The Accursed One

In the days of humanity’s innocence, Euphridia walked among us, with Raela almost always by her side. Our community lived as one in Paradise, where nature’s endless bounty freely sustained us. Euphridia and Raela would often venture into the wilderness, yet never for more than a few hours at a time. As evening descended, Euphridia would retire to her temple with Raela, remaining there until the sun once again graced the land. On rare occasions, Raela found moments of respite, visiting my tower to discuss Euphridia’s teachings and the progress of creation.

This routine endured with each passing season, but I noticed a growing anxiety in Raela’s countenance during her visits. My inquiries, whether gentle or direct, proved futile as she guarded the burden that weighed upon her heart.

Then, a tempestuous Spring arrived, with thunderstorms of great fury sweeping across the horizons, flooding rivers and carving deep furrows into the surrounding lands.

One night, during such a tumultuous storm, Raela ascended my tower, soaked and shivering from the cold gusts that resisted the onset of summer. I offered her shelter, which she declined, asserting that her visit was of utmost urgency.

“Euphridia has descended into a deep slumber,” she revealed with a bowed head.

“Holy Euphridia... slumbers?” I exclaimed, startled by this revelation.

“She has forbidden me to speak of such matters before, but yes, now she rests.”

“For how long?” I inquired with a growing concern for the well-being of all.

“I know not, but her rest is essential. She has deferred it for too long, and I can only hope it shall restore her.”

“Do you suspect her to be in distress?”

“Her thoughts... are troubled.” Raela’s gaze remained averted. “She does not share the details with me, but they fill her with dread. Perhaps the burden of creation has overwhelmed her. It was not my place to ask for so much.”

“Raela... Without you, none of us would exist. Do not blame yourself for failing to grasp the ways of the Holy Goddess.”

“I shall bear responsibility and watch over her, just as she has watched over us since time immemorial. I know not when our paths will converge again, Relias.”

“Surely, you cannot embark on this task alone!”

I implored that she’d allow me to select trusted humans from our society to aid her. Initially resistant, she eventually yielded to my counsel and finally accepted my assistance. I pledged to send four companions to join Raela at the temple, sharing the duty that lay ahead.

“I must depart,” she concluded with a mournful tone before turning away. “I do not wish to leave her alone.”

“I shall send them to you on the morrow, Raela,” I vowed as she silently ventured back into the storm. Little did I know that those would be the last words I would ever speak to her; had I known, I would have revealed my true sentiments to her without reservation.

I sought out the four companions I had in mind the following day. Boukolos was a farmer whose strength was tantamount only to his gentility. Hojin was more challenging to find, as he preferred to hunt deep in the forests where dangerous game posed a particular challenge he delighted in. Leya was an entertainer, skilled in music, dance, and tall tales. Last was Magus, a sorcerer of great skill who sought to unlock the world’s secrets through unbound experimentation.

Just as I had dispatched them to aid Raela with all their essence, a sentry made himself known at the foot of my tower. He informed me that an unknown entity had appeared in Paradise. It was a cloud of darkness, yet its shape was ever-changing, propelling itself forward even as it terrorized all it encountered. Fearing for the safety of those at the temple, I alone confronted the interloper.

“Advance no further in this sacred place!” I commanded the shadowy presence.

“You fear me.” The cloud suddenly swirled, taking on my appearance. “You seek to control me. Such an endeavor on your part will be quite futile. I have no need of something so weak and frail to be my master.”

“State your Name and your Purpose!” I demanded.

“Are such things necessary in this space?” my doppelganger inquired with a sneer.

“You are not welcome here! Your dark visage disturbs our peace! Begone, I say!”

He paused, shifting into a formless haze of darkness. “A most disappointing welcome. I’ll be sure to repay your hostilities at a later time, ‘Relias-sage.’ However, you are not the one I seek. I’ll call upon her again once she adequately prepares to receive me.” With these words, he drifted away on an ill-omened breeze, leaving me filled with dread.

Had this dark entity’s arrival afflicted our great Goddess? Was he the cause of her troubled thoughts? I briefly contemplated informing Raela of this encounter, but I did not wish to burden her further. Instead, I gathered those gifted with the power of amity, as I was, and devised a plan to monitor and respond should the dark cloud return.

Over a year passed before I received word from a temple servant that Euphridia had awoken. As I rushed to share in the joyful celebration, I was informed that Raela, upon hearing of the unknown entity, had already left Paradise in search of it. Her four companions threw themselves at my feet, begging for my forgiveness for losing sight over her. I forgave them, knowing no force could stop Raela once she had decided to act. Holy Euphridia, alert but distraught, commanded us to search for her in the wilderness.

After a week of tireless searching, a temple servant shouted across the wilderness with his sacred skill, “Relias-sage! You must return immediately! It has returned!” I mounted our party’s fastest steed but was fated to arrive too late. The others advised me that Raela had located the Accursed One and brought him before the Goddess, only to meet her demise, torn asunder before Euphridia herself. While Raela and I had been granted agelessness as part of our Purpose, we were not bestowed with immortality. The remnants of her public execution had burned themselves into the very garden of Paradise where we had first crossed paths, forever scarring my heart.

“Where is Holy Euphridia?” I demanded once I could find my voice again, but none among us possessed the answer. We waited in mournful silence outside the garden as three days passed before Euphridia appeared again.

“If only I had been there,” I lamented between sobs before her. “I could have protected her from that…” I still did not know what it truly was.

“A demon born of nightmare,” Euphridia whispered in a tone so dispassionate I felt my hair stand on end. “Its only Purpose is to destroy the things I treasure the most. He will not rest until all is laid to waste.”

“Demon?” The word had no meaning to me.

“Even I cannot contain him forever,” she continued with eyes unblinking.

“He is… still of this world?”

“Yes, though I wish it were otherwise,” she admitted. “I shall reveal his true name to you, but utter it not, for it is a name that beckons the void.”

She spoke of him as Epiales, Origin of Sin, an entity opposed to all she embodied. I learned that his power would only flourish the longer he remained in this world, drawing strength from the concealed malevolence harbored within the hearts of all mortal beings. Holy Euphridia had ensnared him within a grotesque physical form so that all might recognize his vileness at a single glance. She then imprisoned him within a desolate enclave deep within the wastelands, isolating him from the rest of our realm.

“Holy Euphridia,” I proclaimed. “Please tell me how I may truly rid this world of the Accursed One!”

“That is not your Purpose, at least… alone. You will need to prepare for Raela’s return.”

“She… will come back?”

“In time, yes. She will not remember her past life. Therefore, you must guide her so she may fulfill her new Purpose to destroy him and his kin.”

“Kin?”

“As his power grows, he will spawn others like him. It is inevitable.”

“Holy Euphridia…”

“Go, Relias. Take your people and lead them across the lands of Speranza. Paradise can no longer sustain them. Strengthen your numbers and tame the edges of this world even as you prepare to defend from his evil onslaught. When Raela’s return is nigh, I will contact you once more.”

With a single divine gesture, we found ourselves standing at the forsaken outskirts of Paradise, its gate sealed in celestial crystal, forever barring our reentry.

Nora was a faster reader than I was, so I didn’t quite understand why she had started cursing loudly. Although it was a tragedy, to be sure, we already had the backbone in mind from the original story. When I hit the last line of the passage, though, I couldn’t help but join in, adding some vulgar words of my own. He did say Raelynn only cursed rarely, but the occasion seemed entirely appropriate.