Cirayus immediately dropped to his knees and prostrated.
“Aida! Quick! You are in the presence of a deity!”
Aida finally got the message, and followed her grandfather in prostration.
“We have disrespected you, O Great Goddess! Please, forgive us!”
“No, please!” Ashani replied, running up to them. “Don’t! I’m no goddess! Please don’t treat me like this.”
Cirayus slowly raised his head. “Truly?”
“Yes!”
“Then, if I may ask, what are you?”
Ashani perked up, relieved to clear the misunderstanding. “I am an Automaton created by the Prime Imperium. Specifically, by Janak, to befriend his daughter Siya in her last days.”
“Janak… You were created by Lord Janak,” Cirayus repeated, his voice trembling. “To befriend the Goddess Siya. The Goddess of myth and legend.”
“Oh, she was just a girl. Not a goddess. And Janak was no lord. Merely a researcher…”
Ashani trailed off as Cirayus and Aida redoubled their prostration, driving their heads against the ground.
Ashani looked at Vir pleadingly, but received only a shrug in return.
“I don’t want to say ‘I told you,’ but… I told you.”
“I never expected it to be this bad,” she said, biting her lip as Cirayus and Aida continued to prostrate in front of her. “Please, rise, both of you.”
“Is that your wish, O Great Goddess?”
“Yes! Yes, it is,” Ashani said. “I insist. No prostration. No bowing. And please, just call me Ashani!”
“As you wish, Goddess Ashani,” Cirayus said, rising along with Aida, though neither of them made eye contact with her.
“Is this how the rest of the world will react?” Ashani asked, looking at Vir with exasperation.
“I’d say Cirayus’ reaction was rather subdued,” Vir replied with a wry smile. “Don’t be surprised if you have cults and religions forming around you…”
Ashani buried her face in her hands. “This is… not what I wanted.”
Vir’s smile faded. Cirayus and Aida were desperately glancing at him for answers, clearly at a loss for how to behave.
“Ashani? Would you mind giving us a few minutes to chat? I’m afraid this will take a bit of explaining.”
“Of course,” Ashani replied, walking over to the other side of the great room. “Please, take all the time you like.” She began studiously analyzing Cirayus’ kitchen and bar equipment, as though it were the most interesting things in the world. Were it anyone else, Vir would say without a doubt it was an act. With Ashani… She might very well be as interested in the kitchen as she seemed to be.
“It really is what she wants, you two,” Vir said in a hushed voice. “Please, I know it’s hard, but just treat her like a good friend? She’d like that very much.”
“How, lad? How’d you go and pluck a living goddess from the Ash? Wasn’t she trapped deep in the Mahādi Realm?”
“You knew about this?” Aida hissed. “And you didn’t tell me? A living goddess! From the Age of Gods! Do you have any idea what this means for the world?”
“Aye, that I do,” Cirayus replied. “But the question remains. How?”
Vir let out a long breath and narrated the events that led to him entering the Ash with Shan. Even now, he couldn’t quite believe what had happened.
“’Tis as though Fate itself led you to her door,” Cirayus muttered after hearing the explanation, perfectly echoing Vir’s own thoughts.
“Well, that, Shan’s instincts, and Ashani’s alarm that informed her visitors were near a Gate she’d previously established,” he said, as if trying to delude himself from the truth.
“Do you understand what this means, lad? With a goddess at your back…”
Vir pursed his lips. “I know. But I also know that’s not what Ashani wants. She’s been trapped in that realm for millennia, Cirayus. She wants to explore the world. The last thing she wants is to become a goddess revered and worshiped by everyone. You saw how she reacted!”
“Aye, lad, I understand, and your desire to uphold her wishes is honorable. Tell me, is it more honorable than freeing our people and uniting the realm? If she blesses you in public, the other Rajas will have no choice but to accept you as the new sovereign of the realm.”
“Come on, Cirayus, that’s not fair,” Vir replied with a frown. “I’m not going to force her to take that role. I’m sorry.”
“Aye,” Cirayus said with a sigh. “And you are right not to. To befriend a goddess is no small thing. She will remain when we are all long gone. Our legacies must mean little to her. Besides, there are other issues with relying on her.”
Vir nodded. “Nobody would respect me. My rule would be propped up by Ashani, and the moment my enemies see an opportunity, they’ll strike at me. It’s not like Ashani’s all-powerful. She’s got some amazing magic, but I’d say the strongest demons could best her in combat. Truthfully, she was never even a goddess. That’s just something humans and demons made up.”
“Aye, that might all be true, but tell me this,” Cirayus said. “How many beings do you know who can live for millennia? How many beings are made of metal, as you claim she is? And how many beings can create Ash Gates at will?”
“I can,” Vir said with a satisfied smirk.
“Thereby proving my point. For are you not also a living god?”
“Never feels that way,” Vir grumbled. “But… I see your point. Ashani is certainly different enough that people would worship her, regardless of her combat power.”
“Aye.”
“Now, that’s a little rude, don’t you think?” Ashani called from the other end of the large room. She had a ladle in her hand, which she’d apparently been inspecting. “I admit I may not have been built to fight, but I think I’ve done well holding my own against the beasts of Mahādi.”
It was slight, but Vir could swear she’d puffed out her cheeks a bit.
Cirayus’ eyes went wide when Vir laughed. “Sorry. Forgot about your super hearing.”
“You are forgiven,” Ashani said theatrically, which sent both Cirayus and Aida prostrating again. Ashani immediately realized her mistake, and once again ran toward the two, desperately trying to get them to stop. It was more than a little funny from Vir’s perspective.
Some time later, when Cirayus and Aida had finally risen, Ashani turned and addressed Vir.
“I thank you. For considering my wishes. It… means a great deal to me.”
“Of course,” Vir said. “I consider you a friend, Ashani. It’s what anyone would do.”
“As do I,” she replied. “Which is why I feel I must clarify. While I do not wish to become an object of worship—I am not a deity, regardless of what your people might believe—I do wish to aid you in your plight to the best of my personal ability.”
“Thank you,” Vir said. “That really means a lot.”
“‘Means a lot,’ he says,” Aida muttered. “Goddess calls him a friend. Says she’ll help him… I feel like I don’t even know what’s real anymore.”
Ashani let out a melodic laugh. “Quite a family you have here. I do believe we’ll all get along just fine.”
“So. What now?” Cirayus asked, looking everywhere except at Ashani.
“Now, we fight, Cirayus,” Vir replied. “Now, I defeat you in the final round. Now, I show the world that I am worthy of Balancer of Scales.”
“And then?”
“Then, we all return to the Ash, where we’ll train up our troops. Push them deeper into the Ash. Maybe even to Mahādi.”
“Aye. And when they emerge, they will be the finest fighting force this realm has ever seen. I can feel it in these old bones.” Cirayus glanced furtively at Ashani as though she were the sun. “It won’t be long now. The rebellion. Not at this rate.”
“No,” Vir concurred. “Not long at all.”