine figure walked through the mist to reveal herself to the Empress.
"I am Varyssa, Goddess of Dreams. I heard your prayers for guidance, so showed you the best decision."
The Empress was shocked. She had never seen a God in a corporeal form before and was unsure how to react.
"B..bbbut my empire collapsed, my best friend betrayed me, and I watched my love die in front of me? How was this the best decision? The world as we know it is ruined because of me!"
"Or may be," replied Varyssa.
"May be? I saw how Idaloran looked before I died! I could only imagine what Seridia looked like as well after my armies invaded!" The Empress was over being shocked about meeting a Goddess. She wanted to know why Varyssa influenced her to wage war.
Varyssa just smiled. "I have not influenced you to do anything. In fact, none of what you saw has happened. I showed you in a dream what would happen should you choose to send your armies to Seridia. You are not dead, Empress. In fact, you are peacefully sleeping in your chambers."
Varyssa’s explanation took a moment to sink in. "All of this was a dream? But how did this happen? And why did Glinda betray me?"
"Glinda has never betrayed. The Glinda you know is gone, murdered by the servant of Selain, Vlasian. She has been dead for several months now and her body hidden within the mines. Vlasian took her form in order to manipulate you. I am sorry for your loss."
The Empress was in utter shock.
"Siran was truthful to you as well, Empress. He did not visit your chambers that night. It was Vlasian in yet another guise."
The Empress took a moment to understand what Varyssa was explaining to her. It all made sense. She had sensed something was different about Glinda and that something was off about Siran that night. The secret passage must have been used by Vlasian to enter and exit the castle without being noticed and he used different forms to avoide further detection. He made up the entire report about Luxin wanting to attack her empire. All of this was Vlasian’s fault.
"Now Empress, I understand this may be hard to comprehend. Usually when I warn people of the future, their dreams are not so intense. I felt you needed to see everything in order to comprehend how influential your decision would be."
"I understand everything now, Varyssa. You are truly a great goddess for showing me. I will be sure to throw festivals in your honor, but I still need to know one thing."
"Yes, Empress?"
"Is everything I felt with Siran real?"
Varyssa smiled broadly. "Yes. All the emotions you shared with each other are buried deep within the both of you."
"I thank you again. Please, I think it is time I wake up. I know the decision I must make now."
Varyssa nodded. A bright red light illuminated the garden enveloping The Empress in its warmth until she could no longer see anything but the light.
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