THE GODDESS: BOOK ONE
THE WAR YEARS
PROLOGUE
“Over fifteen hundred years ago, after creating the heavens and earth and all its wonders, the goddess Sophia looked down on her creations and saw a man. Intrigued, she decided to take the form of a human female, come to earth, and get to know him. Eventually, they fell in love and she found herself with child. When she revealed to the man who she really was, he fled in fear and hid from her. Heartbroken, she returned to heaven, mourning her loss. And, in her heartbreak and anger, she cursed the man, and all his descendants, to a life of toil and tribulation, ending in death and the corruption of the body.
“When her time to deliver came, she gave birth to a beautiful woman child. This child was imbued with the best of both her parents. As she grew, the great goddess taught her all wisdom and showed her the secrets of the gods. Then, one day the woman child looked down on the earth and saw a gray old man, bent with age. Calling her mother, she pointed him out and our goddess saw the man she loved.
“She flew to his side and the two renewed their love. Every day was better than the last and their love grew stronger and deeper. Being a goddess, she was immortal but he was not. Then one day, she went to meet the man but he wasn’t there. She looked for him and finally found him at his home, in his bed. When she approached him, she saw that something was wrong. She bent and held him as he slowly breathed his last. Our goddess’ heart broke when his heart stopped beating.
“She laid his body to rest and returned to her home in heaven where their daughter was waiting. Heartbroken she told her daughter of the man’s death and her unwillingness to go on without him. When she finished, she resolved to join her lover in death and renounced her immortality. Lying on her bed, she gave up the ghost and the lovers were reunited in death for all eternity.
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"Before she died, the goddess passed her power and divinity on to her daughter; instructing her to love and care for the earth and all her devoted followers. But there was an unforeseen problem in that the daughter was not wholly a goddess. Although her life span far surpassed that of ordinary mortals, her human half would keep her from being immortal and, like her parents before her, she too would die.
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“Our goddess realized this and made the following promise to her followers: from then until the end of time, there would always be a new young girl imbued with the spirit of the one, true goddess, to carry on caring for the world. And so, as we lay the last embodiment of our beloved Sophia to rest, we begin the search for her successor. Let us pray that the spirit of our loving goddess will guide us to the proper choice.”
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As he finished, the Great Prophet nodded and the top of the sarcophagus was lowered into place with a resounding thud. After a moment of silence, the procession of mourners began filing out of the temple, somber music preceding them. The last to leave was the Great Prophet, the High Priest, and the High Priestess. The prophet closed the door to the mausoleum with a sigh.
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Once the dignitaries had gone the prophet went to his manor and began drafting the official announcement. After many false starts he completed the task. He met with the High Priest and High Priestess and gave them the announcement for review. After approving it, they celebrated with a toast… and dinner. As soon as the official mourning period was over the messengers began travelling to every town and village, announcing the search for the new goddess. Four months after the funeral, seven-year-old Maria Russo was selected to become Her Holiness, Sophia XIII.
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CHAPTER ONE
Seven years had passed since Maria had become the goddess and empress Sophia XIII. Once she was selected, she and her family moved to the goddess’ palace in the capitol city of Sophia. During the day, while Sophia was in meetings and ruling the empire, her mother, Martina, spent her time working with the temple to care for the poor, especially the children. Sophia had lost count of the times a poor family with children were invited to the palace for a meal and a warm place to sleep. She didn’t mind but, there were times when having strangers in the palace was inconvenient, to say the least.
Her father, whose name was Ernesto, spent his days roaming around the capitol city and the surrounding countryside. His favorite pastime was talking to people in the market. Even after four years of living in the city, he was still a simple farmer at heart.
Maria had an older brother too. His name was Salvatore. He turned 17 on his last birthday. He too had grown. He was now 17 3/4 hands and just over 13 stones. Sophia didn’t get see much of him anymore because he had become a cadet in the military and was assigned to an outpost near the northern border. Even though she didn’t see him very much, they corresponded almost weekly.
Many other things had changed but none more than Sophia herself. She had grown to 16 hands and eight stones. Puberty arrived and Sophia was beginning to look more like the woman she would be and less like the child she had been. Unfortunately, along with puberty, acne came too. To Sophia, it seemed acne had ravaged her face but her mother told her it really wasn’t that bad. All in all, Sophia’s life wasn’t all that different than any other girl her age. But all that changed in the blink of an eye.
Spring had just begun and the crocuses were beginning to bloom when Sophia faced her first challenge as empress. She was having a bad morning, Elisa, her personal assistant who had been with her since the selection process, was ill and her replacement had woken her late so she had to rush getting ready for the day ahead. Breakfast ended up being a glass of milk and a roll with butter on the way to the morning meeting.
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When Maria was selected to become the empress of Sophia, she learned that the government ministers were called cardinals. There were six cardinals; one for foreign affairs, one for internal affairs, one for the needs of agriculture and another for commerce and business. There was a cardinal for treasury and another for security. Then she learned there was no cardinal in charge of the military because they were run by the field marshals and admirals. The Great Prophet, whose name was Umberto De Santis, introduced each and they all pledged to her their loyalty and undying devotion.
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Then the Great Prophet introduced the arch bishops. There were thirteen arch bishops and each was in charge of a province, the thirteenth was in charge of the capital. The arch bishops then introduced her to the bishops. They were in charge of regions or cities inside the provinces. Together with the arch bishops, they were the People’s Advisory Committee and it was their job to bring the concerns of the people to the goddess and her College of Cardinals.
The first thing she did every morning was to meet with her College of Cardinals. As Sophia walked into the meeting everyone dropped to their knees, as they did whenever she entered a room. She was used to this by now but it sometimes irritated her. She waved the gesture off and sat in her seat before she looked around. All of a sudden, she realized there were more military officials there than normal. She gave High Priest Domenico Caputo a quizzical look and he said, “Your Holiness, Field Marshal Domenic Scalera has some news for us.”
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The Field Marshal got to his feet and approached the conference table. He bowed to Sophia and began, “Your Holiness, members of the council, I come before you at the behest of Field Marshal Pietro Brunelli, commander-in-chief of our military. He has asked me to brief you on an incursion across our northern border by the Tananian army.”
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There was complete silence in the room. Sophia asked, “Tanane? Aren’t they supposed to be our allies?”
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"There was a coup there two years ago and the new regime doesn’t like us very much. It has to do with a war we fought about a hundred years ago or so,” Cardinal Luciano Violante, the Foreign Affairs Cardinal, told her.
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Field Marshal Scalera continued, “Their army came over the border in the middle of the night with a force estimated to be approximately thirty thousand men. At dawn yesterday they attacked Forte Coraggio, killing most of the garrison there. Currently, they are marching on Apria. We estimate they should be there by tomorrow morning. Field Marshal Brunelli is responding but he won’t be there until the day after tomorrow and he only has five thousand men.”
There was complete silence. No one could believe what they’d just heard. High Priest Caputo asked, in barely a whisper, “How many dead?”
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“There were seven hundred officers and men assigned to Forte Coraggio. Of that number, we estimate five hundred dead and the others either injured and left for dead or captured.”
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Silence ensued. Sophia couldn’t look at the field marshal. She asked the table, “And my friend, Lieutenant Russo?”
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The field marshal took a long time to answer, “I’m sorry, Your Holiness, I have not received the casualty list yet. It could be he is one of the prisoners, we just don’t know.”
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“What does Field Marshal Brunelli plan to do when he gets there,” the high priest asked.
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“While Field Marshal Brunelli is marching to meet the invaders, Field Marshal Luigi Di Guglielmo has ordered all regional commanders to send as many troops as they can to Apria to join his forces. We hope to be able to have one hundred thousand officers and men in Apria in a week to ten days. In the meantime, he plans on a campaign of harassing the enemy. I’m sorry goddess, we cannot get our forces there any faster.”
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Sophia whispered to the high priest, “Uncle Domenico, how am I going to tell my parents?” She called all her advisors uncle or aunt because she thought it would be rude for a young person, such as herself, to call an adult by their first name. This way, she felt, she could use their first names without being impertinent.
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The high priest squeezed her hand as an answer. Finally, Cardinal Chiara Michelotti, who was the Interior Affairs Cardinal, asked, “Field Marshal, what about the dragoons? Or, maybe the temple guards? Can they be sent to help? Would they be able to get there faster?”
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“The dragoons are among Field Marshal Brunelli’s forces. Their scouts are the ones who arrived at Forte Coraggio first and sent back reports of the massacre.”
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“Cardinal Violante, can any of our allies help,” Sophia asked.
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The foreign affairs cardinal said, “Your Holiness, if you wish, I can send emissaries to our northern allies but they are very small countries. I have no doubt they would help us if they could but, considering the size and location of Tanane, I would venture to say it would not be in their best interests to assist us. Tanane is five times or more of their size and has the largest standing army in the area. Your Holiness, I fear we may be on our own.”
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“Do we have sufficient forces to repel this invasion,” Cardinal Gabriella Andreano, the Treasury Cardinal asked.
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“If they continue to send forces into our northern region then, I’m afraid we won’t have sufficient forces to repel them. In fact, that’s one of the topics Field Marshal Brunelli wanted me to bring up. The field marshal said to tell you that if we do not succeed in repelling them quickly, we may not be able to repel them at all. He begs you to consider initiating a draft, requiring every man and boy, who are able to bear arms, to be conscripted into the army. Even doing that, there is a very good chance we will not be able to recover all of our territory.”
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The room suddenly burst into a cacophony of different voices all offering advice to Sophia. After a few seconds of chaos, Sophia bellowed, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please! I cannot hear you if you are all speaking at the same time. Please be seated and I will call on each of you for your opinion and advice. Once everyone has had the chance to speak, we will hopefully be able to come to a consensus.”
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The meeting continued well into the afternoon. The palace staff knew there was something amiss as the meeting dragged on and it wasn’t long before the rumors began to fly. At last, the meeting ended and the participants, looking bedraggled and downcast, filed slowly out of the conference room. Sophia came out last. She didn’t look at anyone, just headed to her residence. The rumors flew thicker than before.
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Sophia always smiled at her mother when she came into the living quarters of the palace, but not today. One look and Martina knew there was bad news. “Sweetheart, you look horrible, what’s the matter?”
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Sophia didn’t answer directly. Instead, she asked “Momma, where’s Poppa?”
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Elisa came out of Sophia’s room as Martina replied, “I think he went to the city square; its market day today and you know how much he loves market day.”
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“Elisa,” Sophia said, “can you please send someone to find him? Quickly please.”
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Elisa nodded and hurried from the room. Martina began to get concerned. She placed the flowers on the table and walked toward Sophia, “Maria, tell me what’s wrong? Why do you want your father? What’s happened?”
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“Momma, I’d like to wait for Poppa so I can tell you both at the same time.”
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Sophia picked up the small bell that was standing on a table and rang it. As soon as a steward came in, she asked for wine for her parents and tea for herself. Once the steward had left, she sat down and put her head in her hands, allowing the waves of fatigue and worry flow over her.
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“Maria,” her mother demanded, “tell me what’s happened!”
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Sophia kept her face hidden as she began softly crying. No matter what she did, no matter what she said, Martina couldn’t get Sophia to say anything or even to look at her. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Ernesto Russo came rushing into the sitting room, followed by Elisa.
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The drinks arrived and Sophia finally looked up. With tears still in her eyes, she thanked the steward for the tea and wine. Elisa walked over and poured the wine for Sophia’s parents and tea for her, then she shooed the servants and staff members out of the residence, closing the door as they left.
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“Maria,” her father said, “please, honey, tell us what’s happened.”
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Sophia took a sip of tea and said, “It’s Salvatore. His military unit was overrun by Tananian army troops that came over the northern border two nights ago. Field Marshal Scalera said they don’t know if he was killed or captured but, most of the troops assigned to Forte Coraggio were killed. I’m so sorry Momma, Poppa, Field Marshal Brunelli and five thousand men are marching up to meet them but we won’t know anything for some time.”
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Ernesto drained his glass and refilled it before he spoke. “Is there anything we can do? Should I travel up there myself, maybe look for him among the injured?”
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"No!” Martina snapped. “I may have lost my son; I’m not going to lose my husband too! No, you’re going to stay right here with us. Here, where it’s safe.”
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“Poppa,” Sophia said, “There’s nothing you can do. Field Marshal Scalera said that, after they overran the fort, the Tananians continued marching towards Apria. He said they’ll probably be there tomorrow so, Forte Coraggio will be well behind their lines by now. There may be no telling what happened to Salvatore even if we do take it back.”
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The next morning, Sophia made a speech telling the people of the city about the invasion and the Sophian response. She told them of the mandatory military service and finished up by encouraging the people to pray and remain hopeful. Then she led a prayer for those who were killed, injured, or taken prisoner.
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Lieutenant Salvatore Russo watched as hundreds of Tananian troops poured through the ruined gates of the fort. The fort commander stood ramrod straight as the leader of the Tananian forces dismounted and approached. He stopped in front of Colonel Giordano Sabatine and said, “Yield your forces and surrender your fortress and we will allow you to live. Fail to do so, you and everyone else will be killed and we will have your fort anyway. The choice is yours.”
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The colonel slowly drew his sword and, turning the hilt toward the other officer said, “Swear to me you will treat my officers and men humanely and I will surrender.”
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Almost imperceptibly the officer nodded his head. Instantly a soldier rushed forward and ran a spear through the colonel’s chest. As he fell to the ground and, just before he died, the officer said, “Wrong answer.”
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He turned to Salvatore and said, “You seem to be the highest-ranking person here, son. I will offer you the same opportunity to surrender and live.”
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Salvatore drew his sword and handed it to him. “On behalf of the remaining men and officers of Forte Coraggio, I place our lives in your hands.” The man smiled and accepted his sword.
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Three days later, Field Marshal Brunelli’s forces arrived outside Apria and made camp. Scouts were sent out to find the enemy forces and to size them up. When they came back, they told of a large, well-equipped army encamped a few miles north of Apria. Field Marshal Brunelli gathered his officers and began making plans.
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The scouts estimated the enemy force was around twenty-five thousand men and officers. They had seen infantry and cavalry but no artillery. This was the break Brunelli was hoping for. He sent a messenger to Field Marshal Scalera informing him of the scout’s report and telling him to send all the artillery they had.
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In the meantime, Tananian General Gregor Fedorov consolidated his gains and made his plans to conquer Apria. He sent out his own scouts and knew when the Sophian forces arrived, how many there were, and where they had made their encampment. He wasn’t pleased with his progress; he had hoped to have taken Apria before the defenders could muster any kind of resistance. Forte Coraggio had taken longer and had cost more in manpower than he had expected and now he had about a hundred prisoners to deal with and not enough soldiers to take the city.
But all that was about to change; according to reports, his reinforcements were only a day away. Once they arrived and were assimilated into the army the assault could begin. If only the Sophians were willing to wait. They weren’t.
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Field Marshal Brunelli sent scouts into Apria, to ascertain conditions and the status of its defenses. The report was encouraging. According to the city’s bishop, the women and children had all left the city and the remaining men and boys; about two thousand of them; were well armed, somewhat trained and had sufficient provisions to sustain a siege of at least a month, two months if they had to. That was better news than expected.
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The next day, artillery pieces and additional troops began to arrive. Even though his advisors and officers pleaded with him to wait for more to arrive, the field marshal was determined to begin the attack. And so, less than a week after the assault on Forte Coraggio, Field Marshal Brunelli, with twenty thousand men and officers and one hundred cannons, began the Battle of Apria.
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An hour before sunrise, Elisa came in and woke Sophia. “I’m sorry to awaken you, Your Holiness, but there is a messenger from the front to see you. He says it’s urgent and cannot wait for the morning meetings.”
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Sophia got up, groggily dressed, and greeted the messenger in the sitting room of her apartment. When she stepped out of the bedroom, the messenger fell to his knees and bowed to the ground. After telling him to rise, she sat down in her favorite chair next to the fireplace.
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“Please forgive me, Your Holiness, but Field Marshal Brunelli instructed me to report directly to you and only to you. It has begun, my goddess! The war I mean, we have begun our assault.”
The messenger went on to explain the overall battle plan but she wasn’t really listening. Finally, once he had concluded, she thanked him and directed him to report to Field Marshal Scalera and tell him the news. Just as he was about to leave, she said, “Wait!” When he had turned to face her, she asked, “Was there any other message for me?” She hesitated and asked, “Was there any personal message… anything about… any prisoners or…anything?”
“No, Your Holiness, there is no news of any prisoners. We aren’t even sure there are any prisoners. I’m sorry, was there someone specific you were waiting to hear about?”
Sophia’s heart sank. “No…no, I was just hoping some of the brave men from Forte Coraggio had survived. Well, maybe in the next dispatch. Thank you, sir.”