Her eyes were glued to Hikari, her head was tilted, and a small hum resonated from within her. Not mindless war machines? I doubt that.
Aqua frowned, and she leaned forward, "There is nothing you can do to make amends for what your kind has done to me. Your goddess is a despicable existence that deserves to be expunged from the world."
She spoke about the unknown goddess with disdain, making Hikari reel back. She felt the power emanating from Aqua.
However, she refused to show fear, instead, she stared into Aqua's blue eyes with a serious expression. "I do not know what happened, but please do not insult my goddess. I can tell you dislike me for some reason, but Lady Lan is truly wonderful. I know you are a reasonable woman. Please think before you insult me. Did I personally do anything to warrant such ire?"
No reason? No reason?! Aqua screamed internally. The woman was making her blood boil; however, she could tell that her behavior was unacceptable. She should not antagonize gods nor their willing slaves.
"I suppose, but—" Her sentence was interrupted by the only blessed child she could tolerate.
"Lady Hikari, please forgive Aqua's outburst. Blessed Children and her… have history." Azure defended Aqua.
"Hm, I can tell. I am not insulted, but I am curious. I was serious about punishing them. I am aware of how some blessed children operate, especially Ilya. I personally only recently arrived in this kingdom, but I know Ilya was supposed to come too due to her goddess' decree."
Azure leaned on Aqua's shoulder. "Come on, Aqua. She might be a blessed child but I am one too aren't I?"
Aqua grumbled and turned her gaze toward the door. "I suppose I can tolerate her if Azu says so..."
The priestess smiled warmly, "Perfect, it means we can become friends eventually, and also…" Her gaze snapped to Azu. "I did not realize you were also a blessed child, Lady Hallowshield. May I ask which god you serve?"
Aqua pretended not to hear the disgusting words coming out of Hikari's mouth.
"I…" Azure's eyes darted around. It was unwise to speak of Laleyn in public.
"I will tell you later on, Lady Hikari."
Hikari rubbed her chin and smiled. "That's fine, I suppose it's one of the more feared deities, but we must learn to give respect to all gods equally, be they considered evil or good. We, mere mortals, do not know why they behave in the way they do, for their will is beyond our comprehension."
The words made Aqua scoff and turn her gaze away from the elven priestess.
Soon after the doors of the classroom opened, an elf of shorter stature strutted into the room. He quickly took the stage and spoke. "Greetings, students of Onost Academy. I am Zora. I will be your instructor on religion and also your homeroom teacher."
All gathered students focused on the man, his stance was straight and resolute. His eyes scrutinized everyone present. "First, let me make one thing clear to you all. No matter what rank of nobility you are, you are equal in this institution." His gaze met Aqua's and then Azure's.
"Even if you are the champion or a royal, it matters not. What matters to me as your instructor is that you have a deep lust for learning."
Aqua's grin widened, and she nodded. She leaned forward and focused on the instructor's words.
I am curious, tell me everything.
The teacher put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth on his stand. "Let me not waste more of your time. You joined a class on Religion because you wish to deepen your knowledge of religious practices and general knowledge of those great entities who rule our lives."
"Most of you already know of your family patron. However, we must know them all, lest we displease a being whose very appearance could shatter our world."
The man was right, the gods were fickle entities that could and would destroy entire cities if they were displeased, thus it made a great deal of sense that the students would be taught to revere every single one.
"First, while most of you are familiar with it, I will start from the very beginning of our mythology."
He cleared his throat and raised his arms toward the students, "Before all things, there was Peron. The entity of tremendous power that ruled over all that was divine. His majesty and wisdom brought the light upon the world."
Aqua almost snorted at the speech, ignoring Hikari's glances.
"Yet, when this world was bathed in light, he grew lonely. His deepest wish was to share the world with ones he could call equal, thus he had taken upon him the branch of the world tree and pierced his own heart."
"When his blood rained upon this realm, it mixed with the moon and the stars. Soon after, figures of clay emerged."
"These figures soon became gods, their power dwarfed by the father yet vast."
"From the clay emerged Lady of Night and Lady of Dawn. Each moved the sun and the moon, serving as the cycle for all mortals."
"In that cycle the moon spawned a goddess who brought the calamity of frost to the new world. A goddess we must not name lest we bring that same calamity upon us."
"Her appearance gave birth to a heretical forces that was all Peron despised. Death and Monsters." His voice grew grim.
"In his great mercy, Peron refused to grant the mortal creatures the finality of death, instead, he tore out his rib, and soon a single bone grew into the one we know as the Keeper. Mortas, the god of Death."
"However, the chief deity bled, and where that blood fell upon this earth, rose another entity, shrouded in billowing cloaks and its face hidden. The god of magic, Runas. He is the regulator and one who has granted us the power of mana."
Aqua suppressed her laugh, her eyes squinting at the teacher. The knowledge was far from true, yet it was what most elves believed.
The instructor continued, speaking, introducing 12 greater deities that would have been a possible threat to her.
Runas seems to be the reason I couldn't track them, considering his title.
However, despite greater gods being a threat, what worried her was Peron, if the genesis the professor spoke about held any resemblance of truth, then he was on the same level as the Supreme God, and possibly even higher.
Why would a parasite give pieces of himself to empower others?
Her cheek puffed, and she leaned back.
Zora stopped his pacing, and his gaze washed over everyone present. "Tell me now, why do we consider some deities to be evil, and some to be good? And why do we worship even those who are considered evil?"
The silence fell over the classroom.
"Anyone?"
Nobody dared answer until Hikari raised her hand. "I can answer, teach."
"Ah, Hikari, was it? One of our top scores, please tell us."
"Because evil is completely subjective, even someone who could be considered evil like the Lady of Night, would be revered and worshipped by those dwelling in the night. If a god acts like a guide for a group, they would consider it good, and if a different god acts in opposition, then they are evil. Lady of Night guides many tribes of the beastment, and to them she would be a pinnacle of good."
"That is correct, Miss Hikari." He gripped the stand. "There is no reason an offering shouldn't be made to a god merely because we believe them evil. Tell me, would you want any deity looking at you unfavorably? I would not advise it." Zora's lips widened into a grin.
"When one dies, homage must be given to the Keeper, and when one sails through the moon-lit seas, they must pray to the lady of the night lest they be lost in the sea. While our kingdom lacks the overarching patron, most of us have their protection on a personal level."
Do they not have a tyrant ruling over their kingdom? It makes sense, I suppose. Aqua refrained from speaking. The last thing she needed was to make more enemies out of her own kin.
"In this class, we will explore the practices and each of god's preferred offerings as a way to appease them. You, as nobles, have a duty to make sure your people do not anger the divine."
The classroom was silent, nobody dared interrupt their instructor.
Azure nodded along while sneaking glances at her crush.
Meanwhile, Aqua stared at Hikari, making sure she was not planning anything bad.
"Would you like to share notes, Lady Aqua?" Hikari smiled warmly at her and slid over her parchment filled with important, albeit basic information.
"I suppose that is fine." She reluctantly inched closer to the elven priestess.
She doesn't feel evil like the actual slaves of divinity.