Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

He walks inside the temple and saw the statue of all the thirteen gods

Standing in the respective position like a constellation of the stars.

And there he saw the largest statue of them all. 

The statue of Asrana Mahava, standing high and tall in the center, as the Prime Star that guided the other Gods

Varnikar was awestruck. 

This is the statue of the most revered Gods in the pantheon. 

His worship might not be that widespread among the thirteen tribes but to the people of the Shadowlands, the status of the Asrana Mahava is higher than the other gods

The tribes worship their own Gods and while they do respect Asrana and they sing his hymn, they only worship him when the occasion calls for it.

Arakian for example seems to inherit the fiery temper of Varleon like they inherit his fire and worship Varleon as well as Eremetheus that gave him the fire of Varleon.

And their devotion and worship toward the Gods is sincerer then they are of Asrana. Still Asrana maintain quite a high position amongst the Gods in the pantheon

Even though they worship Eremetheus, it seems they were more influenced by the gift of Eremetheus itself rather than following the method of Eremetheus, the God of Trickery.

The same for the other thirteen tribes. Asrana is put on a high position but each tribe seems to have their own patron gods other than those who believe religiously at the prophecy of the Ages. 

When they spoke of Asrana, they respect him. They are in awe of him. Still, some people disbelieve that he would come.

The Darkness of the Shadowlands had been there for millennium and even though it is a danger, it is no longer a danger that could not be contained.

For the thirteen tribes some of them felt that their way of life is already good enough

There is a reason why the Three Great tribes that lives in the Shadowlands is prohibited to go out from the Shadowlands.

In the beginning it might have started purely because of the sins toward the great Prophet.

But as years and decades goes by, that pure intention is marred by other factors.

To the thirteen tribes, it is a matter of benefits and the Three Great tribes while having a great power and influence over the lush and fertile land of the Thirteen tribes, the so called New World, a part of the same continent but without the darkness clouds and the Dark Spawn that appears every day, they were not allowed to go into the lands beyond the Godstree other than their ancestral tribe lands.

Passing that land and going deep into the other tribe lands is basically declaring war to the thirteen tribe in the New World. 

The Shadowlands and the New World is basically on the same continent. 

But to those who have seen these two places they regarded it as a different place from each other

Interest is tied up in making sure that the Three Great Tribes stay there on the Shadowlands. 

In other words, the belief of the Three Great tribes in Asrana is because they have no choice

They have to believe that a Savior will come and if the prophecy holds true, when the Savior comes and the three Great Tribes accept him and fight alongside him, they were to share his glory whether in life or death

If they live, they would live in an era of great prosperity. If they died, they were promised a life in a garden full of abundance. 

And after so many years that had passed, the people both in the New World and in the Shadowland got used to it.

The three Great Tribes founded the three kingdoms and gained great power. As for the thirteen tribes they also have their own way of life.

Some of them even wished that the prophecy is not real.

Because where is this promised Savior? Where is this Conqueror of Darkness that will come and bring light to the world?

But while some of the Thirteen Tribes and even the people of the Three Kingdoms itself slowly losing faith in this prophesized figure, many in the Shadowlands still believe that he would come.

So, the feelings hit different for Varnikar when he saw that statue of Asrana in the Great temple. 

The statue of the Asrana is majestic. His eyes look at the sky, his left hand holding a shield, and his left hand holding a beautiful ornamented sword.

There are many symbolisms here. 

The shield itself could be seen as the allegorical representation of a figure that would help shield Asrana from danger. 

As for the sword, it might be the allusion to the sword that serves as the proof that one is Asrana, wielding the Godslayer, the only sword said to be able to cut Darkness away.

The sword, the shield, the paintings behind the statue, the way the statue was positioned, there is all of this kind of hidden meanings and messages in that statue 

He walks deeper into the temple and he saw all the statues of the Gods. 

Some of them are luxurious, but many of them possess more weapons and more glamorous than the statue of Asrana. 

It is shocking to many who saw that the statue who seems to occupy the position of the Prime Star, the largest statue when compared with the other Gods seems plain and even unassuming when compared to the other gods. 

A shield, a sword, a few paintings behind His statue is not much compared to the lavish design that is attributed to the other states of the gods. 

But of course, Varnikar understood the allegorical meaning of it all. 

Some that he could see clearly. Others requires him to observe a bit more to understand and see

After seeing all the statues in the end, he come to the statue of Asrana. 

He kneels in front of Asrana, and he prays. He prays and hope that there would be some divine intervention

The first day he prays in the Great Temple all he got was nothing. He came the second day. 

He prays from morning to evening. 

Then on the third day he came again. At the break of dawn, he came, and he prays until evening

He was sincere in praying but unlike his experience when he was training below the waterfall, there is nothing

Not even a sign. A dream.

He would have even settle for just a few small simple signs. He knows it is selfish of him to think that divine beings would pay so much attention to him but he was confused

The reason he came to the Great temple is to seek guidance. Guidance on what he should do. 

The bestowal of so many abilities sets him apart from many of his peers. He could easily dominate the Three Kingdoms. 

He might not be able to unify the Three Kingdoms but if he wanted to he could form a very powerful state among the Three Kingdoms

But there is nothing. He hoped to see Amara again, hoping Amara would once again bestow him with knowledge. 

He also has the wisdom of Orhan. There is ability of seeing a bit of the future when using the abilities of Orhan.

But in this matter, he could not even get a hint even from his own abilities. 

It was like he was blocked

There is no garden of flowers and there is no thunder breaking in the sky above. He felt unreconciled. he had already at that time stay long enough in the New World.

It was time for him to go home. 

So by the third day, he was all ready to give up. 

But it was at this time as he climbs the spiraling stairs toward the top of the cavern someone runs toward him

It was a young Priest apprentice that had a lame foot. 

At that time Varnikar had thought that his identity was found out and he was ready to fight every warrior that is around the Great Temple.

Luckily, the priest apprentice stops him for another reason. The message that the priest apprentice told him was very shocking

The message was that one of the elders of the Great Temple wanted to meet him. he did not know why the one of the elders of the Great Temple wanted to see him.

He was curious and so he decided to accept the summon. He was then slowly escorted into one of the tunnels. 

Even when he first enters the tunnel he felt it is different from the other tunnels.

Along the way, he saw all kinds of wall paintings depicting the prophesized battle of Asrana. 

Deeper and deeper he goes down

As the temple itself is carved under an abyss the pressure of air become even more constricted as he went down.

But when he does arrive at the area, he was shocked to see a paradise.