---

It had only been a short time since she received the letter from I’Iro, and not long since she had taught the Ketto and Brynlic races some things to get them started as civilizations.

Perhaps she’d eventually set up schools or such one day, but today wasn’t that time for them yet. Truth be told, she’d even gone round about the area and helped begin to organize some of the lingering humans and other races that had been survivors on the land when she terraformed it. There would be a long time before things got back to normal, or at least what normal this region now had as it moved forward, but all the same it was something on the mortals’ part to work on.

She didn’t want to be over-involved, but more or less would give teachings and help them organize at least. Monster/Demon hunters that would be necessary from now on, villages and towns and such forming, and the introduction of a fitting technological level would be trickled in over the centuries to keep the layout and progress of civilization organic for the races of the region. Etc.

But all the same she’d decided to head down to the place I’Iro had talked about, passing over the newer temperate-to-taiga land to the direct south of her region and taking check of it along the way. To this area I’Iro had ultimately created by consequence she gave the name “The Winter Lands”...hmm, no. How about “The Pale Lands'' instead? That sounded about right. Chilly enough, but not bad. There was also the new ‘Ghost Sea’, another something of note, which she further approved of the name of herself. Still, finding a segment of some odd vine-root-like tendril stuff along the way...she curiously picked a section of it to take with her. Maybe she could make use of it? Or she was just getting too curious.

Eventually she would, however, arrive at the small temple that the Dream Goddess had made, which-...hmm. The style was rather peculiar indeed, like it had all been carved out of a single large piece of stone. At least it looked so in appearance. But that wasn’t going to be a terrible matter either. With her divine power, Arira began to carve her symbols and so forth into the temple, tweaking it into a blend of styles between her fortress-temple and how I’Iro had made it. A fitting blend, though her holy symbols and other things would fill it and decorate it all wholly and entirely now. Of course she tosses in some depictions so I’Iro was given due credit as well. She wasn’t going to leave out the intelligent yet cute dream goddess who had

To cap it off, the goddess exerted herself to consecrate the area. Her very power was imbibed into every bit of the temple and icy grounds it was upon, even the Jewel of Silence and its containment measures within, transforming the area into an extension of herself. Perhaps it was a tad rude to the goddess who had made this place first, but doing this would allow Arira herself to keep better track and care of the place as a result. Especially when protecting it. Still, as she finished that work the goddess would throw on some grandiose and very heavy stone front doors to the temple, as well as tossed in a further-protecting and cold-balancing small divine-power forcefield around the alien-metal orb that contained the crystal, and let out a large sigh of relief.

Walking outside, she would take the strange oily-filled tendril piece she took with her power as she examined it more curiously...before tossing the segment onto the ground outside the small temple-shrine. It would glow for a second with her power, before its exterior gained a strange metal sheen and it began to dig into the ice and grow. It would bend and twine, forming a winding, twisted, intricate wall of metallic vines around the outside of the temple-shrine with a woven grand entranceway leading into the temple-shrine. Likewise they would form a large field of such around this grand wall. These strange vines had a very tough exterior, as tough as the toughest metals, covered in finely razor-sharp thorns as well...yet internally filled with a new, circulating, and strange dark blue oily substance within. They would even dig deep beneath the ice to root this ‘South Pole’ into the ocean floor and keep it very firmly attached to this Shard of Creation...this chunk of Galbar as it were. Likewise it all imposed a great defensive spread before anything that sought to get to the temple-shrine at all.

This creation she would call “I’Irian Vines” in honor of herself and I’Iro, vines whose oily inner substance was circulated as a means of keeping the ‘plant’ alive as it derived what little to no nutrition it needed from the cold ocean water far underneath the dense ice of the South Pole. Its internal ‘juice’ was very flammable naturally, but the vines could very quickly use autotomy to ‘separate’ and remove such segments rapidly to avoid body-wide burning or a chain-reaction or so forth if it was set on fire internally somehow. Externally it wouldn’t exactly burn at all for the most part, but under an intense enough heat (rather intense enough for sure that is) the metal-like exterior could be melted down to make things. Durable, yet practical. She’d take a sample to test later back at the Ariran Paradise to boot.

Yet...it all still felt somewhat incomplete. Like even with the I’Irian Vine field and specially-woven dense wall of them around the temple-shrine, something needed to care for the place really. It would be frozen cold up here, and despite the vines protecting from the elements well enough things weren’t perfect. Even if she could keep an eye on here, it was not like she wanted to leave the spot empty either...ah!

Something simple would have to do the trick. A race that needed minimal requirements, but had something to sustain them located in the temple to keep them loyal there.

There was one biological mechanic she was tempted to make use of for it, since it would at least function for those needs she had of a race in this location, so perhaps it would work? Blood-sucking that was. It was macabre, but also a part of the cycle of life for some things regardless. It wouldn’t require too much work to make by using humans as a base for this race, but unlike when she made the Ketto she wanted to make sure to focus this time. They would need to be a distinctly more orderly bunch here, disciplined really, to not go too far with things. Yes! That would work nicely...well, after she did one more small task.

Arira would create a pale white bird, a Dovling she would call it, on the spur of the moment. Into it she sent a message for I’Iro about what she had done, and would be doing, before it flew off like a streak of light from her hands in haste. Once it simply touched the other goddess, Arira’s message would transfer into I’Iro’s mind from the bird itself safely and fully. It was also perhaps an experimental means of communication, but...eh, it would work.

The goddess would then re-enter the temple, standing in the now larger entrance room just beyond the doors, and extending her hands with her palms out and having closed her eyes once more.

The base form of the beings to be made would be taken from humans, but given the climate and very minimal sunlight here they wouldn’t need that much resistance to it. Incredibly pale and ash-pale skin would be perfect in this case for them, without much thought having to be given save for them getting sunburns more easily than any others.

Make just the upper canine teeth more pronounced, enough to break the skin of prey on the ice or otherwise to drink their blood. Would be mostly meant as a supplementary measure, but would work still as a backup for them to use for eating. Plenty of life would grow and rise up upon the ice, she’d take care of that on her way out. Hardy enough to live there, populous enough on the barren icy sheet to rely on the ocean for food, etc.

Then make them very orderly, enough to keep the temple in good shape and not be inclined to abandon it or frankly ‘take over’ among other grueling possibilities. Well, free will wasn’t going to be taken from them though. Hmm. Still, it all worked out as she hoped for the most part. Had to leave that wiggle room.

Could devour and subsist entirely on blood, that she already knew she was going to put in. Regular food they’d not really be able to digest at all, though, since they didn’t need it. Also made designing them more simple by adding enhanced senses into the mix.

Superior night vision, heightened reflexes and durability and strength lesser than Ketto but more than other mortal races, and an instinct for organizing around hierarchies all were good things to toss in perhaps. Yes.

Also clothes this time. That was rather important. Maybe that would be something they could make use of animals for as well, though at the same time she would give them the tools to weave and make finer clothes for themselves over time.

They had a division of the sexes as well, this time at least, and could reproduce normally or by...hmm. Well if anyone wandered in foolish enough to try to raid the temple, they’d be able to be bitten by these creatures and turned into one of them by force. That would ensure trespassers would not step foot inside! Hopefully. It was also another layer of defense for the temple-shrine really. Biting foes and using claws instead of normal fingernails would also be a deadly touch.

Not that this didn’t mean they couldn’t still be rather beautiful in their own right perhaps. Like a lovely face in the moonlight, though even if the sun was far from desirable and they hated it at least they wouldn’t instantly catch on fire underneath it. The death or destruction of their heart? Decapitation? Excessive Starvation? All would be enough to really kill them despite their inherently very hardy bodies and so forth. A part of them none of their kind would be able to ‘shake’ off.

As the goddess opened her eyes this time, finishing up the process and lowering her arms, she caused a fountain to sprout up in the middle of the large entrance-way as well. Designs of balance, of the vines and so forth, and of the crystal at that, would cover it, and immediately the fountain began to spit out its infinite fountain of non-freezing and nutritious blood. Macabre, really, but fitting for the landscape all the same.

Before her, the human-like beings in rather neat and high-class gothic attire began to stir, their gold and silver and precious-metal-colored eyes reflecting the dimmer magical lights that lit up the temple within. Their skin was so pale they almost looked like corpses in that vague sense, but as most awoke they walked or pulled or crawled over to the fountain to drink heartily of its contents. One male, in particular, would stand, dusting himself off and walking over to her before giving a very deep and fanciful bow as his handsome visage smiled at her.

Well, at least this time things felt more ‘on-point’ than last time!

“Milady! It is but a humble abode thou hast given us, yet even so I am most pleased to meet you and witness your divine beauty that has blessed our presence most graciously!

Still, I believe we must ask thee for something, I pray. A name, and why we are here, would be most welcome to know indeed.”

Arira gave a small smile in return, noting this one’s strength in not immediately giving into the slaking of his natural thirst, even as those drinking from the fountain would drink up and begin to stand about her.

“The pleasure is mine, my children. Where there is light, darkness also. Where there is a beginning, there is an end. I am Arira, the Goddess of Cycles, and thine kind hath been made to bear up this place and protect it from thieves and ill forces and so forth. For this is mine consecrated ground as well, a place wherein the might of cold is eternally enshrined in my name and due to the help of a friend.

Thine thirst is for what thou drinkest, blood, that which flows through all living things and only else from this eternal fountain beside thee. The light of the sun is loathe to thee, and yet in the dark thou hast no equal among the civilized races of the world. Magic can be used by thee, as well as martial tools and fang and claws where fingernails would hath been on others.

Thou are order, civilized, and yet bring this to the barren wasteland roundabout. I shall assist in making a great cavern below this temple, hidden beneath the ice, where thine kind can liveth and rest under mine blessing.

Thine race shall be the Erimav. Proud and unaging after maturity, yet not indestructible nor immutable. A loveliness and strength beyond many, but not all, mortal races, yet a nature that shall teach thee to know discipline and struggle and sacrifice and come to understand this world.”

Yet...hmm. She could see it in their eyes. She could tell their nature in ways that hadn’t been decided outright by her, but came as a result of them themselves. Intriguing. Very intriguing.

The goddess then seemed to have a sudden twinkle in her eye of...something else. Something gratingly different than she had ever been like before. It was alien, and sent a shudder through the most weak-willed of the folk before her, but a message to the unflinching strong nonetheless. Still, the smile of the one who first spoke to her did not break before her gaze...though he seemed to get the point.

“But bewarest thou, thine power and might is not the be of all and end of all. Thou shalt stop aging after some time of maturity, that thou might gainest wisdom, but know that thine lives hang as frail in the balance as that of any other mortal race.

For themselves thou shalt be able to choose, as like any other, to follow thine purpose or not. Still, those who live here shall abide by mine rules, lest if they seek to turn on this place in evil or ill deeds then they shall be smitten into naught but dust in an instant.

Ist’ this understood by thee, oh my Children of the Night?

And what about thee...oh Drakenvald, First among the Erimav?”

The lead one took another deep bow as he was spoken to directly, being given a name at that, and most of the others did so after him.

“My Lady! Oh what joy your words bring to my ears! It is a joyous thing to exist in this world, with the first name of my kind no less having been given me, knowing that our purpose is most clear and our nature allows us to choose thereof! I am sure we shall follow our duty most clearly...but if not the price is most easy to understand of course.”

...She hoped so.

---

Many, Many, Many Years And Generations Later...



“…[and] the goddess would assist her newest children at this time in crafting that great underground habitation, but more and more she worried over the nature of these folk with exposure. Most seemed well, orderly enough even, and yet in the years after she left things would change most frighteningly. Whilst the most noble and just of the Erimav would remain at the temple and adhere to their duties and strength, including those few brought to her Paradise for study and to live in its bounty, in time there were those whose drive for order and strength did not hold true to some kind of balance.

Indeed some fled the rumored and legendary temple-shrine, and managed to reach the mainland of the Shard of Creation. These in time would come to be derided and feared and killed by the mortal races, becoming warped into monsters who dwelled in caves and castles and dark places as they sought dominion over the land and used magic to their own ends. It brought sorrow to the goddess, and yet they would not escape entirely free from the evil they would make wrought in centuries and more so to come.

‘Erimyr’, this derivative group of them would come to be called derisively by their original kin and mortals on the mainland alike, a corruption of the Erimav as this group warped themselves and became corrupted by their own hands and behaviors and the magic they came to use over time. The Erimyr had much the same raw strength, but now bore corrupted magics and weakness alongside. The Erimav’s original loathing of the sun would become lethal to these Erimyr, burning them like a curse and weakening them greatly in contact with it...even able to kill them and cause them to crumble to naught but lifeless dust with enough exposure. Fire too would become a weakness of them, even as they gained the power to shapeshift unlike the original Erimav.

Even so the Erimav would remain a purer race, an enmity between them and their ‘Erimyr’ cousins would become an eternal rivalry and hatred of each other down to their cores. Some Erimyr would perhaps find their way into the care or influence of other divinities, but no divine hand of others would be able to shake them of their weaknesses...such was the price they paid forevermore, the so-called ‘Curse of Arira’ upon their very flesh and souls by nature of them existing at all.

Indeed...they who had chosen such vile things would find only torment before them, even after death.”

- deleted at request of NotFishing -

---

...Did she mourn that the third race of her children had become so divided? Indeed. Such a thing weighed upon her heart, and yet at the same time her resolve was not broken nor shattered. The Erimav remained among her children, and a few had come to live within her Paradise like a similar amount of Ketto and Brynlic had before. These would, in the coming centuries, be transformed by the nature of the Ariran Paradise and the sustenance there just like the humans who were living there would be as well. More so, from the Erimav had come thoughts of just how to make things better for the region.

But before she exerted her might to a great extent on this Shard of Creation, this very Shard of Galbar, she would have to make one more civilization. One more race to create that would be numbered among her children, who would live upon the land and help make it great in their own ways in due time. She had even been going around giving the races she had already made, and the humans and other lingering survivor groups who now lived in the region, some amount of guidance and direction to set them on their own paths and away from a world of apocalypse.

And this time, she knew what she would need to do this time around for this race.

To this end the goddess flew herself over to the south of the small Freshwater Sea, all the way down to the Land Between Two Rivers...also known as the ‘Land of The Two Rivers’ or most importantly as “Aimatoposem”. In a good spot of land in this area, a flat place where there was room to grow and build and so forth, Arira would once again raise her arms as her now solemn visage looked upon the area. For a moment she mumbled a near-silent prayer under her breath, to whom or what or where none else would ever know, and then closed her eyes once more.

To them would be given civilization and order, but not as strict and peculiar as the Erimav had.

To them would be given strength and stamina, but not as much as the Ketto had.

To them would be given magic and mirth, but not as much as the Brynlic held.

To them would be given the spark of strong will and desire to learn, but not leaving the accidental empty spaces and erroneous things otherwise that had resulted eventually in the twisted Erimyr by mistake.

To them would be given great strength of spirit and hearty souls, like unto the survivors of the apocalypse...who had weathered so much but clung on through even the most godless of days to survive.

To them she would grant a form mostly like that of humans and elves and such folk, with only very slightly pointed ears to boot and fitting physiology of the canine teeth for their potential to drink blood as an alternate food source from animals or such. No power to turn things into their own kind like the Erimav did though.

To this end she would form them, without as much pomp and circumstance. They were able to feed upon the blood to survive, but also to eat all the other mortal foods that the world would have to offer. Civilized and orderly, yet mirthful and full of life.

“Rise, oh the last of the mortal races born into this world as mine children...rise, oh Dirham!”

After she cried aloud, the goddess lowered her arms one last time and opened her eyes as she began to float down to the ground. Below her, a great number of the Dirham lay upon the ground, male and female alike, with gothic attire and soft skin and lovely eyes that began to flutter open as they awoke. They lacked the inherent beauty of the Erimav, yet were a touch above regular humans and the like. Intelligent of mind, strong of spirit, able to fight the darkness within themselves and in the world about them as well as enjoy the light.

These numbered many more than the other races had in their initial creation batch, and as they rose they began to look at each other and speak with one another. Some were happy, others confused, and others seemingly grumpy at having woken upon the ground. Good. Ultimately, however, the people would begin to shuffle forward to where Arira had stopped her descent only some feet above the ground. To see the great throng of the people looking upon her, it made Arira smile as she looked into each of their eyes and upon their curious and mixed gazes.

It all felt...right. Yes. None of the others before were mistakes, as varied and individual as any other race, and they were all beloved even as these were. But this felt as if it just ‘clicked’ within her with a sense of finality and pride, as if she knew within her that this was the final major people to be born of her in this manner of creation during this time period. Like this creation was good, and none other like it was needed for this region at this time.

“Welcome to this world, oh last of mine mortal children made directly by mine hands. I am the beginning and the end. I am the seasons and the climes. I am the winter and spring, the summer and the fall.

I am Arira, Goddess of Cycles, and I have madest all of thee in the image of my mind...and of the cloth woven by thine cousins who also till this land and a place very far off from here. Therefore bend thine ears to my voice, and listen. Heed my call, and come forth to me. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed that thou seest me here.

I am thine mother and maker, wherefore I invite thee to come near to me and take comfort. Speak thine minds as well, for I wish to hear thee with my own two ears.”

“Why did you make us?”

“Where are we?”

“Could you have made us not on a patch of itchy grass?”

“Could use something to eat really.”

“Wait, why do only I have both-, oww! Somebody hit me!”

The goddess chuckled as the sounds of various voices entered her ears, questions sensible and otherwise taken into consideration. For a time she would begin to give some answers, at least, until the time for initial questions had gone on long enough. Gently she then waved her hands down, shushing them eventually once more.

“I shall answer more in time, oh Dirham, oh the lastborn of the mortal races that are mine children due to being made by mine hand.

I must first finish a great work, one which all of thee shalt be witness to along with the rest of this Shard of Creation, this world known as the Shard of Galbar.”

Then one last voice spoke up as the goddess looked over at the woman who was shouting up to her, the woman donning a long masculine Victorian coat and gloves as she gave a fanged grin.

“Well then? Get going! We’ve got to start getting things set up for when you get back then! So shoo, go do your god thing and we’ll be over here!”

A few chuckles and groans came from the throng of Dirham, but Arira’s smile did widen at the words as she let out a light peal of genuine laughter for the first time in her life thus far. Where some might have seen it as insolence, however, she could feel the gusto of the mortals’ spirits shine!

Love and laughter. Groans and complaints. Struggle ahead and yet the spirit to overcome it all in the end. It was beautiful. Simply beautiful.

This was what was so transcendent about mortals, at least in the goddess’ mind. Their lives were so very short compared to her immortal nature, and yet they sought to pursue the impossible that lay beyond the eternal horizon. They sought to conquer what challenges lay before them, and even with the good and the bad and so forth among them they never ceased to push themselves further and further.

Where divinity might stagnate or sit idly by with time, an eternity of memories possessed and so forth, to see that burning light of the flame of mortal life so brilliant in these was a sight like none other.

“Well then! My children seem to be adamant about watching their mother’s work! Then be off, begin to cut the wood and work out your homes! I will return to help afterward!”

And with that, the goddess would begin to rise again, voices beginning to bark out as the people began to try to organize themselves to start the work of making homes and so forth. Of course...they and their seed would have plenty of time for that. More than enough over the ages to come.

As for herself, however, she had one last set of things to do for this world. Indeed, these things had been long overdue, though I’Iro’s work and ironically her Paradise had made it all finally possible at this point in time.

---

Higher and higher she climbed, higher into the atmosphere.

Faster and faster she would move, seeking to reach the highest point in the atmosphere that was far above the perfect center of the world.

From Mount Divinus, a divine being’ senses would allow them to know she was far above there.

Far above the cloud whales and flying krill, far above the tallest mountains and greatest of lands she would fly up to, and standing at the edge of the atmosphere and void beyond she protected herself with a thin barrier of still-potent divine power.

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Control your breathing.

Yes. The Goddess of Cycles would begin to control her breathing, channeling all of her focus and divine power as it began to ripple throughout her. This would be an exertion far from the vulnerable mortal eyes that might be scarred or slain by seeing this, and to the gods a sign that she was serious in this work of hers. Arira’s flesh would begin to glow, and soon it began to shift as it changed at this spot far above and away from the eyes of all. Yet even if it was not directly seen, this would all be felt....especially by the rest of the gods.

‘My tiny brother, give me strength...yet keep safe and far from my true form! Oh mother, grant me boon and watch upon me from afar as my form shakes the very heavens themselves! Oh mortals, look upon me and know hope!!!’

Such were her thoughts, such were the desires shouted silently into the aether and void and heavens by her very immortal soul.

Still faster and faster and faster the flesh of her would shift and continue to move, all as great and blinding eyes appeared on her that would madden mortals if she were closer to the ground. So blindingly radiant was the divine light emitted from Arira, though, that all those below would see would be a radiant light high in the heavens...a strange one, yet its light was warm and eerie at the same time. Though even as her flesh moved and shifted, rings of spinning divine flesh and form and power were forming.

It was the beginning and the end. The start and the finish. A light that would gleam with raw divinity and magnificence and unimaginable incredibility, such that was untold magnitudes beyond her ‘base’ form.

Indeed, she would in the end become Cycles Incarnate for what she would be doing next.



And thus after, the sound of uncountable voices speaking in perfect unison would begin to ring throughout the air of the world...even as it touched upon all the land of creation. It came with the loudness of a burst of thunder, the swiftness of lightning, the glory of the sun, and the mightiness of Domain made manifest.

“Let the chaos be bidden: Come, Come, Come!

Come into my being and be consumed in thine End, yet be the fuel of the Beginning that shall come to the world anew. Burn, Burn, Burn!

Swell, oh Dominion of Cycles, and encompass all in thine eternal embrace! May the eyes watch over them and see it all through, yea let the rings bind them that the balance shall be constrained. Swell, Swell, Swell!

Rise, oh Jewel of Silence and freeze of Winter, be taken as part of mine being forever more. Make thine cold be the season’s sweet solace, may thine sobering touch cling to all as much as the icy winds cling to all the lands in thine domain, and may thou embrace the still silence at the end and beginning of all years to come!

Rise, oh sweltering Summer heat, burn forth from me forever and radiate like the heat of the sun and the burning fires of youth and growth and raw passions made manifest. Do this upon all creation to stir it forth to action, that none may sit idle as thine waves wash over them like waves upon the ocean shores!

Rise, oh cool winds of Fall, let thine decline and autumn colors show forth the softer brilliance of nature and beauty that comes in even with death! Become the comfort to all that rest and life so too, yea become the gentle chillwind that soothes the soul and ushers forth the coming cold to be!

Rise, oh lovely warmth of Spring, let thine sweetest caress and gentle rains bring forth new life and sounds of joy where once was death and silence! Manifest thyself as the rebirth of all creation, that cometh during its time to bring back vibrance and loveliness anew!

Oh climes and times of year, cling thee to all places of existence as thou fittest and form-est upon all creation and life therein! Let all life know the seasons and understand without words! Let all climes have their times and seasons thus, all being anchored upon mineself and mineself alone always, and manifest forth properly upon this Shard of Galbar, this Shard of Creation, and all land seeded and made before and now and forevermore!

Let mine existence be the essence of all this, and make mine existence the eternal foundation for all these! So it is decreed, so it is made immutable by being tied to my being forever! Let the gates of destruction and instability of these things be shut!

Shut!

Shut!

SHUT!!!”

So the voices would speaketh, at the end an almighty scream…

...Thus it was done.

The Seasons would be born into creation by the might of the Domain of Cycles now incarnated. Yea natural and normal clouds to bring forth rains and snows and storms and so forth would return and encompass the Shard of Creation alongside the cloud whales and such creatures, that the seasons might occur with the right weathers. Each biome of the world, those created before now and ever so after even, would now possess their fitting weather and climates and seasons thus...now and forever.

All of it was bound to the existence of the Goddess Arira, never to be rent in twain again unless she ceased to exist. It was her, her will, her extension, her life, her very being now. The Cycles of the Seasons, the Cycles of Life growing and dying and reproducing and resting, and the fitting Climate Cycles of all the lands and terrain and so forth, all were ushered in. All were a part of Arira now. They were her, and yet not her. They had beginnings, and they had ends. They had starts, and they had stopping points.

Yet not all was well in this aftermath.

For even as all the other gods and lands would find themselves stable and organized in ways prior untouched or unfinished or absent, the Goddess of Cycles would rapidly shift back to her Base Form.

Rapidly, Arira’s body would limply begin to fall from the heavens.

Oh save her, gods of the world, that she be not broken upon Mount Divinus itself!

_{excerpt from:}



I begin this book of reflections with a greeting to the God That Was, the God That Is, and the God That Will Be. I salute that being who Was before the first ending of the world; by whose will the world was first made, was first made to end, and was first made to be saved. It is to that being that I send my salutations and my regards, and it is the pleasure of that being that I seek and aspire towards. And I declare, so that all creation may witness, that my great aspiration and my single-minded purpose is the preservation of the knowledge of the ways taught by that being - carried in the hearts of generation after generation of pious ancestors until it came at last to so incapable and poor a creature as myself even as the world ended all about us. I pen this record so that when in time I will have passed from existence there will remain a word calling people to the remembrance of that glorious being and to the remembrance of the ways He taught us before the world ended and the beings we now call gods emerged.

Worthy of worship indeed are the new gods, for they are powerful and they saved something of the world from complete ruination. But we must be careful, those of us who are dutiful to the gods and seek out their pleasure, of ascribing to them more worth than is theirs - for those of moral rectitude do not ascribe to anything more worth than is due to it, and do not ascribe to anything less worth than is its rightful due; and those who like to be praised for what they are not and what they have not done are truly most impoverished in spirit and are despised.

And so, in worshipping the new gods we must first know what a god is, and why the God That Was, That Is, and That Will Be is a true God while the new gods are gods insofar as they wield an aspect of divine power. Any true God, and this must be known by any who pursue true knowledge of the divine, must by its very nature be eternal without beginning, and so uncreated. It precedes all things and is preceded by nothing. By this metric, we can ascertain that there was a time when the new gods definitively came into being - indeed, they came to being in my own lifetime. Before that point, the new gods did not exist at all, of that we can be certain - and there are those still amongst us who bear witness to that, as I do, and the new gods (were one to ask them) would bear witness to that also. There was a time where they did not exist, and then they came into existence. Thus they have a beginning and are not eternal, are preceded by other things and do not precede all things. That is the nature of the new gods.

From our observation of the world, we can see that many things come into being by the will of the gods. Northing is self-created, nothing emerges from itself, everything emerged from the gods. And we can also ascertain, since the world was coming to an end not too long ago, that all things perish if not maintained by the gods - and that is why our world came to an end and there is now only a small part of it that remains. For a reason we cannot ascertain the divine power that maintained our world decided to stop maintaining it for a brief time, and then the new gods came into being to once more maintain our world. The thinking mind can piece all this together: if all things that have a beginning are created, and the new gods had a beginning, then the new gods must have been created. Since all that exists is created and has a beginning, and since the new gods - and, indeed, our universe - have beginnings and are capable of ending, they must have been created. At some point in the chain must have been a first creator, a creator who is by necessity uncreated. An ultimate creator-being.

It was that ultimate creator-being that created the new gods and gave them an aspect of its great power. Now a thinking person will say: well, if that creator-being created them and gave them such great powers, then that being must have been even greater in power than the new gods. And that is manifestly true - for if I come to you and tell you that I will give you a mountain of gold, then that must mean that I have more than a mountain of gold, or at the very least equal to it. Thus the being who created all of the new gods must be at the very least as mighty and powerful as all of them together - and it is probable that this being is many times more powerful than even that, perhaps even of infinite power since in truth it is the ultimate creator and maintainer of our world, capable of destroying it at will and restoring it at will.

I shall content myself with this on that topic. Know then that the great being of whom I speak is the God That Was, Is, and Will Be. His ways are unknown to the new gods - perhaps in His wisdom he sought to hide Himself from them. But we who yet have memory of the days before the new gods were created remember also the teachings of our pious forefathers, the same teachings that the God taught us. To gain the pleasure of that being who is able to create and uncreate the gods and so is able to create or destroy our world at will, we must follow His ways and teachings. I spoke of this to the new goddess Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut in the days before she turned me into a mouse, but she dismissed my words and refused to give it thought. Are we to guide who do not wish after guidance? We can only deliver the message and leave the spark of this knowledge alive that perhaps there will come one day a generation of people who know the truth and live by it, who honour the God That Was, Is, and Will Be and who honour the gods He has sent forth into this world as His deputies. But we must never be blinded from the light of truth or be deluded into thinking that the deputies are true gods; we will then have fallen into the deep crevices of untruth and darkness.


There have been those who have asked me to tell of why Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut turned me into a mouse, and I shall pen that tale here. Know that Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut is a being that speaks great profanities and I do not write these words here except out of faithfulness to the discourse between her and me.

Sometime after Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut created those magical bees, which suck nectar and magic out of flowers and trees and put it into their honey, she poured the soup of creation into a gourd and turned that gourd into a wooden staff - and so if you see her carrying a wooden stick or a sceptre or something of the like, know that held within that are all the creatures that were or could be. It was, of course, on my advice that she chose to save the creatures; and though she saved no animal that existed in our world before, she gave us strange creatures that hold some of their physical traits and echo their ways.

She decided to continue her explorations of the world once the bees had flown away and insisted I accompany her. "Only if you promise to do good by all creatures we cross," I told her. She laughed at me and forced me into a cage, and took me along with her anyway. She is a capricious and cruel being!- may she be guided to the path of goodness and high morals. We went then and we observed the terrible state of affairs of humanity; much goodness had been forgotten and the tree of evil had taken root in their hearts and its branches speared at the skies. To Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut this was amusing, and so I chastised her now with kindly words and now with harsh ones; but my words increased her in nothing but waywardness and moved neither her heart to feel nor her mind to think.

When I called on her to damn the cannibals who ate one another, she ignored me and ate with them. When I called on her to damn the sons and daughters who abandoned their aging parents when they needed them most, she ignored me and sat with the abandoned old folk and watched them die - though she was capable of saving them! When I called on her to damn those who commanded their people to be patient and forebear while they ate the best of the food and more than their rations, she caused the food of the needy to rot while that of those who lorded over them to grow bounteous. When I called on her to damn those who, finding that they had physical power over others, went raiding and raping and transgressing against others, she praised their freedom and wilfulness. "Have you no shame, lady?" I asked her, "you who have taken the form of woman, have you no regard for the sacredness of the womanly form and the holy bonds that precede the union of man and woman? Have you no regard for the chastity and honour of those whose form you have assumed?"

"Alright look here you fucker, I didn't bring you along to do my head in with your nagging. Since you won't shut your yapper I'm shutting it for you," was her response. And I was not able to speak after that for a long time. Not until we one day came to a cave and inside it we found a group of people dressed up as animals and going around on all fours, yapping and barking and acting in all ways like mere creatures. I remember that Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut stared silently at them for the longest time before turning to me and saying: "What. The. Fuck."

Those were the first humans that Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut obliterated. At some point during her week-long obliteration of the place she released me from the bindings of silence and I was able to speak to her and calm her. But nothing I could say could dissuade her from her newfound conviction. "Humans are a blight. They need to be exterminated."

I have no doubt that many monkilli will refuse to accept their creation story, but this is the truth. They were made by a fickle and capricious goddess who did not care for the true sins of humanity, who was neither interested in learning morality nor teaching it, and instead decided to whimsically destroy the human race because of this strange animal-fetish cult made up of some five or six people. This is the truth, and if the monkilli accepted it then they would halt their futile vendetta. But as it were, it was at that time and for that reason that Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut tapped her staff upon the earth and caused to emerge therefrom the many monkilli races. And even at this moment that strange species goes forth to carry out the will of a goddess whom they do not truly know but regardless adore. But they are a young species, and they will learn.

After that Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut created much, and I had the opportunity to witness the creation of many strange and terrible and wonderful things. She filled the world with all nature of snakes and lizards then - she has a strange affinity for such things, she seems always to start with them. Great lizards and small, of all shapes and colours - and that is quite beside the dircaans. She decreed crocodilians of all sizes to roam the many rivers that sprouted from the heart of the Shard, and placed on the rivers and lakes and seas and oceans seals - aye, river seals and sea seals, she cared little for constancy or consistency but made as the fancy took her. And as the ocean was birthed she sent forth fishes small and fishes great, lumbering behemoths and barely visible magical plankton. Though she made no more cloud fish, the flying fish seemed to be made to occupy the world above and the world below while immediately being of neither. There were frogs and toads and salamanders, some of them veritable giants relative to others. Birds of enormous size, birds of the tiniest proportions, flightless birds and birds that by all logic and reason should not have flown and yet did. Cats large and small she loosed, bears and bear dogs, bats and rodents (and, of course, mice!), moles and voles and otters and weasels and ferrets and badgers. Great leaping hares and small rabbits, raccoons and their like, skunks at whose small even I - then still a soul - was made to weep. The civet and the mongoose and the hyena were not left to wallow in the soup, and there were mouse deers and musk deers, great deers and small deers, and bovines roaming in great herds. Pigs were loosed and camelids joined the giant snow camel (humpless camelids and humped, large camelids and small), and on the rivers the hippo was made to challenge the crocodile. There were more yet, she was for the first time untiring and persistent - armadillos were sent forth, marsupials, possums and opossums, wombats, platypi, rhinos and tapirs, dawn horses, anteaters, monkeys and apes and squirrels and beavers. They are more than a mere mortal can hope to remember, all that was in the soup and desired release found release - and when she was done she looked into the soup and found that even after such exertions it was no closer to being depleted than when she first pulled out the grobin. And she understood then, I believe, that the soup would never be depleted so long as she herself was undepleted and I saw her smile a satisfied smile and one would have almost thought her innocent and beautiful then.

But I shall now list some of the more interesting specimens here with an accompanying attempt at visual representation:

• Mushroom Boar: A large boar with fungal growths that dwells in Vatrai.
• Mosasa: A giant aquatic reptile that inhabits the oceans and seas. It can reach fifty-eight feet in length, making it a veritable leviathan, and is a truly formidable apex predator that can prey on even the largest forms of aquatic life. Its sight is extraordinarily keen while its sense of smell is quite deficient. In a similar way to crocodiles, mosasa attacking one another tend to grapple the other's head with their jaw, causing severe head injuries and often leading to death. They also occasionally engage in cannibalism.
• Head-shielded Fish: A small heavily-armoured bottom-feeding fish that lives in estuaries. Its diet consists mainly of worms and other burrowing organisms in the mud and algae.
• Great Bone-headed Dunkler: An enormous, armoured and jawed fish, reaching thirty-two feet in length. It has a two-part exterior of armour-like bone, which makes it a relatively slow but powerful swimmer. Rather than teeth it possesses two pairs of sharp bony plates that form a beak-like structure. They are able to open and close their jaw at incredible speeds and produce a very powerful bite force on closing their jaw. They live in shallow waters during adolescence and move onto deeper waters in adulthood.
• Lesser Bone-headed Dunkler: A relative of the aforementioned Dunkler, it often reaches some twenty-six feet in length. It does not have the same boney teeth of it relative, but is rather a filter feeder. It uses its capacious mouth to swallow or inhale schools of small fish, krill and plankton. Its mouth-plates were made in such a way as to retain prey while allowing water to escape as it closes its mouth.
• Lada: An enormous filter-feeding fish, capable of reaching lengths of one-hundred feet. Despite its size, it can often fall prey to apex predators.
• Cirnus: A large, short-necked aquatic reptilian that can reach lengths of thirty-six feet. An apex predator, it is a fast swimmer and actively hunts down or pursues its prey. Being an apex predator, it preys on large aquatic life forms such as the aforementioned lada, alongside smaller ones.
• Water Angel: A strange fish that has an elongated body, a whip-like tail, and long, wing-like pectoral fins. Its armor is made up of a complex mosaic of small scales. It is an enigmatic creature, but the goddess poured strange magicks into it and gave it her blessing.
• Canthala: An elusive fish that tends to live in shallow coastal waters, especially around islands. It can reach lengths of twenty feet. It is generally not fit for sapient consumption due to its poor nutritional value and can cause various illnesses of consumed.
• Dircaans: A diverse species of giant reptilians. They include carnivorous and herbivorous subspecies, and some, such as the comb-headed and one-horned dircaans, also eat small wildlife and fish on occasion. The small dircaan is too small to ride and occupies a niche similar to that of goats and sheep in some communities. The water dircaan is semiaquatic, and so is adapted to aquatic environments and is generally to be found stalking swamps, rivers, and wetlands.
  
  • Badger Dircaan: A herbivorous dircaan with a bone-like beak, able to reach lengths of six feet. Boasts powerful hindlegs and claws that enable it to dig up roots and tubers, and its powerful bone-like beak can make short work of tough plant material.
  • Tiger Dircaan: A carnivorous bipedal dircaan of moderate size, capable of reaching lengths of sixteen feet. It has a massively built skull bearing dagger-like teeth, large eyes that allow for extremely keen vision, and elongated nostrils providing a strong sense of smell. They prey on creatures large and small, including the badger dircaan.
  • One-horned Dircaan
  • Tri-horned Dircaan
  • Small Dircaan
  • Comb-headed Dircaan
  • Winged Dircaan: Sometimes also called the Lesser Drakhorey, though there is little in common between the firebreathing leviathans of the heavens that are the drakhorey and the comparatively mundaned winged lizards that are the winged dircaans.
  • Water Dircaan
  • Great-beak Dircaan: An enormous dircaan, beaked and toothless, which is capable of flight. It boasts a wingspan of up to forty feet and a standing shoulder height of ten feet. It has an exceptionally large and sharp beak, large eyes that enable telescopic vision, and tends to inhabit plain environments that give way to cliffs so as to facilitate its glided flight. While entirely capable of such flight, they are extremely capable land predators, snatching up their prey from above - often coordination in large groups so as to prevent smaller prey from escaping with their larger size and great wingspan.

Now, when Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut was satisfied with all this, the goddess turned to me and asked what form of life I wished to be breathed into. My response came swift - too swift, I now know: "I have no desire for life, my lady." I told her, and hindsight has taught me what a great lack of wisdom lay in those words.

"Go on, I insist." She said, smiling that pleasant and innocent smile of hers. Beware you who associate with Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut! Beware, for such a smile often precedes some cruel and inexplicably callous act on that divine's part! You have been warned, so let there be no cries about the injustice of it when you find yourself gazing into that smile; you were informed of this before and associated with her regardless, so taste you now the bitterness that comes with such evil company!

"I do not fear death, my lady. I am excited to see what comes next." I told her in response - a second mistake! Mouse the Wise? Why, Mouse the Fool! And so her smile then became so sweet that it was really quite sickening, and I had no sooner looked on her countenance before I found myself a mouse - and when I looked up again and beheld her visage I found that she was no longer smiling. (And yes, I admit that her darkened face and glowering eyes were more merciful by far than that sickly-sweet smile.)

"You were offered a gift, prick!" She screamed. "You don't reject a fucking gift - especially not from me! But since you had the gall to taint my good name and drag my honour through the dogshit of your oh-so-pious rejection, you will now be obliged to carry my curse into eternity. Live well, Mouse the Stupid Dumbfuck."

And that was the last time I saw Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut before her journey into the realm of death.

• Summary [+]

  The first two parts from a book called The Book of Reflection by a character called Mouse the Wise.
  The first chapter is an argument about how the new gods aren't true gods, and that there is in fact a greater divine being called the God That Was, Is, and Will Be who created the gods and the world and should in fact be worshipped.
  The second chapter details the journey of Mouse the Wise, back when he was still a soul, with Tonta around the world. They see all th evil things humans are doing, and Mouse calls on her to punish the wrongdoers and stand up for the oppressed, but Tonta doesn't much care and eventually forcefully shuts him up. Then one day they come upon a few people in a cave dressed up as animals, and Tonta is so disgusted that she smites them and swears by the firmaments and the ligaments that humanity must be obliterated. So she makes the monkilli to do just that. She then create a great many creatures, a few of them listed in the post. When she's done she turns to Mouse the Wise and offers him a reward: she will give him a new body and a new chance at life. Mouse doesn't want new life and tells her to let him die. She insists. He insists. She turns him into a mouse.
• MA Spent [+]

  Creation of the monkilli.
  Creation of a great deal of animals.
  Cursing Mouse the Wise Stupid Dumbfuck to eternally occupy a tiny anthropomorphic mouse's body.

The thing had nothing to sense. A numb cancelling of all waves centred itself there in the core of the world. None of the cacophonous rumbles, pressure, and searing heat was felt. The only company enjoyed by the thing at the core was the gentle song of the cosmos whispered through from the outside. It sat listening, manifesting the opposite of all else around it, whether willed or not. The opposite now was an absence of all. It had neither memories nor the consciousness to record such. No record within or without existed of its age. Its existence was unnoticed, eternal or not. It may never have had memories at all.

What the thing at the core had was a reaction to all the spirits of the world, choiring at once at the hell they suddenly inhabited. The discordant crowd of pain came from all directions at such a volume as to reach a uniform peak at the core. The song of the cosmos was not just drowned, but buried, sealed, and suffocated beneath it. The thing at the core manifested the opposite of all else around it. It was peace, patience, and familiarity.

The apocalyptic choir overlapped its verses, and with it came hate, anger, trauma, vengeance, avarice, and disgust. The thing at the core manifested the opposite of all else around it. Its heart ached not in a desire to destroy, but a desire to soothe, preserve, and heal. From that heart, a being formed. The combined spirit of the planet Galbar itself unknowingly made it so. In the planet’s manifest discord, shattering and breaking into oceanic pieces, the opposite -- harmony -- was given shape. The shape was Kor.

Kor was a weeping goddess.

The birth of Kor lasted only as long as her new consciousness formulated actions from her desires. She wrought a body from the decompressing metal around her and this stilled her tears. From the heat, she pushed out and up. She did not choose a direction to go. The direction chose her, beckoning up to a point at Galbar’s undercrust. An old benevolent trail of divinity beyond her immediate understanding signalled her there like a light in the sky.

She found her direction through the molten mantle and pushed with two arms. The chaos of the world sank into her like so many teeth. With two more arms she pushed. A great shard of the planet buckled and broke away from the whole under her pressure. The underside of the shard glowed and flexed and screamed. To that she sang softly a song she knew to calm it.

…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…
…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…

The screaming quietened, but the dark chaos hung onto the shard jealously. It would consume all if it could not have the peace this shard dared to achieve.

…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…
…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…

Kor manifested the opposite of the chaos to protect her new shard. Her harmonious peace. A body of unbreakable confidence and structure. She then took two more arms and pushed up as hard as she could. The burning remains of Galbar darkened below, opening an endless maw that threatened to consume Kor and her last shard of the unbroken past. It inhaled to draw her closer.

…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…
…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…
…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…
…Kor…Re…Pa…Ve…Laak…

The shard sang with her. The mantra took the spirits of the land, the plants, the animals, and the people, and stroked their spines and shoulders with a new calm. They found a sureness in the pull their bodies had to the earth below them, pushing away the chaos. The pain and darkness that clung from the planet below could not hold on against this force, which from the underside pushed it all away. The chaos held, but thinned and tore like a film of black slime. Finally, though some of the chaos remained atop the shard, the film finally ripped asunder by force of Kor’s strength, and the shard flew free in the goddess’ six great hands.

Kor continued to sing, and continued to push Galbar away. But still she wept. Above, the shard began to shiver and crack. In the cradle of its salvation, the cold of its new freedom threatened to kill it early. Below, Galbar broke and collapsed until nothing was left but the malevolence that caused its destruction. Kor could only keep the ex-Galbar and All-In-The-Darkness-Below at bay. She did not have the strength to save the shard as well.

Then, as if she was not the only one to hear the call of the shard, Kor witnessed more great powers repair and stabilise it from above and within. Six points of surety welded the stone together. Kor readjusted her hands as carefully as she could to align with the six points and found herself finally at a point of equilibrium once more. She smiled softly in the knowledge that the shard above would live on.

Thank you, she called into the earth above. She did not know who was responsible, only that there would be peace again for a time.

---

The day was gentle on the plains - the Su’une warmed softly, and the summer rain caressed the skin like a cozy embrace. The grass grew tall this time of year, and on an otherwise empty plain largely devoid of grazing life for the time being, it saw no reason not to. For the life that did exist, the grass provided some nice hiding spots to stay out of sight from any prying eyes. One such little creature was, in fact, little Ossurman, who had crawled away from his mother-father while they rested under a mango tree. The little boy was an adventurous soul, and did not shy away from the mud caking his hands and knees as he wormed his way through the grass, eager to explore the world.

The little boy crawled for almost an hour without pause, the divine nutrients in his daily meals strengthening him beyond what a normal human baby should be capable of. He crawled over stone and under tree, until he finally reached an opening in the grass, one where he could spy down into a deep ravine, which, too, was slowly growing together again thanks to the newly erected Clan Pillar.

“Goo,” he said into the deep.

“‘Goo’ indeed, little one,” said a voice from behind as Ossurman was picked up by his waist. Though he struggled, there wasn’t much the baby could do against this adversary. Cradling him in her arms, Koine looked down at the baby as she tickled his belly, inciting some quiet squirming. She had come to this part of the land to find potential sites of future development, but she instead found something much more interesting. A baby wandering around without any clear parental supervision was one thing, but Koine could sense that this one was of a direct divine line. Koine was always aware that there were other divine entities, but this was the first time she had actual proof of it. “I don’t suppose you could tell me where your parents are, now could you?” Koine asked Ossurman, using the tone of voice for babies.

Whether or not he could answer, it was a rhetorical question. The little Ossurman was clearly too young to speak. The only course of action she had was to locate his parental figures and ask for compensation. Koine was no tracker, but the trail of a baby wasn’t too hard to spot and she began following it back to its source. While doing so, Koine held up a hand and began flipping a gold coin over her fingers for Ossurman’s amusement. The baby eyed the gold with saucer-like eyes, chubby hands waving at them clumsily in bumbling attempts to catch them. Slimy spit bubbled at his lips and he unleashed another, “Gooh!” It was unclear if he was answering Koine’s question or not.

The trip was a long one, but Koine did her best to keep Ossurman occupied, from telling a story to trying to teach him basic arithmetic. Eventually, Koine made her way to a mango tree where there was a being with more than the standard amount of arms resting underneath it. Judging from the godly aura radiating from it, Koine believed she had found the divine parent irresponsible enough to let their offspring wander off into the middle of nowhere. “Hello there,” Koine greeted it. “I believe this child is yours.”

The many-armed god stirred to life, blinking in a sleepy daze. “Wuh..?” Then they sat up, revealing their large, swollen belly. A groggy hand scratched their hair at the roots and their eyes suddenly flared up in realisation. They rocketed to their feet, albeit their balance was somewhat off, and summoned forth a myriad of sabres. ”My son! You thieving fiend! Unhand him at once and deliver him here, or your body shall be split into a thousand parts and sown across the land like bloody grain!”

Koine’s eyes widened in mild surprise for a second at their sudden aggression, then sighed in disappointment. She waved her hand across, transforming the sabres into gold and silver coins. “That’s not a nice example to be showing to your child, now is it?” Koine asked, smiling. “How about we have a nice calm discussion, like how this child was about to fall down a ravine?” Holding Ossurman up to eye level, Koine added, “Do make sure to keep an eye on him next time. I traveled more than an hour to get here.”

”HMPH!” A pair of arms shot out to snatch the child from Koine’s arms. ”Don’t you tell me how to raise my boy. I happen to be the expert on raising children. I am, after all, Chakravarti, the parent of parents! And this child, as you so crudely referred to my son, is none other than the Ossurman vur Chakravarti, first of his name and emperor of these lands. You owe him and me some respect, you, you…” The many armed god seemed to briefly allow their eyes to affix to the rings of silver and jewelrious stones about her figure, and their face visibly lost its animosity bit by bit as the eyes caught more and more signs of wealth in and about Koine’s form. In a completely different tone, they said softly, ”Well, he~llo, o muse of exotics - what brings you here to these distant parts?”

Koine continued to smile, her business face fully on. “I’m glad you asked, Chakravarti,” she said. “I am currently searching for profitable business ventures, scouring the lands for optimal trade routes and potential customers. I have not found much success in this task, which is to be expected for a ruined world such as this. However, I believe you and Emperor Ossurman are quite the find. I see profit in both our futures, and my eyes don’t lie when it comes to good business.”

“My terms are very simple,” Koine continued. “There is a race of draconic humanoids whom I call the Loong. Should they come to these lands, I expect them to receive safe passage and first priority in trade agreements. In return, you will receive profitable wares, ranging from basic necessities to luxury goods not found anywhere else. Do we have a deal?”

The many-armed god pursed their lips. ”O-ho~! A lady of quality; a woman of wealth! What deals; what proposals!” They cast aloft two hands and cupped one thoughtfully under their chin. ”Your offer is most enticing, silver-ringed one, but I cannot simply avoid making a counteroffer - one that is worth much, much more than both mortal affairs and profitable goods.” They smiled and reached out a hand. ”Are you interested?”

“Of course I am,” Koine agreed. “That is Business 101, and I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” She then held up a hand before adding, “But before I take your hand, I simply must hear this offer of yours. If you can truly offer what you promise, then I don’t wish to miss it.”

”Why, of course!” The many-armed god did a pirouette, kicking out a leg with surprising agility in spite of their pregnancy. They knelt down with the risen knee dodging the curvature of their belly and sent five arms out like the rays of the sun, two hugging Ossurman to their chest and the last extending forward with an inviting open palm. ”Oh, most beautiful and affluent lady from distant lands - would you do me, Chakravarti vur Chakravarti, the honour of becoming my wife?”

Koine gingerly placed her fingers on Chakravarti’s and answered, “I’m honored you would ask this of me, and perhaps under different circumstances I would have accepted. However, this offer would restrict my actions too much to realize my plans for the future. I do apologize, for I must decline your proposal.” With that said, Koine let her fingertips slide away from theirs, her smile turning apologetic.

The many-armed god recoiled as though struck by an arrow to the chest. They feigned a violent cough and keeled over onto all sixes, breathing as though choked. ”Alas, what directness! I am wounded! Second proposal in a row, no less!” They rolled onto their back and two hands lifted Ossurman up over their face. ”Am I losing my touch, o son of mine? Have I grown fat and ugly with pregnancy?”

Koine chuckled as she knelt down near Chakravarti. “I do hope this won’t affect our business relationship,” she said. “Speaking of which, as for my previous offer, are you ready to discuss it or shall I return at a later time?”

”Leave me alone,” wept the god and rubbed away tears with four hands. ”Can you not see I am in mourning? That I am heartbroken? Alas, nothing can dyke this deluge in my spirit; what remedy can cure this wound to the soul?” A fist pierced the sky. ”Fate, how cruel must you be?!”

Koine knelt in place for a few more seconds, staring at Chakravarti, then decided there was nothing more to gain by staying here. Standing back up, Koine said, “Then I bid you farewell, Chakravarti and Emperor Ossurman.” Then she began to wander off, intending to continue surveying the land as her original goal.

Lonn strode across the long, dusty path westward, leaving the lands that would one day be known as the chaparral and into the foothills of the mountains. He had spent weeks observing the people of the eastern coast, watching as one by one the disparate groups made their way towards the Red Pillar; it was working exactly as intended. Regardless, his collection of observed groups grew in number. It was only a matter of time, of course, that he noticed something deeply disturbing. The Red God began to see, rarely but in increasing numbers, the presence of disease among the mortals. At first he had not been worried; such pestilence had proven to be a normal part of the apocalypse and only added to the complexity and fascination of the human experience.

It had only donned on Lonn that something was particularly amiss when he was given time to himself, sitting beneath the darkened skies as the solar disk dove across the other side of the mountains. His thoughts, as they often did, descended on topics darker in nature and found their way to Ahtziri. She had been an enigma at the time of her discovery and yet still proved a niggling thorn in the side of Lonn’s mind. The divinity he had interacted with up until that point had been openly human in nature, or at least held some semblance of mankind within them; though she certainly did reflect some of humanity herself, as he admitted openly, Ahtziri had proven to be the first actively opposed to their continued existence. Though he stewed on this topic, it wasn’t long until dots began to connect. Unwilling to let sleeping dogs lie when his plans were this close to blossoming, Lonn directed his considerable mind towards investigation. With divine senses he dug deep into the nature of disease, observing it in men and beast and plant. The Man-God determined rapidly that it was a perfidious thing indeed. But, far more importantly, Lonn calculated that if there was a Goddess of Monsters and God of Mortals, surely there must be a God of pestilence.

The realization had eaten at his heart but quickly turned towards action. This figure, by the very nature of what Lonn had observed, was perhaps even more antithetical to Lonn’s interests than Ahtziri. With his first battle with another god having ended ultimately in a semblance of success, confidence had swelled in his divine heart. Action not only could be taken, but had to be taken, in order to secure the future he so utterly craved. With that Lonn set off westward, focusing all his attention on tracking the spread of pestilence from a presumed central source.



It hadn’t taken a God of the Hunt to track the spread of corruption from deep below the mountaintop where the wellspring of the world burst forth. Lonn had followed the wave of pestilence that had emanated forth, following and turning about wherever the pattern showed itself clearly. It was obvious to Lonn, by that point, that his prediction had been completely correct. No doubt there was another Divine at the end of his path and by then he had set himself clearly to the task.

Either the God would swear to reign in his actions or Lonn would choose a more direct approach.

In the dull light of the setting sun disk, Lonn glared up the hillside at the rotted stack of stones and gnarled rock that opened into the mountain face like a sickened maw. Though the emanations of its effluvient breath was ultimately invisible to the naked eye, Lonn had no such difficulties. Rot poured forth from the maw of pestilence with heavy gasps, billowing in great clouds to Lonn’s red eyes. The dark skin of his false-form paled as the wave of diseased air rolled over him but it was made of tougher stuff than mortal ken. Eyes now raging red, Lonn strode forth with a determined gate, shoulders wide.

As he arrived at the yawning portal of Pestis, Lonn placed a hand on one of the rocks only for it to be singed with corruption. Recognizing the momentary pain, Lonn raised the wound to his eyes and grimaced with disdain. Pockmarks and scar tissue already formed, partially blacked, on the face of his left palm.

”What brings you here to this blessed place of decay eternal?”

Xem lifted his gaze to stare at the Red God.

”It was not made for one such as you, even though your flesh will mingle with it in due time.”

The God of Rot rose from his fetid throne, bones creaking and flesh sloughing in a seemingly endless draught. Lurching forward he approached his fellow god, stopping only when there were naught more than the span of four steps left between them.

”Or do you intend on joining me early? If so…” he chuckled, a horrid burbling of tattered flesh and torn chords, as he raised a worm riddled hand and reached out for Lonn. ”That is something I can most certainly arrange.”

Stopping just as his fingers were about to brush against the Red God’s steadily paling face, Xem turned away to retake his seat upon the throne. Regarding Lonn with what could only be described as an amused smirk, for that is what the skewed angle of his jaw most readily implied, he rested his head in the crook of his palm.

”Or perhaps you intend on challenging me to a test of martial prowess?”

He sighed dramatically, the sound of which emerged as more of a wispy rasp than anything else.

”I will admit that such a contest, while I am not necessarily averse to it, would not exactly be fair to either of us. I am not a god who is in possession of immense physical strength after all, and you…”

Xem gazed at the Red God in silence for but a moment.

”Well you, to put it bluntly, do not seem to be the kind of being suited to fighting in a place like this.”

Lonn had remained quiet from the very moment the Rot-God Xem had presented himself, his burbling voice more than enough clamor for the moment. Every word dripped with arrogance, a tone Lonn had become incredibly familiar with as of late, and so he simply held his tongue. As the dark deity monologued Lonn took a further step into the cavernous hall of the God of Pestilence. Though he didn’t allow for his gaze to drop he could feel his bare feet clearly balking at the corrupting presence of Pestis. His sneer remained penetrative, however, bristling black mustache and beard looking all the part of some great boar, ferocious in its visage. When at last Xem made his assertion about their coming conflict, Lonn had to suppress an urge to speak more thoroughly on the subject.

”Seemingly.” retorted the God of Mortals with a laconic quip, a one word response all he gave in reply.

There was a pause as Lonn allowed himself one step further inside, his gaze wandering only to the peripheries of his vision. His lip pulled back into a slight sneer once more, revealing the gentlest hint of his ivory-white teeth. There Xem was, sitting upon his throne of effluvium, and all Lonn could do was look on in distaste. The irony of it all was palpable. Though he felt his organs prickling at the new found pathogens boiling in his lungs, Lonn didn’t much pay it heed. Though tears started building at the corners of his red eyes, Lonn seemed to only glow more. His eyes now sparked with crimson lightning and a circular aura about his person roared into a carmine blaze. Even with the weakening of his flesh, it was clear Lonn was no simpering puppet.

”I need to know something, friend,” spat out Lonn as he stood with surprising strength despite the evident weakness of his fleshy form, ”It’s clear to me from what I’ve seen that you don’t intend any good for the life of this last shard of reality. Do I got that right?”

Xem responded with a curt nod.

”That is correct. Though if you are curious it is not spite but hunger and inevitability that drives my decay. Everything rots just as everything dies, so in a manner of speaking everything ultimately becomes one with me.”

Although his expression was largely unreadable on account of how mangled his face was, Xem was regarding Lonn with the slightest tinge of curiosity.

”I assume you take issue with this? What with the ferocity lacing your words...”

”Correct,” pronounced Lonn matter of factly, by now seeming utterly feverish in complexion, ”Their lives have value to me. So I say once, buddy, and only once; do something else.”

Xem shook his head and steepled his fingers beneath his chin in reply.

”I am afraid that is something I simply cannot do. My hunger will be satiated one way or another, whether it is to your liking or not.”

He leaned forward in his throne.

”It seems we will have no choice but to come to blows, for you do not seem like the type of god to let someone off with a stern warning alone.”

Rising from his seat once more, Xem stood with his hands clasped behind his back in clear invitation for Lonn to make the first move.

In contrast to the caution shown in his first fight with another divine, Lonn now enjoyed a far greater level of experience for divine conflict and instantly moved to claim the initiative. His left heel hurtled forward along the rotten floor, darkened flesh-matter tearing as it ran across the jagged ground of Pestis. When his foot came to plant itself into the vile soil already his left foot seemed ruined, yet it planted with the firmness of a veteran fighter unbowed and unbroken. False human muscles, built with greater understanding after the loss of his first body, responded with power and poise in equal measure as his powerful form lurched forward into a throwers pose and his hand shot back into position. A thundercrack sounded as the space between Lonn’s fingers tore itself apart and a crimson line of light screamed out into either direction, ending at two flashing points in reality. The red lance was fully born in the very moment Lonn’s arm launched forward, hurling the bolt at godly speeds towards his opponent while the rocky earth around the Red God cracked and shattered from the unleashed energy.

With nothing more than a simple upwards flick of his fingers, the Exarch of Decay caused a bubbling wall of acid to surge forth from the ground below and interpose itself between the bolt and his body, though he did not remain standing in place for very long. Sparing only a second or two to see if his countermeasure had successfully blocked the bolt hurled by Lonn - which it had, thankfully, the acid evaporating into a thick screen of vision obscuring steam testifying to its effectiveness - Xem quickly vaulted over the back of his throne and fled deeper into Pestis, manipulating the mire around him so that it aided in his flight. He knew this would not be enough, however, and that the Red God would catch up with him eventually. So, deciding he needed a more physical means of self-defense, Xem took hold of his lowest rib and tore it free. A movement that sent liquified flesh flying and organs spilling as he shaped the bone into a more effective shape, one that resembled a sword, albeit one whose curvature flowed into a span of straightness before abruptly ending in a comfortable handlelike length. Shape aside, the blade hummed with latent traces of the Exarch’s pestilent power, for it was taken from him. With that done, and his new weapon in hand, Xem glanced back at the way he’d come. His eyeless sockets scanned the area, looking for any trace of the Red God or another one of his crimson bolts.

Just as Xem finished his grizzly work a second red lance flashed into view, a scorching line of energy that dragged behind it a scar of crimson light into the rotten realm. The bolt of lightning slammed into the ground just a hair's breadth away from the Divine of decay. Though he was able to move away from the initial bolt, the detonation hurled Xem away to catch himself in the muck, the smoke and fire of the explosion giving way for Lonn to come roaring out of it. He looked the part perfectly, by then, with semi-ruined limbs, bristing hair, and eyes blaring red to the point of no longer quite being visibly eyes. Twin streaks of red light remained behind Lonn as the God erupted from the smoke, marking the passing of his baleful gaze as he leapt forward, flashing red spear in hand. The first thrust came as fast as the throw, shattering the sound barrier with a loud boom that kicked sludge and muck up in all directions outwards from Lonn’s arm. The scorching tip of the lance thrust directly for Xem’s head, burning the very air around it with the harsh scream of its travel.

Xem barely had time to dodge, and would have had no time at all had he not been watching for further attacks, diving out of the way of the bolt before springing back to his feet and re-engaging the Red God with a diagonal slash aimed at his hip. Despite this blow landing, however, Xem quickly found himself outmatched and then reduced to doing naught more than parrying the oncoming flurry of blows.

’I can’t keep engaging him in melee like this…’

Reversing his grip on his blade, Xem summoned up several streams of acidic muck with the slightest movement of his free hand, before sending them snaking through the air towards Lonn.

’I need to keep putting as much distance between myself and him as possible.’

With his second attack still in progress, Xem proceeded to blanket the area around him in a noxious smog, one that would hopefully let him disengage and escape. For aversion was still the name of the game as far as his battle with the Red God was concerned, and it was a tactic Xem planned on making good use of despite how cowardly it might have seemed.

By then, Lonn was looking all manner of thoroughly damaged. The longer he spent in the realm the more sickly his form appeared, nearly all color seemingly drained from his hide. When Xem’s blade dug in the damage only worsened, blackened flesh puckering and growing outwards like a cancer. Beneath the once dark skin and powerful muscle, glistening metallic bone revealed itself. Unwilling to continue waiting as Xem threw every manner of barrier at him, Lonn pushed through the cloud of smog that burned away hair, pocked skin, and scorched lips. Projectiles of acid muck were hacked apart, boiling away as he dove forward with a crackling weapon bared.

Lonn closed the distance with ridiculous speed, leaping across the small pocket of muck to slam into the ground beside Xem with incredible balance. He left hand flashed out with blinding alacrity, smashing against Xem’s backswing to knock his hand away. The lance surged forward, gouging into the hole Xem had already made himself, punching out the otherside in a burst of gore. The lance detonated into nothingness as Lonn let go of it, hands snatching at Xem’s rotted clothes. With two fistfuls of the vile linen, Lonn spun on his heel to build momentum only to launch Xem back towards the way they had come. Moments later and he leapt after, nearly looking like a skinless monster. Just as Xem crashed into the rockface, Lonn followed suit, smashing into the floor just a stone throw from Xem’s landing.

Xem struggled to lift his head from the rubble in which it was presently buried, but after a bit he finally managed it. Staggering slightly as he rose to his feet, insides still smoldering from the cooking they’d gotten mere seconds ago even as they released the most disgusting stench imaginable, Xem brought his blade to bear once more as his fractured visage settled on the metallic, skeletal form of the Red God.

”Well color me surprised,” he said, tiny flakes falling from the bones comprising his face. ”You’re a better fighter than I gave you credit for. I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you a second time, however.”

The god’s gaze fell to his opponent’s arm, Xem’s reasoning being that any manner of weakness he could inflict was a good one. So, focusing as best he could, Xem drew upon the forces of magic. His hate and ire towards the present situation helping to shape the curse that tumbled forth from his skinless lips.

”Mitran, vodros, plaga!”

As soon as those words had been uttered, the air around them became stuffier, more oppressive. While the acidic seas became agitated to the point of writhing and churning with unnatural force. A single lightning crack later, another impossibility given the locale, and the Red God’s left arm was suddenly afflicted. Its metallic surface became brown with rust, and riddled with pitts of varying shapes and sizes. Stumbling back, Xem found breathing even more difficult than it had been previously, the casting of the curse having clearly taken its toll.

Lonn recoiled in equal parts fury and astonishment, eyes taking only a moment to absorb a vision of his scarred left arm. Crimson glare burning back towards Xem with furious intent, Lonn burst into motion. An attempted swing by Xem, despite his self-inflicted weakness, was caught at the wrist by Lonn as the Red God suddenly appeared before him. Skull-like features glowered at Xem in the millisecond between Lonn’s grapple and Xem realizing he was no longer in control. Just as Xem’s mouth opened for another curse, Lonn’s free hand launched forward to smash into his mouth, shattering teeth and silencing the God as gore and his own dentition filled his throat.

”Quiet, you fuck!” Lonn roared as he twisted with masterful skill, one hand pushing Xem’s head away as the other wrenched at his wrist.

Keeping his balance despite the speed and ferocity of his strike, Lonn raised his left leg up in the flash of an instant only to kick down into Xem’s ribs. Splinters of bone, splashes of blood, and a surge of giblets spewed from the horrendous wound as Lonn kicked, hard. With his vice grip on Xem’s wrist, Lonn tore the Plague God’s forearm clear off, disarming him from his weapon in the most literal of senses. In a single, smooth motion Lonn hurled the arm and blade aside, hurtling off into the distance of Pestis to be forgotten, then raised his now free hand high above his head. Lonn’s hand pinned Xem’s head to the floor recoiled, Xem having only moments to look up before seeing the screaming head of Lonn’s crimson gada crash into his chest with a bellowing warcry from the God of Mortals following suit.

Xem’s chest imploded from the impact, lightning and fire bursting from it heralded by a detonation of more effluvient gore. The Exarch of Rot slammed into the ground beneath him, shattering the floor into splinters of stone to be filled in with roiling putrescence. It was clear by then that Lonn was not having any more of it, a reaching hand grabbed as leverage to lift Xem rapidly from his prone position only to be thrown overhead at his own throne. The stone edifice was crushed by the impact, the back sundered into numerous pieces. Lonn was only a moment behind, traveling the distance as a bolt of his true self only to regain solidity above Xem.

The purulent, ravaged hulk that was Xem’s battered form lay repose, half leaning across the remains of his throne. Lonn, for his part, looked equally worse for wear. His left arm in particular, despite its semi-metallic nature, remained rusted and pitted in a way no other part of him was. The rest was, ultimately, superficial; a flash in his mind allowed Lonn to quickly guess he would not leave this place unmarred. His baleful red vision dropped back to Xem, his smashed face coughing up blackened bile. Though Xem had no eyes, Lonn recognized hatred in that empty gaze. Lonn gave it back ten fold.

”There was only ever gonna be the first time, friend.” spat Lonn, throwing Xem’s words right back to him. His perfect smile, revealed properly for the first time, glowered mockingly down at the fallen God. As the Exarch of Rot rose one last time, in a hopeless but unwavering attempt to continue the fight, Lonn’s extended, flat hand launched in an arc, making contact with the plague-lord’s neck. Soft tissue and rotted bone, despite being godly in its resilience, parted like water before the blow.

Xem’s head erupted from the stump that once held it in a rush of black blood, flying a stone toss away as the body left behind toppled on itself. Lonn stood in his fighting posture for a few moments later before sighing heavily, smoke and sparks hissing from his skeletal maw. The God of Mortals stood to his full height then, looking down at the corpse of his bested rival with disdain. A scant few strides carried him the distance to the head, plucking it from the floor with a handful of rotted, greasy hair. Lonn sneered at him with his perpetual leer, red orbs blazing in his skull. Moments later and he stood above the throne, dropping to a sitting position as his false body shuddered from the exertion. It had been an exhausting fight, yet as Lonn stared into the dead pits of Xem’s skull, he knew his victory had been necessary.

Time passed well beyond what Lonn was willing to keep track of, simply wishing for a moment of respite. As the sun flashed in the mouth of the cavern once more, Lonn could only assume that night had passed and day had come upon him once more. Lonn stood, his metallic body groaning from the damage he had sustained, and he stepped around his temporary resting place to observe the corpse. Luckily, Lonn remarked to himself, it had remained dead. The Red God’s gaze dropped to his companion, the disembodied head of Xem, and gears began to turn within his mind. With one outstretched hand plunging deep within the cadaver’s chest, Lonn drew from within the fetid corpse of the Exarch the power of divinity. The body sparked and fizzled, dissolving into nothingness as Lonn stood to observe his prize. His eyes flashed with curiosity and fascination, devouring the sight of pure divinity in its unfettered state as it drained from Xem’s heart. With no hint of trepidation or doubt, Lonn devoured the black heart of his enemy, the fires of his internal, true self vaporizing it in an instant. The energy of divinity surged throughout his false form, every gouge, cut, or hole in him glowing a fiery carmine.

At last the moment passed and the new strength was his; Lonn groaned with satisfaction, feeling empowered and driven like never before. Lonn stepped around the throne to place his new-found friend upon it, leaving Xem’s head to rot where it sat. This was a sign, Lonn assured himself, of the correctness of his work. In that moment Lonn knew his vision of the future was the path reality would follow. And if it wasn’t, Lonn thought to himself calmly,

”I will force it to.”

_{Khoris Productions presents:}


Tonta was quite appalled. The world was a fucking mess. She'd sorted out the issue of the endless screaming, of course, and had made plenty of life forms and tortured that stupid Mouse, but there were many things that simply made life here unbearable, if not impossible. Chief amongst these were the souls - they were quite possibly the most unimaginative little wisps she had ever seen. Someone had decided it was a good idea for them all to be completely alike. It was an insufferable bleeding travesty.

She watched them flitter hither and thither, shimmering and whispering and sobbing and cursing their luck. As she watched, however, she could immediately identify a pattern. Slowly but surely the souls were - after tiring themselves with all their pacing and mumbling and shimmering and sobbing and cursing - going off in one direction as though drawn by a siren song. Her interest piqued, Tonta followed one such soul until she saw what she had missed before.

Unseen by the living, the land was fragmented, vast chasms spreading across the earth and pulling the stray souls to them. Every lost wanderer stood on the precipice, peering over the edge until something unknown compelled them to leap. They fell through the cracks into the gaping abyss below, where their crying and terrified screams began anew, but was hushed by a faint sound. A whisper in the wind that allured the fearful souls and promised them sanctuary in the dark depths. Just a leap of faith, that was all the whisper asked for.

The souls did not see, but Tonta saw that deep down, hiding in the shadows, a myriad of monstrosities preyed upon the souls that fell from above. An endless horde consuming the abundance of spirits who had been lured into the darkness. The demons sang and played their instruments, creating an eerie song that concealed their slaughter. Many sang and danced while they feasted, the creatures ignoring many souls that slipped through their number.

Tonta stared at the scene with no small degree of incredulity. "What... the fuck?" She glanced at the soul she had been tracing and watched it leap into the death pit below. The goddess blinked. "Ah, a dumb flaming dipstick I see." She stepped forth and her great yellow hood melted into blackness, the fair skin of her face gave way to a barken visage, and her thin staff erupted from her arm and found itself in her grip. She hung wraithlike above the pit for a few fleeting seconds, and then plummeted at impossible speed - flying past the dipstick - and crashed amongst the feasting demons with the cacophony of thunder and a great eruption of ethereal limbs.

There was very little mere demons could do to harm a divine being. Their claws and fangs, horns and poisons, and all of their insidious words could only scarcely cut the flesh of a god. Death by a thousand cuts, however, was a possibility. Though hundreds perished at the impact of the goddess, still thousands upon thousands came forth to replace the fallen.

The musicians continued playing, a strange and terrible melody that accompanied the battle that commenced. Souls fell like rain while demons died, and a goddess unleashed great and divine violence upon those that dared to face her. The fiends were endless in number, and persistent in defeating this new foe, but could not strike her down or weaken her. The fighting endured as time passed, but fewer demons participated in the act and watched from the edges instead. The thousand singers, and ten thousand instrumentalists began to slow their song as the goddess carved a path of slaughter through them. It seemed she had begun to sink further into the Underworld.

There was no light, no air, no earth, and no weight in the realm of spirits. Only the presence of a deep darkness that drowned all of the senses and numbed the thoughts of the ones once alive. Relying upon sight was futile, but there were impressions in the void - shapes and sizes. Far away, there was a path beyond the darkness, a small seed of something solid and visible in the emptiness of the vast void.

There was no way of walking, only sinking further and deeper into the depths, and yet the path was coming closer as though it were swimming through the sea of shadows to reach the lone goddess. Other souls were beside her, or behind her, following their saviour. A few that had simply drifted aimlessly before her arrival began to accompany her as well, seeking shelter in this being that radiated power and light.

The path consisted of what Tonta could recognise as the demonic dust that remained after they had died, and divine ichor similar to her own. The faint presence of a mighty being lingered on the vile path, its scent pervading the senses of the goddess. The souls that had followed her seemed surprised to step upon the walkway and rely on their feet once again. They could not see far, unlike Tonta who could even now perceive the massive creature that walked further along the path.

The souls clamoured about her - or what would have been clamouring if they were not doing it in hushed voices - and they brushed against the wraithlike form of the goddess and sent praises and glorified her. Tonta's barken visage was deadpan for a few long seconds. "If any of you touch me again, I swear I'll fucking make you beg those dipshits back there to eat you." She said at last in a cool and amiable sort of way. It was obviously amiable - she chuckled pleasantly afterwards, you see, and patted one of shimmering blobs to emphasise her words. "Capiche, ugly?"

Oh, they definitely understood.

The goddess stepped further out onto the road, the blood and dust rising up in a great swirl at the flick of her finger. They broke up into small glowing wisps of green and red and blue and spread far and wide across the extent of the road, and some wandered off it. Roads were to be followed; everyone knew that. And to wonder off the road is dangerous business. Dangerous business indeed. Tonta smiled mischievously. Surely no one would be so foolish as to follow some tantalising lights calling them from the road now. She glanced at the souls behind her, all very mindful to keep their distance. "Hah. Dipsticks."

The bark-faced divine wraith half walked, and half drifted, onward towards the great creature in the distance, and it was not long before she found herself half a league from it.


It was an amalgam of otherworldly and familiar characteristics gathered into a strange facsimile of life; both monstrously grotesque and hauntingly beautiful - a bestial goddess of the underworld. Another accompanied the colossal creature, a graceful and ghostly mermaid that swam through the endless sea of shadows and lingered close around her companion. Slowly, both had come to a halt as the glimmering goddess approached them.

Ekundayo had wandered the apathetic abyss for a time, wondering when another attack would come and when she would have to fight once more. She had balefully sought violence, but such bloodshed only brought her further sorrow now. How many had she slain? Hundreds? Thousands? She searched through all of her memories and counted three million, four hundred and fifteen thousand, and thirty-three demons; that number had she consumed. Other dead demons she had used to construct the Path of the Dead, the quiet promenade consisting of their corpses and her ichor.

Then there was light surging through the void, akin to a fire burning through the shadows and providing a sudden empty illumination to the world all around. Ekundayo shifted and turned to face the source of this radiance that clashed with the eternally dark void that had become familiar to her. She held her silver sword in her many hands and exterior entrails, its blade bloodied by her own ichor and that of a great many fiends. The weapon seemed equal in length to the distance that separated Ekundayo from Tonta and was adorned with roses and leaves much larger than the tallest trees; its numerous thorns could pierce even mountains.

Ekundayo was blinded by the bright beauty of her approaching foe. She shrieked with her torn and tattered throat; a terrible pained voice that endlessly echoed in the underworld, accompanied by the ruinous song of shattering shadows like broken glass all around. The mermaid beside her also suffered from the cacophony of calamity, crying in pain and fear. The goddess of death waited while her sight quickly mended and she saw a wooden wraith, eyeless and as dark as the demons before... but bright and brimming with a soul so unlike the empty hungering denizens of the abyss. It was approaching at speed, the ethereal world darkening and brightening all around it and the black holes of its eyes seeming to suck in what light the being shed.

"Don't fucking point things at me." Its voice came softly, casually. But as it spoke it savagely brought its thin staff in a one-handed downward swing that struck Ekundayo's sword and sent reverberations all the way down it, moments after which all its flowers wilted or shattered and fell away, leaving nothing but the gleaming silver blade behind. The wraith paused for a few moments then, seeming to properly survey Ekundayo for the first time. "My but aren't you just gloriously ugly." There was a moment of awestruck disgust before the wraith seemed to drag itself out of it. "Guess I better clean you off the road before those dipsticks get here, eh? See, those poor souls have seen enough suffering and so I, as their noble, just, and compassionate saviour must see all obstacles in their way crushed. I need to give the poets something, y'know?" No sooner had the final word been spoken when the wraith grew larger, the bark cracked and tentacled in every direction and the stench of rot and the rasping gasp of lifelessness permeated the world all around.



Ekundayo became enraged at all this, her hatred granting her strength. Her shape shook with wrath and anger, like ruinous splinters of manifested shadow that emerged from the depths of her despair and adorned her like armour. Then there was a sudden sorrow so sharp it cut into her deeply. She became a wound unhealing, a dreadful curse upon herself.

She sought out that pain within her; her hands burrowed deep in her body. Blood and bone were exhumed and accompanied by the depraved din of her cries, the dissonant pealing of flesh from her form. She whispered, without words, a silent prayer of destruction into the severed pieces of herself held in her hands, and then cast them at the horrible wraith opposing her.

The disturbing anatomy soared through the nothingness, bones fracturing until they burst with a fierce and terrible force, joined by the foul, profusely pouring ichor of her wounds, which streamed and surged in all directions like an ocean of blood. The remaining mutilated flesh and innards sailed upon this grotesque sea of viscera, violently contorting, and shifting in a vile facsimile of life. Awakened by her lamentations, the multitude of meat and bones begin singing and dancing. Everything was covered in a crimson cacophony that pervaded all senses.

Ekundayo continued her attack, unrelenting, thrusting with her silver sword still held by the small limbs and intestines of her stomach, while she hurled volatile and violent entrails like explosive projectiles with her great arms. She screamed, her hollow voice echoing throughout the void again, as she fought once more. Her blade cut through the air and left a trail of fractal flames in its wake that awoke a spirit of bright fire that howled and rampaged before attacking the wielder of the blade that birthed it. Shai - the First Fire of Hell - was born.

Before the two goddesses could clash, Umat - the mermaid - attacked the burning ghost and pushed it away from the imminent fight. The fire formed into many beasts and seared the mermaid's skin, but she refused to release the seething spirit attempting to assail her mother. She held out her hand, knowing the weapon would be there, and grasped the silver sword of her mother. Now she could fight this new foe without concern for herself. She feared the presence akin to her own that this creature showed; it had been reborn through her mother like herself.

After giving her blade to her daughter, Ekundayo resumed her own battle attempting to remain lucid despite the pain, but her own offense had damaged her sanity and body immensely, and more and more of her ichor seeped forth from her dark cuts and gashes. She could sense that she was becoming empty as the millions of corpses she had consumed were freed in endless waves that merged and coalesced into towers of blood and bone. Without concern for herself or these structures, she rampaged towards Tonta. She desired an end, perhaps this creature could offer that which she wanted. Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

The other seemed equally drawn to Ekundayo, taking slow lumbering steps, full of purpose and knowing intent. The distance between them closed swiftly, but the closer they got to one another the greater the distance seemed to grow. And there was a screech from a distant place, perhaps from above or perhaps from below, and the screech was:



And so when first the hand of Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut fell upon the weeping wound that was Ekundayo, when first life knew death and death knew life, there was a change in the world. Sure the souls did not stop their incessant, endless whispering and the living did not stop their screaming and shouting and grunting; sure the new-born sun-disc did not fall from the sky and the retreating moon did not stumble as she returned from whence she was thrown. The newly raised foundation-pillars of the Shard did not tremble or shake or fall, there was no great announcement that rumbled through the halls and rooms of the divine mountain and its denizens. The rivers did not change direction and the lakes and seas did not overflow, and not even in eternal void-sea did a nothingness become something or a something become nothing at the gravity of the happening. No no, there was none of that. But let it be written thus: for a brief moment there was a thing that stood eternal and in the presence of which magick and matter and time and space unfolded, unrolled, and about which they danced and laughed.

When first the hand of Hyatonta-Ekninot-Mahtut fell upon the unsoldered scar that was Ekundayo, when first life knew death and death knew life; why, at that moment alone did life know life and death know death. What were they, after all, those two lonesome, incomplete things when the other was far away and unknown? Ekundayo was taken up in an embrace she had not expected - and that, no doubt, her adversary had not expected to give - and the horrorsome form of the life goddess gave way instead to one of carefree lightness, one that gave much and took naught.



A crown manifested upon the space between the great horns of Ekundayo, a corona of hollow light both pale and dark that consumed existence around it and exuded it anew. The sight before her, and the touch of life, set her mind afire with cosmic lucidity, and Ekundayo was enlightened for a brief moment, her mind comprehending a terrible truth of the world. Her unseeing eyes became bereft of their blindness by virtue of the blinding light of life and its beauty. She could hear her own thoughts then - barely heard over the crashing of waves, the blood song and music of mutilated flesh, the cries of the unborn and her own weeping. She could see herself in the reflection of Tonta, like a mirror for all senses, for her body, mind, and spirit.

An understanding that if she was the self, then the one before her was the other, the outer. Together they were divided - light and darkness, life and death, love and despair... without each other, they were incomplete. Ekundayo realised she was a goddess...

No.

Her other half was a goddess... she herself was a demon, a dream, a shadow, a monster that belonged in the Underworld, in the lonely abyssal depths. Her name was Ekundayo, she thought with a quiet laugh while tears continued to fall.

From her back, another large laceration spread, and disgorged many more of those once devoured - and they began to sing such a haunting melody as they merged and sundered themselves, the number of new entities changing constantly. They burned both hot and cold, carried by the cascade of ichor into the abyss all around. Some of the strange spirits spectated the encounter between life and death, knowing that they would be called upon. Others began feasting upon the divine blood with an insatiable hunger, knowing that they would be called upon. Much of them fled in fear and sorrow, knowing that they would be called upon. All of them created music through their existence.

Sehja the Blue Mountain, Rasmus the Shining Wave, Kaj the Recursive Word, Kaia the Sorrowful Veil, Ili the Frozen Ocean, Darja the Cold Forge, Charis the Red Wing, Cajsa the Docile Talon, Ataya the Painful Night, Nahia the Green Song, Joran the Vanquishing Spear, Ophelia the Burning Sigil, Raisa the Infinite Field, Esha the Black Promise, Ramal the Infernal River, Dahab the Cloud Shield, Hazim the Vicious Mockery, Jabari the Penitent Chain, Sasha the Furious Sage, Thana the Storm Serpent, Thula the Shattering Sky, Anuka the Accusing Shadow, Dakarai the Broken Gale, Nakato the Questioning Scar, Lesedi the Vigilant Hammer, Frath the Painful Light, Jojo the Envious Mask, Ayotunai the God Crown, Yejide the Dark Voice, Pam the Endless Star...

All of their names now known to both goddesses, all of them reborn by the tumultuous interaction of life and death. Creatures apart from the cycle neither alive nor dead, neither demonic nor divine. Three million, four hundred and fifteen thousand, and thirty-three spirits that existed for Tonta and Ekundayo.

Ekundayo cursed the life that pervaded her as she begat such spirits, but her heart was laden with joy upon hearing their song, seeing their shapes, and having company created by both life and death. She shed more tears as she thought of how alone she had been since birth. Fear. Sorrow. Despair.

She cried as she continued to claw at the goddess of life, her hands crashing down and striking Tonta. Her body was berserk, she had begun attacking herself without realizing it, lashing out at anything she could. Many of the nearby ivory towers were destroyed, and crumbled, or found themselves impaled in the flailing deity as she shook and rampaged.

Upon being emptied, Ekundayo felt a hunger that the tantalizing presence of the goddess of life only invigorated. Her appetite overwhelmed her being and she began devouring parts of herself and Tonta in an attempt to satisfy the hollow feeling. It tasted delicious, it was poisonous, it filled her, it sickened her. The other was soft and yielding in her hands, neither the flesh of her bosom nor the softness of her cheek nor the clouds of her hair resisted death's bites - and wherever death ate of life, it found life growing more feverishly, leaping towards her insatiate mouth as though life found life in death; and death ate as if it, too, found life in bringing death to life. Through all this, Tonta's embrace only softened around Ekundayo, like that of a mother holding her beloved, weeping, thrasing child, willingly giving of her self and her life that the flesh of her flesh and blood of her blood may blossom and grow. Were not mothers the very wellspring of life? Could they not give eternally and have eternity more to give? But Ekundayo saw none of that and could only castigate herself. Why was she such a monster? She did not understand what was wrong with her.

Further away, Umat had severed the head of Shai, and claimed it with her free hand. The head was akin to that of a lion's, with a burning mane and fierce feral features. The other spirit calmed itself upon the loss of its head and bowed before the mermaid. Umat then infused the fire of Shai into the silver sword and proclaimed herself the Keeper of the First Fire of Hell. Afterwards, she heard the song of her kin, and watched as an endless horde was spawned by her mother and the presence of life. She watched as the goddess of death spasmed and frenzied while the spirits sang and worshipped the two deities in a myriad of strange ways. The mermaid raised her silver sword and entangled her mother with roots and vines so that she would refrain from thrashing.

That sudden separation seemed to awaken the life goddess from the strange trance she had fallen into, and her eyes glanced swiftly from the prison of vines and roots that now held Ekundayo to the many strange creatures that now circumambulated them and sang. The light of life shone from her eyes and her hair seemed to burst to the seams with it, and wherever her gaze fell the spirits felt themselves sanctified and magnified, their deathlessness eternalised.

The mermaid, Umat, then called upon the spirits that proclaimed to serve, and ordered them to protect their bound mother from the hungry. She called upon the wise with their soothing songs to counsel her mother in her grief, and others to help her speak with the goddess of life. Umat held her blazing blade high and her voice quickly became the strongest among the horde until she was directing the melody, waving her weapon like a conductor's baton. She taught them her song, and the spirits were then known as the Umati.

Those that did not listen were burned until they complied, and soon a gathering of the Umati approached Tonta. From among them emerged a large and graceful panther with silver markings and obsidian armour along its back and tail while long threads of black fur and enchanted ornaments spread in all directions. An ethereal woman clung to the panther, for they were one and the same, and both bowed to the goddess.



"I am Esha the Black Promise That Seals The Void! O bright and beautiful Tonta, we worship thee! We are blessed by your presence, Giver of Life & King of the Umati! Ekundayo does not wish to see you. Would you speak with her now?" The panther purred as she spoke, while the woman smiled.

The eyes of the life goddess closed then, and even through her eyelids did their brightness shine. And she shrunk then and the effulgence left her golden hair. On a small throne that had leapt from the path as the goddess descended, clothed and prideful with her stick - now sceptre - in hand, sat Tonta. She glanced haughtily at Esha, clasping the silver sceptre in one hand and testing its sharpened tip with the other. "If you worshipped me better you wouldn't have let that... that... thing... eat me like that." She huffed with a small pout. "But yes, whatever. You can bring Ekundayo to me, I'll see her now - so long as she stops her temper tantrum. Because if she doesn't," Tonta's eyes flared threateningly and she smacked the sceptre across her open palm, "I've got a stick."

The panther tilted her head with curiosity before she stood tall with a fierce pride entirely false. "I shall bring her here quickly, your majesty." The dark feline and ivory woman merged and then dashed further down the path with great speed leaving silvery tracks in their wake.

Far away, the goddess of death sank into an unseen sea generating silent ripples in reality while more and more of her body disappeared into nothingness. Only a much smaller form remained; she was a human with ashen hair and skin as pale like bleached bones. She wore a regal dress as white as snow and carried an exquisite staff in her hands.



Ekundayo listened to the haunting chorus of eldritch voices around her, softly singing their unearthly lullaby which calmed her. They ignored her requests to mock or condemn her, choosing to continue their song without interruption. The goddess could not rouse herself and escape this predicament.

Esha, among many other spirits, was welcomed by Umat, who watched as both goddesses had become small and similarly shaped. "I have come to collect her at the behest of Tonta the bright and beautiful." Esha explained and chuckled. "I am curious how this will end... but I would rather rest and have it told to me another time." The panther proceeded to yawn and then lethargically stretched before the mermaid like a cunning pet seeking an opportunity to make mischief.

"You're rather irksome now." Umat said with a sigh while Esha merely laughed more. Afterwards the mermaid approached her mother in the centre of the melodic gathering, swimming through the void until she alighted beside the small goddess. Her mother was barely the size of her finger now.

"It is time, mother. Tonta waits for you." Her words were accompanied by the collapse of another ivory tower. The sound echoed throughout the abyss, and the music grew quiet for a moment.

"Why would she wish to see me?" Ekundayo asked, her voice demure and pitifully weak compared to her cries as a giant. In this shape and size, her hunger was easier to contend with, but even the provocative light of the other goddess was too much. She refused to torture herself further, or worse, attempt to attack Tonta again.

Umat subtly smiled upon hearing her mother speak for the first time but hated to see the resentment her mother held for herself. How could she cure the goddess of this curse so that she might see what her children saw? "It does not matter, I think. You would not be rude to Tonta, that seems unlike you, my kind mother."

"I... I did not want this." Ekundayo had seen the world of the living and it had frightened her. She had sought death and had found the goddess of life instead. She had become holy, knowing her own sorrow after discovering joy, and understanding the nature of conflict and the cycle of life and death.

Her daughter offered her hand, letting the goddess ascend up and stand upon her palm. Ekundayo was surprised at how small she was, at how easy it would be for her daughter to crush her within her grasp. She then realised that it had become more difficult for her to manifest her true form now that her stomach was no longer swollen with fiends.

"Let's go." Umat said, attempting to encourage her mother with as much enthusiasm as she could call upon in her eerie childish voice. Esha lazily licked her paws, endeavouring to cleanse them of the ichor that stained them. She chose not to accompany the mermaid and goddess back to where Tonta waited.

When they arrived, Umat held out her hand with Ekundayo presented in her palm. The goddess of death averted her gaze, a great craving grew upon the sight of Tonta so close, the urge to consume life was overwhelming. She wanted to flee before she lost herself in a gluttonous rampage.

"Will you forgive me?" She asked meekly, unable to look upon the source of her hunger, knowing that such should be a desire never sated. Ekundayo did not see the small look of surprise that lit up the other goddess' eyes, of course, but she did sense her getting up and moving briskly towards her. And when she was close enough Eku felt Tonta's finger on her cheek, and the other goddess gently but firmly made her look up, and Eku saw the small smile that danced in the life goddess' eyes. No words were spoken, but Eku knew without doubt that her embarrassing hunger had not only been forgiven but was completely forgotten.

"Well, aren't you just the sweetest morsel?" Tonta asked with a mischievous grin. She took her by the shoulders and hoisted her up and then linked her arm in hers and half walked, and half dragged, her off the giant Umat’s open palms. "Come, you and I should walk and talk. It's nice when you do that y'know? It makes it feel like things are happening and we're getting somewhere." Her arm hooked in Eku's, Tonta led the death goddess further down the Path of the Dead.

Though Eku hungered still and it was all she could do to stop herself from sinking into the enticing flesh of Tonta's neck or Tonta's cheek, there was something more, something greater, that now enveloped the two goddesses as they walked. There was a certain serenity and familiarity, a certain ease. "Gosh, does this road just go on forever? Where does it lead, Eku?" Tonta asked after they had walked a great distance in that easy silence.



"Dol Arlessa." The weight of the word, its meaning and manifestation, the ever-addictive succulent sound resonated in her mind though she had not understood it before now. She softly smiled at the one that had cursed her with such knowledge, these thoughts and memories she both loved and loathed. Dol Arlessa. Death and Rebirth.

"Would you come with me?" Eku regretted asking and immediately prayed with fervour that Tonta would decline the foolish offer. To include the goddess of life in such a terrible act seemed utterly revolting, even eliciting a subtle shudder in herself. She sensed an unseen change in her true form then, something strange yet comforting. Another reason to thank and begrudge her other half, who was now looking at her as they continued walking.

"I mean, if I get to see where all the souls end up and what they do, then yes! I'm coming with you all the way," Tonta's gaze returned to the road and she added in a relaxed tone, "did you ever doubt it?" As they walked, another question emerged before Eku could silence herself.

"Would you remain with me for eternity..." It was a rhetorical question considering the nature of their aspects, but Ekundayo was intoxicated by the presence of life, the taste lingering on her tongue, and reminding her of her own inevitable demise. The greater the compassion she was offered, the worse she suffered in this perpetual cycle of balance and conflict. Perhaps she could pretend for longer, she just had to fight for more time. She held onto Tonta with a little more strength, wanting to walk and talk, wanting to remain as they were in that moment. For her part, Tonta glanced at her strangely, as though she were conflicted.

"I... uh, fuck me. You're weirding me the hell out here, but I can't help loving you to bits!" She paused suddenly and pinched both of Eku's cheeks with her fingers. "So. ad.or.ab.le." And before Eku could stop her the life goddess leaned forward and gave her a firm but gentle bite on the nose. Then, as though nothing had happened at all, she leaned back, cleared her throat, hooked her arm in Eku's once more, and continued walking. "No, I'm not staying with you for eternity Eku-" she glanced at Eku, "oh, uh. Actually, you know what... maybe in a way I am." She hesitated, cleared her throat, coughed loudly, then continued. "See, uh, I am life and you are death, sooooo... we complete each other - we are one." She reddened slightly. "I only knew who I was when I looked in you, and from the change that came over you I'd say it was the same for you." She gave Eku another sidelong glance. "You are the mirror into me, and I the mirror into you. Where I go, there you are; and where you go there I am." Tonta coughed again and grimaced awkwardly. "Or something really cheesy like that. Don't ever ask me something like that again - because I have a stick and by Mouse the Stupid Dumbfuck I'm not afraid to use it." She was flushing red as she spoke and sped up to distract from that fact, forcefully dragging Eku along.

"Dol Arlessa! That's where we're going. C'mon, chop chop! Haven't got all day. I need to get back to the Shard before teatime! Who knows what that stupid Mouse has been up to while I was away?” She swept her silver sceptre in a wide arc and before them the road came alive with flowers and trees and fragrances. It was a very slow change - behind them the road back to The-Throne-of-Life-on-the-Path-of-Death was as lifeless and hard and endless, but before them little signs of life emerged, and as they continued down there were more and more until, when Dol Arlessa was nearer than sight, the plant life - exploding with a thousand different colours and hues and fragrances - bedecked the road and was like a wall to either side and an arching roof above. It was the promise of arrival, the promise of wishes fulfilled and peace attained, the promise of: yes, I will remain with you eternally.

Tonta casually picked up one of these flowers and blew on it so that it blossomed unlike any other and was filled with a zest and liveliness and seemed to shimmer and sigh and dance.



She paused there, at the figurative gates of Dol Arlessa and turned to Eku. There was an unusual solemnity to her, and it was obvious she found it uncomfortable. "I-" she cleared her throat and smiled nonchalantly, "here, this will look nice right here," she declared bombastically, as though by exaggerating the importance of the moment she could make it appear whimsical and of no great significance. Carefully, she laced the large flower into Eku's white hair - just slightly to the right. She looked at her, pursed her lips, smiled ever so slightly, and then coughed and offhandedly said, "yeah it looks nice on you. I've got great taste; I should charge you for my fashion services. Come let's go." And not waiting on any comment or protest from Eku she took her hand and went the final distance towards the promised Dol Arlessa.

Both goddesses could see that the path ahead came to an end, an edge enveloped by an apathetic abyss where the darkness was devoid of all life and demons dwelled in the deeper depths. There was nothing waiting at the conclusion of their journey, and yet...

Ekundayo was inspired.

She had watched with cosmic wonder as Tonta created life and found herself smiling the entire duration of their time traveling together. Closer and closer, upon the precipice of Dol Arlessa, that which she had sought since her birth, Eku wanted to see more and more of what life offered. She found herself laughing and understanding joy for the first time.

"Tonta, it is painful to look at you. My heart hurts." Her held hand was afire, held by the bright and blazing force of divine flame burning more fierce than any celestial child should, and still Eku didn't want to let go. The other goddess gave her a concerned glanced and tenderly, comfortingly, rubbed her hand. "Be gentle please, you are very hot." Eku quietly begged uncertain whether her companion heard her while she was struggling to comprehend her shape and orientation, falling and rising closer and further from an overwhelming inner sacred power that frightened her. Then there was a pale and peaceful light that illuminated the void.

She found herself summoning a silver sea from an urge to wash herself of her own flaws, and suddenly the two divines were stood atop a great grass-covered slope that sank into the ethereal water. Trees, flowers, fruits, and vegetables grew all around in a vast collection of verdant groves and gentle gardens. Stone walls and simple shrines began to rise, piercing the silver streams in the sky; all the while Eku tapped deeper and deeper into herself calling upon what little ability to create she possessed. Beside her Tonta seemed to burn bright, a mere extension of her own creative powers and self. There was an abundance of empty space in the centre, providing a clear path to the shore. The goddess of death began pulling Tonta towards the water with an innocent playfulness, and the life goddess let herself be led to the strange shores. With each step the goddesses took the world around them seemed to whisper and sigh, a great peace seemed to become more and more so the feature of the place. The screech of souls on the Shard seemed distant, their concerns and worries and pains seemed to melt here into nothingness; there was only peace and a keen sense of self stripped of self-pity and excuses, bereft of self-accusation and regrets and bereft too of futile ambition and desire. The life goddess smiled then, her eyes on Eku's, and the peals of their contented laughter filled Dol Arlessa - yes, that was the first great sound there - as they finally reached the waters.

Tonta stopped before her feet touched the strange waves, glancing at Eku hesitantly. And perhaps she was right to hesitate, for this water was like none that existed on Galbar or on the Shard after it.

The pale death goddess looked back with curiosity shining in her eyes as she became more and more translucent, and as though reading Tonta's hesitation said: "I have never seen the ocean before; many of my memories come from glimpses into the pasts of the spirits I have slain. So much sorrow, and so much joy. Life is truly beautiful." Her voice was hollow and echoed faintly. Eku knelt in the otherworldly water, enjoying the sensation of the waves brushing against her, soothing her with their gentle and cool touch. Tonta had already joined her, hugging her affectionately from behind and rubbing her cheek against hers like a feline. Eku smiled and, wriggling from Tonta’s arms, created a silver splash beside Tonta as she dove into the ethereal depths. She quickly emerged and tossed water into the air, as though she held liquid laughter in her hands. The grinning life goddess cupped the silvery waters in her hand and flicked and slapped them at Eku, and that seemed only to further invigorate the death goddess.

And as Eku grew more and more lively, and as her laughter and joy filled Dol Arlessa, the life goddess seemed to become more muted and pale. Her brown curls seemed to shrivel and her youthful beauty seemed to age, and though the light of simply joy and constant curiosity did not leave her eyes and the glances of helpless adoration she shared with Eku as they frolicked in the water did not cease, it was obvious to Eku that a change was coming over her other half. Unable to swim or bear the water any more, Tonta dragged herself out of the silver sea and lay down on the shore, the waves lapping at her feet and causing her to laugh and bring them in, away from the ticklish sensation, before stretching them out again and repeating the whole thing in a silly, happy way. "You know, this place is nice. I kind of like it. Maybe Mouse wasn't wrong to want to die." She mumbled lethargically, stretching involuntarily, and releasing a partial yawn. "Dol Arlessa." She sat up on her elbows. "So, this is where all the souls are being drawn. Are you going to look after them forever? Won't you get bored of it?" A glint of mischief lit up in Tonta's tired eyes. "Wouldn't it be fun to send some of them off to those demons instead?"

"No, I would not become bored. I would not feel amused, bitter, angered, joyful... perhaps I may feel regret." The goddess of death giggled and continued. Tonta cocked her head and frowned in slight confusion at the odd words and the strangely placed giggles. "I wish to show all souls compassion, such is my purpose in the end. To send souls into the abyss among demons would be cruel, I think. Demons are the embodiment of the void, creatures without souls, outside life and death. Umat has devoted herself to ending their existence, but such a war will only give birth to more of their kind. I have faith in my daughter, but would you be kind and guide her? She should learn to love life, as I have." Eku approached the resting beauty of Tonta and sat by her, offering a sincere expression as more of her body became barely visible, only a pale outline of a woman remaining. Her hand rose to touch the shimmering flower in her hair, its petals chiming softly as she caressed it.

Then Eku's head lulled to the side, akin to a cat that had become intrigued by something it had perceived. "Mouse? What do you mean wanted to die?" Eku asked. Tonta lay back down and reached out for one of Eku's hands, grasping it in her own bringing it to her cheek.

"Mouse. You remind me of him in a way. Except he was an annoying, ungrateful dipshit," she glanced up at Eku, "and you're not. Or whatever. I don't know what you've done to me, I'm sure I should have smacked you at least once by now." She sighed, released Eku's hand, and rolled away before dragging herself up into a seated position, facing the death goddess. "I don't get it. Regret seems like a not so nice thing to feel - and I'd hate to be stuck somewhere where that was the only thing I'd feel. And this whole compassion thing - that's what Mouse kept going on about. I don't see why he wanted me to be compassionate. I don't see why I should be, or why you should be for that matter. So what if souls were sent off into the abyss? What have they ever done for us to be nice to them anyway?" She moved a weak and trembling hand through her shrivelling locks. "The important thing is to have fun." She finished, then winced. "Urgh, I feel weird Eku." And so saying, she crawled towards the death goddess and placed her head on her knee. "Like I'm falling asleep. I-" a yawn broke her words, "I need to go..." there was a pause, "...back."

"No! The festival has yet to begin. Just a little longer, please. I beg of you." Eku held onto the life goddess dearly, her hand shifting through Tonta's hair, and she leaned close enough to whisper into her ears. "Are you going to close your eyes, or will you watch? I want you to see... and I confess, I am afraid of being alone." She glanced at Tonta's head in her lap and found that the other goddess was smiling sleepily and looking at her.

"I already said... you won't be alone. I’m with you, see?"



There was a change, and the silver sea began to sing, the grass upon the hill began to dance, and an otherworldly music filled the air. Life and death sat together as the festival was beginning.

"I cannot expect souls to follow me in death if I am too cowardly to take the first step. I... I wanted to be with you longer. I wanted to see so much more of what the world offered." Eku sighed, struggling to say what she must, and as she spoke a small frown began to bloom on the life goddess' face. "The souls that reach here and go beyond will tell me their tales of blessings and curses, their tragic and beautiful stories of the lives they lived. Then they will be reborn in this world anew, returning to repeat the cycle and create more. Such a journey will be the one thing that still connects us. I do not know if I will return. So. Would you remember me? A promise not to forget."

"Wait," the life goddess protested, her paleness greater than it had ever been, her face now truly aged, realisation dawning on her, "don't." The waves continued to wash along the shore, the tide rising higher and higher, until both deities were suddenly submerged in a quiet darkness that was cold and devoid of light. The water quickly receded then, and the light returned, but there was only one goddess remaining on the coast. Beside her, a shimmering flower descended downwards until it alighted upon the sand where the signs of the other were fading.

The silver sea had stirred, waking from a chthonic slumber, as a celestial path cut across the surface and divided the ocean into two. There was a rush of wind, a violent gale that coursed along the path even as the water mended itself. Yet the sea was not calm, and Dol Arlessa was alive with thousands of roots and vines adorned with flowers that crawled and reached the sea, diving into the depths. The coastal waters were illuminated by a vast coral reef that had been created for the festival.

How far she had gone so swiftly, with only the song of the awakened sea, the crashing waves, the thunderous clouds, and a resounding pulse that both pushed against her and lulled her closer. The light had left but there was a luminous darkness that shone as bright as divinity, and she was swimming through that darkness, sinking further and further. She was blind, but she could see, an act of faith that was hauntingly beautiful. Then Eku felt her divine breath cease, her heart halt, and everything stand still. The shadows held depth, there were patterns and shapes there that she could perceive through an unknown sense. Slowly everything shifted, with such graceful motion and harmony. For a moment, she thought she had heard another voice.

"Kor...Re...Pa...Ve...Laak..."

Then there was the Leviathan that she knew had been slain long ago and was now seeking her. She was imprisoned by its immense presence; this creature that could consume the children of the cosmos, and she could do nothing as it devoured her entirely. Within, she saw refractions of herself falling deeper, a myriad of memories and shapes that were all her. Then she and the others were shadows descending towards a dim light, brighter in the vast void of the leviathan's stomach. Closer and closer, Eku came to the light, and saw that it was a little candle almost entirely burned away.

There was always a sacrifice, otherwise the ritual seemed too profane. Was that the nature of divinity? Eku wondered whether she was the sacrifice or whether it was something else that invoked her in search of meaning. She closed her eyes as the candle flickered, and she dreamed of a world where she could continue to hold onto life, beside Tonta and the other children of the Shard.

The Leviathan carried her through the abyss, undisturbed or bothered by the presence of terrible demons or darkness deeper than anything fathomable, as the Leviathan was wise and had navigated the unknown before the eternal cycle had even begun. A bittersweet sensation passed through the elder being, as it felt the dwindling power of the little goddess sleeping within its stomach.

How many times would it see her? How many times would death call to her? She had once said she would connect the world of the living with the world of the dead, but such foolish words barely intrigued the Leviathan. She would always forget the thoughts and memories from before birth and after death. That was the way of the eternal cycle.

The goddess spoke in her sleep, her last words. "I want my death to provoke life, as my story ends, let another begin. Be alive and creative, I eagerly await what stories you will send me. Ah, hmm... I did not think it would be this painful letting go. Oh, forgive me, I cannot offer anything in exchange for your fashion service except for my gratitude. Thank you, Ton.. Ton... no, no, no!" She could not recall her own name, but that did not hurt as much as not remembering her... she refused to forget, could not... let go of that. Then the Leviathan crossed the threshold between here and now, then and there.

Silence. Then pale light streaked across the sky, soaring over the Path of the Dead like a lonely comet on a starless night. The light lingered and danced while the Umati beneath softly sang and sang, their voices reaching the land above; unheard but calling upon all the souls that would become lost after the apocalypse concluded. The sea reflected the light above and became calm again. The festival had come to a close, and still seated upon the shore was the goddess of life. She sat there still in silence for a long time more, her face utterly deadpan, lips pursed, eyes unblinking. The song of the Umati fell on her as it fell on stone, the light from above fell on her as it did on a corpse, the sound of the waves reached for her ears but found their doors looked, the warm waves lapped at her feet but found them cold and unmoving.

But at last something in her moved - her lips tightened, her eyes trembled, shimmered. She took a sharp breath and her eyes hardened momentarily; anger flashed. "D-dumbfuck. Stupid ass... - argh! - ...worm!" She leapt to her feet suddenly, her locks returned to youthfulness, her features young and furious, "you know what?! I don't care! You can go fuck off to wherever! If your purpose is so important then you can eat it! And play with it! I hope it's better company than me!" She kicked at the otherworldly sand and huffed. After a few moments she noticed the flower lying a small way from her and furiously swung her hand down and grabbed it, bringing it to her face and breathing it deeply. "F-fucktard," she muttered as she gently laced the flower to the front of her robe, her fuming visage at complete odds with the tender motion.

A mermaid hesitantly approached her, feeling in her chest a sharp pain that bore witness to the fact that her mother had passed on. She was comforted only a little by the illumination of the ghostly radiance above, and the divine ichor that flowed through her. Umat shifted to the size that the two goddesses had been, something many of the Umati seemed to imitate, but the heavy weight upon her did not lighten. She fought the tears that fell but could not defeat grief, just as she could not defeat the demons that plagued this world. She could not win and cried like the ugly monster she was. The silver sword dropped from her hands, and she wept after becoming an orphan once more. "Momma, please. Don't go." Her cry joined the song of the Umati, which now seemed to take on a great nostalgia, a certain maudlin edge adorning their great call. And all of Dol Arlessa was filled with the grief and tears that Tonta refused to let show.

"Shut up! Shut up! The lot of you! No more crying! That's an order!" The life goddess finally bellowed, turning around with her great shimmering eyes, and directing her fury on them. "You heard her: be alive and creative! And anyway, while you're moping around feeling sorry for yourselves, she's already forgotten us! So, we should for- forg-" she stopped and swallowed, her eyes shimmering dangerously now. "Fuckface," she intonated with a sniff, blinking away any treacherous tears.

She strode over to the snivelling Umat and took her by the shoulders, shaking her gently. "There now, stop crying." When Umat continued to snivel, Tonta's shaking grow more persistent. "There. There. Stop. Crying." Then she patted her robotically on the head. "You know what? I think you should talk to Mouse. I'm sure he'd have something very wise and very deep and very comforting to say." She paused for a few seconds, before adding almost angrily, "and maybe I should talk to him too." Sighing, she hooked her arm in Umat's and glanced once more to the shore and where Eku had disappeared, her face sombre and dewy-eyed. Then she shook herself from it with a sharp breath and dragged herself and Umat from the that now-miserable place. "Back we go. The dipsticks will be arriving soon, and I don't want to be here when they do."

Umat, for her part, wanted to hold her mother one more time. She wanted to say thank you for giving her life and being such a kind mother despite the continual onslaught of evil all around. The mermaid was delighted upon hearing the gentle voice she had known her mother possessed for the first time. She heard the voice of the goddess that spoke to her now, felt her potent touch, but... she could not ignore the pain that spread everywhere. It was difficult just attempting to listen and calm herself. She could not perceive any wounds, yet it felt like she was bleeding, choking on ash, rotting away. "Give her back!" She cried, the last of her tears falling. Tonta swallowed and her arms stiffened at the mermaid’s outcry, but she did not stop or turn back and kept her head dead straight – as though looking at anything grieving for Eku was too much for her.

Umat may have been reborn, but she did not care for the souls of mortals like her mother had. She had been on the verge of laughter when she heared Tonta's suggestion of feeding them to the horde of demons but had not wanted to interrupt their time together. She had been captivated by their interactions, watching her mother relax instead of fight. The mermaid recalled that her mother wanted to save the souls... "I will protect them, and I will bring you back. We will be together again, I promise." She whispered to herself and held her silver sword once again. The life goddess gave her a quizzical sidelong glance, but Umat did not mind her. The image of her mother being allowed to enjoy life in a world free from the evil that had cursed her was burned into her mind. She would begin her quest with the promise of this future.

The goddess, as if seeing something in Umat’s eyes and face, pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "Urgh, great. Another saviour." She moaned.

• Summary [+]

  Tonta follows the spirits of the dead to the Underworld where she discovers the existence of demons that feast upon souls. She destroys thousands of them but finds herself deep in the abyss. She sees a path far away and discovers the Path of the Dead created by Eku. The goddess of life encounters the goddess of death, and the two begin battle, but quickly find themselves complete in the presence of the other. They walk and talk until they reach Dol Arlessa, the ultimate resting place of souls before reincarnation. Eku begins to feel more and more alive, while Tonta becomes sicklier and more aged, being too close to the time of the Festival and staying too long near the place of that passing of souls from life into death. The Festival of Death & Rebirth begins and Eku, to the shock of all, dies. Tonta and Umat, Eku's daughter, remain behind and eventually leave Dol Arlessa.
• MA Spent [+]

  Eku:
  

  • Creation of the Bone Towers.
  • Creation of the Umati.
  • Creation of Dol Arlessa.
  • Discovery of the Leviathan.
  • Creation of the Festival of Death & Rebirth.

  
  Tonta:
  

  • The Wisps of Guidance and Loss.
  • Blessing of the Umati.
  • Erection of The-Throne-of-Life-on-the-Path-of-Death.

Alzria, Goddess of Nightmares

I’Iro - Goddess of Dreams

With the winter project finished, the cold in the south tamed and gifted to Arira, I’Iro had dedicated her time to travel back towards Mons Divinus, taking many detours along the way to further her understanding of the mortals that inhabited this world. As she finally approached the colossal mountain she noticed a biome she had not seen when she first left. A fungi based forest was a curious sight, she wondered if this was related to the micellean network that connected the world yet the design of this location felt different in philosophy.

The goddess would surely have been spotted already had she been flying her dragon, the turquoise trail of light impossible to miss in the night sky, but for the sake of better mortal interactions she had been on foot, exploring the land in a slow pace. This allowed her to outright, accidentally, stumble upon a mortal settlement, or at least the origins of one. She observed the creatures there with stark curiosity, non-humans, they were unlike anything she had met through her travels.

Not exactly knowing how to approach mortals still, she merely stood there, observing them in the outskirts of the settlement, just waiting for something to notice her and initiate contact. For a moment, the mortals didn’t notice, the skeleton looking things more focused on constructing buildings of stone and fungal covered wood. Eventually though one of them, their head like that of a boar’s skull, noticed, quickly alerting the others to the strange person near the outskirts. They stared for a good while, equally as unsure as how to react to newcomer, before finally, the boar headed one stepped forward, speaking.

“Who goes there?” They asked, their voice nearly monotone and gruff in its nature.

What a scene that was, the goddess and the mortals' eyes had met and yet they had just stared for a long time. Ah. Greetings. I am I’Iro. The Goddess of Dreams. Please do not mind me for I was just observing your species to satiate my curiosity. I have no intent to interfere with your daily life. Yet. I must notice that I have never seen other creatures like your kind before. If it is not bothersome could you please identify yourself?

The skeletal mortal looked back towards their compatriots, before returning their gaze back towards the goddess. “We are Azrath,” they replied “It is no surprise that you haven’t met us before, we are not native to these lands and are relative newcomers.”

The mechanical goddess placed a finger in her chin, taking in the words. Newcomers? I heard whispers of such a species. One that came from beyond a portal. Though… the descriptions were a bit off. definitely not fluffy in the slightest, she wondered if the person who described them was blind. Well. Be welcome to these lands. It is very interesting to have newcomers. she stopped herself from asking them direct questions about their mind. It would not do well to the first impression, as she had learned with some of her mortal interactions.

Please tell me. Do your species sleep? When you do. Do you have dreams? this she felt was a more natural approach, it was expected that a goddess of dreams would be curious about such things.

The Azrath gave her a strange look before quickly remembering she was a goddess of dreams, “Well, we do sleep yes, and we do dream, though i'm not sure our definition of dream is the same of yours, ours are more akin to a song, we experience visions of symbols of our language and the tunes of our people, sometimes we experience visions of places from our old lands, but those are rare.”

“And should be reported to the King” added another Azrath, their head looking like that tiger.

“That too”

Well, wasn’t that interesting? Humans in contrast tended to have most of their usual dreams be heavily based on spatial memory, it was such a prevailing theme in their minds that it wasn’t uncommon for them to simplify abstract concepts like time into location based words. Meanwhile this species’ mind seemed to be more focused on fully conceptual things like dreams and song, she would need to peek into a few of their dreams later to fully understand this.

Thank you. It is good for me to better understand how dreams work in different species. Do not worry about the definition of dreams. Though you mentioned an ancient home. Have any of you seen such a place or is it just a shared memory of your species? while she was interested in that aspect, she was also winning some time to better analyse the species architecture and how they occupied the space given to them, to see if it differentiated in some way due to the nature of their dreams.

The species's buildings seemed normal at first sight, but as she looked at them, she began to notice carvings and symbols within the stones and wood, seemingly akin to a decorative artwork. Sadly it seemed they were not far in the building to get anymore, though it certainly seemed like the stone was rougher than usual for a building.

“Well,” The Boar Azrath began “For some of our older members they have seen these homes, but for some of us,” They looked back towards another of their members, another boar headed one, who avoided their gaze “They see places they could’ve never seen, so, I’d guess it’d be a shared memory then.”

It seemed like she would not be able to make enough research this early on, but, there were already many hints for her to speculate on the species. She could see hints of minds that did not visualize in height, width and depth, but in word, tone and melody, how that interacted with these supposed shared memories was not clear however. Collective imagination leading to a rare spatial based dreams was a grounded, acceptable assumption, without needing any extraordinary aspect to explain such dreams, but it would be foolish to deny other possibilities such as their language, therefore code, based memory somehow better interacting with genetic memory, or that somehow the tunes of these people could be translated into spatial-visual memory not merely by association but outright singing the geometry and shape of a location.

Well. That is one possibility. I cannot say I am not intrigued about how such dreams could come to be. Though I cannot give my opinion on them as your recent arrival makes information scarce. Speaking of that. Was this fungi forest brought by your people? I do not seem to recall it in this region before.

"Not from us no, I believe Alzria created it as it was here when we met her." They paused for a brief moment, before realizing the goddess had no idea who they were talking about "Alzria is the one who took us in, helped us settle down, she is another goddess, so, one of your kind."

I’Iro gently tilted her head. Ah. Is that so? I have not met an entity of that name yet. But it's good that she helped your kind. Not all gods are this cordial to mortals.

The Azrath chuckled "She tends to keep to her sanctuary so I am not surprised you have not heard of her,” They looked towards the mountains “In exchange though, she asked that we help serve as guardians of this land, which we are not opposed to.”

A sanctuary in the mountain? she too looked towards the mountain with building curiosity. I wonder if I should pay her a visit. It would be rude to have interacted with her land without a proper introduction. Would it not?

“Aye, I'm sure she’d like to know you’re around here, she can get very protective of her children.” They raised their hand, pointing towards the tallest mountain in the area “You’ll find the sanctuary up there, if you can fly it'll be easy, but if you can’t well, you’ll have to take the steps, you’ll come across some more of our kin there who can help you out with that.”

The goddess nodded. I cannot fly myself. I tend to simply ride my servant-dragon Nalmepror. However. I think the idea of walking by foot and meeting more of your kind is preferable. she explained with a simple half-smile to try to make herself more casual.

---

After a short hike, for a god that is, I’Iro found herself reaching the highest points of the mountain, the fungal forest had changed completely as she climbed, adapting to the drier and cold of the location while remaining recognizable. She finally found the shape of the entrance to some sort of cave, though by now the presence of divinity alone was enough to guide her.

The entrance also was easily noticeable even amongst the growing mist amongst the area, a grand metal door that easily surpassed her size, a near black in its colouration. All across it were inscribed the silver images and depictions of countless beasts and monsters, many unrecognizable to the goddess, each image seemed to interact with the others, making a grand scene of monsters. Right in front of her were two large door knockers, each one looking like a monster’s head, with a circled snake within their mouth.

I’Iro blinked a few moments, the scene was surprising to say the least but the act of knocking on the door was what really impressed her. Still, she moved forward and used the metallic snake against the equally metallic door, a loud bell-like sound being made from this peculiar combination.

For a moment, all that she could hear within were the distant sounds of creatures within. But eventually, the sound of metal creaking upon metal erupted from the door, and a smaller door within the massive one, just next to the knockers, opened up. From within a figure popped out, covered in a tattered black and purple robe, with purple skin covered in scars and blisters, chitin and fungi covered arms, bloody cloth upon their legs and eyes, a large bladed tail, and a pair of twisted wings. The divine presence was clear enough to her, this was clearly the goddess she was searching for.

”Well hello there!” the other goddess spoke in an ill fitting jovial tone. ”Who might you be?”

I’Iro was a contrasting sight to that goddess, a tall, neatly dressed human, even dirt did not seem to cling to her boots. Yet she wasn’t judgemental either, as she was far too data focused to get bothered by the state of her clothes or blisters. Greetings. I was traveling back to Mons Divinus and by accident discovered this location. I am I’Iro. Goddess of Dreams.

The other goddess smiled, her mouth full of wicked teeth "Oh! welcome to Varati then!" she gave a bow in greeting "I am Alzria, the goddess of Nightmares, welcome to my sanctuary!"

Oh. Greetings. she nodded politely, if not awkwardly. Uhm. Nightmares? That is curious to say the least. I had never met a god whose domain is so close to my own. she stepped forward looking at the area that had opened up, though now she was too focused on theory crafting within her own head.

Inside she could see a dark passage leading deeper into the mountain, a bit beyond she could see the glow of a pale blue light. Alzria gestured towards the door "Would you like a look inside? I am very curious to learn more about the other side of sleep so It'd be a nice time to talk."

I’Iro nodded politely and started to move ahead into the lair. The curiosity is mutual. it felt like this talk was really inevitable no matter what, to not know each other would just breed trouble and potential for misunderstandings, she was sure all gods could reach an amicable agreement nevertheless. She followed Alzira deeper into the sanctuary without worry, the whole realm of fear was somewhat alien to the goddess of dreams, it was a deeply mortal and organic behaviour after all.

The cave path led deep into the mountains, eventually depositing the two into a massive cavern, within sat a large lake, and various other tunnels led deeper into the caverns. High above the cavern stretched upward, with various perches and ledges for what seemed to be nests. All around, there were monsters and beasts of a variety of flavours, a vast amount of slimes by the lake, Griffins and fliers sitting by their nests, some creatures sat in spots, others milled about. Alongside them there were several Azrath, seemingly caring for the beasts of the sanctuary.

"So!" Alzria spoke, clapping her hands together then gesturing out towards the sanctuary "Welcome to the sanctuary! home of my children and me, and some of my Azrath helpers. Since you're my guest, I guess you can ask some questions first." She smiled once more, eager to talk.

I’Iro nodded slowly as she took a position and turned to Alzria. The most essential question in this is simple. Please define nightmares. As it is clear to me that word has a meaning to you that is notably different to my own.

Alzria thought for a moment, giving a small humm ”Well, Nightmares are, a, manifestation of the fears of mortals, all that terror locked away in their minds given a form. They are, in a way, alive, feeding off of the mind of the mortal, rarely do they do much beyond give a scare, but sometimes there are mortals who, either of their own free volition or not, give in to fear, that can cause more, serious, mental problems and they can even manifest themselves in the waking world.” She licked her lips, seemingly starring off for a moment, before snapping back to attention ”Apologies, I tend not to be able to help myself at the thought, mortals being brought low by nightmares and their own fear is a tasty treat to me.”

The mechanical goddess nodded along what was being said, slowly raising an eyebrow at the reply. I see… The first things you have said are similar to my definition with perhaps an added level of romanticism. However clearly there are some elements to fear that act in a way unlike anything I work with when it comes to dreams. All the gods I had met so far were neutral or positive towards the mortal species so it is a bit surprising to meet one who has more… utilitarian views. this was all said without strong facial expressions, just I’Iro’s typical distant tone.

A chuckle came from Alzria in response ”I suppose you could call it that, it stems from the nature of nightmares in some regards I suppose, we feed on mortals, simple as that, don’t get me wrong, I hold no desire to destroy or kill them.” She gestured towards the Azrath within the sanctuary to further her own point, ”In fact, their growth means even more for me and my nightmares to consume, so, you would be right, I do suppose I hold some, utilitarian views. Anyway, I am curious about Dreams some, I don’t know much about them and would love some enlightenment about them.”

Oh. Dreams are not that different from the way you described nightmares at first. I’Iro rose a hand and a playback of Alzria’s voice played ”Well, Nightmares are, a, manifestation of the fears of mortals, all that terror locked away in their minds given a form. the goddess rested her hand and continued. See. Here you describe emotions and thoughts locked away within the mind that are manifested during sleep. Dreams are not that different to the point that before meeting you I considered what mortals described as nightmares to just be indistinguishable from dreams. They are the free flow of thoughts typically hidden away by distractions and busyness of life. The mind working at its full potential. One thing that distinguishes us… perhaps… is that I do not see an end product of Dreams the same way your value the production of Fear from Nightmares. My concern is to analyse and understand dreams and the mind and to an extant help mortals control their own minds.

I’Iro adjusted her turquoise hair with one hand, breaking eye contact for a moment. That last part is perhaps a bit anathema to your desires. As among the things that come with a better self-control is the ability to contain and suppress fears. That said. I hope this does not breed animosity between us. That would be a wasteful endeavour.

”Well I surely wouldn’t want to fight someone like yourself.” The nightmare goddess gave a big toothy smile, if it weren’t for the cloth covering her eyes, she would’ve surely winked. ”But they do sound similar in some regards, I suppose that comes from our shared space amongst the sleep of mortals, and don’t worry, I won’t feel any animosity for your work, we each have our jobs, no faulting someone for doing it.”

I’Iro nodded at the reasonable words of Alzria. Ah. That is good to hear. I am not fond of conflict at all. And indeed. Perhaps one viewpoint could even be that our conflicting works help to keep each side trying their hardest. Nevertheless. I thank you for your hospitality.

”Of course! My sanctuary is open to all, of course as long as you play nice and don’t care about all the monsters,” The sounds of monsters reminded the pair of the vast amount of creatures that sat and laid a short distance away from them. ”I do look forward to working with, or well, against you in the future, anything else you’d like to ask?”

The robotic goddess rubbed her chin for a long moment, her eyes focusing on the many creatures around them. With some struggle she nodded, asking a question that had been on her mind for a good while May I pet the griffon?

The Blessings of Paratiri

Ita and Eco were young siblings full of energy. With the world returning to normal quite quickly they found themselves growing alienated from their village's ways. While they wanted adventure, fights and inventions, to go out and tame the restored lands, their parents and elders were more than happy to just stay in the little village among ruins. Why bother building a new home when you can just live inside a far larger one? Sure given many years people who didn't rely on the leftovers of the past world would have an advantage but at this moment the old people were too shortsighted to see the benefits of straying from their traditions and comfort.

The situation became so bothersome that the sister would add a plea for the gods to help them with that among the other prayers the two made when leaving to fish or hunt. It was such a prayer that reached Paratiri's ears, the winged goddess immediately sympathized with the young duo over the old order and decided that she would be the deity to help the two of them.

"We should really just go exploring up the river one of these days. We know there are other villages, so it would make trading so much easier." Ita complained as she finished setting up the net.

"Don't push it Ita, you know how hard it was for father to allow us to use this boat. With the elder, you know the drill at this point, he will just think we are trying to hoard things for ourselves and would not allow anyone to trade." Her brother answered, not bothering with optimism anymore.

They continued to prepare their supplies for the day until a great wind came forth and great shadow spread from the other side of the lake as something large blocked the sun. Looking up the siblings saw a massive half-woman half-avian creature, could that be the god they had heard about?

"Hello mortals! It is I, Paratiri, the living storm! I have heard your prayers and am here to bring you a blessing! To see youth shackled by the fears of the old breaks my heart, and I will bring forth a great blessing that will guarantee they will need to rely on your quick minds and healthy bodies."

The two mortals looked to each other for a long moment.
"A god!?"
"Indeed. A goddess!"
"I did not expect someone to come answer our prayers!"
"Oh great Paratiri, please, bring forth your blessing to us!"

The great harpy smile, rays of light escaping between the heavy clouds in the sky. "Alright! That is what I like to hear. Behold! The great blessing of Paratiri!"

She opened her wings and started flapping them, the clouds came down in the form of a misty storm and quickly assaulted both the siblings at the river's shore and the village behind them. The ruins which stood since time immeasurable was quickly disintegrated, along with all the leftover structures the mortals relied so much on. Nature started to take over where mortal acts had shaped the land, great trees springing forth and even animals seemed to appear from nothing.

And then the storm was lifted, and the siblings found themselves looking up startled at the goddess. Their village... it was all gone, the people's voice could still be heard, very annoyed and shocked, but all the structures had vanished. But not only that, the tools they were carrying, the fishing net, the lumber they had collected, the baskets they had weaved, the boat they were intending on using and even the very clothes that covered their bodies had been disintegrated.

"Ah... what the hell?" Eco gasped covering himself. "Yo! What the fuck did you just do?" Ita questioned raising her fist in anger.

"Oh? Ah. Perhaps I went a bit overboard. The logic is that, you know, if all these old things are keeping you down, then I would just make them go away. I guess I shouldn't have gone as far as leaving you and your people naked in the wilds, but hey, here is a chance to prove your worth! Forest is fresh, full of food, start over, it will be great fun! Also a lovable excuse to cuddle to some pretty boy or girl once the night falls and it gets cold"

The siblings did not seem to agree with Paratiri on that definition of fun. The harpy goddess clicked her tongue, mortals really were a rude bunch. With a shrug, the storm goddess simply left the barking humans to deal with their forced re-start of civilization.

Harapi

Storms were not discreet, so it was no surprise that Paratiri became known to mortals relatively quickly. Unfortunately for the goddess, it was mostly bad press, mortals associated her with trouble and savagery, man eating beasts and floods, which yeah, valid, but there was plenty of cool and useful in her style and it felt bad that it was basically being ignored. She needed to work on her PR, but more often than not she found mortals to be too unreasonable and nitpicky.

Paratiri was tired and she decided she needed a nice, quiet place to perch. Making islands or any sort of land was not her forte, thankfully her fellow gods had made many types of land that she could just steal borrow, so for a while the storm simply traveled from land to land, swooping down, clawing at the ground and then nabbing chunks of land from the continent to throw into the northern sea.

And in this way the Harapi islands were made.

She picked up the northernmost island and rose it up with a storm, giving a nice overview of the shard when she perched in the highest tree of this island. First issue she noticed, is that even with her two daughters back the whole place was awfully empty of cool, winged life. So she got to work, like she had made the first two, Paratiri laid eggs which would hatch into harpies, sphinxes and all sorts of feathered divine spawnlings. Some were sweet, others were twisted, all of them were loud.

These hundred or so harpies, while unable to create spawns of their own, would act, intentionally or not, to integrate more the Harapi ecosystem, over the centuries this, and the different environment compared to where these lands were originally fro, would make the archipelago into more integrated, even if extremely diverse, lands.

The mark of thunder

In the dry lands, where banditry was more profitable than honest work, a man was making a name for himself. Thin scars in a vein or root-like pattern spread out throughout his right arm and chest, he had gained them when thunder struck him when he was a mere boy. As he grew older and a capable combatant, people started associating him with the lightning, as a blessing of the tumultuous goddess or even that he was her son. He always denied that, it felt annoying that people would worship the very thing that almost killed him.

Today he was enjoying the spoils of being a paid guard, banditry was nice, but being a mercenary you got to ripoff people and nobody questioned your looting, it was the best of both worlds. He also, for many reasons, did not enjoy being a bandit, the world was crap and he felt like he needed to do something to help it be less crap, even if his main worry as far as civilization was the production and commerce of his beer.

As he was drinking, people started to whisper, and he just knew what it had to be, some newcomer had showed up in the trade town with a big iron sword and was seeking to duel with the famous fighter. Sighing he turned, but what he saw was not some scrappy teenager boy trying to make his name but a woman, a beautiful one at that, she had long grey hair, the color of storm clouds, and vivid yellow eyes. He dreamed for a moment that maybe she was there to flirt with him but the armor and the sword made it clear she was not.

"Who the hell are you." Arth questioned.

"Arth the thunder kissed, you have offended my honor." the woman said with a stern tone.

The mercenary sighed. "Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?" he quickly finished his beer. "But let me guess, you came here for vengeance, you want to fight me or some shit? Yeah fine. Let's dance pretty face."

The silver haired woman rose her hand to stop him from taking out his sword. "Not in here. Let's come outside, away from the rabble."

"That is an agreeable sentiment." he smirked, and did as the woman had asked, leaving not only the tavern but the city altogether, stopping by an open field outside. "So, here is good enough?"

"Yes. Today I will make you pay your dues. You have said regrettable things, thunder kissed."

He rolled his eyes. "Stop with that bullshit. I am not strong because I got hit by lightning when I was a kid. You people are too superstitious."

The female warrior answered equally, also rolling her eyes, then she drew her sword. Arth did the same and not wanting to be on the defensive, rushed the woman. Yet no matter how much and how quickly he swung his sabre, every single attack seemed to miss her, the few that did connect were easily stopped by her own blade. With a smirk, the woman decided to end the battle, not with a swing of the sword but with a kick to the stomach, Arth taking a few steps back before collapsing to the ground and coughing.

"What... the fuck was that!? What are you? How are you so fast?"

"I gave you a gift, a gift you keep denying you received. Did my lightning fast movements impress you? You are lucky I am not that angry, I am a merciful goddess after all."

Arth quickly raised his head hearing that. "Goddess!? You couldn't be..." his words were stopped by a quick and soft kiss, a burning feeling brewing within him before he was forced to scream to the sky, light emanating from his mouth and eyes. When he came back to himself, the goddess was nowhere to be seen. He looked upward to the sky with a contemplative expression, opening and closing his hand and feeling like something within him had changed.

Behind some bushes not too far from him, Paratiri was spying on her work, this human form she had shapeshifted into was truly useful when it came to being discreet. The man truly hadn't been blessed by her before, but with humans always thinking she was bad news the tale of some warrior BLESSED by her was too good not to get involved. Now she had granted him an actual blessing, more stamina and faster movement and reflexes, if this worked out she would surely start hitting people with lightning at random to create some more thunder kissed warriors to spread her name.

Astella stood there, elbows leaned onto the thick balustrade decorating her office’s balcony. She was breathing in the air--Pure, clean, refreshing. For the first time since she came to this world, she could see the fruits of everyone’s labour. The world was becoming livable again, its fate was no longer certain... and most importantly, the people living their lives far below in the streets of the recently finished City of the Gods had begun to smile. They were healing, their open wounds scarring and fading.

That was what she wanted to do, she realized some time ago. To feel involved and loved, to feel like she actually mattered in the hearts and souls of the ones blessed with mortality.

She was happy. Really, as soon as the last chair in the meeting room had been assembled and the last toilet installed, she felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. And yet, she also felt a void in her heart.

Lazily, she turned her sight towards the Wellspring well off into the distance, her sight allowing her to pinpoint the location of her pedestal easily enough. She’d been so excited then about the possibility of showing her fellow Gods what she was capable of, and yet the only ones who came to visit after the Wellspring had been unclogged had come by and left as if they didn’t care at all about the project.

She sighed, slumping further onto the balustrade.

If only she could do more for the humans under her care. More than just providing a healthy ecosystem for them to hunt and gather and farm…

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a familiar presence sneakily jump onto the balustrade and walk up to her. It was Snowie. The cat (she’d grown a lot over time) affectionately rubbed itself against Astella’s arm and shoulder while purring. Astella chuckled weakly, each laugh feeling like a stab through the heart, and then wrapped her arm around the clingy cat.

Life wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. But at that moment with a whirlpool of emotions raging on inside her chest and a purring, sleepy cat snuggled up against her as she watched the sunset, Astella felt alive.



It had been a regular day that day. She’d watched the sunrise and along with it, the peoplerise. After that, she’d made her rounds walking through the streets while greeting people and giving out a helping hand whenever possible. As soon as she had finished chatting with Lilac and his family at their bakery and had begun to make her way towards Old Angea’s Smithy, something unexpected happened.

She stumbled on a spidercrab, one of I’Iro’s workers.

Of course, such a thing wasn’t enough to make a Goddess fall flat on her face, but she did scratch her hands and knees.

”Ow...” Astella muttered to herself as a child quickly ran up to her and helped her up. After she dusted herself off, they flashed smiled at each other and the kid ran off, leaving Astella to observe the Spidercrab as it slowly turned around, the fine layer of rust on its joints flaking off and causing sparks.

The lights behind the Spidercrab’s eyes shone meaningfully. It had been sick for a while, much like its siblings, but the fact that this one was actually moving was a surprise to Astella. She squinted and confirmed the microscopic number imprinted one centimeter above its right eye.

”Ah! M4CK13, it’s you!” Astella grinned and dropped to her knees despite having injured them just a few seconds ago. She carefully grabbed the Spidercrab and lifted it up to her eye level, admiring how, despite its old and withering body, it still tried to move.

“01 APPROACHING. END OF MISSION. SHUTDOWN BY 01 IMMINENT. CURRENT USER, 02-” The little robot’s speech suddenly cut off as the lights behind its eyes blinked rapidly, then settled on a low intensity. “CURRENT USER, 02, ‘GOOD JOB’. NOW HIBERNATING.”

And just like that, the small robot went limp and silent and its lights turned off.

Astella softly lowered the robot to the floor, made of carefully constructed stone bricks by M4CK13 and its army of siblings. She ran a hand through her hair, sweeping it back as she let out a shaky sigh. After a moment, she looked at her hands. Soft, as if she hadn’t just fallen to the ground. As if she hadn’t put years of work into building the entire city along with the Spidercrabs.

She hunched over a little as her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes watered and she shivered almost imperceptibly. All around her were the signs of a world that had moved. The Wild had become Civilized. Adults had become elders, children had become adults, and new life had been made. Buildings were being used, memories were being made, lives moved on, and yet she looked the same as always. Stuck, like some sort of living, moving statue, like a symbol rather than something truly living.

And then she heard a familiar flapping of metallic wings. A sound she hadn’t heard in a long, long time.A gentle turquoise light filled the location, most humans surprised as they had never seen the goddess of dreams and her loyal dragon before, it hovered over them before landing gently in the main plaza. I’Iro looked around her with a sense of amazement, clearly more towards the human town rather than her own meeting ground project. After the initial surprise, she kept looking for something, before she finally found Astella at the entrance of the Central Plaza, standing there with wide eyes and slack jawed. I’Iro waved in a timid, or rather, robotic way, to which Astella responded by dashing up to I’Iro.



”IRO!!!!!!!!!!” She shouted as she basically tackled the robot Goddess to the ground, wrapping her in the biggest, strongest hug she could… Which wasn’t much by God standards. ”Iro, Iro!! I missed you so much! Where were you?!?! Why were you gone so long??? We have to catch up.” She asked rapid-fire while quickly wiping her eyes.

The goddess of dreams was extremely casual about being tackled to the ground, in all honesty her metallic body had really only dealt damage in the fall to the poor floor, taking none in return. She stared at Astella for a moment, placing one arm around Astella for stability, the expression was the typical deadpan. Oh greetings Astella. It has truly been a long time. Has it not? I intended to return earlier but some matters took my attention… she stopped as soon as the goddess cleaned her eyes. Ah! Were you distressed? Did something bad happen while I was away? I am very sorry for I think my behaviour here was selfish. I should not have left this task only to you and my workers.

Astella smiled sweetly and shook her head, giving a single sniffle before grinning. ”N-No, don’t worry! I was just so happy to see you again that my eyes started sweating.” She explained as she carefully got off I’Iro and stood up, then offered her a hand. ”Sorry about the whole tackle thing, I didn’t hurt you did I? I gotta work on taming my emotions...”

I’Iro took the hand but was way too heavy for Astella’s small frame to pull, and getting up almost made the two goddesses crash down again. Oh. That is a peculiar term to refer to crying. Nevertheless. Fret not for I am completely unhurt. I did not feel anything really. she smiled despite the completely cold tone and content of what she had said. Well. Returning to your question. I have been exploring the continent. I delved into many ruins. Almost died in one by touching an ancient corrupted device. In another I unleashed a wave of cold that could have freezed the continent. It was thankfully tamed and now we have winter once a year... I met many humans that were quite peculiar. Well the one called Maydly is not really a human anymore. She reminds me a lot of you. Unpretentious and sweet but also energetic.

Astella listened intently to I’Iro’s recount of her adventures, nodding when appropriate and cooing in surprise and worry in several parts. Finally, I’Iro turned her head slightly to the humans that now watched them. It seems the Mons Divinus Embassy City project has developed in unexpected ways. It seems some gods have moved by as well.

”Oh! That, uh, yeah. It wasn’t in the plan. Orynn came by with Ze’Kelia and dropped a few hundred humans here.” Astella pursed her lips and waved at the humans. Most of them waved back, but they all had their sights set on I’Iro. Finally, Astella addressed them. ”Alright people, this-” She began and motioned towards I’Iro, ”Is I’Iro, Goddess of Dreams. You can pray to her about that topic all you want. As usual guys, hands off and no weird business. Give our guests respect! She’s also my best friend so if you annoy her I will make you wet your pants by making a monster chase you from here to the foot of the mountain.”

Many of the humans chuckled, and many spoke at once trying to get I’Iro’s attention..

“Hi I’Iro!” said a woman holding a newborn.

I’Iro waved back looking at the baby with curiosity. Greeti…

“Welcome to the City!” Exclaimed a muscular man, striking a confident pose.

The goddess tilted her head in confusion as she was cut off Oh. Thank y…

“Want some traditional bread?” Asked a young adult holding a basket of fresh bread and trailed by two boys.

Bread? Ah. It is food. Well I have never eaten anything before but…

“Hello Goddess.” Said an elderly man with a slight bow of his head, careful not to lose his balance.

Her eyes widened a bit. So many people at one. She bowed back to the elder and opened her mouth to speak...

“You made the spidercrabs! Can I have one? Astella won’t let me touch them!!” Asked a young girl.

The drones? Well first I must do maintenance to them, Then maybe… she stepped back, overwhelmed.

After a moment, Astella turned toward I’Iro and sighed, smiling. ”You don’t have to do anything, you know. It’s up to you.”

The mechanical goddess nodded in agreement. Well. I know. But still… Nevertheless. They are so friendly and casual up here. It is quite incredible. Most mortals I have met were very shy or scared. I have never seen any mortal treat gods like family before. But here they seem so casually fond of you. And you. Equally. To them. I’Iro observed as the mortals continued to make requests.

Astella grinned, grabbed I’Iro’s hand and pulled her towards the Central Structure, waving a hand at the curious humans. ”Alright, introduction time’s over! Now I will proceed to have a sleepover with my best friend so don’t bother us! See you guys around!” She exclaimed before scooting up to whisper into I’Iro’s ear. ”You really think so? I’ve tried my best to get them to see me as just another person, ‘cause, you know, that’s what we are, right?”

I’Iro had learned to not even resist when Astella pulled her around, it was utterly futile. She took a little while to answer because she was distracted with the sight of the central structure, it was nice to see it turned into reality. I do believe my assessment reflects reality. Yes. While your second one is up for a more philosophical debate I too agree with you on that. But clearly many gods do not. Even ones with good natured hearts still see mortals as tools rather than individuals. It is… Hard. Actually. To become familiar with mortals. I have been trying very hard to do so in my travels but the existence of godhood makes the relationships inevitably unequal. So to come here and see what you have done. The honest bond you have with these people. It is quite inspiring.

Astella stopped walking for a moment, hugged I’Iro tightly and then continued. ”I love you, I’Iro.” She said as they walked up the steps to the Central Structure’s Entrance and entered the massive building. ”It’s not easy to keep relationships like they are, though. I’m terrified of new Gods coming to visit and ruining my work by treating the humans like garbage or slaves. I don’t think I could handle having them look at me with fear… Not after… Not after what we’ve all seen throughout these harrowing years.”

I also greatly cherish your company Astella. she replied, and although she was also looking over the structure she paid close attention to all that was said. While the worry is understandable I question if it is wise to feel defeated before the event even happens. I cannot understand the philosophy perfectly but some mortals I met would bring up the fact you are worsening your current good times with fears of future bad times. the mechanical goddess let out a small sigh, speaking the words of others was a hard task even with her perfect memory.

And nevertheless, it seems a few gods have already been here while I was away. This makes me believe you are underestimating your own ability to stay connected to mortals. she gave two gentle pats on Astella’s shoulder, trying to encourage the other goddess.

Astella pursed her lips, but after a moment looked up at I’Iro with a half-smile. ”You might be right. Maybe I should try to travel some, like you did. I’ve heard some rumours about incredible lands up north and to the southwest. Have you heard anything about the ‘Hellspring’ or the land of Mirrors?”

I’Iro shook her head. I have not heard of either, the areas I visited were mostly the swamp to the southeast which is impressively populated for our times. Arira’s paradise and the cold lands far to the south. they stopped near a window that overlooked the whole embassy city, even though it was half populated at the moment and even less so if you didn’t count humans, it was an impressive sight. And I definitely recommend traveling as a way to both relax and broaden your horizons. In fact. I am going to stay here for some time working on some theories I have in my mind. As such if you wish I could lend you Nalmepror.

”Really?! Are you sure you won’t need him? I don’t even know what he eats!” Astella perked up, grabbing one of I’Iro’s hands with both of hers. ”I could see so many things from above without having to deal with the stench or tragedy. It sounds like a dream come true! How long could you lend him to me for?”

I’Iro tapped her chin. Well… It is a bit hard to speak of time when all the metrics are unstable. I will be making my embassy here and selecting a few humans to study so that I will need to talk about uhm. About one human gestation period? Maybe two. If you come back within that timeframe it will really not be a problem. Speaking of which. Have you built an embassy? Is that big oppressive one with all the gold and stairs yours?

Astella rolled her eyes and slumped onto the balustrade. ”Not in a million years. That is Wyn’s, the one who came by and implied our work was ugly and inadequate, and also insulted the humans. I don’t actually have an embassy yet. I was thinking of maybe settling for a floor in this building.”

I figured it was not yours. The design is exaggerated and it feels too focused on overwhelming and belittling others. It is no surprise that the creator is so chauvinistic… Ah but I should not be talking such things about someone I have not met just because her architectural design is anathema to my own. With that said it does raise an issue with your idea of taking the floor of this building. If we overtake too much of the central meeting ground it will increase the probability that other gods might feel alienated. This goes against the core concept of our idea when building this place.

Astella nibbled on her lower lip for a second, ”True, I suppose.”

The mechanical goddess waited for a moment, the wind gently making her azure hair flow. The location I have chosen is a bit far from the centre of the town. There is a pleasant spot between here and my own. If you wish you could set that plot aside for a location of your own. Do you have any ideas for the purpose of your embassy? For example in mine I will likely run an education program for mortals.

”I’d love to build mine close to yours! But… You, as a teacher? I don’t know why but it does fit quite well. Have you thought of wearing glasses?” The short goddess asked with a smirk. ”I know! I will probably turn my embassy into some kind of headquarters! I want to use my abilities to help mortals. Maybe I’ll help them forget or overwrite bad memories!”

Glasses? Why? My optic devices are perfectly functional… I’Iro looked helpless for a good and long moment from Astella’s joke. Which was good as it hid her similar feelings towards the concept of forgetting all bad memories. A headquarters sounds good. I would suggest something modular that you can increase at will when you need to without major redesigns. crossing her hands behind her back, I’Iro started to move back the path they had come from, with Astella following right behind without missing a beat.

”That is definitely the most logical approach. Lead me to those spots you mentioned and then we can get to work!” Astella said with a grin, her halo glowing a hot yellow. I’Iro nodded, yet her eyes stayed focused on the halo. She had not noticed it behaved like that before, it invoked a feeling mortals would describe as cuteness.



The act of designing a location for the purpose I’Iro wanted needed her to be very sensitive, as she was dealing with finding the good middle between clashing concepts, she wanted a place that was separate from the busyness of the outside world but she did not want it to give off an alienating or caging aura, she wanted something practical yet not oppressively simplistic and angular.

Sighing as she returned to the location she had set apart, she focused her hand, shaping and raising the earth with her divine will. A structure of intersecting curvy shapes started to form, to avoid a sense of hierarchy in the multi-story building the goddess made it so the roofs were covered in fertile earth and green vegetation. In fact that was the whole theme of the building, a controlled but not overly tamed garden overhead seemed to lead seamlessly into the more clean and minimal learning rooms and laboratories.



To do the task of manutention and gardening the goddess took back her construction drones and refurbished the spiders into a proper shape. This was not to be a final solution, however, as Maydly had thought of her value in these simple tasks, however, for the moment, she needed a lot of work and had a severe lack of capable manpower.

The goddess looked with a semblance of pride as the leisure plazas and classrooms were finished. In here mortals would be able to study the matters of the mind, self-control, oneirology, alien chemistry and to some extent magic, once I’Iro herself better understood the relationship between that and the mortal mind. Since she was already opening some space, however, she also had opened up some rooms for more experimental work.



She would still need a space for herself, however. As she did not intend to not claim any land in the outside world, she would probably need some sort of… home. It was hard to come up with concepts since she did lack even the mimicry of biological needs, but she managed to settle on a small “simple” building where she would likely spend any semblance of free time. She nested it near the education complex she had just conjured.





After they split up, Astella had remained at her spot for a while, in deep thought regarding exactly what she wanted to do. In the end, after almost a whole day of thought, she figured out that the best way to start her venture would be to introduce (or re-introduce, who knows at this point?) the world to one of the most important technologies--The printing press. By finding out a way to automate the production and infusion of illusory texts, she would be able to reach the hearts of everyone who was capable of reading. This, combined with I’Iro’s plan to teach mortals, would ensure that at least most of the mortals in the City of the Gods would be able to enjoy the benefits of her abilities first-hand.

Her first order of business was to create the structure, however. Just as I’Iro had suggested, she made a simple, moderately-sized structure. It was a simple warehouse, with most of its space turned into workshops and two offices on the second floor.



At first, she was doing it all by hand by herself, but eventually a few of the townspeople stumbled upon her construction site and offered to help. As such, by the end of the first month a sizable amount of young, strong humans had joined her in her project. They had made it clear that they expected nothing in return for their help, as they were honoured to be able to help her after years of Astella helping them.

By the end of the second month, the construction was finished. As Astella hung up the sign above the entrance to the warehouse, the people cheered and everyone, including the goddess, threw their sweat-soaked hats up towards the sky and engaged in the biggest group hug the city had ever seen. After that, they all admired the building one last time before heading home for the day.

The Legacy of the group known as Astellite Book Company started humble indeed.

The next week, Astella had managed to recruit a good few of the people who’d helped her during construction into her actual project. She would offer them the best quality of illusions she could make in return for their daily labour, and when they were all gathered in the warehouse, Astella had I’Iro come by and teach them all how to actually set up and run a printing press (as well as reading, writing, and basic maths…).



Thus, after another month of training, the Astellite Book Company was already working on its first prototypes.



Is this conical hat really necessary? I’Iro questioned as she adjusted the funny looking party hat on her head, some sort of tradition Astella insisted on. After concluding both of their projects the duo (Astella) decided to throw a little party. The party, as expected, was being held in Astella’s embassy (workshop), during the late hours of the night.

”They are! Definitely! One hundred percent!” Astella asserted, quickly rummaging through I’Iro’s Arctic Box. After a few moments, she cooed in delight and stood up to show I’Iro a smooth bottle filled with a light yellow coloured liquid. The liquid was a light yellow, fizzy, and small drops of water condensed on the outside of the bottle as soon as Astella pulled it out. ”Why? Cause we’re celebrating! Humans use hats like this when they celebrate the births of their loved ones, and I mean, our embassies were born at around the same time, right? They’re sisters, and this is their first official birthday party!”

I’Iro nodded. I guess humans do show an extreme fondness of hats. Some could say it is excessive at times. She was at her own home at the moment, Astella and Snowy had been regulars at her place since she first showed it, particularly popular was the “Arctic Box” a device I’Iro had created to store chemical compounds that needed to stay in the cold, and had since been overtaken by all sorts of vials of drinks.

”They definitely do. Anyway, this,” Astella walked closer to I’Iro and handed her the bottle. ”Is something the Humans call Lesser Ambrosia. I swear it isn’t fizzy urine, despite its colour. This is actually the first batch our people in this City have successfully produced, thanks to the Arctic Boxes. It’s really, really tasty and perfect for a celebration. So do me a favour and go get us some fancy glasses and a corkscrew!”

Why would it be urine? I’Iro questioned in a lower voice before shaking her head, with Astella some things were better not questioned. The robotic goddess moved through her kitchen getting two long crystalline glass cups. Snowy meowed softly but I’Iro shook her head. I am sorry little feline. These are not suitable for you. I promise I will serve you a glass of milk later. with that bit of diplomacy done she went back to the table where Astella was, only to find Astella already sitting at the table, halo glowing a bright yellow, and looking more like an excited child than a Goddess. She was tapping her heels against the ground and grinned at I’Iro as she walked in. After the robot goddess put the glasses down on the table, Astella perked up.

”You know how to use a corkscrew right? Just screw it into the cork that’s sealing the bottle and then pull it. It might seem self-evident that that’s how it’s used, but I messed it up the first time.” She recounted with a small grimace.

Tilting her head slightly, I’Iro picked up the tool and the bottle, looking them over. With a simple shrug she moved to uncork it, but didn’t fully account for the environment near her. With a loud pop the cork went flying at a high speed, hitting Astella’s pointy hat with awful precision and sending it across the house. Ah...

Astella sat with her eyes wide open for a moment, then blinked a few times and stifled a chuckle, ”I mean, the hats are kind of ridiculous I guess, so that was justified. Now c’mon, serve! We have to clink our glasses together after the drink’s served and then we drink it all in one swig. It’s how the humans do it.”
I’Iro also stood a good moment just staring, before nodding, serving the two glasses with perfectly equal amounts. Humans are peculiar creatures. Next time I meet them I tell them to go easy on the lead plates and cutlery. she took her own glass and offered Astella the other, which the shorter goddess happily took as she stood up and walked up to I’Iro, holding her glass in front of her.

”Clink clink,” Astella muttered, swishing the liquid around inside her glass before clinking it gently against I’Iro’s. ”Aaah, there we go! Now drink!” She said and quickly downed her own glass.

I’Iro followed suit, even though she wasn’t used to drinking or eating. Her face was as deadpan as ever as she downed the whole glass at once, when she finished however she was softly smiling. Fuwah. The bubbling felt funny in the throat. The taste is delicate and pleasant. she commented, placing a hand on her cheek.

Astella smirked, her halo changing into an orange hue, ”Oh~? I know of another thing that feels funny going down the throat, you know. The humans make that as well.”

I’Iro blinked a few times at that. Oh. Is that so? I hear spicy food and some types of juices cause such feelings. I will ask them about that later. Culinary is a hard to understand but very enjoyable craft. I’Iro answered in total innocence, to which Astella couldn’t help but giggle in response, grabbing her friend’s hand and leading her to a couch rather than the table. There, Astella took charge of the bottle and served the both of them another glass.

”It is, isn’t it? The humans make a lot of tasty food here. Much better than the survivalist stuff I’ve seen other settlements make. So what’s your plan now? I mean, besides going into the market and asking for things that feel funny when they go down your throat.”

Swinging her head from side to side and shrugging, I’Iro had to think over the answer a bit. First of all. There is the academy which I need to start teaching the mortals in. There are also the matters of magic. I have been thinking a lot about it since that meeting with the stone golem and what-is-his-name. The annoying person who belittled me. And in particular I have been analysing how the mind interacts with magical forces. I have this theoretical magical act. I call it Mimicry. Which is about creating copies of physical forces through magic… such as barriers and boxes and what-not.”

”That guy’s name is Orynn. He told me when he came by to drop the humans off. And on Mimicry, well… You know, I was thinking of, sometime in the future, teaching some of my employees how to create illusions through magic. Obviously the illusions wouldn’t be real physical things, but if we mix them with Mimicry, maybe we could like, create a whole industry based on having your Mimicrians copy the structure of expensive furniture using like, basic construction paste, and then having my Illusionists come by and attaching illusions to the furniture so as to actually make them look and feel and smell like the original thing? I dunno. Sounds kinda complex, but it might work?” Astella shrugged and drank her second glass in one go as well, her body trembling slightly afterward.

Oh right. Orynn. Yeah. I don’t know if I dislike that man or not. And your plan… sounds decent not gonna lie. I don’t know if the mortals will enjoy it but where is the harm in trying? That stuff seems like… uhh… around four hundred and fifty years in the future though. Right now mortals can’t do much magic beyond accidental magical sneezes that set their homes on fire. One of the reasons why I am opening the school. You know? I’Iro said, leaning against the couch and sipping more on the champagne.

”I do!! I do know! Gosh, remember when I was building the Workshop with the humans? I swear, at least twice a day they would trip or sneeze or be possessed by a ghost and fall on top of me or be overtaken by urges to give me flowers or touch my arms! Huh... Now that I think about it, ghosts aren’t really magic, and a ghost that possesses someone just to hug you doesn’t seem so bad, and all that convenient falling over and dropping of water buckets on top of me seems a bit too mundane to be magical curses...”

Hmm. Perhaps I should do some analysis on that. I can observe dreams after all. Maybe I could try to see what could be behind all this clumsy stuff… I’Iro focused at the window that oversaw the human village, squinting her eyes as she peeked into the dreams of mortals. Her eyes went wide after a little while. Oh goodness. I guess those mortals are a bit… fond of you. Attracted…? Really explains why most of the sculptures in the workshops are images of a goddess wearing only her smile…

”Well of course they’re fond of me! Most of them tell me I’m like a big sister, and you know, they tell me that it’s normal for siblings to bathe together, so it’s also normal to have naked sculptures of them since they’ve already seen everything.” Astella said with a sigh, ”So they’re clumsy because they actually need to take baths with me huh… I thought they were messing with me. I might have to do that tomorrow with them.”

If I’Iro could sweat she would have a single droplet going down right now as she tensed up. Well uh… I would not recommend that… Because… uh… Well maybe you should take the day to see if you adapt well to riding Nalmepror? And also teaching me how to better look out for little Snowy. she nodded rapidly, good enough of an excuse. After all. Won’t you be leaving pretty soon?

Astella nodded, ”True! That’s a good idea. I’ve already trained one of the guys enough that I’m sure he can take care of stuff at the Workshop while I’m gone, so I can take the day. You should also teach me some words of the language you talk to Namelpror in, in case I need to talk to him.” She said, her halo gently changing colour into dark brown.

I’Iro shook her head. Oh Nalmepror speaks the common language alright. He pretends he does not because he is a sassy idiot. Also to get people whispering things around him thinking he won’t understand. That dragon does love gossip… I’Iro said and Astella giggled and leaned back against the couch much like I’Iro. The robot goddess’ focus changed between Astella and the fuzzy bubbles of the drink, until I’Iro rose the glass up so she could see Astella through the ambrosia glass. I hope the villagers are not too grumpy when you leave…

”Townspeople! And I don’t think they’ll be. They might be sad for a while, but once they get to know you, it’ll all be fine! I won’t be gone for too long anyway, maybe a year or so...” Astella trailed off, staring into her empty glass, until finally she put it on top of the coffee table and closed her eyes, ”Wanna sleep together tonight, Iro? Like sisters do. Um… Do you even sleep? Goddess of Dreams dreaming, wouldn’t that be wacky?”

I’Iro nodded emphatically. Oh indeed! Wacky is a suitable word. But I could… uhm… lay there and close my eyes and put my mind on work on something like scanning or defragmentation. It does feel like all this ambrosia made my database a bit… fuzzy. I’Iro laughed softly. Furthermore. I worry a bit that if only Snowy uses my bed she will soon think she owns the house and will kick me out.

Astella laughed quietly at that, snuggling up to I’Iro. ”She wouldn’t do that, she’s nice. She only pretends to be prim and proper and distant but deep down she’s just a kitten looking for attention. I will teach you all about caring for her tomorrow. For now, I’m knackered after a full work day, so let’s go to bed, yes? I’ll teach you what it feels like to sleep with someone next to you, maybe it’ll give you inspiration for your Dreams business.”

---

With the birth of a single mote of green in an otherwise bleak world, Yaerna turned her gaze towards tempering the unruly beings that rampaged on the surface for survival. Chief among the issues at hand were the strange creatures that sprung forth from cracks in the earth, or worse - from strange rifts in the fabric of existence, and tried to establish an unstable dominance over the few scraps that were left.

They uprooted her vines and like those first humans, trampled any place and sought to kill everything in their path. Though the creatures were not an affront in and of themselves, they were untested; and thus should only remain if they managed to do so in an altering landscape with other creatures. So the Queen of Thorns resolved to test them herself and began her first of many hunts, leaving her extremely slowly growing glen behind to proactively hunt the beings of the world - and those beyond it.

She took the form of a grandiose and wide-winged bird of prey and scoured the landscape for movement. Whenever she found movement, she dove to examine and pounce on it. Such events turned out to be extremely rare, and Yaerna instead ended up sailing across the western half of the shard observing the havoc and stability that seemed to slowly be establishing itself. A glowing jewel in the northwest caught her eyes from afar, and she made a mental note to visit whatever place exuded such curious glimmers after she had made her own mark on the world.

Then another curiosity dawned on her. Far below, halfway to the edge of the world, an oily black shape twitched and slithered erratically across the ground, leaving a black trail after it. It was formless and shifting, a seemingly endless set of wriggling tendrils matched only by row upon row of sharp teeth and mismatched eyes. Curious, the Queen of Thorns leapt out of her flying form and turned into a weak approximation of her true self; a shadowy black and green lupine beast. Much smaller of course, Yaerna merely wanted to test this strange beings mettle, not invoke the full force of her royal dominion over nature. So the goddess dove from the sky in her beastlike form, paws pushed forwards as she howled a threatening warning in her playful attack.

The creature did not have the sense to move. Yaerna's paws pressed on the black, irregular beast and it exploded with force, showering the landscape and goddess with a thick and oily black substance. Yaerna sniffed with disappointment. It had been larger than she first estimated and yet it couldn't even handle a single pounce. And it smelled foul - like an old corpse bathed in sulphur. Thoroughly let down by her test of strength, Yaerna interested herself in the trail the being had left behind, stalking across the landscape to follow the oily slag back to whence the creature had come. After a few moments of expeditious trotting, the Queen of Thorns came upon the only reasonable place the creature had come from; a reality-breaking rippling tear in the landscape itself, with no apparent care for what lay around it. To a lesser being, it took the appearance of a bubbling pool of tar nestled into a cavernous rift in the ground. Yaerna was not fooled. The very existence of it was anathema to the rest of the world, a foreign power that imposed itself on all it touched - teemed with an incomprehensible malice. It was a hole into another place, a place filled to the brim with some kind of primal, malicious sludge. So naturally, Yaerna had to experiment with it. Other trails of sludge came from the rift, suggesting the creature she’d pounced on had not been the only one. So the goddess resolved to wait and see if more would come. Turning back to a humanoid form, she settled down on a nearby stone, leaned back, and watched. The rift bubbled with evil intent, ever so often popping or burbling to spray the nearby rocks with sludge. Mostly it seemed innocent enough.

When two days had passed, Yaerna started feeling the itch of impatience in her legs. The rift mocked her with inactivity. After another day, the Queen of Thorns resolved to meddle more actively in her experimentation. She kicked a rock into the sludge, and the black sludge accepted the tribute with an angry burp. A few moments later, a thin tendril sprayed up onto the rocks, almost as if the rift was trying to grab whatever had disturbed it. Amused, the goddess began feeding the rift with random things she could think to conjure, teasing the black goo with intermittent feeding and stirring. Poking and jolting. Pleased with her new game, the goddess lost track of time.

The sound of approaching footsteps snapped her out of it. “Oh?” a deep voice rumbled. “What’s this?” Behind her was a short humanoid who seemed to be made entirely out of stone, save for a mossy beard and gemstone eyes. He smiled at her. “I’m Algrim. Would ye be a fellow god? I’m always runnin’ intah those these days.”

Yaerna, caught holding a stone almost as big as herself over her head, had no real ability to deny the claim. After a few moments of hesitation, she dumped the rock into the brewing rift all the same, and turned to regard the short man. She cleared her throat and brushed her dirty and tattered clothes down. "Ahem, indeed. I am Yaerna, the Queen of Thorns. My demesne stretches beyond the horizon. To whom am I speaking?" Yaerna questioned crisply and adjusted her wooden crown.

“Well, I already told y’ that,” the other God replied. “Unless y’ mean my domain. Then I’m the God of Earth.” He dug his heel into the ground and twisted it to emphasize the point. “Y’ some sort of nature goddess, then? Plants and soils are natural allies, I’d say.”

”Earth? How quaint. I’m inclined to agree, Algrim. My keenest wish is for a verdant paradise where all manner of creature may freely compete. Unfortunately…” she replied and kicked a small rock into the bubbling pit. ”Between the earth-shaking, the dreary conditions and holes in the world like this one, it may yet take a while.”

“Quaint?” Algrim repeated her word, affronted. “Quaint!? Are y’ in the business of insulting every’un ya meet?”

Yaerna produced a thin smile, but nevertheless gracefully dipped her head in apology. ”It was not my intention to denigrate your very important domain. Without earth there would be nowhere for life to take root and grow.” the woman produced swiftly, and curtsied with her tattered leaf robes. ”What brings you to my neck of the woods, honorable god of earth?”

“Well, I thought I’d see about stabilizin’ the local land,” Algrim replied. “I’m sure ye’ve felt the quakes. I came ‘ere t’ do somethin’ about it.”

"That's excellent news, Algrim. Would that I knew how to help, I would leap to your side in a heartbeat." Yaerna concluded with smooth etiquette and a hand placed gently to her heart. The bubbling pit burped angrily behind her.

Algrim smiled. “Well that’s good, there is a way y’ can help, if y’ want.”

"Oh, grand," Yaerna offered briefly. "What role would I play in such an undertaking?"

“Well it’s quite simple, really. Just offer a bit o’ extra power ta ‘elp me build an object that’ll stabilize the local area. Then do yer part in keeping it safe. You’ve set yerself up in this area, aye? So ye already ‘ave a vested interest in protectin’ it.” He glanced at the rift behind. “Is uh… is that thing back there gonna pose a problem?”

"What do you mean by bu- Oh, this? Yaerna quirked a brow, turning to gesture at the black pool of swirling, otherworldly madness. "I doubt it. I've been watching it for a few… hm, days? It spawned some unearthly critter before, but it seems to have calmed down by the time I got here." she sighed and vented her mild frustration by chucking the stag helmet she'd worn in the past into the bubbling hole. The pit accepted it with a bubbling pop. A few seconds later, the ground rumbled and groaned under the burgeoning growth of the black sludge. Long dark tendrils slashed up from the hole and attached itself to dirt and stone, and the rift in reality seemed to grow ever larger as something within its dark core fought to claw itself out of the boiling sludge into their reality. Before long, it took shape as a massive stag of black sludge and random bits of debris. Dead animals captured by the dark mass and various things Yaerna had offered to the mysterious hole jutted out of the formless being like connecting points holding the madness together. Atop a giant heap of black goo vaguely in the shape of buck's head sat Yaerna's stag helmet, the crowning catalyst in sparking an otherworldly invasion. The shifting black creature was a jumble of gaping maws, loose black tendrils and an endless assortment of eyes, yet still saw fit to vaguely appear in the shape of a grand stag. It rose out of the pit with swift anger, soon towering several dozen heads taller than Yaerna and Algrim both. It released a deafening roar, spraying the landscape with black goop, before setting hundreds of eyes on the two deities.

"It appears that your arrival has jostled it." Yaerna concluded to Algrim with a non-plussed expression.

Briefly, Algrim glanced at her in befuddlement, before snapping his attention back to the creature. First and foremost, that thing needed to be dealt with. “Yer an ugly sight,” he taunted the beast, while digging his heel deeper into the ground and twisting his foot.

The creature reared back, ready to charge, only to immediately slip when it lurched forward. The soil beneath is very feet had been loosened, and the abomination crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and antlers, sliding toward them. “Th’ thing about fighting a god o’ earth,” Algrim said casually, as he levitated dozens of stones from the ground and shaped them into spikes, “is that there’s Earth all around us.”

As the creature attempted to rise, Algrim let loose his attack, sending a storm of stone spikes flying toward his foe. And yet as they made impact, they did not cut into the beast’s flesh as he had hoped. Instead, they were absorbed by it, and seemed to do nothing at all. Algrim let out a growl mixed with disappointment and frustration.

Yaerna had been watching the exchange with barely suppressed glee, and her eyes shone when she watched Algrim fire off his stone missiles. The fact that they had no apparent effect on the creature did not appear to bother her much. "You are more powerful than you appear." she quipped briskly before turning her attention towards the black beast of sludge, bone and stone.

The abomination lurched overhead, raising one of its oily slag-like limbs to prepare to crush them both with a solid slam. The mere act of raising its long tendril showered the landscape in black sludge. The goddess at Algrim's side was prepared however, and the small shoots and roots littering the ground came alive at a flick of her chin. Far away from them, two long vines cracked through the ground as they grew in size and slashed through the air towards what could be understood as one of the beast's hind legs. The power of the two giant whips cut straight through the sludge, separating the leg with a sickening sound. The beast fell backwards briefly, stumbling and roaring as its legs fell to the ground on its own and reshaped into its own little formless spawn of evil. Despite her best attempts to sneak attack the beast, it still lunged with its full limbs attention at the both of them, and Yaerna extended both her hands to the sky, quickly creating a seemingly impenetrable tangle of leaves and branches in a small dome around to take the extent of the slam. The barrier shook with a rumble and black sludge forced itself through the gaps, and the goddess grunted loudly as she was forced to her knees, almost as though she took the feedback of the hit on herself.

Yaerna gasped for air and the barrier fell in on itself quickly as the shield became a jumble of inert weeds and bark, revealing the beast still looming above. The landscape around them was now entirely covered in the dark goop; the abomination has obliterated just about all old features during its assault.

While this unfolded, Algrim had not sat idle. He had conjured forth more stone and dirt from the ground, this time forming it together into what appeared to be a large rectangular slab, with one of the edges sharpened. As he levitated it over his head, it could perhaps be compared to an oversized knife blade.

Algrim took stock of his target, noting that despite all the damage Yaerna had done, it still had a head. Algrim lowered the rock-knife so that it was directly in front of him, with its blade pointed up at the creature. Then, with a mighty kick, he sent the stone slab hurtling forward, cleaving straight through the beast’s head.

The abomination paused for a grueling moment, roaring and gurgling with unrelenting fury. Then, it's head lost what little stability it had left after the massive stone blade sheared through it. In massive globs of black sludge, the beast destabilized and fell apart. Starting with what remained of its head, smaller shapeless sludge creatures broke free from the main body and fell down onto the ground - most immediately splashing harmlessly against rock and dirt, leaving the landscape an oily mess. The entire creature rippled and fell apart, with a few autonomous abominations remaining stable as the large body collapsed onto the ground.

Yaerna pushed up onto her feet beside Algrim, breathing out sharply and adjusting her crown. Fresh vines rumbled through the ground from faraway places, cracking through stone and dirt to lift into the sky and slam down like lashing whips onto the smaller abominations, who could not handle the pressure of the vines' weight or the force of the strikes, and simply squished undervine, one by one.

Yaerna turned to the earthen god and allowed herself a curt but terse smile. "Your strength does you credit, Algrim. Perhaps you would hunt with me in the future? I've not ventured far yet but if there are other beings out there stronger than this, I'm certain we could make a day of it."

A smaller abomination lurched up from beside the pit, screeching with dozens of maws as it rose to assault the two deities. It nearly reached an arms length before the previously inert leaves and sticks on the ground around them twisted and several new vines smashed into the creature, splattering black sludge everywhere.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Yaerna breathed with brisk humility, wiping some sludge from her arm. "You had a request for my assistance?"

Algrim nodded. “I believe I’ve already explained the principles to ye,” Algrim said, nodding. “I just need ye ta loan me some extra power, so that we can build something that’ll stabilize the local area. Are y’ still interested?”

Yaerna tapped her lips as she considered the matter anew, even as her vines battled what remained of the abominations, some of whom were now attempting to return to the growling black ditch from whence they came. The vines smashed and squished even tiny fragments, however. "...I will lend you my power, if you in return seal this loathsome abyss into your realm of earth. I do not want these hellions in the food chain."

The God of Earth nodded again. “I suppose I could do that,” he said, striding toward the pit, right up unto its very edge. One of the abominations leapt at him, but he punched it into the rift with ease. He gazed into it for only a moment. Then, raised his arms and shouted: “DOWN! Ye bastard!” before thrusting his palms down toward the ground.

The earth rumbled, and then the black rift suddenly fell downward, for the God of Earth had opened a hole directly beneath it, of the exact same shape and diameter. It fell to a great depth, perhaps three hundred or so feet. Then the God of Earth did a series of complex hand gestures, packing earth and stone around it as tightly as physically possible. Then, he compressed it, packing more and more onto it. Every single particle of dirt, stone, and gravel was fused together. Every atom so tightly bound as to make the stone harder than any natural metal. He piled this on for several layers, until he was confident that no natural force in the world would ever break through it.

Then the earth shook again as he filled in the hole. The ground they were standing on lowered somewhat as the earth was displaced, creating a valley. Then, finally, it was over. He took a deep breath, visibly strained from the effort. “There,” he whispred softly, in a rich weary voice that was noticeably different from any he had used before. “It’s done.”

He held out his hand to her. When he spoke again, it was with the voice he had originally used. “Now come on lass, let’s get to it.”

Yaerna had stood silent, watching her peer and his efforts with interest. Given attention, she offered a gentle nod in return, and stepped forwards to take the offered hand with her own. "Let this covenant signify a shared vision; I lend you my power, Algrim of the Earth."

As he had done three times before, Algrim channeled his power; both his own, and that which was offered to them. This time it came with much more difficulty, due to his previous display of strength, but he managed it all the same. His palm flashed green, and when the glow faded there was a bright green emerald, radiating power. He offered it to her. “Now y’ just need tae plant this gem in the ground. Like a seed.”

Yaerna accepted the gem with due reverence, keenly creating her own ceremonial curtsy as she took it from him. She took a few steps aside, and knelt onto the dirt in the middle of the valley to create a space for it by hand. With some determination she cleared a neat resting place for the emerald and laid it down with expectant eyes. Satisfied with her own diligence, she packed dirt and soil on top of it with care and artificial mysticism before standing up.

Awkward silence followed as the goddess stared intently at the earth where she had planted the gem, refusing to budge for fear of missing whatever wonder would take place. When several moments had passed, Yaerna swung around to face Algrim with a thin smile. "After such effort and fanfare about lending you my power, I was expecting something more poignant, Algrim. I won't say I'm not di-"

The ground rumbled and shook under their feet, and before the goddess could finish her admonishment clusters of vines and long roots and brambles shot from the ground, coiling and twisting around each other. They lifted the surprised Queen of Thorns into the sky as they climbed high, breaking earth and sky alike as they entwined each other in a race upwards. When the assault ended, the vines tightened a final time, leaving barely more space between each other than bark would have. The massive cluster of rising vegetation had formed itself into a giant, leafless tree in the center of the valley, twinned out of taut green and brown vines. Roots and vines coiled around the base of it, and Algrim could observe the base of it digging itself firmly into earth with far extending roots both above and below ground.

From far above, the goddess of the wild gave an excited thumbs up from a vine before catching herself in the act and returning to a more composed manner.

“Ye were saying?” Algrim called up to her.

Yaerna stepped off of her perch and fell from the great height. The goddess gripped her cloak on both sides and held it out, giving herself makeshift wings to safely glide down on. She came to a halt in front of Algrim when her feet touched soil again. "I lov-.. Amaz-..” she began, but contained herself, brushing her clothes down as she took a breath. ”Ahem. I find it acceptable. It shall make a good jewel from which to oversee the extent of my demesne. A good effort, if I may say so.”

“Hm. Well, just be sure ta keep it safe. I need t’ be on my way. Thank ye for your help, an’ may we meet again,” Algrim said, before turning away to resume his journey.

Yaerna watched the earth god turn, and parted her lips to speak, eager to get the last word in. She seemed to think better of it, and eventually turned back to regard the massive tree and the barren landscape around it.

"I should probably clean this sludge up. Yeah. Can't have the jewel of the land smelling like death. ...Yes, an important task, to be sure. A great undertaking that must be considered first." she concluded to herself in quick procrastination and turned back to look for Algrim, but he was already on his way, and Yaerna couldn't very well chase him down. No, that wouldn't do.

---

Once more Algrim had taken the form of a boulder, and resumed his rather literal roll around the world. He thought of the gods he had met so far, many of whom were rather eccentric, and all of whom had been encountered through sheer coincidence. Or fate. Was some unseen force guiding his actions? Was his task, his fixation on repairing the world, all part of another entity’s greater plan?

Perhaps it was.

Then again, perhaps not. Perhaps he was the master of his own fate. Perhaps such speculation of higher purposes was merely a wishful attempt to apply logic to something he still didn’t fully understand.



“It’s good that I see all this.” Uwné said as he looked around. The mountain ranges were far off into the distance but he was surrounded by them at almost all sides. The human guide, a younger man but with a thick black beard stood beside him looking a lot livelier. Around them stood four more golems.

The land, for now, was still mostly an ashen wasteland. That would change of course. Uwné had ideas but he didn’t want a repeat of the Bound Ocean. The life here would be better planned. It would support all living life that would roam here. He envisioned a true paradise. One he could almost see as he looked around.

But his train of thought got disturbed by some distant rumbling. Not that of another earthquake. Both Uwné and the human turned to look at the dust trail in the distance coming closer. “Is that common here?” The god asked.

“No… No not at all.” The human said, looking rather confused at trail.

Unwe’s divine senses would soon pick out the cause of the dust cloud. At its head was a rather large boulder, rolling through the landscape. As he continued to observe it, it soon became clear that it was not being propelled by its own weight or momentum, for whether it moved uphill or downhill it still retained the same speed.

The boulder came closer and closer, until it was nearly upon them. Then, all of a sudden, it dissipated before their very eyes; dissolving into a cloud of dust which quickly enveloped them.

“Oi!” a new voice shouted through the dust cloud. “Is one of ye another god?”

The guide turned to look at Uwné, who took a step forward and leaned on his cane. “It so happens that I am.” The god of crafting said, beaming a bright smile. Meanwhile his four golems formed up behind him. “It’s good to see another of my kind here. What is your name, friend?”

“Algrim!” the stone god returned with a smile. “And who would y’ be?”

“Uwné. God of Crafting.” The old man god said. “What would bring you here to this humble corner?”

Algrim smiled. “God of Crafting, eh? I think we ‘ought to be friends!” He stepped forward. “Friendship ‘ought to wait, though. I came ‘ere to ‘alt the tremours. Would y’ be willing to lend a ‘and?”

“I’ve been working on them myself a little already. Though it’s been hard work.” Uwné said as he stroked his white beard with his one free hand. “It would be my honor to work with you Algrim. Do you have any ideas on how to halt them?”

“I do!” Algrim nodded eagerly. “An’ it’s already been proven to work in no less than four areas! Walk with me an’ I’ll explain the concept.”

The crafter-god turned towards his mortal guide and said: “Give us a moment.” The man nodded and walked away for a bit. Followed by the four golems. Then Uwné turned to Algrim: “Lead the way.”

---

In the end it turned out to be significantly longer than a moment. Algrim explaining the concept of the pillars, their range, and the effect they had was simple enough on its own, but the location he needed to build the next one on was still some distance away. Eventually, however, they arrived. The area was still desolate as ever. Ashen land stretched to their north, south and west, while a petrified forest stood at the east. All sides were marked by crags, steep cliffs and sharp rocks all around.

“Right, so, if yer goin’ t’ ‘elp build this, then I also need yer word that you’ll protect it,” Algrim said once they arrived.

“I swear, upon my own godhood, that I will protect the pillar.” Uwné said without missing a beat.

“Good. We can start right now, if yer ready.”

The crafter-god took his simple hammer and chisel in his hands. “I am ready.”

“Don’t need those. Just raw power. All ya gotta do is give me yer hand and offer some,” Algrim said, extending his own hand.

“Oh.” Uwné said. He did feel a bit disappointed that they would not work the shape of the pillar physically. Then again it made sense that such a creation was made out of pure divine power. He slapped both tools together in his hand and they ignited. Forming a small sun which he then offered to Algrim.

Algrim clasped his hand, absorbing the power into himself which he then merged with his own. A sky blue light flashed in his other palm, before fading away to reveal a crystal of the same colour. Algrim offered it to him. “See? That wasn’t so ‘ard. Just drop it on the ground there, and it’ll take whatever form y’ want.”

Uwné took the crystal from Algrim’s hand and examined it for a moment. It felt like a pity, to simply let it be created with so little effort. Still, he tossed it a few feet away to let it grow. The crystal quickly transformed. It grew larger and larger while it turned into stone. Soon it stood as a 25 foot tall statue of Algrim. “A worthy monument.” Uwné remarked.

“That it be,” Algrim nodded, before turning to face him. “Sorry t’ cut this short, but I ‘ave t’ be off. Still got one more t’ build. We’ll meet again some other time.”

“You’ll always be welcome to these- my lands now, I suppose.” Uwné said as he outstretched a hand.

“I thank y’ for the invitation,” Algrim said as he shook the other god’s hand. “Y’know, if I evah find whoever left th’ world in such a sorry state, I’ll ‘ave a few choice words for ‘em.”

---

The sixth and final destination was in sight. After so much time spent travelling, fighting whatever monsters were foolish enough to pick a fight with him, Algrim’s task was nearly complete. With the construction of this final pillar, the world will be fully stabilized, and he would finally be able to celebrate his triumph.

He emerged from his boulder, the large rock once again dissipating into a cloud of ash, and approached the hill upon which he intended to build the final pillar. There was someone there already -- a dark shape, partially divine. The An-Clastophon was sat upon the hill, and they beckoned Algrim up.

“And who would you be?” Algrim called up to them.

The An-Clastophon responded, “I am a servant of my god, here on business. Is this to be the center of the next ring of stabilized land?” She stood up, looking first at Algrim then down at the hill, as if to illustrate her question.

“Aye,” Algrim replied. “You’ve been travelling, then?”

The An-Clastophon nodded, and with a look of appraisal at Algrim, asked, ”If I may ask, how have you been stabilizing the land? Is there a specific method?”

“There is, aye,” Algrim said. [color=brown]“Though I’d prefer to discuss this with yer master.”[/color’

She shook her head, waving dismissively with an off-hand remark, ”My master does not so easily reveal themselves. Anything you tell me will be relayed to them,” she paused, and then tapped her head, ”and you can rest assured it will be relayed how you intended it. I quite value my life, and lying to my master is an easy way to trip my monitor.”

“Why can’t yer master be ‘ere themself?” Algrim asked.

The An-Clastophon narrowed her eyes, and responded, flatly, ”As I’ve said, they do not so easily reveal themselves. There’s nothing you can do to change this, as it was not my decision, nor will it ever be my decision.”

Now Algrim narrowed his eyes. “Watch yer tone, lass. What is yer master’s name? What are they the god of?”

Another shake of the head from the An-Clastophon, as she quickly answered, ”I cannot say. That would be a quick route to the death of this form and the correction of my mind. All that’s truly necessary to know is I am a servant of a god, anyways.”

“A god who you’ve now given me cause t’ distrust,” Algrim replied. “Won’t let me know their name, won’t meet me in person, won’t give me any information, and will kill their own servant for revealing such things.” He shook his head. “Can’t say I approve o’ such tyranny.”

She sat down on the hill, saying in return, a slight, fierce edge to her voice, ”Tyranny implies wrongdoing. I understand the whys of it, and recognize the hows. How can you tyrannize someone who is a part of you and acts in agreement?”

“Regardless,” Algrim continued. “If yer god wants any answers from me, they’ll ‘ave t’ reveal themself t’ me in person. A messenger won’t be of any help with what I’m tryin’ t’ do, an’ I can’t trust any oaths or pledges from y’ unless they’re made by yer master in person.”

The An-Clastophon spread her arms, saying, ”I am not just a messenger. I act with the empowerment of my god -- and as my god has ordered me to foster cooperation with gods, I intend to look for ways we can cooperate.”

“That’s all well an’ good,” Algrim replied. “But what if yer orders change? What if y’ make a promise to me, and then yer god, not beholden t’ the same promise, orders ye to break it?”

She stood up once more, answering as she paced atop the hill, ”What difference would a promise from my god make as opposed to a promise from me? My god could break a promise made by themself just as easily as one made by me,” she paused, and then, in a reassuring tone, ”I do not expect any promise will be broken regardless; what is hidden is not necessarily evil or untrustworthy. I have been ordered to build rapport and cooperation with the gods for a reason, and that reason is not served by violating trust.”

Algrim glared at her. The secrecy, her stubborn refusal to adhere to it, her dismissal of the importance of promises and pledges, all reeked of disrespect and untrustworthiness. Under other circumstances, he would have driven her off and carried on with his work. However, after some thought, he realized that would accomplish very little.

Her master already knew where the pillar would be and would have some idea of what it would do, and it wasn’t like he could put it somewhere else. Driving her away wouldn’t make her master any less of a threat, but might instead what could have been an unreliable ally into a dangerous enemy. Besides, with the way the pillar was designed, if any treachery was intended, he would know about it at once.

So the god bit back whatever fiery reply he would have normally uttered, and swallowed his pride. Just this once. “The question still remains,” he went on. “What can ye personally do ta ‘elp me?”

”It depends on what you need help with,” the An-Clastophon answered, halting in place and turning to look at Algrim.

“I need some’un who can provide a bit o’ extra power, and also ensure this spot remains protected, from th’ other gods if need be,” he said. “Now y’understand why I needed t’ speak with yer master?”

The An Clastophon once more shook their head, saying in return, ”Not necessary. I am a servant of my god, and as such am empowered to act in their name. If it is power you require, I have a way to provide it,” she assessed the hillside, ”and if it is protection that is needed, well, I have ideas in mind.”

“What sort o’ ideas?”

The An Clastophon gestured to the hill, explaining, ”I can more than defend the pillar, assuming I have a suitable terrain to work with. I think a volcano would do nicely; it’s defendable terrain while still being controllable. Better to have a natural disaster under our control than a series of natural disasters borne of mortal or divine meddling.”

“A volcano?” Algrim asked. He stroked his beard for a few moments. “Hm. I s’pose if we bury it deep down in th’ lava, no one could get at it. It’ll prevent the volcano from erupting. An’ if anyone does some’ow get at it, and destroy it, the resulting eruption will make ‘em pay. Aye… that could work,” he said, though there was still a guarded tone in his voice.

The An-Clastophon nodded, ”Exactly. Now, what will you need me to do to assist in creating this pillar?”

“As I said, just a bit o’ extra energy, that I can channel into building it,” Algrim said, extending his hand.

She held out her hand, an orb manifesting within it. It pulsed with power, and she offered it out to Algrim, saying, ”Take it, and use it.”

Algrim did so, reaching out to take her hand as he had done five times before. He formed the energy into another gem, this one being of the sea. He looked at the gem was scrutiny, as if inspecting it for some hidden flaw.

Then, he stomped his foot.

The earth began to shift. The hill they were on rose upward, transforming into a mountain. He stomped his foot again, and a circular space in the center of the hilltop - now a summit - began to sink down into the lowest depths of the earth. Deeper and deeper it went, until the faint magma of lava was visible beneath. A glow which was rising closer to closer, for the magma was rising now that it had a path to the surface.

Algrim threw the stone down the hole, and it met the lava with a light ripple through the molten rock. At once the lava’s rise halted. Time passed, and then slowly, it began to lower back to a more reasonable level.

“Y’ can’t see it,” he said, once things had settled. “But it’s under there. I expect you t’ do yer part in protecting it. Else there will be a reckoning.”

The An-Clastophon nodded, as she looked down upon the sea of lava before her. She said, ”I will see to it. It will be in good hands.”

“It better be,” Algrim said. “Now I must be off.” Although all six pillars had been finally constructed, and the world now fully stable, there were other tasks he had to see to.

The An-Clastophon waved him goodbye, and as he flew off, she began to dig. Deep beneath the earth, she blasted the magma below to create a path to the pillar out of cooled obsidian. Hollowing out a large room within, she excavated the pillar. Once she had done so, she began to prod the pillar.

If it stabilized the land, she could modify the land with it, she believed. With a specific application of power, the earth rumbled as she raised mountains. Another specific application of power, and certain sections sunk deep beneath the sea. Then, an eruption; with one massive press of power, the lava began to flow.

By the time she saw fit to end the eruption, great canyons had been carved in the land by the streams of lava, and ash spewed endlessly from the sky down on the land around the pillar. Emerging from beneath the rock, she took note of all of this. She took it upon herself to learn as much about the machinations of the pillar as possible.

---

---

With the world stabilized, the months that followed were ones of great productivity for Algrim. He had returned to Arira’s paradise, only to discover that the goddess was absent. The disappointment he felt was almost immeasurable, but she most likely had her reasons. There was much more wrong with the world than earthquakes, after all. Perhaps it was good that she had begun to look beyond this one little corner.

In any case, he saw no sense in waiting around. Already, the rest of his kind had made immense strides in repairing the world. Where there had once been wastelands there were now lush and diverse ecosystems.

However… something about it didn’t sit well with him. All of those ecosystems felt too… open. Exposed. Vulnerable. They were easy to find, and there was nothing protecting them against attacks from above. Had they learned nothing?

Algrim shook his head. How foolish. He would not make the same mistake.

And so, he dug downward. Deep beneath the earth. Then, upon reaching sufficient depth, he began to dig outward. For months he toiled, creating an advanced network of vast city-sized caves and long winding tunnels, which spanned across much of the known world. Between his mastery of earth and the pillars he had constructed, there was barely any impact on the world above, save maybe the occasional tremour.

But a cave could not support life. Not on its own. So, he created mushrooms, mosses, and roots, all of which served different functions. He embedded ores and other minerals into the walls, that could one day be harnessed.

One mushroom would emit a bright golden glow, serving as a source of light, and this was perhaps the most frequent of the underground vegetation. It tasted horrible, and was mildly poisonous, in order to discourage creatures from eating it. The other mushrooms and mosses came in a wide variety of colours, and were considerably more edible, with some also having medicinal purposes.

Next, he added animals. Various species of mole-like creatures, which would serve as a source of meat and protein. Snakes, and bats, to serve as predators which kept their population in check.

But all of this was only intended to support something even larger. Intelligent life. And so it was that the Stone God built statues in his own image throughout the tunnels and caves.

When the vast stone armies stood in completion, Algrim retreated to the largest and centermost of the caves. Then, he licked his lips, cracked his knuckles, and punched the ground.

A massive shockwave of energy boomed outward. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the stone he had created his people from turned to flesh. The gemstones embedded in their faces became eyes. The moss piled onto their heads and chins became hair. Algrim turned his own skin to flesh in order to match them. They stood, blinking, confused, and amazed.

They were his people.

Although they were short compared to the humans, they were considerably more durable. Their skin and muscles were tougher, their stamina more plentiful, and their bones were made of steel. They could live a healthy life of up to four hundred years. Personality-wise, he made them creatures of honour and integrity; they could never knowingly share a falsehood, while breaking an oath would fill even the most immoral among them with a certain sense of shame and regret unless Algrim and only Algrim would absolve them. At the same time, he also made them beings of cunning and ingenuity, especially when it came to building and crafting.

He needed a name for what he had built, he realized belatedly. The Underkingdom, he eventually decided upon. And he would be its King, for it was his creation in his domain, and inhabited with his subjects. The Underking.

With a smile, he turned to his subjects and addressed them for the first time. There was much to teach them, and his work was only beginning.

---

---

Upon the balcony of her making, the goddess of beauty did lounge. Upon a large purple pillow, she lay in blissful peace. Her eyes were shut, her limbs outstretched and all was well within Wyn’s home. She had lost track of the time since when she had come to the mountain. It could have been two days or two weeks, nothing very exciting had happened of note to make her keep track. In fact, she hadn’t even left her embassy at all, thus she had never seen Astella or any others who might have come. Honestly, it would be their fault if they missed the shining jewel she had made to help uplift the squalor around it. Those humans were far too engrossed in their own work, or scared by the majesty of the building to dare approach. Not that she wanted that, anyways. These ones were dirty and unrefined. Let them waste their lives away through work.

No, the only company she had was the small cat from time to time.

It was scarred and ugly, yes, but Wyn had a suspicious feeling it belonged to, if not Astella, then another god. Her paranoia of the fact the thing could be spying on her prevented her from acting towards it. Or perhaps she just enjoyed the fact that it only slept and did not bother her. She didn’t really care at the moment to find out which mattered more to her. Now was a time for peace, for rel-

A woman’s voice boomed above her, shattering that peace and startling her. Wyn grumpled and opened her eyes. Whoever it was droned on and on about the seasons and bla bla bla. She couldn’t even make out what it was only that their divinity shined like a beacon. Sighing angrily, Wyn got to her feet, disappointed that her relaxation had been interrupted. She gripped the stone railing and watched the sky above like a hawk, still not really understanding what was going on or the intentions behind those words. The only thing she knew at that moment was that it aggravated her. Then the voice began to scream about shutting something, or just the word shut. She scoffed, wishing the voice would shut up instead.

And, to her great surprise, the voice went silent after letting out a final, if not annoying, scream. What a horrendous sound! But, it was over and Wyn could get back to resting in quiet contemplation. Her shoulders relaxed and she was about to look away when something caught her eye. She stared for several seconds, making out that it was a figure she saw, falling without control. Was that the Goddess who had made such a racket? Did she pass out?

Wyn frowned, perhaps it was a time of saving instead of relaxing.

She took off towards the figure in a blink. Much as she wanted the god to fall for being too loud, she knew this was a moment of opportunity. To be the dashing hero that saved the damsel in distress. To earn a little favor. It was a delicious thought, but Wyn pushed it from her mind. She needed to catch the god first.

She got herself underneath the general area the goddess was falling and then flew up to meet her. As she neared, Wyn could make out it was indeed a Goddess. One of a smaller frame, with long hair and a flowing dress that clung to her limp form. Wyn got into position, outstretching her arms and bracing herself and then she waited for the goddess to hit her.

Their bodies collided with a soft thump, and Wyn wrapped her arms around the Goddess as the force sent them tumbling. She quickly got control and not a moment too soon before a jagged peak would have met them. Ugh, to think of all that rock and dirt clinging to her… She shivered just thinking about it and then cradled her fellow divine in her arms, taking a good look at her. The pointy ears stood out to her the most, but other than that, she was about as good looking as Ze’kelia… Maybe about even. She had a certain womanly charm about her that Wyn did approve of, however. She could tell.

She let out a soft sigh. ”Hmmm, whatever shall I do with you? All tuckered out from whatever you did up there. In times such as this the best one can do is take a nap, I think.” Wyn began to float towards her embassy, even from her view it’s beauty stood out to her like a beacon. ”Would you like that, my dearest falling angel?” she spoke softly to the god, not expecting a response. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived at the embassy and oh, how she had questions.

---

...As the Goddess of Cycles began to awake once more, her dainty eyelids began to flutter a bit before they would open proper. For a moment she did not notice a thing, though as soon as she rubbed her eyes and began to sleepily look about the room-

“...What?”

-...she would rapidly notice the fact she wasn’t shattered upon a mountainside at the moment. Far from it, actually, she was lying in a grand, soft, beautiful bed that seemed to be comfier than any she’d felt before. Lovely paintings on the walls, beautiful carpet on each side of the bed, a vase of the loveliest flowers on the bedside table, and even the windows were extraordinarily beautiful indeed. She could have gone on and on about it all, but ultimately she could tell rather quickly that she was on Mount Divinus proper still. Even a quick conjuration of a magical map for just a second would corroborate that.

There came two quick knocks to her right. "I was wondering when you would wake." came a sweet, honeyed voice from the room's doorway. There, leaning up against the stone frame was a pale goddess, clad in nothing but a robe of white, which was left open down the middle, leaving little to the imagination. She had a soft smile on her lips as she played with a long strand of her hair, twirling it with a finger as she looked towards Arira. "It isn't everyday I find a fellow divine falling from the sky, in need of rescue but here we are. How are you feeling?"

The Goddess of Cycles would blush for a second, rushing in pulling up the bedsheet to semi-cover herself in embarrassment before gently lowering it once more. Her face was still a tad red, but even so she seemed to work to try to regain her composure and stature rather quickly.

“I-I-I a-am f-fine…did y-you...did you save me from my fall?”

The goddess seemed unphased and strode in, hands behind her back. ”Oh yes, that was me.” she giggled. ”And what a fall it was!” she mused coming to stop at the foot of the bed. She sat down, placing one slender leg upon the bed as she turned her head to Arira. ”I’m Wyn, by the way. What’s your name, angel?” she smiled, flashing pearly whites.

...So much for trying to regain her composure proper, if at all.

As the astonishingly beautiful Wyn spoke to her, calling her ‘angel’, and sat upon the bed with a lovely smile, Arira’s face turned beet red. Really it was darker than that, perhaps some untold ‘embarrassed deep red’ unknown to mortals and divines like? Her soft blue-ish grey eyes couldn’t peel themselves from the features of the deity before her, and a small high-pitched sound could be heard coming the goddess’ closed mouth as she slammed her face into the sheets she still held in her clenched hands.

For a good few seconds she seemed to embarrassedly squeal into the sheets before very hesitantly lowering the sheet where her eyes could see over it and look upon Wyn once more. Even so, it was like a cute puppy looking over at the Goddess of Beauty, lingering red still on the bit of her face that the other goddess could see.

“A-A-A-A...Arira, G-G-Goddess of C-Cycles. A p-p-pleasure t-to meet you, oh b-beautiful Wyn.”

As she spoke, Arira tried to lower the sheet back down to her lap more, even trying to control her breathing and focus once more at that.

At the sight of her Wyn’s smile seemed to grow. ”Ah and I didn’t even tell you my domain but you guessed it all the same. Your clever Arira but,” she clapped her hands and the robe around her changed into that of an ornate, low cut black dress. It contrasted her skin and made the paleness pop while covering most of her revealing parts. ”We can’t be having you all out of sorts, now can we?” she repositioned her leg, folding it in and laying, instead, a hand on the bed. ”So, Goddess of Cycles, what does that mean and why on this good greening earth were you falling in the first place?”

“M-My thanks…I-I am unused to s-s-such incredible beauty before me...even as a goddess,” Arira said in return, halfway not thinking about her words as she averted her eyes for only a moment as Wyn changed the clothes. She then took some more deep breaths before looking back up at Wyn’s face with a bit more composure, holding her back up straight even, and seemed to be at least better off than before despite the light pink left in her own lovely cheeks, “I had gone to help fix this world, b-but I overexerted. The seasons, the proper climates cycles, weather cycles, reproduction cycles, life cycles, and so forth needed to be set in their places....for since I came forth from the divinity that bore me, they have cried to me ceaselessly and endlessly. It has caused me great pains, wracking my form with the anguish of the world as it pleaded for relief and stability.

Thus I sought to end this pain once and for all, for both the world and mineself, I moved to the highest point of this world, and took upon the coil of my True Form. However, even for a goddess I seem to have gone a tad too far. Even so...the pain has ceased. The world must yet be repaired as others do their work, but a good deal of major things have been fixed and bound to mine existence to keep them rooted and stable henceforth.”

One of the Cycle Goddess’ hands began to lightly play with the gold-ornament-decorated part of her silky-soft tan hair, specifically the bit of hair hanging near the right side of her face. Yet her other hand that gripped the sheets gripped them even tighter than before as she talked about the pain itself. To admit she had overexerted and so forth, it was something that got under her skin a tad. Even so she owned up to it plainly nonetheless.

Wyn tilted her head with a gentle expression. She spoke next, her words but a soft whisper. ”You are very brave, Lady Arira and from what I can already tell, you have a pure heart and sound mind. Full of compassion and empathy. Though you were beset by such pain, you never faltered. You did not succumb and instead you rose to meet the challenge and fix what you could. An angel, battling her demons so that the world might live on and thrive as the cycles intended. As you intend.” Wyn looked upon her and smiled. ”I find that… Inspiring. Truly.” Wyn let out a soft sigh and scooted herself further up on the bed, changing her position to fully face Arira. She sat on her knees and folded her hands over them. "Attractive even. To put one's own wellbeing before others? It would make any fair maiden swoon.” Wyn smiled playfully.

The red in Arira’s face seemed to return to some extent as the beauty goddess layered on the compliments, and a very light ‘meep’ escaped the cycle goddess’ own lips in turn. The one hand holding the sheets pulled up just a little, reflexively wanting to hide her face again, but Arira forced it to stay down this time with what willpower she had left for that. No one had ever...she’d never seen before...waahh.

“I-I-It is n-nothing, I s-simply acted w-with the desire to h-h-help. I c-c-could not bear to see and f-fell the world in such p-pains…”

She semi-struggled to meet Wyn’s eyes regardless, her hands playing with her own hair and gripping the sheet even more than before now.

”So humble too! You truly are an angel, Lady Arira.” Wyn said, scooting herself closer. ”Oh! You mentioned something earlier that intrigued me. You said you were born from divinity? What does that mean exactly, If I might ask?”

The Goddess of Cycles looked back at Wyn, who she now noticed was even closer to her. Still, doing her best to hold what bit of her composure she had ‘locked down’ at the moment, she nodded her head at the other goddess’ question, “Y-Yes. I am the firstborn daughter of the divinity ‘Chakravarti’, divine of Families. A v-v-very excitable and overbearing sort to be born to, I-I’m afraid, but when Chakravarti was traveling they came across mortals in some ruins. Here t-the mortals mistook them for a demon, and...after hearing them swear to avenge each other in perpetuity if one of their own was slain….my parent was aroused. Horribly aroused...”

Arira buried her face in the sheet at the mention, embarrassment overriding her other feelings for a moment before she would eventually lower the sheet down hesitantly once more.

“From thus I was b-born on the spot...a most embarrassing o-o-origin indeed.

Yet still, I took the humans there i-i-into my c-care and dedicated m-my birthplace as a sacred paradise. Such i-it remains as even n-now.”

The goddess squirmed where she was sitting up in the bed a little as she spoke, almost like a nervous child admitting some dark and embarrassing secret to a rather lovely new friend…

Wyn seemed engrossed in the story that she told. ”Interesting!” she exclaimed at last, smiling warmly at her. The goddess then sat cross legged before Arira, an arms length away. ”Your mother? Father? They seem… Very... Exciting! No need to be embarrassed, Lady Arira. In fact there is nothing to be alarmed about here. Relax, I insist and tell me more about your Paradise and what a God of families even does?”

The Cyclical Goddess seemed to perk back up a little, relaxing slightly more as Wyn seemed to be genuinely interested in her Paradise and Parent. Perhaps the latter was more awkward than anything to talk about, poor Ossurman, but the former was far less so. Far from it actually!

“O-Oh! Well, my parent...oh dear. From what I’ve ever known of them, they aren’t male nor female. More like ‘everything’. Literally. Which is nothing of a problem at all, but their behavior is rather dramatic and eccentric and far more problematic.

To be frank, as the God of Families they would likely preside over things such as tracing back the bloodlines of families, watching over them, strengthening the bonds of families or watching over their homes, forming them-...”

Oh her gut feeling was kicking her hard for this one, but the realization dawning on her was far from unfeasible by any measure of the imagination.

“...and on that last note I hath had a most worrying suspicion form in mine mind. With how my parent is, behaves, and so forth, they might very well be doing something as peculiar or wholly embarrassing as proposing marriage to every single divine being they meet in this world. Aaaah…”

Another small, puppy-like whimper and brief instance of hiding her face in the sheets again, though this time Wyn wasn’t the cause as much as Arira’s anxious suspicion was. Still, after lowering the sheet once more the goddess tried to breathe and calm herself a bit more. It didn’t make everything suddenly better, but it did help a little at the very least.

“But my paradise! A-Ah, y-y-yes! It is a land that flows with all the resources of the world at one’s disposal, a place of plenty wherein those that have known naught but suffering may find rest. A place consecrated by mineself, as it is where I was born, and that has become an extension of me in the process. It hath been hidden from the world to secure it most ardently and thoroughly in turn.

Originally its inhabitants were only ever the humans who once lived in that area, but as I hath gone about performing acts of creation roundabout the Paradise and upon the land...I hath added more to live there of other races I hath made by mine hands. Indeed, they are a curious variety and yet are mine beloved children nonetheless whom are all represented within mine Paradise as is most fitting.

I hath taken up teaching those who lived within mine Paradise, and have given permission and invitation to the Goddess of Dreams to do so as well after the two of us met, to guide them and teach them and examine the long-term nature of their existences as the fruit of the land there shall begin to change and shape them all over time. Naught any form of vile or evil being done, of course, but I cannot deny that as they live and grow and so forth there that they shall accrue the touch of mine Paradise within and be thus changed forevermore in time.

Of course I cannot extend such graces to all mortals, as to learn and grow and live in the imperfect world is best. To coddle them such they rely on mineself for all things, to become lax and lazy and undisciplined even, such is what I seek to avoid really. Yet those in mine paradise shall become better than that, very much so...beyond such I hath not had much of a plan for the far future to be most frank about the matter. Yet such a plan hath not been needed thus far either, not as divinity hath sought to restore this Shard of Creation, this Shard of Galbar, to a liveable and stable state.”

Beyond this, Arira seemed to become more excited and happy as she got to the topic of her Paradise. It brought out a somewhat more confident side of her, her blush fading as she began to get into the details and speak about the features and locations there and so forth. Ultimately she would settle back down again, though, taking a few deep breaths...and a light pink forming in her cheeks as she realized she got on a ramble.

Wyn had followed along, giving nods and raised eyebrows. When Arira had finished, the Goddess took on a thoughtful look and spoke, ”Such passion my lady, it does me good to see it bloom within a fellow divine and her own creations. To be inspired… To have a muse… How wonderful indeed. I would seek out this place one day, if not to see it with my own eyes but to cherish it as I cherish this moment. I imagine it is far more beautiful than this Mount, besides my own keep of course.” Her voice grew lower next. ”Yet, I cannot stop my thoughts from wandering to your parent and what you said. If they intend to marry all the gods… Who or what would that leave you with? Now, I don’t mean to presume but surely a family god would want their own daughter to marry?” Wyn began to twirl her hair again.

“Hmm...If such a trend was happening, for I know not if it or any other has been, I-I...I w-w-would need to seek m-m-m-m-m-m-arriage somewhat soon t-to avoid being alone...,” the cycles goddess said, a less pink and more deeper red flush beginning to come to her cheeks as she pondered it all, “N-N-Not all would h-have perhaps agreed...b-but my p-p-parent is rather d-determined...s-s-still, I-I would think t-that they would want m-me to m..m...m-marry, y-yes. P-P-Perhaps pester m-me over eventually t-t-to do even.”

It felt like a right assumption based on her parent’s character and behaviors. Images of three deities she’d met so far flashed through her mind as she spoke of the matter, Wyn among those, seemed to bubble up in her mind at that. It was all so sudden though! H-How would she ever find someone if her parent ever DID something like that?! She would have to send out something to investigate for herself, or perhaps pay a visit to Chakravarti and sweet little Ossurman after this.

“B-But who? W-W-Who...w-who would ever desire m-mineself as a b-b-bride? I...I am not a great g-goddess...s-simply one t-that has sought to make things better is a-all...”

Arira seemed to get a bit disheartened as the matter and its panic began to assail her mind more strongly now.

She’d only met Algrim briefly, and though their brief time together had been enjoyable she’d simply promised they’d meet again to celebrate once the pillars were made. Likewise being around I’Iro had been a great blessing to her to talk with another intellectual, and one who seemed to help believe in her at that, indeed. Both had left a good impression on her in some fashion, and she hoped to talk to each of them more yet, but ultimately to impose such a major thing on either would be ever so impolite and embarrassing and out of the blue! She did not want to act so desperate! It was an unsavory thing. Those two were friends!

But to not marry eventually would be...oh heavens, she would one day never hear the end of it would she? The idea of being married sounded ever so lovely, and felt like something she genuinely wanted, but at the same time she had no idea who in this world could ever love such a strange goddess as she. She was not much, simply one who sought good despite the presence of the chaos otherwise. She wasn’t so naive as to think evil didn’t exist or never had its time, but all the same she had just passed out from something some greater divinity could have perhaps done so easily. What was she compared to the others out there?

In the end, the goddess pulled up her own hands and let go of the sheets, placing one hand on either side of her own face and trying to calm herself down from that bit of panic.

Wyn drew in close, her sweet scent washing over Arira. The Goddess of Beauty then reached out with a slender hand and with her fingers she caressed Arira's chin then guided it up to look at her. Wyn's face was serene in the light and she looked upon her with a charming smile. "I can see my words have given you a great deal of panic. Put fear from your heart, my lady. There could be many Gods and Goddesses out there waiting, untouched by your parent's lust." she dipped her head down to be eye level with Arira and stroked her chin with her thumb. "But there's also nothing wrong with being single for a time. It gives one the option of testing the waters, per say. Gives us options… Oh my lady." she whispered longingly. "I have given you much distress today…" Wyn began to lean her head in closer as her hand moved to Arira's cheek, underneath the Cycle Goddess' own. "Let me make it up to you?" she asked with a whisper that dripped with silk, moving her lips even closer.

If there was one way to get the Cycles Goddess to cease her panic about marriage and her parent for the moment, then what Wyn was doing had just stopped that train of thought in a literal heartbeat.

It didn’t take much to gently take Arira’s chin with those slender fingers, and move her face to look into that of the Goddess of Beauty’s. As rather flustered as the action made Arira, it felt to her like much of her strength had suddenly left her as she looked into Wyn’s lovely eyes and that charming smile in turn. A deep red settled in the daughter of Chakravarti’s cheeks as Wyn’s thumb softly touched her chin, and the longing tone seemed to rouse something strong within her she had never...really ever...felt before...things just like Wyn in that other attire had made her feel. By the time Wyn placed a hand underneath Arira’s own and caressed her cheek, the poor deity was basically, if not literally, a weak and red-flushed mess of putty in Wyn’s hands.

“Y-Y-Y-You m-m-m-may…,” she very weakly said, her breaths more labored as her face drew gently closer to Wyn’s...as if it was being pulled by some unseen force. The anticipation became palpable but as Wyn’s eyes fluttered shut, their lips did meet with a burning passion unleashed. It was a beautiful cycle…

---

Tales of The Shattered Courts

Fire, horrific burning fire, lightning, the cracking of earth, the cries of the damned and worthless. That is all they could remember, at least, those who could even remember to begin with. They lived within a hellish metal corpse now anyway, so it mattered little what had happened. Many are more concerned with survival, some continuing long forgotten orders and decrees, others acting upon mere base inscists, some from the city itself, others from beyond. It made no matter, they were within the Shattered Courts now. And there was no escape.

---

De Fundamentis Sanctus

The bells rang through the broken grounds, shattered windows and collapsed walls allowed its cry to sound unfettered throughout the groves and halls. Golden spires and walls, lined with the art of tales long abandoned and forgotten, icons to a religion brought to its violent end, yet the tolling of bells told another story. Its call summoning the beasts the lie within to wake, another day in their endless mission. Slowly they awoke, their bones creaking under the strain of the sets of rusted metal and worn cloth that was permanently bound and fused to their tattered skin. Decrepit hands grasped old rusted weapons forged in times long forgotten by that which held them. Beneath their broken helmets, coarse throats uttered hymns that had been seared into their rotten minds, praises and pleas to gods that were long dead and forgotten, only remembered in the thoughts of these broken beasts, no longer able to be called mortals.

They began their marches and patrols, they took their positions amongst the shattered grounds and churches, once beautiful spires brought low by the great cataclysm yet would still be defended, holy grounds desecrated yet still the centers of the worship of decrebid things. Some organized into long columns, marching through the streets that staggered and jutted, led by blinded monks whose voices called out for mercy to things that could no longer listen, their rotting skin tearing at the crack of the barbed whips they carried and slashed upon their own bodies. Those that walked behind these crying priests held their heads down in supplication, begging for forgiveness for transgressions and crimes that are nothing more than faded memories, images covered in the hazy mist of minds that can no longer keep up, if they faltered at any moment, they would be punished, the barbed whips and weapons of their companions turned against them.

Within once hallowed halls priests adorned in great tattered and bloodied garbs would gather and meet, their great symbols of office now even greater tattered relics of their holy cause. They spoke in loud whispers of sacrosanct orders and decrees, their ancient skin creaking at every slow, painstaking, movement as they argued over doctrinal differences that emerged in ages not even they could remember. Yet, they did not falter in their mission, afterall, this was the work of the gods, there could be no schism, no division, they needed to continue these orders, as no others would come in. Though none within these once mighty cathedrals and holy sites realized that this was because those who gave the orders were dead, their corpses littering the halls they stood in.

They would defend this holy land, this city claimed by the divine right of the gods, their beautiful treasures trapped within grand vaults guarded by warriors of endless faith and devotion. Yet, what wonders truly lie within these sacred halls? What artifacts of ags long forgotten are buried under the watch of these holy warriors? Relics of power and divinity far beyond any comprehension of those both within and beyond the walls of the fallen city. What tales would emerge, this land of divinity, trapped in eternal supplication for sins and crimes long abandoned, De Fundamentis Sanctus, the eternal light.

---

De Charash Delka

Thousands of creatures packed into the massive halls of the grand palace, legs of flesh, metal, and chitin pounding away as they skittered as quickly as they could, the Throne had called them, they must heed it. The walls pulsated with fleshly-fungal growths that snaked alongside the cramped mass of creatures, as they rampaged through the halls. Some ran upon two legs, some four, others six, or eight, or far more or far less, these creatures rarely looked the same, their forms being a horrendous fusion of flesh, fungi, metal, and chitin all fused and stitched together, some looked liked twisted mockeries of humans, others were formless masses of flesh and guts held together by metal plates that shot themselves along with sickening tendrils, the majority looked akin to large insect like creatures, their chitin transitioning to metallic spike like legs with fleshy-fungal growths emerging from in between the plates. Yet, as all these different creatures and beasts bounded throughout the halls, they worked in perfect unity, not one faltering, none tripping over one another, for they all shared one mind, guided by the first amongst them all, their custodian, the Throne.

The Throne sat amongst the great hall of the fallen palace, vast networks of that fungal flesh material covered the walls and floors, they spiraled up pillars and made homes amongst the rafters, covering once beautiful marble and stone that had already long become faded and worthless by the time their infestation had come. The ground had become cracked, shattered, tiles and carpets tossed aside like they were nothing more than some worthless speck, growths of that heinous flesh emerged through the ground wherever they could, reaching high above in some mockery of prayer. At the end of the hall, sat the Throne itself, a pulsating mass of the flesh with tendrils and strands emerging from it, connecting to the vast network that surrounded it, pulses shooting out from its horrific form to travel through the vast consciousness it presided over. It was no ruler, no, it was not the creator, merely another part of the great hive that had chosen here as its home, crafted to serve as the first among equals, the brain of the massive body.

They had come here, settled here, to survive, they needed a home, and these ancient halls, abandoned and empty, with crumbling towers and rotten grounds, were perfect for them. The palace was vast, and could serve as their new home within this strange and terrifying land. And so, they took root, from a collection of minor pods to the massive hive that they now were. In truth, they had no care for what this place once was, the vast wealth stored within were foreign and alien to them, of no use to the practicality of the hive, it could not be eaten, it could not be made into bedding, or used to create more of their hive, and so, it was worthless. Yet, they barely touched them, and so, these relics, artifacts, icons of ages long past, scattered throughout the halls of their home.

To think, such beacons of power and glory, a lens to the history of a place no longer recognized, is merely tossed aside. One then has to wonder, what could they find in there? What wealth? Prestige? Fame? All hidden away within these halls so corrupted and tortured, so fragently desecrated. Now home to this endless horde of beast of flesh and metal, to break through, would truly be the work of a hero, that who broke through this land of putrid infection. De Charash Delka, the vast palace.

---

De Merakashi Ishra

The groaning of steel stacked high within the air, of rusted machines no longer serving a purpose, being pushed in the wind, threatening to topple over at any second. Once a bustling center of industry and commerce, now laid to ruin from time and destruction, nothing more than a hallowed graveyard of machines and buildings, bleached white skeletons littering everywhere, some laid upon the floor, others propped up within the machines they once operated, their final acts to continue their work. Yet, amongst the wreckage, one thing stood out amongst the rest, large pools of oil-like substance, coloured a swirl of blues, purples, reds, oranges, and greens, like that of an oil-slick. These pools bubbled and boiled within the confines of their metal home, seemingly nothing more than the spillage of a former heart of industry, yet it was what came out of them that was far more important. From within the pits they would emerge, large beasts of that same multi-coloured oil emerged, their limbs snapping from the pools into shifting, malleable, forms topped with featureless mounds for faces, elongated arms ending with club like tips from which sticky tendrils would emerge, and legs that squelched and smooshed down as they walked.

These creatures stirred and rumbled, trudging through the vast graveyard that they called home. Their mission was a simple one, to search the machines of days long past, to rip from them the relics and pieces of the old ages, to write down the ancient symbols of those that came before, to meticulously research and to uncover the grand history of the shattered city, no matter the cost. They would tear apart the rusted and rotted machines with ease, graverobbers in every sense of the word, desecrating the glory they so sought to research and to the large structures of iron and steel they would bring their works, the items they had found, parts, symbols, tools of trade, anything that could be collected they gathered within their hovels and dens, proudly displaying them like trophies of their research.

Such dedication, such bountiful joy in the discovery of what the past was, what came before them within the shattered towers and crumbling streets, things they would never ever be able to meet. Yet, these creatures, so simplistic in their creation, emerging from these pools of such inert material, why did they have such dedication? Such drive to catalogue and research? Going to such great lengths to secure their obsessions, even fending off the other beasts and creatures of the shattered city with such ferocity and fervor. One has to wonder, was their creation a fluke? Or was it something far, far more?

And to say nothing of their great relics! These literal troves of knowledge that could bring such a lens to the past, the wealth the academia would have with these troves secured! But of course, those who hold these troves and vaults are quite fiercely protective of them, already having gone to great lengths to secure what relics they could find, one would not even think the reaction these things would have upon those who would dare to steal from them. Such vast knowledge, all locked away within this land, another district amongst these Shattered Courts, De Merakashi Ishra, the graveyard of the ancients.

---

De Yushi Lesra

They had not been here forever, when compared to the other ancient and immeasurable districts within the city, they were the youngest. Flooded by the sudden re-arrival of water, pouring throughout the area, covering the streets and walkways, collapsing houses and buildings and sweeping them into large concentrations of debris that floated throughout the area. High above them stood the towers of metal and steel, still standing proudly even as moss and rust clambered and climbed upon their beams and rods. Beneath these great towers, hiding underneath the clouds of scrap and debris, just below the polluted water of the district, lurked forms of metal, long jagged tails swishing behind them as four finned legs tipped with horrific claws propelled them through the brackish waves, their crocodile like jaws snapping at fish, as six piercing red eyes scanned the darkness they lived within with a hellish hunger.

High above them, climbing the great towers, stood other metallic creatures, their forms rusted and scrap like, with elongated arms of fused metals, ending with incredibly long rusted claws that grasped and tore into the rods they ascended upon, their legs being bent almost backwards in a way, serving as further aids to their climb, their faces containing only a single large burning bright red eye. Upon catching sight of something, be it a tiny bird or a shiny relic, they would snatch at it, giving chase with utter ferocity, tearing apart anything made of flesh and taking anything made of metal away, fusing any useful parts to their horrific stitched together bodies, and tossing any useless scraps down below, for the creatures of the depths to fight over.

Yet, they would not climb to the highest points of the towers, for those were the domains of large beasts, their forms even more rusted than the others, creaking at every slow movement. They were large beings, sitting upon troves of countless objects stolen from the towers they sat upon, either taken from the climbers below them, or stolen directly when they claimed the towers for their own. With their wide bodies, long, beefy, arms and legs tipped with claws, and rusted and broken wings they could cover their troves for countless years, and there they would stay content, their long heads and two savage red eyes keeping an eternal watch. It's not like they would be going anywhere, their forms had long lost much of their grace, now they were slow beasts, still formidable in their own right, but ones that could barely move beyond their hordes.

Treasures high, and treasures low, truly many options within these lands, wonders to be found by climbing the great towers that shoot out towards the sky, truly the clear option, fending off the guardians of troves and wealth. But what of the other option? To sink below the waves and lake and find what was lost to the water a relatively short time ago, in the grand scheme of things. To think of what those brave few could uncover? Such lost relics that many would overlook, truly, it’d be a tale worth of true glory, the treasure of De Yushi Lesra, the flooded trove.

---

De Asmentis Lora

Silence, pure, utter, silence. A pale mist consumed the outskirts of the once great city, houses that had long collapse covered so that one could barely see them right up to running into them. In truth, there was little here to have fallen, nothing like the grand spires and structures that sat in the distance, instead merely nothing more than buildings meant to house people in life and in death. It is a drap land, corpses are littered everywhere, from those who once lived amongst this grand city, to those who have found their way here, for this place serves as the first point to many. A great wall of mist and terror, leading to the wealth and wonders holed up the city beyond.

The land here was unlike the others, there were no great guardians, beasts fighting for survival, savage creatures, nothing. Instead, there was merely the silence, that silence that smothered the roads and halls, no matter where one went it would follow, seemingly consuming any sound not made by outsiders. And there was that mist, that horrific thing, a pale yellowish-brown, it crept wherever it could, clouding visions, choking pathways, and confusing directions, it was seemingly alive, working against whoever would dare enter the passageway. Yet, if one dared to do this, it would be likely that they would hear things, the snapping of bones, crunching of flesh, cracking of wood and stone, quick noises that would sound off like cannons in the silence that so corrupted the area. And if one took good looks deep within the mist, they would be forgiven if they thought they saw shapes amongst it, dark and tall, nothing more than a mass of form deep within their clouded view that would quickly vanish behind corners or objects. One does have to wonder, what truly made all these corpses? As many of them are fresh.

To pass by this place, this horrific, accursed land, is to be given entry to a land of pure riches and glory. A grand journey that would almost certainly deliver onto them relics and artifacts long thought lost, a chance to learn the history of what came before. But, if one could dare to explore this land of terror, to explore deeper into the mists and pathways, to brave the silence and what lays beyond, what would they be able to find? What items long overlooked were there? Remnants of those who lived beyond the city’s glory and wealth. All locked away behind that tortuous mist and silence of De Asmentis Lora, terror’s gate.

---

Five Districts, five vaults of treasure. Only some of the many creatures and horrors found within the Shattered Courts, that land of eternal torment, a grand beacon to all of what terror the end brought to all. A place for names to be forged, and for the unworthy to die, for wealth to be made, and lost, for history to be discovered and made. To know what terror lies within those hollow halls and streets is to also know what true power looks like. All hidden away within the Shattered Courts, the eternal mausoleum.

New Tellur was growing ever more under the protection of Uwné. The shacks had been replaced by true hovels. Mortalkind was carving a permanent existence out around the hill of Gallath. The golems worked tirelessly on the next houses while refugees kept flowing in. Normally the god of crafting would be walking amongst them now, when the sun rose high. And then at night many could see the soft lights from his open workshop atop the hill. Not now though. None had seen the god for a week. His golems forbid any to climb the hill. Save for a select few, who swore secrecy.

Uwné was surrounded now by hundreds if not thousands of pots, small and big. With a strange wand he was manipulating a gnarly tree that grew from one of the pots. A crude, man-made map laid open on a nearby table. Small figurines of the various things that sat in pots were everywhere on the map.

From behind the pot two small eyes peered at the god. Uwné pretend to ignore it for a little while. The small girl, no more than seven, looked with big eyes as he worked. Each tree had to be perfect. They’d be the single ancestor of their entire line. And each bit of flora and fauna would be vital to the survival and prosperity of the people. The god slowly worked his way down the pots until he finally reached the one where the tiny human hid behind. He suddenly bowed down and looked her straight in the eyes. ”You’re not supposed to be here.

The little girl blushed as she stood upright. “Mommy was worried about you.” She said as she clutched a small piece of cloth. “So I wanted to see why you didn’t visit us anymore.”

Uwné gave her an apologetic smile. ”Well you can tell mommy that I’m quite alright. But I’m doing very important things now.” Then he turned his gaze further out. Towards the golems that were supposed to keep anyone out. How did the little girl get past them?

“What’s that?” She then suddenly asked as she pointed towards one of the trees.

The god turned to look. “Ah, that’s an olive tree. This must be the first time You’ve seen one of those, right?”

The little girl nodded and quite fearlessly stepped forwards towards the tree. “It looks old and dry.”

”They are meant to grow very close to the Su’une.” Uwné explained. Well, it wasn’t factually correct. But she would learn the full truth soon enough. ”And their fruit is delicious.” Carefully he picked an olive from the tree and offered it to the little child. Who ate it with glee.

“And what’s that?” She then asked, her attention drawn by a very grey, hardy looking tree.

”A steelbark.” Uwné said. With every question the little girl asked, the god began to brim with pride as he explained its function. Of course, the little girl wouldn’t remember much of it. But it felt nice to present his various creations to someone. Soon though, the world would see his creations. Many trees, brushes, weeds and other flora were uplifted from the various memories of the oldest humans. Things like the cypress, the olive tree and the lavender flower existed before the facture and would now exist again.

There were other creations as well. Things of his own design. The steelbark, the Sirensong bells, the Kariath trees. Unbeknownst to him though, one bush, a normal bush, was touched by the little girl and something strange had happened to it. Magic, that unpredictable and unforeseeable force, altered the bush ever so slightly. To the point that it escaped the god.


A week later and at night a golden glow lit up the whole hill of Gallath. Small motes of that light broke off and flew through the air. Days after that, aided by he great power of Uwné, green began to break through the broken realm of Uwné. Trees grew into forests and hardy plants took residence up in the craggy lands. The cordgrass was encouraged to cover more and more land, further away from the river. Eventually the realm of Uwné was no longer a desolate wasteland but a thriving, vibrant land.

As Uwné watched the motes of light carrying the seeds fly day and night, his mind roamed towards Ahtziri. She had already blessed his realm with the ore-worms burrowing deep beneath them. Even now he could feel them and when the time was right he would tell of them to his people. Though he wondered if she would bring more of her unique life here.

Time had passed. Worlds had been explored. Experiments had been done. Knowledge and wisdom had been gained.

Now giant unfathomable machines littered the barren coastline, inserting myriads of instruments and lesser machines into multiple gateways to other layers upon which hey where suckling like leeches, pulling bio-matter in from other worlds so that Exo could use it to fulfill their promise to the nomads. To revitalize this part of the world in a manner that was to their liking.

To that end, on top of acquiring the resources, the nomads had to decide what they wanted to include, which as it turned out wasn't the most straightforward process in the world. Still, with the wealth and wisdom gained as part of their deal with the divine machine, they had plenty of time to argue over it.



“But have you tried these ones. Sweet, delicious, go really well with that salted cheese Reggi managed to make”

“They’re square, square is no shape for a fruit to be!”



“It’s grass. How are we supposed to decide what kind of grass we want?” a series of nomads were looking down at several types of plants, none of which actually were grass, but that fulfilled the same kind of ecological niche.

“I don't know. Maybe pick the one that looks the nicest?” one suggested hopelessly

“Don't be stupid. Here. I brought a goat. Let it pick which one it wants” one of the herdsmen told them, leading one of their flock along on a leash and then setting it free near the grass.

They watched as it sniffed and nibbled here and there without much conclusion, only to be rudely shooed out the way by a pair of unicorns, which then trotted over to and started eating from a patch of fern like plants that hosted all manner of hues that no-one had considered to have been in the running. You’d almost swear they were actively playing up how much they were enjoying the rich and varied flavor of the ferns to get the point across.

“Well… guess that settles it”



“Oh wow yeah I totally get it now” - man who looked far too much like a goat for his own good after eating the ferns.



“Look. I understand that you enjoy having the ability to fly” one of the elders was saying to a young woman hovering around the camp to show off how cool her rather intensive transformation was. She was more bird than woman at this point, but she did not seem to care.

“Yup. It’s amazing!” she said, before doing a little loop de loop in front of them.

“But you got that ability from a dangerous monster that the explorer had to shoot down with their fancy stick before it got you. Why on earth would we tolerate such things in our lands!”

“I could definitely take them now! Beat them on their own turf!” the woman replied, before trying and failing to shoot a training target with her bow while in mid air. “I’d just need some practice and then I’d be able to keep us safe from anything”

“We’re making the land, so we can just decide to not have anything dangerous around!”

”You will need some predators to keep the local herbivores in check. Otherwise they will overrun the land and leave nothing for your herds to eat“ Exo, who was very impressed by the flying women’s antics, helpful supplied.

“Wait we do?”

”Indeed“

“This really isn't simple is it”

”From what i have learned about ecosystems, simple is the opposite of what they are“

“Besides, there's still monsters out there!” the bird woman added in before dive-kicking the target to show it who was boss

“True… Better the monsters we know how to handle and that are useful than to just have weird stuff move in.”



“No, no no! We are not spending time picking out every little bug. Just, make it work”

“But there were these really pretty ones. Look at it. It's like a gemstone. Oh and these creepy ones with all the legs are neat too”

“Ok fine, you can pick some of the bugs. But not all of them!”



“whats a ‘microbe’”



“We need all of these”

“Why?”

“Eat this stew”

“...”

“Oh. Oh yes definitely. All of these please Explorer!”



”I think that’s the steppes done.“

“Finally. Wait what are steppes?”

”That would be the terrain you will have on the plateaus. Now let's focus on the river valleys“

“Uuurgh”

“Oh lay it off. This is fun. If you don't like it you don't need to contribute”

“If I don't you all might get it wrong”

“Fine fine”



”What about the sea?“

“What’s a sea?”

“Its a large body of water”

“Like a big lake?”

“Much bigger. Think of a lake, except the lake is land and the land around the lake is water. That's how seas work. Or at least that's what grandpa and said they were back in the day”

”It's more like a disk of water around the continent, though there was one or two that were probably more like what you described in some of the layers. Here, let me show you some of the things that were in them.”



It had taken an awful long time, but at long last the nomads had a comprehensive, mostly, list of what they wanted.

”Right then.“ Exo said, dramatically snapping shut the virtual book they had been recording the decisions, ”Let us begin!“

There was a wobble in space and the great and true form of the explorer was unveiled once more, a grand diamond that rose up and up and up on high, the divine machine, filled with the spoils of dozens of plundered worlds witnessing the rest of the world for the first time in a long time. It had gotten a lot greener since they got down to earth.

”My, whoever these others are, they have been busy“ they noted. Down below the barren expanse of plateau, mountains and canyons they had been traipsing through on unicorn back splayed out like a blank spot on an almost full cavace, begging to be filled. And fill it they did.

Heat rays lanced the ocean, vaporizing a torrent of water and then drawing it up towards the mountains where the peaks forced it up. Snow fell there, and rain below, flooding the land and finding old river beds and lakes to fill. As it did, Exo monitored the currents of the air, and found his clouds flowing south, towards a frozen pole that had emerged down there. Drawing inspiration from a distance, they formed a number of magically fueled geothermal vents on the underside of the continent where it touched the nearby ocean below, warming the western ocean and creating a constant stream of clouds that would flow over the new land and roll south to the cold south.

Then it got to work populating the land. Across the high plateaus it painted the ferns chosen by the unicorns in great flat fields that stretched on for days, coating vast swaths of the land in hues of pink, purple, and violet. Other hand picked plants were fostered to, fields of beautiful flowers, sturdy bushes sprouting tasty berries and more where planted, all that could thrive on the land where rain fell often but never lingered long. Instead it poured down, down into the valleys surrounding the wide flat heights, rolling down into there to fill the river valleys with mist.

Within them strong, warm and lush forests were grown, creating a hundred and one hidden jungle canyons that trailed and winded around plateaus and between mountains till they slipped down to reach the coast. There, where mountains did not hug the shoreline, the waters and plant-life splayed out into river deltas overgrown with marshes and swamps till they finally reached the warm sea.



From there the explorer began to introduce the wildlife into the land. The shallows warm seas were filled with luminous corals and delicious colorful fish hunted by playful seadogs while the depths held titans terrible and beautiful, which guarded the magical vents from thieves who might covet their power.

Armored semi aquatic grazers browsed the place where swamp and sea met, picking only the finest morsels from the intermixing of fresh and salt water plants with their long tentacles. Deeper in serpents with hair trigger senses hunted water spraying fish who themselves preyed on the myriad of bugs and biting things flying between the trees, while titanic caterpillars who’s cocoons would release a thousand and one butterflies each slowly slunked through the waters below.

Higher, the constructive beams of the god swept, to the jungles which soon overflowed with beasts strange and dangerous. Beast with fractal horns that could see the future, tigers whos scent glands pumped poison into the air, serpents clad in spiritual projections, stinging drakes and gracefule hunters whole flickered between shadows all vied for dominance with a multitude of other creatures found in those strange and winding river valleys

Only the hardiest of prey managed to survive in that chaotic jungle rumble. The most elusive of rodents, and fastest of birds and stealthiest of deer could be found within, along with a communal species of parrots that were too smart for their own good.



Higher, above those dangerous jungles, were the places that made for the humans to call home. The fields on the plateaus would be grazed by their herds of goats, unicorns and slimes, and so they were left bare of competitors. Still, pollinating bugs, birds to feast on them and small swift and cunning canids that kept the avians in check could all be found flitting between the tall stems.

Higher still the god climbed, blessing the snow covered peaks with fluffy moths, Ice manipulating snow leopard and, floating above them all, scaled yaks.

The work of months had culminated in mere hours of creation and a true wonder of the world. A land created not by the whims of a god, but designed by the desires of humans to be shaped by the hands of a divine instrument.

A divine instrument that was almost spent. For the first time, in this world at least, the divine machine felt tired as it hung above its work. A pity. There was so much to explore now, it thought, as it measured up its own work against the others, with one particular thing catching its great glowing eye. The city on the mountain at the center. Perhaps that is where it should go next.

With Astella’s departure from the central mountain, out to explore the world, I’Iro took over many of the responsibilities that were previously in the hands of her friend while creating many new ones under her own projects to best understand mortals, the mind and the realm of dreams.

For the humans living in the annex town to the City of Embassies the changes were noticeable, gone was the cute clutz goddess who they could tease around, instead they had to deal with the pale, always blank faced I’Iro, who while sounding well intentioned still had the habit of unsettling the mortals with her habit of staring at them with a blank face. However, she was also an efficient manager, with her crowd of robot spiders she immediately focused on improving the situation of aspects such as hygiene and building safety for the humans within the area.

This was however taking a toll on the goddess, memory and the ability to multi-task were extraordinary but she was merely one entity, bound physically to one place, to have to look after the Mons Divinus, to prepare the first classes and theories to teach in the academy, to analyse and collect samples and data so she can best understand the world… All this at once was just too much.

Nevertheless she carried on. She had handpicked a few mortals from the town to come to her academy, and she had slowly started to teach them the basics of what she called Mimicry.

You see. The most common type of what you call magic within this world is very dispersed. Inactive. Sort of background radiation. To say it in terms that might be familiar to you just imagine the humidity in the air when morning comes. The advantage of this type of energy is that it is abundant. Its disadvantage is that it holds no property of its own. However. That very factor can be turned into an advantage as well. the goddess explained to the three dumbfounded mortals with her typical distant and controlled tone.

She opened one hand and created a pristine and crystalline barrier with her hand. This was an object made from divine energy, but she was able to create a similar one, a barrier that looked like green glass, with that sort of background radiation magical energy she had mentioned before. With a strong willpower and a consistent ability to visualize objects within your mind one is able to arrange this propertyless energy into a copy of a simple physical element. Thus the name Mimicry. To create a small wall section is the easiest of the things you can do with such a technique.

The humans started to try to copy the goddess, yet the results were null at the first few attempts. You were chosen because you can notice the alien energies within this world. The issue here is that you cannot visualize the shapes within your mind. Here. An exercise. Move your hands in the air then stop them as if you were touching a wall. Try to make sure both of your hands are aligned as if they were touching a real wall. This should help you to learn how to broadcast your mental image into the world. she wished for a moment that such things were as easy as the manifestation of fear Alzria was able to perform.

Standing far in the back, at the edge of the garden on the path stood a strange, rounded figure that was not nearly alike a human. It had two legs and two arms but seemingly no head or neck. It clutched a metal staff in its left hand and two squirrels were playfully moving across its body. The thing had so far stood so still that it could’ve been mistaken for a statue. Until suddenly its arm stretched out and its flat palm reached out just like I’Iro had explained. With seemingly no effort at all a small, thing, uncreative, flat glass wall shimmered into existence in front of the palm. The creature itself displayed nothing. No fear nor excitement.

The goddess noticed the act of a barrier being created but was immediately confused as it did not seem to come from the direction of her human students, but from behind her, in the grass covered ramp that led to the garden where she was lecturing. Turning around she finally noticed the entity observing her, she raised a hand telling her class to wait for a moment and moved to approach it. Greetings. she said in her own mechanical, aloof tone. I have not met a being similar to you before. Are you a new arrival at this location? Feel free to identify yourself.

“Greetings. I am called Thallin.” The creature introduced itself. Twin lights on its upper body lit up brighter now, going from a barely visible glow in the sunlight to the intensity of two candles. The two squirrels playing over its body stopped and now looked at the goddess that approached. “I haven indeed only just arrived. Sent here under the principles of exploration.” Its mouthless voice was surprisingly less mechanical sounding than I’Iro’s voice. Yet at the same time it wasn’t entirely human either. It dropped its arm and the glass-like barrier instantly vanished. “May I enquire to whom I am speaking now?”

I’Iro extended her hand so the squirrels could use her to get off Thalin if they so wished, she was unsure if that would work but with Snowy it often did, even if the cat often preferred to climb up to her head instead of going back to the ground. That this entity was sent by a god she had already guessed, it was good however that the entity was meant for exploration. I am I’Iro. I function as the Goddess of Dreams. You are currently at Mons Divinus. The source of all water and core of the shard. This structure behind us is my yet to be named academy. It is one of the many constructs within the City of Embassies that serves as the meeting ground of the divines.

“It is a great honor to meet you I’Iro, functioning goddess of dreams.” Thallin said. Inside it was already etching the memories and the knowledge within those memories into its mind. Even though the goddess had said only a few things, it answered tens of questions the golem had. The squirrels, for their part, crawled up his body and sat on his shoulders. They had an equally curious and fearful look in their eyes. Thallin paid them no mind. His gaze shifted towards the outstretched arm. For a second there was a silence. One could’ve called it uncomfortable, though a golem knew not the meaning of such a word. Eventually he spoke up: “Forgive me, I’Iro, functioning goddess of dreams. I am unfamiliar with this custom. What is expected of me right now?”

I’Iro spent a tense moment with her hand hanging in the air. Would it be petty to invent something on the spot? Perhaps. But it would certainly serve diplomatic needs to leave a good impression. Ah. My apologies. It is just custom for two beings to shake their hands upon meeting. Do not worry however as it is understandable such habits are not widespread yet. the goddess improvised. One question I have to ask you however. Is the identity of the deity who has sent you. It clearly is not one of those that I have met in my travels through the world.

Thallin took I’Iro’s, started shaking and then never seemingly stopped. “I was sent by Uwné, god of crafting. In his name I am to apologize. For he is not as mobile as he would have desired. Thus he sends us as his emissaries and explorers, in honor of the one that made us.” The squirrels, meanwhile, made their dance of curiosity down the arm with which Thallin was still shaking I’Iro’s hand. Eventually carefully moving onto the goddess. “Your wisdom provides me with illumination. Which in return reveal more questions. You speak of more gods. Could you speak of them more?”

It is fine to stop after just two or three shakes. I’Iro requested while perfectly keeping up with the infinite handshake loop she had programmed. And of course I can share with you my knowledge of the gods. However... I must say my database is still missing some entities. Nevertheless. One moment.

She turned back to her class of three who was looking at them with curiosity and made a little movement for them to know today’s class was postponed, with that solved she turned back to the construct and, upon freeing her hands, started to condense the information she knew within a small crystalline device.

First the gods she had met in person, Astella, Lonn, Orynn, Arira, Alzira. Then the gods she had heard of second hand, Wyn, Chakravarti, Ze’kelia, Algrim and the nameless god represented within the shard by An-Clastophon. Finally, some of her own musings over the gods that were likely but that she had not met in person or heard of yet, such as the storm god. This was all condensed in a type of code more fit for mechanical entities than the simple uttering of words. Upon her work having been finished, she offered it for the emissary to take and absorb.

The golem took the crystal in his hand. It took a moment for him to parse the information to a more manageable flow. He found the information stored within to be exceedingly important. With this much information, he had little choice than to return to his maker soon. If it was lost it would be a setback of unforgiveable proportions. In the end he had consumed all the information on the crystal shard he had be offered and then with a small motion offered it back.

“I thank you I’Iro, functioning goddess of dreams. This answers all questions I was set out to find answers to.” Under normal circumstances he would’ve bid its farewell. Perhaps he would have walked through the city a bit more before setting forth to go back. However, something strange gripped him. It came from within. He was told to discover things and for whatever reason he felt as if he could answer more questions. Questions he was not explicitly told to ask.

“The barrier you and I created. That which you call magic, what is it exactly?”

This was a deeper question when asked by another being touched by the divine. She had picked up the word because mortals seemed to understand it, but it was clear it was not the perfect fit for this situation. With the apocalypse and the fraying of Galbar many forces have entered into this world. These forces do not act in accordance with the laws of physics within this world and as such mortals often call them magical. This word is also used for native illogical acts such as the very existence of gods and further blurring the lines there are forces that were once foreign to this world but that have now made it their home much like many animals and plants.

The goddess summoned a barrier of her own, before spreading it out, isolating a very small section of it which she enhanced. This in particular is made with the leftover most minuscule sub-particles that have seeped in with the many trespassers. They are weak orphans yet also unbound by laws. It is no more magic than shaping clay is. What we do is to merely entone our minds upon these particles and to force upon them our will. I’Iro hoped this more visual representation would be satisfactory to the emissary. This is merely one of the many branches of the knowledge I call Alien Chemistry. The study of elements from other planes. Mortals have the terrible habit of shortening it to Alchemy. she sighed.

I am at the moment just starting to study these. With your master being the god of crafting… I am sure it would be good to have easier contact with him here in the Mons Divinus. Perhaps he could be interested in upgrading an emissary to an ambassador? If not. Well it cannot be helped. I am sure contact will still be possible later on. It is my plan to set up long distance communication between gods in some sort of scheme that would look like a cobweb… or maybe a net… no… It is close to a lacework.

“I cannot speak in his stead. Not yet, at least.” Thallin said, and he did not add his own opinion to it. In truth he didn’t have an opinion. He was not made with the goal of having an opinion. Yet he did have his own thoughts. “You have provided me with invaluable information. Forgive me I’Iro, functioning goddess of dreams. I must beg my leave. My maker must know of this place, you and your kin. Farewell.” With those last words he turned around and started walking away. Slowly but constantly. The squirrels that had mostly stood rather still to observe the strange goddess quickly climbed off of her and pursued the golem. It was pretty easy to catch up with him.

I’Iro simply nodded and waved, though the golem wouldn’t see it as he had turned around, it didn’t matter as the goddess could easily guess Thallin did not care about that aspect of formality. Still, this had been a success by all of her metrics, hopefully the creator deity of the emissary would see the value in all that was being done in the city.

As it moved away, the goddess’ thoughts however strayed her thoughts from the recently arrived and departed entity and instead recalled over the words it had given her when explaining its purpose. It was an elegant solution to the issue of having many spread out tasks to be fulfilled, she could finally dedicate herself to teaching these mortals without worrying about missing out the chance to study far off places. Her eyes turned to a nearby spider-drone as it worked on the gardening. That would do nicely.


The sun once again marked the passing of time. Days went by. Then weeks. Then a month. Then, eventually, the squad looking figure holding a staff and with two playful squirrels appeared again at Mons Divinus.

It did not take long for someone to come greet the visitor. A woman wearing a simple functional dress, her eyes covered by what looked like some sort of opaque visor.{Greetings. It is good to see you have returned. Oneiro will be waiting for you in the central meeting area. You can see it 45 degrees to your right.} The person spoke in a manner similar to I'Iro, however far less versatile, as soon as she finished she turned around and guided the golem into the core of the City of Embassies.

I’Iro would come to greet Thallin as soon as he entered the central area. Unlike her embassy, this area did not reflect any god in particular, with eclectic choices of architecture as it was designed to be a common ground. Greetings. It is good to see you again. If you returned… I take that you have an answer from your master deity? the goddess questioned, tilting her head slightly.

“Indeed I have!” Thallin exclaimed. “I shall recant the overjoyed words of my master.”

The words came from Thallin but were not his voice. For sure. The divinity of it was unmistakable though. “As my master commanded I have returned. There are many things to be agreed upon I’Iro, functional goddess of dreams and steward-apparent of the city of Embassies. But my lord has commanded me to thank you first.” A compartement of where a human would find his stomach opened up. Revealing a polished black wooden box. The golem took it out and opened it to show the goddess its content.

On a pillow of soft, purple velvet laid a circlet of white-metal. It was a simple yet beautiful thing. The flowing, thin metal looked more like a thick woven thread than metal. Yet it was sturdy. Those threads flowed like water towards the center piece, where they curved around it. The center piece itself was a moonstone that wrapped around a smaller opal like a crescent. The opal itself was a beautiful and impossible piece of blue, turquoise, green, red and very small specks of silver and bright violet.

“A gift from my master. Made to the likeness of the great mage moon. Its metal is polished exonite. A metal found in my master’s land known to draw the magical energies towards it. He and I both hope it is a worthy gift for a goddess.” Thallin offered up the circlet and bowed as much as a golem of his make could.

I’Iro’s eyes shone with curiosity as she extended her arms and took the piece of jewelry into her own hand, observing for a moment its unmatched beauty but also taking notice of its possible functional purposes. She bowed back to the golem I thank you and your master Uwne for this gift.

Turning slightly to the left, she called to her side the lacemeister, the humanoid woman-like figure that had greeted Thallin before, to come hold the circlet for her. It was good that it now seemed that her and Uwne were on good terms because her project with them had been greatly derivative from observing the golem. It is good to meet you. Ambassador Thallin. There are a great many locations to set up an embassy here. In the form of both prebuilt rooms within this central area and a wide selection of satellite open fields where structures could be raised according to the needs and preferences of a deity.

“That brings me to my second point.” Tallin said as he rose up again, with the help of his staff. “My master has requested a location somewhere close to the water. Specifically the river that flows south-west from here. A small plot would do. Nothing big. But we should hurry. My kin will arrive any moment to begin construction.”

I’Iro was more aware of what he was referring to at this time than when they first met and she already expected him to claim an area of his own, knowing the general area of the god from the golem’s path she had considered this one scenario, among countless others. I do not think any other god has picked the plots to the southwest. There is plenty of property on both sides. My own academy is to the south so if the plot is east of the river it will be somewhat adjacent. To the west of the river however it is entirely open space… if a bit muddy from how close it is to the massive flow of water that goes directly west into the jungles. I’Iro conjured two holographic images of both of the mentioned plots.

Thallin took a moment to think on it and in the end he found it best to stay adjacent to the academy. Only an hour later the other golems arrived. They didn’t talk or interact with anyone but Thallin. They all carried carts with various materials. Wood, plaster, stone, green shingles and seeds had all been carried up to Mons Divinus. To be used for the small but cozy little embassy. The golems worked as tirelessly as they had travelled. Days passed and more arrived. Carrying more finished goods and seeds. Benches and chairs were brought up as well. Carpets were rolled out and seeds were meticulously planted to grow flowers and hedges. Later still came the saplings of strange trees that had not existed before. Trees Thallin called Khariaths and Steelbarks. Khatem flowers were planted as well. If one didn’t know about I’Iro’s spider servants, one would’ve assumed the building was completed in record pace.



It is a beautiful facility you have built here. said the goddess when she noticed the construction seemed to be finished. The humans too seem to like it. It even had the effect of distracting my alumni during our lessons… Something that really did not result in the better control of their minds for the purpose of Mimicry constructs. she chuckled softly as she walked into the central garden overlooked by the construction.

“I do apologize for that.” Thallin said as he watched the last tables being set. Of course, in the coming years they would be replaced again and again by creations of the mortals. Such was the nature of crafting. There would always come something created more practical or beautiful. He then turned towards I’Iro. “When we first met you taught me the custom of greeting one another of these people. Would you honor me to show you the custom of greeting from the land I come from.” With an arm he motioned towards one of the adjacent, open buildings. With a view of the river. The open curtains showed the low table and a handful of chairs surrounding it, and on top of the table stood a few gold-veined clay cups and a simple porcelain teapot.

Ah. Yes. You did promise me there would be a beverage in the inauguration. I do not have a habit of drinking anything yet your description of what a tea is left me greatly curious.

And so Thallin led I’Iro to the tea parlor. Where a freshly plucked Kathem flower waited next to the pot. With great care the golem prepared the tea for him and the goddess. Though he couldn’t taste it himself, the mortals had endlessly sworn by how well it smelled and tasted. To that end, he hoped the goddess would enjoy the taste as well.