The Godstorm Wakes

Note: Image associated is from Ironage.media, specifically their prompt, 'The Firmament'

Friar Andreas Ptolemy hurried along the high, empty halls of the Temple Totalus on Heirophont Prime, home of the Godstorm he'd spent his life in the wonder of. What his master, Bishop Quintus Aurelian, had seen in its majestic shifting hues, he did not know. Even his glimpses of it through the sides of his eyes could give no hint, the bright gold light a new phenomenon within its glowing flashes. The clouds were seemingly on fire, such was their intensity as his running steps echoed through the corridor. Finally, he pushed through the Bishop's door, the elder man standing half-dressed in front of the almost 40-foot tall windows, tears upon his cheeks as the golden skies flashed rhythmically, a shining heartbeat in the clouds.

"Bishop, what do you need?" Andreas asked, resisting the call to join his master in staring at the Godstorm's beauty. Even as he refused to look at it directly, he saw the streaks of purple and green in the clouds and prophecy of ancient times quietly whispered in his ears. As the words became recognizable to his ears, Andreas dared to look upon the shower of lights and realized the prophecy wasn't in his imagination but that his master was speaking it as he silently cried. "Excellency?" he asked once more, the words resonating deep in his being, the sign of the King's Return shown in the swirling skies.

"I did not think I'd see this day." Bishop Aurelian spoke quietly in the common tongue, refusing to further profane the words of their God with his unworthy mouth. "The King is returned. The galaxy must know, go! Send the message we've waited to send. The throne shall stand empty no more." The Bishop gently pushed Friar Ptolemy from his room, sending the young man running once more as the halls began to fill with the quiet hubbub of the waking clergy attending their duties. Few paid the Friar any mind until his roommate saw him rushing by and stepped from their shared room, seeing, reflected in the polished floors, the Godstorm's colours.

"The King?" Friar Guy Hyssop said, unsure of his eyes until he saw the flash in the reflection, the distinct triple thump of their material Lord. "The King! The King has returned!" he shouted as the realization floored his mind, even as his body stood stock-still. The hall quieted once more before a soft murmur began and grew into a series of cheers and jubilations, spurring Andreas to incredible speed, carried by the cheers of his brothers. By the time Andreas reached the message chamber, word had long outpaced the man. The Abbot in charge of the chamber was waiting for him, giddy like a child with a sweet.

"Is it true, the King has returned?" He babbled as Andreas caught his breath.

Andreas nodded, saying, "The Bishop recited the prophecy, and the royal colours were seen all together. He returns."

"HAHA! Glorious day! Oh there'll be much to do, so much to do! The people, the people, they must be told. Shouted from the rooftops it must be. The King has returned!" The Abbot was nearly bouncing from every surface in the room as he shook in excitement.

"We need not be quite so old-fashioned, Abbot. We can send a message to the whole of his people from this room." Friar Ptolemy prompted the aging Abbot before he tried to exit the room to spread the word in so ancient a fashion, bodily blocking the door as he calmed himself.

"Quite right, quite right," the Abbot turned about, no less jubilant as he stood at the transmitter, quickly inputting the appropriate keys to contact the whole of the galaxy, opening the draft provided by the system for the King's prophesied return. After eight centuries of waiting, and now the signs announced his imminent return. What now would the future be with His Majesty's return?