A visit to ZoroAster

Ever since they had arrived in the city the night before, Meran had been wondering why all these women had been wandering around with parasols. It looked so silly. Most of them even had a parasol to match their dress. Why were they even wearing anything? It was the middle of summer, for crying out loud!

But now, in the middle of this square with its white stones and white buildings which reflected the light of the sun right back at her, Meran began to realize those parasols were not only there for their silly looks. If only she had something to block out the sun for a little bit... but there were no trees here to offer her shade and the sun was so high the shadows cast by the buildings were too small to hide her.

And she had promised Câlin she'd wait here for her. Yea, that had been a smart decision. Not. Besides, what was taking her sister so long? She was only going to arrange a visit to the library. That shouldn't be taking hours, and it sure felt like that was exactly how long Câlin had been inside. Meran stared at the building that housed the office of permissions. Apparently, Câlin had to go there to get permission to visit the library.

Meran's thoughts trailed back to the old book Câlin had taken from Furan. It had taken them weeks to figure out what it said. And it had been a bit of a disappointment. Yes, the book was about the Supreme Goddess Vitalia, but as old as it was it had not taught them anything particularly new. Nothing, except one little tidbit. It suggested the existence of a book called “the blood of the Goddess”.

No, they had no clue what it was about. But that had never stopped Câlin before, and it definitely was not stopping her now. So now here she was, inside the office, trying to get permission to search the royal library of ZoroAster. Because the only other tidbit of information the old book had given them was that the “blood of the Goddess” had been stolen by the High Kings. Right. So if they still had it, it had to be here.

Finally, Meran saw her sister emerge from the office. She quickly trotted towards Câlin, carefully avoiding the other ponies in the square.
“Câlin! Câlin!” Meran shouted.
 “Did it work? Did we get permission to enter the library?” She asked, but Câlin ignored her completely as she walked quickly over the square, towards the alley that led to their hotel.

“I guess not.” Meran muttered as she followed her sister.
“Hey, Câlin! CÂLIN! Wait up!” She yelled, all but galloping after her.
“What?!” Câlin said as Meran had finally caught up with her.
Wow, okay. It was not often that Câlin forgot to disable her ability to speak right into a persons mind. As a child, Câlin had not known she even did this, but as she grew up, she learned to control it for it had a tendency to severely upset ponies who were not used to it.

“Well, you know. Did it work out? I mean, I guess not, but...”
“No, it didn't! I had to fill out all these forms and all, and as soon as they realized why I was there I got all but kicked out! It took all I had to have them explain to me that the book was in the restricted section, meaning I can only get in if we get explicit permission from the High King himself!” Câlin spat.

“Okay. The High King. Sure. So... we're on our way to the palace now?” Meran asked, wondering if that really was this easy.
“No. That stupid idiot decided to leave. Yesterday morning. For a trip to the Friendship Lands! You got any idea how long that will take? It will be months before he gets back!” Wow, it really had been a long time since she had seen her sister this angry.

“Okay, okay. So... what's the plan now, sis? You're not going to sneak in and steal it, are you?” Meran whispered, suddenly terrified that that was exactly what was on her sister's mind right now.
“Of course not. The royal library is too well protected, and if they ever catch me... well.” Meran sighed with relief. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

“So now what? We wait?” She asked as they crossed a street filled with little stalls selling junk to tourists.
“I don't know, okay? Maybe.” Câlin snapped as she continued to walk.
“Why don't you just calm down? If you don't know, why don't we just enjoy the city for a bit?” Meran suggested.
“Enjoy the city?” Câlin said as if this was a concept she had never even heard before.
“Yea. You know. Wander around a bit, go sightseeing. We're here now anyway, and it's not like we have anything better to do while we figure out where to go next.”

Finally, Câlin halted.
“I guess...”
“Oh, come on Câlin. It's a beautiful day, and were in this ancient city with all these wonderful things to see. Here, I even got this silly map while you were in that office...”
Meran pulled out the map from her bag, which she had gotten for free from a stall. Apparently it showed the entire city, and had markings for all the special things to see.

“Show me that.” Câlin said as she snatched the map. She opened it, and together they studied it.
“Well, see? There's plenty of wonderful things to see and do here. How about the palace? Or the museum of the history of ZoroAster! Or what about this park here? It's said to be an oasis of peace in the middle of this large city, and on summer days they have music playing, I overheard ponies say. Or what about...”

Meran knew her sister saw it at the same time she did.
“The temple of the Supreme Goddess...”
“Wow. Got to admit, did not see that one coming.” Meran confessed.
There was a temple for the Goddess? Here? Without wasting another word, Câlin began to walk in the general direction of the temple. Meran reluctantly followed.

As it turned out, the temple wasn't in the most thriving part of town. The streets were small and the houses cramped together, not even remotely resembling the large mansions Meran had seen in other parts of the city. Still, compared to other places she had visited in her life, it wasn't too bad. The streets were clean and the ponies she met looked happy.

The temple of the Goddess was a building unlike any other, though. Made out of pure white stones which had not been cleaned in a while, the oval-shaped building stood in the middle of a small garden. A road of yellow gravel led to the temple. As they got closer, Meran noticed markings on the side of the building which looked like letters she could not read.

“Do you think we can enter?” Meran asked, but Câlin had already opened the small fence that separated the garden from the road.
“I guess that's a yes.” Meran said as she followed her sister over the path. The door of the temple was made of wood but painted white to match the rest of the building. Next to the door hung a sign with basic information about the temple.

Apparently, it was build a thousand years ago to replace the old temple which had been destroyed in a fire. Even then, the Goddess was no longer widely worshiped, so this temple was only one fourth the size of the original. Several statues that were saved from the original were on display in the historical museum.

Another sign explained about the Supreme Goddess Vitalia. According to the sign, although she was now widely believed to be nothing but a legend, Vitalia represented the Creator, she who gave life and who protects it. Ponies worshiped her because they hoped she would bless their lives and they hoped she would protect and guard them against peril.

Legend, indeed. When Meran was done reading, she noticed her sister had already entered the temple. She followed and once inside, she noticed the entire temple was one large hall. In the middle stood a large statue of a winged unicorn, her wings spread out as she soared towards the skies. At the highest point of the ceiling was a glass window, so the sunlight toughed the statue's wings.

Against the wall stood several other smaller statues and artifacts, all with similar signs explaining what they were. As Meran walked around she noticed most were little books of prayer and smaller statues ponies used to have in their houses.
“It's more like a museum...” Meran whispered.
“It is. Nobody worships here anymore.” Câlin agreed.

“That's not completely true.” A male voice said.
Meran looked up, startled, as she thought they had been all alone. He was a guard... or maybe a curator of the temple, judging by his outfit.
“It isn't?” Câlin asked, obviously surprised.
“Well, it used to be true. Until the resurrection of the guardians fifteen years ago, this was nothing more than a museum... a memorial of a religion long forgotten. But ever since those ladies in the east summoned the guardians back to the earth, some ponies began to remember the stories they were once told... and some come here to pray to that goddess they thought did not exist.”

“So it's real then? Vitalia... the Supreme Goddess exists?” Meran asked. She didn't doubt that fact. She had never doubted it. She had seen Câlin's wings. She had met a guardian. She had no doubt. But that did not mean other ponies also believed.
“Who knows? For years, for centuries, ponies believed the Guardians were nothing but a legend... But they're here now.”

“But once, long ago... this was a real shrine, right? The Goddess was the only thing ponies worshiped. Vitalia... and her Guardians... but none of those shrines actually survived. I must say I am surprised this one still exists.” Câlin said as she gazed at the large statue in the center of the temple.

“It's because of the High Kings... they wanted this shrine to remain, as a memory to different times. The High Kings got their powers from the Guardians themselves, or so the legend says. Maybe they thought they could keep living on that claim if the shrine remained... Or something like that. But it's not like this is the only shrine that still exists today. Or the largest one, for that matter.”

“There are more?” Câlin asked.
Well, Meran had to admit she was genuinely surprised now. She had known there had been shrines, but as far as she knew they had all disappeared.
“Oh, yes. But they have all fallen into ruin, and not much remains of their former glory. The only one not yet completely destroyed is the shrine on Kajime island.”

“Kajime island?” Meran asked. She had never heard of it before.
“It officially belongs to the country of Yore, in the south. It's an island in the ocean. Nobody lives there. Local legends say the island is haunted now, so no one ever goes there. But once, that island was one large shrine to the Goddess Vitalia. Ponies that lived on that island devoted their entire lives to the Goddess, maintaining her statues and helping ponies who came to worship her. But not much remains of that now... The island is overgrown and only ruins remain.”

“I see... Well, thank you. Thank you for all the information you have given us. Have a pleasant day.” Câlin said as she walked out of the door.
“It was my pleasure, young lady.” The guard smiled as Meran followed her sister. Câlin was walking slower now, so at least she had calmed down from her earlier disappointment.

“Câlin? I suppose I will have to pack my bags again?” Meran guessed.
“Yea. That island sounds interesting. It's probably nothing, but we have nothing better to do until that High King returns. Yore lies south of here... if I recall correctly, it's a coastal kingdom, which has been thriving the past few years. It shouldn't take that long to travel there and get back here. We can easily go there and get back before Takato returns.”

Câlin sounded confident, and Meran knew what that meant. She had made up her mind and would not be changing it any time soon, unless a better alternative presented itself. And here she was, hoping she could maybe go back to their father this winter. They hadn't seen him for so long now...
“Yea. Okay. I understand.” Meran agreed reluctantly, knowing she couldn't change her sister's opinion. And she wouldn't leave her behind to go alone, either.

“Is it okay if we leave tomorrow? I'd like to explore the city a bit more.” Meran asked, hoping Câlin would at least give in this much.
“Yea. That's okay. I want to look around a bit too... maybe see what the public library has to offer. How about I meet you for dinner at the hotel tonight?” Câlin suggested.
“Yea. Sure. See you then!”

As Meran watched her sister walk away, she tried to remember the last time they had taken their time to stay in one place for more than a week. It had been months ago, when they had worked on a farm to earn some money. Well, maybe they could stay here a bit longer once Câlin got access to the library. If she got access. Until then, Meran decided she would send a letter to their father, Kiyoi. It had been too long, she thought, as she took off to find a post office.