Chapter 6.

 

    I wandered through the dreamscape of my mind. The vivid colors washed over me as I wandered through forests and along beaches. I was partially aware that I was dreaming, in only the vaguest of senses. Until I felt a hand on my shoulder. A soft female hand brought my awareness of the dream world into full focus. As the seafoam green waves lapped at the shore of a purple sand beach, I turned around, and a beautiful woman was standing behind me.

 

    “Hello, Eric. It’s nice to finally get the chance to talk to you properly.” The slim and curvy black-haired woman said, her eyes burning sapphire.

 

    “Hi. I’m…dreaming? Are you real?” I asked.

 

    “Yes, Eric, you are dreaming, and this interaction is real or at least as real as it can be. I am the Goddess Amara.”

 

    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Amara. I’m Eric, though I suppose you already knew that. I think I have heard your voice before?” I asked.

    

“Yes, you have; I am glad you remembered. As you fell through the sea of chaos, I was able to momentarily alter your course and send you here to the planet Forduna. Please take a seat; we have much to discuss.” As she said, the last her loose white dress shifted from elegantly flowing around her body to a sheer white bikini, with a wave of her hand, lounge beach chairs formed, with an umbrella and a small table with drinks. I sat next to the Goddess as my attire shifted to beachwear as well.

  

    “So, Amara, what are you the goddess of, or do you not have an archetype?” I asked, just like you lamely ask someone what they do for a living.

 

    She chuckled, “I am the Goddess of love, hearth, and home. I am worshipped in many different forms throughout the multiverse, but in this form, as Amara, there are only a few universes that worship me as such. But that’s beside the point of this meeting. I need your help, so few wanderers and world walkers make it this far out on the branches of the universal tree. You really did a number on the realm of chaos by how far and forcefully you traveled. I only had to give you a little push at the end to get you here.”

 

     “If you mean that racketing hit at the end as I fell through chaos, I don’t think I would call that just a little push,” I said, smirking at the Goddess.

 

    “Well, for a big strong man like you, I bet it was no more than a nudge,” Amara said with a playful twinkle in her eye. “But more to the point, Eric, this world Forduna is one of the closest strongholds to the void. It is a young universe compared to the universes that grow closer to the core and main branches. Forduna, though it is new, has weathered enough attacks from the creatures that live on the outer edges of the void to become a stronghold against the void itself.” She paused and looked at me carefully to make sure I was understanding.

 

    “Ok, so you bashed me much farther out along the universal tree than I could have gotten on my own. To a realm that is under attack from void lurkers. The beings of madness that linger at the edge of what is sane, in order to…? Save the world?” I said sardonically. ‘I had expected something like this, what’s arriving in a new world with magic without a little world-saving and a quest from a goddess.’ I thought.

 

    “Well, is a little world-saving so bad?”

 

    “Uh, what?”

 

    “You do know we are in your dream, in your mind. I can read your mind….” Amara trailed off, smiling at me.

   

 “Oh…yeah.”

 

    “Ha, so back on topic. No, nothing so grand, though I suppose in the long run maybe, depending on how you look at it and define world-saving.” She said with a funny tilt of her head. 

 

    “So, if no world-saving, then what?” I asked.

 

    “I need you to save my high priestess. More so, I need you to save her from the twisted ravishing’s the people of Forduna would put her through, breaking her body, the mind, and finally her soul.” A sad, sorrowful look filled her face as she continued to speak. “I told you this universe is young; thus, the Gods and Goddess’s have not had enough time to fully integrate ourselves. This leaves us woefully weak and unable to act to our full potential. Even me a goddess who is revered and worshipped in thousands of universes as one of the most- high, I am only considered a lesser goddess on Forduna.”

 

    “Why I may be rough around the edges, but even I can see the value in love, hearth, and home?”

 

     “That is a very complex question, Humm.” She said, tapping her finger against her lips. “How much of this am I allowed to explain? Ahh, well, here it goes. These universes that are constantly attacked due to their proximity to the void become brutal places. Humans get transplanted everywhere in the multiverse. One of humanity’s defining qualities is the ability to match the cruelty, barbarity, and many other things in these new universes. Giving them the ability to adapt, survive and thrive. This can create some truly twisted societies. That is where the divines come in; as humans worship and refine their understanding of the God’s and Goddess’s, we help smooth out the rough and craggy edges of humanity. Forduna is one such world.” She paused, taking a sip of her drink.

 

    “Shit sounds about right,” I said, taking a drink as well. 

 

    “Yes. On Forduna, many evils abound. Slavery, and not just the contracted kind of the mind, or the chains of the body, but soul slavery, and all of the horrors and degradations that go along with it. The sentient races all brutally wage war against each other. As if that was not enough, a Goddess of love, hearth, and home is seen as no better than worshiping a Goddess of good slavery. Or some heretical goddess, whose members are treated as if they worshiped as cultists. My followers are branded and shunned; Nothing more than useful slaves who love to be abused until they renounce me and scream, ‘I never worshipped her, never!’” She was standing now, tears soaking her cheeks and pain-filled her features. 

 

    I was on the edge of my seat and felt truly stricken for the Goddess. I did the only thing I could think to do. I stood and wrapped her in my arms. She silently sobbed against my chest for a few minutes before I lifted her chin with my right hand. I leaned down and softly kissed her. I was surprised as hell by my actions, but what the fuck did I really have to lose. It seemed to be the right thing to do. 

 

    My guess was rewarded after a second when Amara began to kiss me back. It was wonderful, and I recommend kissing a Goddess if you ever get the chance. She tasted like the relief of falling into your favorite chair by a fire after a long day of work. A loving and doting wife bustling about the kitchen on the holidays. Nights of passion between lovers. The deep secrets shared between partners over pillow tops at night; Warm tea, and the familiar conversation with a loved one on a porch during the rain. As the kiss finally broke, I said, “Of course I will help you; A world without you, Amara is a world with none of the deep joys that make life worth living.”

 

    “I promise you won’t be disappointed; my high priestess will make an excellent slave for you,” Amara said as our embrace slackened, and she gazed up at me.

 

    “I am no fan of slavery,” I said, stern unrest in my voice.

 

    “I know…I know, but unfortunately, there is little I can do right now about it. As she has already been branded.”

    

    “Well, is there anything you can tell me about her so I can find her?” I asked.

 

    “She comes from the minor nobility in the north of the empire you find yourself in now. Per their laws, whenever a noble family fails at their duties, in this case, her father and brothers failed to defend their holding from a raid by orcs. They killed most of them, but the town and holding were sacked. For her father’s failings, she is now being sentenced to a life of slavery and servitude. The attack came just before her inheritance day when she was to turn eighteen and formally inherit her titles. Now she and her three handmaids will be transported to the capital and sold to make up for her father’s crimes.”

 

    “That’s fucked up like really fucked up. When will she arrive in this capital?” I asked.

 

    “In just over 35 days, she will arrive at the auction house. She is human, with light brown hair. She has the symbol of my followers branded on the tops of each of her hands, a pair of hearts intertwined, and her name is Sarah. Her maids are a lavender-skinned star elf, with light blue hair, with my symbol branded just above her right breast, her name is Enya. A kitsune demi-human named Yarie’a, with the loveliest pink fur and five tails with red tips, she has my symbol branded on her left cheek; and a wolfkin demi-human named Daisey, with silver hair and a black tip on her tail, she is branded over her belly button.” As Amara spoke, her eyes filled with love, joy, and sadness.

 

    “So, let me get this straight. You need me to rescue your high priestess and her handmaidens so you do not lose your foothold in this world and have it fall into the torments of eternal darkness. I need to make it to this capital in thirty-five days. Find the auction house where they are to be sold, gain enough money to buy Sarah and her handmaidens Enya, Yarie’a, and Daisey, one of who also happen to be nobles being sold into slavery; then keep them safe?” I said, listing them off one by one on my finger.

 

    “Yes, will you do it?” Amara asked.

 

    “Well, I suppose I needed a quest. Yes, I will.” I said, making up my mind. 

 

    “Thank you, Eric. This has taken most of my power in this iteration of reality, and I am afraid I will not be able to speak with you for a long time. Our time is running out. I will do my best to try and reward you in the future.” Amara said as I felt the power of the dream world beginning to dissolve. As the beach and waves began to liquefy, Amara reached her hand up and lightly stroked my cheek as all faded into blackness.