Apotelesma

mizpah

mizpah

(n.) the deep emotional bond between people, especially those separated by distance or death

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Trigger/Content Warning: mentions missing people, brutal death, and murder. You have been warned.

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Aetherius in the early morning was eerily quiet for Anakin. With the hustle and constant action of the war, being someplace where it was quiet and peaceful was jarring. Nevertheless, he had a mission to snoop on the High Priest and figure out what he was up to.

There were a few citizens in the pews of the cathedral, heads bowed as they prayed to their patron deities. Evander was in his office with the door open; a ledger was open on his desk as he wrote fervently on the page. Anakin assumed it was financial things as he knocked on the door. "Good morning, Mr. Oberon."

The priest looked up from his work, shutting the ledger to give his full attention to the Jedi Knight. "Good morning, Anakin. I take it you're here for your religious lesson?"

He was rather straight to the point, Anakin thought. "Yes, I don't know how much longer I'll be here, so I immediately took the opportunity to learn more."

Evander smiled and stood up from his desk to exit his office. Anakin followed him into the chapel, the sun streaming in through the stain-glass window and casting colored light throughout the building. "The first key to understanding our religion is the creation story," Evander stopped in front of a tapestry of a woman and a man, holding hands with the depiction of Aetherius below them. "This is Lumen and Mora, life and time. Together, the world was gray and dull until they came together and life flourished with time. They are the parents of all Aetherian deities."

Anakin nodded, recalling that Obi-Wan had run him through the same story when they first arrived. "After that, they kind of get lost in history. Deities such as Vespat and Vis take over for a majority of our myths." Evander concluded, but his smile made the Jedi Knight uneasy.

"That's it?" the Jedi prompted, gazing at the tapestry. "They simply disappear? Considering life and time are both constant in the galaxy, there must be more to the story than that."

"There is another prophecy of Lumen and Mora," There it was. That's what Anakin had been searching for, and he found it noteworthy that the High Priest was more than willing to share this with him. "It's said that in time, Lumen and Mora will be reunited. They've been cut off from each other on our plane and on theirs. For a long time, we didn't know why, but we've concluded that it has to do with being patron deities."

When Anakin didn't speak, Evander continued. "Time is constant, no matter what, which means that Mora is always constant. But creation, Lumen," he stressed, "things can stop growing, and people, in particular, can stop progressing and growing. Therefore, should Lumen's patron pass away, their connection with our world is lost, locked away when our planet has no more growing to do." It was confusing, but the Knight could grasp the concept of it.

"Is Lumen's connection to the mortal plane still active?" Anakin asked, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. From the way Evander had explained it, he doubted that was the case.

The sigh that fell from the High Priest's lips gave him his answer. "Unfortunately Lumen has been gone from us for a long time now. Her patrons are few and scarce. I've only ever met one in my life, his Royal Highness's sister-in-law Helen Knightly. She passed away when the twins were young."