“You mean brand identity,” I corrected.
“That too,” Rhylan agreed, unwilling to accept his initial error. This male was as vain as Snow White’s stepmother.
“What do I do if you say something stupid? Or if I want to comment or protest?” I enquired, more to annoy him than anything else.
“What would you do at work?” he frowned.
“Fine, I’ll listen to you and write down my questions.” I finally agreed and pointed towards the maps again, urging him to start.
We had another four and a half hours of this flight and I was firmly convinced Rhylan would make sure I landed with a full-on headache and a thousand more reasons to be upset and angry with him. But he looked willing to finally tell me whatever it was he needed from me, and I couldn’t say no, because all I wanted was a way back to Ansgar.
Even though I wasn’t convinced at the beginning of the journey, I understood now that Rhylan wouldn’t have wasted so much time if it weren’t real. I had done my best to annoy him and stop him in his tracks on every occasion, and he still looked determined to deal with me, for whatever purpose.
It could only mean one thing, that I had some kind of power here, and although I did not understand it, I planned to use it and take back the man I loved.
“Belgarath was the first god,” Rhylan started and I settled back, holding my notepad and getting ready to retain any useful information.
“He created the world from nothing, having onlythe chaosas company. For many millennia, he remained alone, crafting and sculpting, modelling his creation. We do not know what made him determined to do so, some of our scholars think it was solitude or the need of a partner, but he searched the earth for something. Something that was missing.
No matter how hard he worked, how ingeniously he created or how thoroughly he planned, the god did not feel the joy of his creation, because part of himself missed.”
I remained silent, as Rhylan requested, taking notes on the pad he had provided. None of this was in the books I’d found or theinternet pages and videos I had lived to search for. He was telling me the truth, for once. I hoped…
“Years must have passed, another millennium maybe until he discovered what made him so unhappy. The lack of a partner, which he did not think to make. You see, even the mightiest god felt the need for company and did not think to create it for himself. Because what use would it be, to alter another part of yourself, just to have the conversations already happening inside your mind?” He paused for a moment, as though this last phrase described more than the god’s life, but his own.
“Not having found what he needed, Belgarath stopped. He stopped and released all his anger, his fears, his desire for company into the world, and along with it, he gave something he did not plan to. A tear.”
“A tear? As in, he cried?” I heard myself speak, but Rhylan did not seem to mind.
“He did not cry, the gods do not cry like humans and nowadays faeries do. It was only one tear, a single one that escaped his eye and travelled down to his cheek, to fall on the ground. It was because of this gesture, a symbol of release, of the deepest feeling from his own soul, that it possessed so much power. Belgarath summoned his deepest desire with that tear, the need for companionship.”
“What happened?” I asked. Clearly, me staying quiet did not really work.
“A goddess appeared. The first amongst the goddesses. Marynnah, she was called.” Rhylan continued to point at the lines he had drawn on paper for me, following a trail that marked the appearance of the goddess.
“The goddess of water,” I added.
“She became that, too. But for a long time, she was Belgarath’s wife and partner. The gods did everything together and he loved her so much that he created the oceans for her and all the water on the planet. For her delight.”
“What about all the other planets? Some of them have water too. Where did that come from?” I asked, struggling to wrap my mind around the science, which I had studied at school and their story of creation, which I would have considered a fairy-tale were it not for the proof of their very existence.
“I do not have all the answers, Anwen,” Rhylan responded slightly disappointed. “There are theories in which the god decided to abandon his home and create a brand new one and others that state he received the assignment of earth from his rulers. I do not have the answers to the universe, I wish I did,” he sighed. “What I can tell you is what I know. The story of the four gods and how this world came to be.”
I nodded, pushing him to tell me more.
“Unfortunately, after a long time, Marynnah started being haunted by the same demons that left her husband. As he busied himself with working on his creation, she felt lonely at times and wished to have someone to converse with. The goddess told her husband this and Belgarath was pained to see his partner suffering, especially since he knew what heavy feelings her heart had to carry. So he created another goddess, a sister for his wife. Zaleen.”
“The goddess of wind,” I said excitedly, proud that I knew the information.
Rhylan nodded and smiled. “Goddess Zaleen proved good company for a long while and the two sisters enjoyed each other’s company above all else.”
“Did Belgarath marry her too?” I asked quickly, ready toexperience judgemental feelings towards the maker of the earth.
“No, Belgarath and Zaleen were not very fond of each other. The only reason she existed was to make his wife happy when the god travelled and worked, and the only one he truly loved was Marynnah. Which is why the betrayal hurt so much.”
“What betrayal?” I escaped a breath. Clearly, Rhylan had accepted the fact that I would speak as and when I wanted to, because he looked fairly unaffected by my interruptions.
“Even with Zaleen, Marynnah could not find complete happiness. After all, she existed from Belgarath himself and had his powers, so one day, while she and her sister spent the day swimming the waters, Marynnah started crying, releasing all her frustrations into the sea. And an entire world bloomed. Everything there is and has been in the waters appeared from that moment. The creation of living beings.”
