The Moon Goddess and Her Mate

Two hours later, at Chief Agbazarth’s house,

A silver-haired man looked outside, at the door, to be precise. There were two young men carrying four wooden barrels, each carrying two. When he looked at Armen’s face, he thought back to his conversation with his beloved wife.

I have to marry Armen and Atlanta as soon as possible. Norah had indeed proposed three new girl’s names, but for some reason, I did not feel comfortable because they lived so far from us. Instead of having to think about them, it is better to just focus on Atlanta. I guess it is true; Archer’s daughter is much more aggressive, but love will grow with a habit, and my son can definitely do that with her, hoped a fifty-four-year-old man.

When the two handsome young men entered the house, the head of the family did not want to waste the opportunity. Before the Moon Goddess’ lover passed him, Lebrazht had already called him “Armen. Wait a minute.”

The name’s owner turned his head and then acted indifferent. Meanwhile, another young man behind Armen saw this scene but continued walking as usual, as if nothing had happened. Agtheo was indeed curious about what Lebrazht wanted to convey. However, the young man was reluctant to eavesdrop on his brother and father’s conversation and, without further ado, chose to leave the area.

“Yes, Dad?” said Armen, who was fed up with seeing the other person’s face.

“After breakfast, you come with me to the temple.” The hazel-eyed man told Armen about his wish. The charismatic guy almost refused, but an idea suddenly came to mind, so he was forced to nod, even though he was too lazy to agree with his biological father.

“Yes, Dad. Are we going to attend a ceremony, or maybe there is something else?” The brown-haired man deliberately asked, and he felt soreness in both hands because Armen was still holding two barrels of clean water.

“I will consult with the High Priest regarding the ceremony I will lead. You must wear something politely and neatly. Do not forget to ask Mom for an offering. She has prepared everything. Get ready.” The hook-nosed man answered with an expressionless expression. After finishing saying these words, Lebrazht left Armen, so that guy snorted when he saw the other person’s back disappear from his sight.

“I have to be able to tell Atlanta not to expect me. That girl can find a man who suits her. If she still insists, then I have to be firm with her.” Armen muttered to himself. The look of her immortal lover flashed back into the man’s mind.

That burly man stepped back and left the area. Wait for me, darling. Mom and Dad may choose another girl from among us to be my future wife, but I will not give up. May Lord Athalamaya help us so that our mission goes smoothly. Armen prayed in his heart so that no one could hear him.

***

Two hours and thirty minutes later

Two men who looked similar to each other were seen walking together and not carrying on a conversation. A young man brought a basket of fruit, which was used as an offering to the gods and goddesses. The sun was shining brighter and hotter, so the conditions around them became very hot and made sweat appear on each other’s foreheads.

A few moments later, they arrived at a building. Afterwards, they stepped into it to enter their destination. There, they could see that there were stairs with steps before reaching the main door. They climbed the stairs. When they reached the top, they entered the temple. In front of the door, a man with a white beard was seen standing there as if waiting for Armen and Lebrazht to arrive.

“High Priest,” said Norah Bitnantzh’s husband kindly.

A man who was greeted smiled, then nodded. “Lebrazht. How are you? Nice to meet you here.”

The green-eyed young man just watched the conversation between the two men and was too lazy to join them. Lebrazht walked towards the other person and stood next to the High Priest. “I am also happy to meet you. How are the preparations for the ceremony in two months?”

“For that issue, it is better we talk privately, Lebrazht.” That white-robed man said seriously, so Agbazarth Chieftain’s expression also turned serious.

Armen tried to suppress his boredom from hearing his father and the High Priest’s conversation, so he looked behind him, to the inside of the temple, to be precise. There, he seemed to see the appearance of two glowing figures but had figures like humans. A young man was still unsure about what he was seeing because they were standing quite far from where he was standing.

Are they human? I am not quite sure… but several members of the tribe have testified that they have seen the appearance of Lord Athalamaya and his wife. Is it possible that I also experienced a similar incident? If so, their presence would bring good luck because the gods they worshipped rarely showed themselves to ordinary people, except for the High Priest and High Priestess, Armen thought, who was still watching over the same spot.

A man, who had a height of one hundred and eighty-five centimetres, accidentally turned towards his son. He saw that guy looking at a certain point, which made Lebrazht also look at the same place. However, there was nothing special there, so the head of the Lugthna family raised an eyebrow, surprised by Armen’s attitude. Meanwhile, the High Priest only monitored the behaviour of the two guests who came to the temple without saying anything.

“Armen,” Lebrazht called the name of Lord Toghnath’s rival. The name’s owner seemed not to hear and continued to stare at the same point without blinking at all.

“Armen.” The hook-nosed man called his son again, and it did not have any impact on the young guy. Lebrazht looked annoyed and tapped the Moon Goddes’ lover on the shoulder. So this action made Armen surprised and suddenly look back.

“What was wrong with you? Why did you stay silent when I called you?” Lebrazht asked, full of suspicion. One of his eyebrows remained raised, indicating the middle-aged man’s suspicion of him.

“Ah, Dad. Nothing,” answered Armen quickly. He did not know what to say, so that was all the young man could say.

“Have you seen anything strange, Armen?” The High Priest asked it this time, so the young guy turned to him. Meanwhile, the curious Lebrazht turned his face again to the area where Armen had been staring, but there was nothing strange, so the man who married at a young age shook his head in confusion.

“Uhm… I am not sure about that.” Armen answered honestly because that was the reality.

A white-robed man seemed to understand the other person’s feelings. He smiled kindly and did not want to prolong the same topic of conversation, saying to them, “Okay. It is better if we just go into the worship room. Come follow me, Lebrazht and Armen.”

“Yes, High Priest.” They immediately stepped forward and followed the brown-eyed man. Unbeknownst to them, the two figures that Armen had seen were still in the same location and staring at the three male mortals who were walking past them.

“Do you think Armen has seen us?” asked the blonde woman.

“Yes, he did look at us and did not yet realize that we were not ordinary people like him,” answered the opposite sex.

“Are you going to give Armen a message or sign, Hubby?”

“It depends on the situation. We can only hear what Lebrazht and Armen are praying in front of our statues. Only from there, we can decide what kind of action to take against them.”

“What about Archer and Atlanta? They are expecting Armen. Should we not try to help them first?”

“Hoping something is fine, but you have to remember that Armen never liked that girl from the start, so I will not want to help her. Besides, Atlanta is only selfish because her motivation for wanting to marry Armen is only to increase her position in the eyes of society, so you already know what kind of decision to make with her, right?”

***

A few minutes later,

The three men arrived at the door of a room. The door was large and had a forest carved with trees and several animals. Not only that, in the middle of the door, there was a picture of a man and a woman as if they were husband and wife. The High Priest opened the door so that the two guests could enter the worship room.

The picture immediately attracted the green-eyed youth as if he had just seen it. Why do I seem to see them? Is this a picture of the couple Lord Athalamaya and Goddess Tathatea? Since childhood, I have only seen their statues and have not met them in person because I am not a High Priest. Well, I have to thank him for helping me. Hopefully, the two immortal gods and goddesses will continue to help so that Atvertha and I can get married, Armen thought, and he still standing in front of the door.

Lebrazht, who had been walking, started to stop because he could not find his son when he looked to the side. He looked back and found the person he was looking for. “Armen! What are you doing there? Come here!”

The sound alerted the name’s owner. As soon as possible, he turned around and was surprised because the caller was already standing quite far from where he was standing. That brown-haired man felt embarrassed, but he tried to cover it up. The High Priest stopped walking, hearing Lebrazht’s voice. The host preferred to wait for the two guests. “Yes, Dad! I am coming!”

***