A Sermon of Chains and Chaos

3

THE ENCOMIUM

The Book of Aethya

Chapter 3 THE HINDERING: Verse 2-6

 3 THE HINDERING Overcoming can not be without potential hindering. Thus, the gods see the balance of what must be overcome.

2 Liro began his hindering by creating a hammer. He used steel for the handle and wood for the head. He then crafted an unrelenting Erthe. Earthquakes ruptured. His fear consumed him, as did his ignorance of the catastrophe. He surrendered his ability to the nightmares, for he knew the intent. 

  3 Unday began her hindering by singing a lament. She sang and cried until her eyes burned and her throat ached. The exasperated oceans created hurricanes that swept across the coasts. Her fear consumed her, as did her obsession with the catastrophe She gave herself to the nightmares, for she knew the intent.

 4 Audyra began her hindering by dancing to Unday's lament. She danced in circles and lines until the heat on her skin and the fire she breathed created an unpitying sun. It grew uncontrollably, for it was never big enough to hold her. The sun dried half of Unday's waters. Volcanoes were born as mountains ruptured. Her fear consumed her, as did her dissatisfaction with the catastrophe. She ignored the nightmares, for she knew the intent.

 5 Zephyrus began his hindering by preaching. His breath and words created harsh winds. Tornadoes destroyed lands. His fear consumed him, as did his prejudice of the catastrophe. He thought himself higher than the nightmares, for he knew the intent. 

 6 Aethya began her hindering by abandoning her siblings. Her siblings worked alone until they had close to nothing. Lightning was born, and storms that now include all the elements enveloped the earth. Aethya laughed and wept as she let the fear consume her, as did the chaos of the catastrophe. She was the nightmare, for she knew the intent. 

 The Prince of Caelum hadn't shown for the next 6 nights of Yule. She went to the services and served the soup alone. The Prince of Caelum, Delwyn had to remind herself each night when her stomach would drop to see every guard stationed was actually a royal guard. Not just Zeph. She had found herself wandering around the sentries more than she should have on false hope. 

They had never even grazed the topic of what they did the first night—or the topic she thinks had been grazed. Del thinks they both might have thought about it but would never voice or even dwell on it, let alone bring up anything that would make them believe or indicate such things. She had rare moments when she wondered what it would be like, but it never got past that. The thoughts always ended quickly, never ended well.  

She supposes he is handsome. She also knows that is an understatement. She also knows he is a prince who will live centuries longer than her, let alone him being a prince. A prince of a kingdom at its weakest and needing allies. Not a prince that can think of crushes, balls, and his best friend Del and wonder if those things could all blend together. She certainly never had thought about it this much until that first night of Yule. This sounded like the doomed dramatic love stories in the books she read.

Maybe she's been feeding herself this story, and what happened that night is all in her head. Perhaps he was talking about something different. Maybe she overreacted. The more she thinks about it, the more she feels as though she has imagined it all. This is stupid, and she knows it. They are friends. Best friends. Maybe one of each other's only friends, being how isolating it is to be a prince and the daughter of a judger of all things. Of course, these feelings might come up, but it isn't real. Because how ridiculous could that be? If he somehow did make the decision, it wouldn't just upset his aunt; it could mean he lost his kingdom; it could mean she could lose her home.