The Rise to Godhood
Chapter 53: War and Peace.

Gaia and Areela sat together, wrapped under a warm blanket while sitting by the fire next to Goldonia’s Golden Throne. Areela pitied her son for his destiny of living here as it wasn’t the most hospitable planet to live on. Goldonia’s orbit was squeezed between two brown dwarf stars. Both stars shone with a bleak light that caused the planet to be in perpetual twilight. Alas, it was always cold, even in the middle of the day. Also, the intense gravity on the planet caused every living being on it to be stout and robust, like the dwarves, and she dearly missed the natural beauty of Zetani and Earth.

Areela got distracted from her thoughts when her son, crowned King Gromvir, walked towards the throne accompanied by his golden guard, which consisted of a dozen dwarves covered in golden armour. It was a fascinating sight to behold. Although golden armour was cumbersome and weighty, Goldonian tradition stated that their finest warriors should fight wearing it. The elite soldiers’ golden armours were the equivalent of a peacock’s tail. It signalled superiority as the wearers had survived battles despite wearing conspicuous and inferior equipment.

Areela pitied her son, who struggled with heaviness as he walked towards the throne. It was difficult enough to walk on Goldonia in regular clothes; to move while covered in all that bling would be a nightmare.

As Gromvir got seated, the dwarves started chanting, and an elderly seeress walked towards the throne. She carried the royal crown, which was laden with gemstones and made from pure gold. She stared at Gaia, and pointed at her as she walked to the throne.

Gaia looked at Gromvir and spoke: “Why is she looking at me like that, and what is she saying?”

“She recognises that you are closely aligned to the All-Mother. Therefore, she wants you to crown me as the King of Goldonia.” Gromvir replied.

“Did you tell her about my powers?” Gaia asked.

“No, but to someone aligned with the spirits, they must be obvious,” Gromvir replied.

Gaia nodded. She had never envisioned that she would be the one crowning Gromvir as the King of the Dwarves, yet here she was. By following her visions, she had made them self-fulfilling. She took the heavy golden crown from the seeress, put it on Gromvir’s head, and was met by thunderous applause. Gromvir stood up, gave a speech, and at the end of the address, servants came in and set up an endless buffet of tasty barbecued wild meats and rejuvenating meads.

Areela looked confusedly as Gaia grabbed a horn of mead and a large chunk of barbecued meat. “But Gaia, you don’t drink, and you are a vegetarian?” Areela objected.

Gaia smiled at her, winked and replied, “When on Goldonia, do what the dwarves do.”

Areela realised that Gaia was correct. They were guests here, and they should adapt to the local customs. So, she grabbed a horn with mead, bit on a large piece of grilled rabbit, and the ladies danced the night away.

***

As Areela woke up, she felt even heavier than when she first landed on Goldonia. Transitioning from a non-drinking vegetarian to an alcohol drinking meat-eater wasn’t easy, and the bucket next to her bed showed that she hadn’t handled it well.

The room was still blurry when Gromvir and some of his men, clad in steel, entered her room.

“My son, why are you dressed like that? What is going on?” Areela mumbled.

“We have celebrated my coronation on Goldonia. Now we need to go to war.” Gromvir said with a serious and calm tone.

“I don’t understand. Who are you going to fight?” Areela asked.

“The brother I never met, who threatens to subjugate all life in the galaxy,” Gromvir stated.

“But… But we brought you here to keep you safe. Or did Gaia lie to me?” Areela objected.

“Gaia didn’t lie, mother. I am not safe hiding here while Thorax builds his army. The safest choice is to confront him before he reaches his peak.” Gromvir replied.

Areela bit her lip and didn’t say anything. She wanted to feel anger towards Gaia and the True Maker for deceiving her. Yet, she was to blame for their situation. She was the one who had given birth to the monster, Thorax Zelinkom.

“I see. Please bring me some herbal tea. I need to recover from last night.” Areela mumbled.

“I will see to it,” Gromvir replied, turned around, and left the room together with his armed entourage.

***

Gaia studied the dozen dwarves in the back of their hovercraft on their way to Xenora. She had charged a lot of sapphires with the power of Goldonia’s Zeto Crystal. She could use the charged sapphires to give the dwarves modern Zetan weapons instead of the swords, axes, and plate mail that the dwarves wielded. Yet Gaia sensed that everything was going according to her mother’s plan. As illogical as it was to bring a group of dwarves to fight Thorax on Xenora, this was how it was destined.

Gaia tried to visualise what Thorax would look like now, many years later. He had been an ugly baby when she last saw him, a baby she had neglected when he was in her and Kailow’s care. She had been so young and in love with Kailow back then, and although their separation had broken her heart, their relationship had not been in vain. Kailow had fathered her beautiful twins who had remained in the Garden of Eden to educate and lead humankind. Gaia cried when she realised that she might never see Ava and Adan again. Yet, she had to do everything, even sacrificing her own life, to keep them and humankind safe.

In her emotional state, Gaia reflected on whether she had created the predicament she was in. Did her negligence and Thorax’s early separation from his mother drive him to become what he was, or would he have become evil nonetheless? The question was irrelevant. She could not change the past; she could only affect the future.

Areela approached Gaia and sniped, “I hope you are happy now.”

Gaia sighed and replied, “I did what I could to keep your son safe. I thought I could save him if I made him the king of Goldonia.”

“Hmph, he would be safer if you didn’t convince him to travel with his elite guard. He could have stayed on Goldonia, rallied his troops, and marched on Xenora.” Areela said.

“No, he wouldn’t be safer that way. Rallying the dwarven armies and gathering supplies for a long march would take years. Who knows what damage Thorax could cause in that time? We need to strike while Thorax is still weak. Your son chose to come with us.” Gaia replied.

Areela looked at Gromvir, who was sleeping in the back of the hovercraft. He had been determined to go, and there had been nothing she could do to convince him otherwise. “I hope you are right,” Areela stated.

“So do I,” Gaia replied, leaned back in her seat, and turned on the autopilot for the multi-day trip to Xenora.