Parting Gifts

In halls of ancient stone, she waits, where she has always waited.

I entered the hall, uncertain, why the god had chosen me, of all the acolytes, to hear her final message. I knelt in front of the throne.

An aged voice said, "Arise, my child."

I gazed up at her face. The face of a god. Her watery blue eyes were set deep, surrounded by wrinkles of furless skin.

"For thousands of years, I have watched over your people, alone. My people have long since left. Now my nanoweb is failing, and my life is over."

"I don't understand. Are you hurt?"

"I am dying. But fear not. Your race will survive. And as my people gave you life itself, we leave you with gifts. But you must learn to open them yourself.

"The first gift is inside the metal pyramid outside the Capitol. The key is in Rayl's Tear.

"The second gift awaits you around The Eye of Yas.

"Our last gift is the promise to make your greatest enemy become your ally when darkness falls. And know this: You are our sons, our daughters. We will be watching. Make us proud.

"Now go."

I shook my head, wondering. Rayl's Tear is the bright spot on the greater moon...and the Eye of Yas is just a star in the sky. But if it took ten thousand years, we would claim our birthright, the last gifts of a dying god.

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