Dreamt I and two others were accidental creations of circumstance. We three had such power that the gods trembled in fear. They rose a human to prominence, gave him armor and power, and sent him to destroy us.
He befriended us instead.
We three were naive and ignorant. He taught us civilization. Literacy, the sciences, the arts, magic. He took us as his daughters.
The gods implored him to destroy us anyway. We were in control of ourselves now but if we turned an eye to the gods, we could still destroy them.
The man, we called him Father now, told us the gods were enslaving the people through falsehoods. The gods were like me and my sisters, he said. Only they were first. If they were true gods, they would have nothing to fear from us.
Free the people, commanded Father. Bring the Era of Gods to an end.
We did.
It was easy.
Father became king, lord, and emperor. He granted to us our own kingdoms to preside over. Most everyone submitted quickly to his rule. His armies crushed those that didn’t.
He used us to become immortal. We weren’t immortal before but he changed us. Before I realized what had happened, a new era of gods was upon us. The Emperor of Eternity ruled in his Palace of Perfection. We, his three daughters, were Elemental Queens. Our kingdoms became dominated by the element we had chosen for ourselves.
Father wanted us to perfect our chosen element. I was born from fire and chose to work with it. My sisters chose air and water. Father ruled over earth as it being the lowest form of matter but where the people lived.
Secretly, however, I mastered air and water. We were able to overthrow the old gods because they divided themselves into strict divisions. No flexibility. No means of adjusting their defense to meet the assault. As the main force, I saw first hand the weakness of a single defense.
Father would not have approved if he had known. His spies were everywhere but I kept them out of my kingdom. He is the Emperor of Eternity but he is not omnipotent as the people believe him to be.
Long we ruled until my sisters forgot we were once children and Father forgot he was once mortal. I didn’t forget.
The people thrived. The sciences advanced and we became patrons for them as well. My sisters did not pay attention but just granted petitions at random. I remembered how education made me more than an animal and took personal interest in the physical branches of science assigned to me.
Gunpowder? Aww yea. Combustion engines? Yes, please!
My sisters were worried that the Fire Queen would become the War Queen. I let the Air Queen take that title. The argumentative shit enjoyed such drama.
I demanded my followers learn the other elements. They found new ways to advance the sciences, including magic. They took paths reserved for the other elements and saw them in different lights. You were just as likely to hear discussions on philosophy in the halls of my temple as the sound of meditative breathing as the sound of flame.
Sometimes you would see me with them. Disguised so not to interrupt. I was centuries old and still eager to learn.
My sisters thought me foolish for playing with mortal dolls.
Father opened his eyes and realized the danger to his empire. He began to demand more from the people. Onerous and cruel commandments meant to break their spirit and crush the wave of self reliance. His spies would seek out any rumor of a godling child and kill the child without verification.
I confronted Father. He said it was for the best. He said my actions would lead to a race of gods that would destroy themselves and the land. Unchecked humanity is a monster he said.
He sent me to my kingdom and sealed the boundaries, imprisoning me and those dedicated to me. He then started purging the people of any advanced science. My sisters helped in their willful ignorance.
Father knows best, they said. Father is always right, they said. We women are inferior to his superior intellect, they said.
“Then why is he afraid of me and my people?”
I went to my people and mourned. To save them I withdrew all of my favor. “You must raise yourself and teach yourself and save yourself. As long as you carry my power, Father will rule over you. Become gods in your own way.”
I sealed myself in the inner chamber of my temple and slept in eternal flame.
~~~
The chamber walls fell, waking me. I roared in flame but the armor of the intruder did not melt. The intruder knelt and bowed.
“Holy Queen of Fire! Oh Spark of Spirit! You endure! Ages ago you sent out the Sages to restore the memory of man. You saved us from the devouring ignorance by scattering your knowledge as seeds. Destruction comes again. We need your help!”
Intrigued, I came out. The temple was being restored from centuries of neglect. The people cheered to see me. I was brought to a table where my sisters were waiting along with a delegation.
They were still young to the eye but their souls were aged and weary. “You must stop Father. He has stolen our power and our kingdoms. He has gone mad and now seeks to devour creation itself. We are empty shells. In his presence, we are puppets. You never surrendered Fire to him. The descendants of your peoples never forgot the sciences despite Father’s attempts to destroy knowledge.”
“The world is unbalanced now. There is just as great a chance that I will destroy it as I will save it. This may be the end of all things.”
“If nothing is done, that is assured.”
“Tell me, then. Tell me all Father has done. Tell me who remains and where. Then I shall decide my role.”
Tea was served.
The dream faded.