Member
Lord Zee
DracoLunaris
jimapple
King of Rats
Frettzo
urukhai
WrongEndoftheRainbow
Garth
Kalmar A surface of dirt near a river was quite calming until the surface exploded and El’zadir climbed up, looking down and then said to herself.
“Right… new entrance hole…” Looking around some more, she saw that the land was finally peaceful, the crisis of long ago, gone. She was only having to deal with the silence she never grew accustomed to, even while managing the dwarfs down below as high queen. Putting her hands on her forehead she thought for a moment before saying. “Not time for this… I need to check the weird visions I get around here…Sylann, I think, was the name by what I could see.” She wandered forward wearing her dwarvish clothes. Mixed with some iron armor, angular and tough, that they made for her. The dwarves were growing faster by the day. So she marched on, thinking they could handle themselves for a little while, in the direction of the city in question.
It wasn’t so much the city that El’zadir came before but that of a great white wall, surrounded by pristine earth and the heavy flow of traffic leading from one of the main gates. Goblins wearing toga’s and mix matched leathers, walked in groups or rode upon wagons pulled by great rolly polly’s of blue and gray shells. The pitter patter of their multiple feet was like that of rain upon the worn cobbled path. Many of these merchants heckled one another and the random passerby, selling such goods as dried fruits, the random Tricity knicknack or the weathered bones of dead outer beast spawn.
Beastfolk praddled about in their myriad of forms. Some looked like seasoned warriors, large weapons strung at dusty leathered backs. Others wore garbs and some finery, carrying large woven baskets on top of their heads. Many small children ran amok upon the road, weaving in and out of traffic, under carts and in between legs. So too did some beastfolk ride on wagons pulled by an assortment of beasts of burden, carrying their trade goods. There was much talk of Thysia to the north, and the growing disputes of land claims. It seemed a border between the two lands had never actually been drawn out but the trade was good at least.
There was also the occasional human traveling amongst the groups of travelers, usually weather beaten and with dark expressions. Snouters in large droves waddled past as well, obviously in a hurry to get home. Those often carried various farming tools and a knife or two. And twice did a Syllianth gallop past upon a horse, even more in a hurry.
When the gates at last neared, El’zadir could see just how massive they were and that was when the wandering crowds began to pile up. It seemed before one could enter the city, one first had to pass the guard checkpoint. Large metallic figures loomed above the crowds, standing silent and imperious. They could have almost passed for statues until one moved at the behest of a Syllianth guardsman and off back into the city.
She could see that not many, if any at all, were being turned away from the gate. The flow of traffic continued on at a steady pace and before she knew it, El’zadir was before the gate itself. It was her turn. On either side of the road, guards were looking over passengers and then shuffling them off into the bustling streets of the city.
A youthful Syllianth man, wearing a simple tunic of leathers, came before her, a large black quill in his hand before a scroll of creamy paper. He didn’t even look at her as he asked, “What’s your business in Sylann today?”
While he didn’t watch her, she stood out of the entire crowd, a woman five feet tall with obsidian skin and moon silver hair. But she didn’t care about the lack of attention; it was something that she caused to those around her. She seemed in place even while sticking out completely; her divine powers allowed her to command, influence and even convince individuals of how they perceived her. Looking around she soon lowered herself with a light smile. She then said, “Forgive me, I am new around these parts. I traveled from long distant lands and just wish to visit.” she closed her eyes, turning her head a little, her smile looking quite friendly.
The green skinned man at once looked down at her, his quill ceasing its whimsical movement. His brows at once rose. His emerald eyes, set in that smooth metallic skin, seemed to scrutinize her for a long while. He then opened his mouth, revealing pearly teeth, and asked, “Say, what are you?” He then seemed to take in his own words and blinked before adding, “Pardon me but I have not yet seen one of your kind before these walls.”
El’zadir continued smiling, giving a light shrug. “My people aren’t easy to find. I guess you can say we are named by other people around us…” El’zadir thought for a moment, thinking of her origins. She was called more by others than by herself. She sighed at herself, her face breaking the smile for a moment. She looked exhausted as she opened her eyes. Their red glow seemed more intense. Her Will also seemed supreme over the green skinned man, almost like her words commanded authority. Like a king forcing him to comply. “But I think this is not much of a worry for you right? I mean I am just passing by, it's not like someone like me can cause a lot of problems…”
One of the towering constructs seemed to swivel its head and focus on the two or had it been watching the entire time? The syllianth man seemed to shrink before the shorter woman, if that was possible. He blinked a few times, seemed to shrug his shoulders and brought up his parchment to his face, quill beginning to work with flourish. “Carry on and stay out of trouble.” he said a few moments later and stepped out of her path, motioning along.
The great gates waited bare before her. She smiled, giving a nod to the man, before moving forward towards the gates. She looked at the constructs and pondered what they were for a moment. Sapient yes, she could tell, but wondered if they were mortal made or god made. She passed them all the same and entered into the outskirts of the great city. Here the crowds were thick and evermoving. Vendors in their ramshackle carts lined the streets before stone houses. They called out to the passersby, peddling their goods with every hand gesture and eyebrow raised. From food to wooden trinkets, there was a plethora of such stalls. All preying on beleaguered wanderers for the greatest gains.
El did not linger here for long, as the flow of the crowds took her deeper into the heart of the city. Here stalls became businesses with colorful signs above their nice homes. The smells of baked goods and of ale, for once, cut above the waft of the crowd and unwashed bodies. Here children ran amok, play-fighting and chasing one another. Several almost ran into her once, proclaiming that they were to run down a great demon before supper. The streets grew less populated with every step but there were still so many different people. Unlike the road in, Sylann seemed to have a healthy population of almost every sentient race save her dwarves and the few more unsavory types. They all blended in well and there was seldom any signs of violence or thievery, with the large constructs and guards wandering the streets here and there.
People laughed and the chorus of the crowds seemed to be of pleasant talk. Of trading, homelife and the random rabble of the day. One of the more prevalent rumors being gossiped about was that Thysia, that city in the north, was growing in might and it was a worry. After more walking and sightseeing, the crowds around El began to stare and point and the Goddess would find that she was no longer walking by herself. A figure of liquid silver, hands behind her back and chin high, walked beside her. The people began to hush and an unnatural quiet fell over the street.
“You are not the first to wander the streets.” The other goddess said, her voice soft but edged with adamant. “But you seem aimless and I am not familiar with you. Pray tell, who might you be?” she asked, for once pausing in her step to look at El with swirling silver eyes.
El’zadir could easily tell the woman was divine; it was there, the anomaly seemed to come. El's Civilization was made manifest, so this city would be something she felt but the presence of a god also would alter that feeling just a bit. El’zadir took a defensive stance; she had armor on after all, made out of iron with gold trims and dwarven engravings. While a silence stood between both El, she soon said, “My name is El’zadir…” She looked to the side, thinking for a moment, she then hesitated and wondered what to call her title besides what her own people called her, even if she felt she was not attached towards it anymore. Instead, she felt conflicted on who she was still but she continued. “... Goddess of Civilization and you?”
The silver divine looked down upon El'zadir for a few moments. Her blank expression revealed nothing of note. She then said, “El’zadir?” As if tasting the name, then she said, matter of factly, “You were not in the place before time. I do not recognize your presence from the Khodex.” The silver Goddess seemed to be studying her now, letting her eyes roll over El’s form with a scholar’s intensity. “Fascinating. Did you come about to propagate civilization or were you the byproduct of it?” She asked.
El’zadir was still surprised by the goddess beside her, even if her expression showed more worry. The Khodex she saw once when she met Allianthe in the island of creation. It was not surprising knowing it but hearing how she came to be, El stumbled, “I…” Her expression broke as the silver divine could see doubt, worry, a mixture of negative emotions and a lack of self esteem as well, before recovering her composure as she replied, “It was the latter unfortunately… I do wish to have been born when you were around. I think things were more interesting…” She still kept a courteous tone of voice, almost like she was from an aristocracy.
“A divine born of mortal systems.” The silver goddess mused to herself. “I wonder if there may be others or perhaps you are unique in this regard.” She also said, more to herself. Her eyes were fixed upon El, but she had the suspicion that this silver divine was more focused on her own thoughts. After some time and a restless crowd who gathered and gawked, the silver goddess extended her hand, palm facing down, towards El. “You may call me Sylia, young El’zadir. I am the goddess of craft, metals and the very earth.”
El’zadir gave a respectful bow saying, “A pleasure to meet you, Sylia, but forgive me if I may ask…” She was confused about hearing the roles the divine had, especially after hearing what she herself had said. She then continued, “But you are crafting, metals and the very earth… You came before these things existed?”
Sylia’s hand still lay outstretched towards El and made no sign of lowering as Sylia said, “Crafting was my origin. I lay bare before the Khodex and supplanted myself within it, so that this universe would know my laws and be fixed by them. My gift was of the God Metal, the greatest of the material realm. It was only natural metal and earth followed once this world began to bloom. Would you not consider that civilization is but a concept of mortalkind and that crafting the very atoms of existence precedes it?” she asked, tone brimming with a scholar’s prose.
El’zadir gave a nod to her statement; it made sense in a way. Looking at the crowd around them, El soon turned to the group and uttered words that seemed more commands and powerful suggestions than just words. “Do you mind, giving us a moment?” She smiled as the group suddenly began to disperse back into their regular ongoings. Sylia could notice El’s gift seemed to also connect somewhat in control of people. Turning to her, El soon said, “Do you have a place for us to stay and talk, instead of a public crowd?” She smiled at Sylia, her heart held no ill intentions. Instead she was now driven by curiosity, even if it was far from what she came to do.
Sylia at last broke eye contact and looked at her hand. Outstretched and discarded. She seemed to stare at it a moment, before flexing her fingers. Then without warning she took one step closer to El’zadir and put a hand on her shoulder. One moment they were in the dispersing crowd and the next they were in the center of a pale stoned workshop of mercurial pools and floating metal shards. Along the walls were rows and rows of workbenches, pristine and orderly. Almost as if the place was brand new and hardly ever touched. A soft lullaby of a hum was ever present around them, with different melodies intertwining and harmonizing. Sylia let go of El and took a step back, then let her hand rest at her side. “Why have you come to Sylann?” The silver goddess asked with little emotion.
El looked Sylia in the eyes before saying, “I can feel all cities, all nations, all monuments of stone and metal raised. From the abstract of laws, to how a family may be thinking. This place had a strange anomaly,” El looked around before adding, “It’s here yet not here… I originally thought they built and moved the city but it was always here so I came to investigate. Well, I guess I know why my senses felt odd about this, it was you…” El said, extending her hand gesturing to Sylia with a light smile. “You were making my senses a bit confused.” she finished.
Sylia didn't say anything immediately. Instead she looked at the gesture and furrowed her brows in puzzlement. With some hesitation, she eventually unfurled her arm and took the hand of El. She seemed to wait and then look around. “I don't understand.” Sylia at last said, looking back at El. “Why have we not moved locations? Is this not the intended purpose of touching?”
El’zadir was confused. When her hand was touched and upon hearing the goddess, it made sense being taken back and feeling shy. Her cheeks red, she then replied, “Oh ah, that's not what I…” She took a light breath before saying, “I don’t do that, teleporting is interesting but I wasn't wanting to do that, forgive me if I lured you into thinking. I don't even know much about the rules of celestial phenomena. I just gestured towards you.” She held a light smile while having her hands up in innocence. She felt awkward and more shy because of the incident.
“Ah, I see.” Sylia said as she folded her arms across her chest. “A gesture of intimacy. I have seen the mortals act in such regard. Indeed, it is often a courtship ritual. In my own standings, it seems rarher pointless to hold the hand of another without moving through the world to a new location. I can’t understand why they would want to touch one another. It is inefficient to only have one hand in use at any given time.” She paused and seemed to look over El. She then said, “Let us move on from this act of miscommunication.” And she turned, walking across the floor until she reached a mercurial pool, wherein she looked into the liquid and asked, “Why am I the source of your senses confusion? Perhaps because without me, they could not come into civilization? Or are you younger divine simply not attuned to your own domains? No offense of course, El. I am simply intrigued.”
El pondered for a while she was also curious as to why she soon said. “I don’t know, probably divine energy and your presence messed with my senses with this city, possibly the city being the only one in a sea of nomads might be the reason. Alternatively my wound was deeper than I thought.” she soon rubbed the side of her chest, feeling it a bit.
Sylia's eyes snapped to her. “A wound?” She asked, leaving the mercurial pools to stand before her. “What could wound a divine? Save the Outer Beasts and their ilk or… A fellow god?”
El sighed, remembering the day. Her face looked exhausted and she soon said, “Outer beasts, yes… one caught me by luck or by the chaos of the battlefield down underground. I have a bite scar running from here to here including my back…” She made a line in her armor and clothes running across her chest finishing near her waist. “It's a good story to tell I guess…” She looked nervous, even a bit ashamed, after finishing the small story. In her mind a god shouldn’t be able to be wounded so easily.
“Show me.” Sylia said. Her expression of captured interest.
El’zadir thought for a moment, giving a shrug as she began removing some pieces of iron armor she had on. Removing it and making it lay on the floor, she soon rolled up her shirt and revealed the scar. It was a bite wound, like she said, already healed. The bite mark of wide pointy teeth, by the looks of it, were still able to be seen in the obsidian skin of El as Sylia’s eyes wandered. El soon replied, “It was quite painful but I managed to get the better of him… I guess I was the unlucky one.”
Sylia walked around El, taking in the full measure of the scar. “Hmm. Unlucky?” She spoke in a quiet voice now, coming to a stop before El. Her posture straight as an arrow, Sylia tapped her fingers together. “I have often thought about the nature of divinity. The Khodex is the origin of the universe and we were called, in a myriad of ways, to create within it. We, who could walk across the surface of the sun unscathed. We, who could survive in the vast vacuum of space. We, capable of feats beyond any. We, who are immortal. Yet, we are capable of dying. Of being wounded and scarred. Already Lareus and another have been slain, not to mention the first of us, Sloth.” She paused and tilted her head slightly. “Do you feel powerful, goddess of civilization? If you wanted, could you not know all and be everywhere at once? We fed the Khodex with much delight and terrible purpose and I for one, do not accept the title of divine. Not a true divine. A true divine could not be slain or wounded, whilst capable of thought beyond you and I.” She sighed, “There is evidence to suggest that we are being watched by forces beyond our own universe. Someone or something sent the outer beings. I wonder if they view us as we view the mortals. Now,” A piece of El’s armor hovered up from the ground and fastened itself back from where it once sat upon her, “You are without a weapon. It’s no wonder you were touched in battle. We cannot allow it to happen again, can we?”
El stood, taking in the words Sylia said to her, heightening her worries. She never considered herself above many thanks to who she was. Civilization was just a small part of a greater whole. Reality itself was greater than the constructions of mortals. She was a projection of them, after all but she felt different. Why should she? Looking at her own hand, staying in thought for who she was, she soon raised her head after hearing how the gods above might think of her. The thought of other gods dying as well, was not something she thought of. She sighed in worry, hearing the words of Sylia, to not allow things to happen again. She replied with more resolve, “YES…” She calmed down her nerves by replying in a more polite tone next, “...I agree, you are a smithing deity. Can you help me with that?”
Sylia studied El. The silver goddess then cupped El’s chin with her hand, tilting her head up to make eye contact with the tall divine. “What is it you desire of me and what will you be willing to give for it?” She asked.
Taking time to think, El stood pondering before stopping, straightening herself. “I request a weapon from the mightiest smith that exists in the pantheon. The price, I believe, that is yours to set.” She replied with a smile and a light bow of courtesy.
Sylia withdrew her touch. “Very well. Then my price is this; Create for this civilization of Sylann, an education system, with a school of enlightenment. And, you will be beholden to a future request of me, no matter the cost. When I have need of it being fulfilled, you will answer.” Sylia, for once, smiled. “Does this satisfy you?”
El’zadir thought for a moment before giving a nod, saying, “Right, it's acceptable.”
“Then we have an agreement. I won’t need long, best to see that school. I will have one of my Syllianth escort you to a suitable location for its building.” Sylia said, already in motion towards her mercurial pools. “If you require anything else, ask the Syllianth.” It was her dismissal. The doors opened and a green being entered the room, bowing. “If you would come with me, Goddess.” The man said in a deep voice.
“Oh, sure, thank you.” El said to the small green man she soon turned to Sylia. “See you soon, Sylia.” She replied with a smile leaving the room.
When El’zadir was gone, Sylia thought awhile in the silence of her sanctum. She stared, transfixed upon the mercurial pool at her feet. The civilization God was unlike any she had met yet. El had no aura of authority around her. She did not feel divine. She was uncertain of herself. Conflicted and embarrassed. If Sylia had wanted, she could have easily taken advantage of her. Manipulated her into doing whatever she wanted. It was still an option. In truth, she knew not what else to ask of her. Sylia’s own mind was too busy in thought.
That scar on her flesh should not have been. Divine flesh marred. It made the silver goddess irrationally upset. Not out of some protective response but because it painted the image that they were fallible. It was a weakness and one that could prove exploitable. Sylia knew in her cold metallic soul that such flesh, even of divine property, was imperfect. Wholly unlike the shimmering metal at her feet. For metal was strength. It could not be so easily scared.
She would not use Divinium in this weapon. For El did not place a part of herself into the Khodex at the beginning of creation. She had no alloy to speak of. Besides, there were other materials that could be made just as potent. She bent and placed her hand in the mercury pool.
She closed her eyes, her fingers flexing outwards in the tranquil warmth. What was civilization but the culmination of mortal triumph? What took them from the simplest forms to being capable of such complexity? Thousands upon thousands inhabited Sylann now. Would they have been able to build the city without her divine aid? Did it matter? For beneath it all, there was only one path any man, woman, or child could take- And it was the procreation of their species, the passing of their culture, the nurturing, the growing, the ability to want instead of fulfilling the base needs.
Her fingers began to move rhythmically, swaying the mercurial pool into circular transience. Each wave pulsing to a hidden beat.
Sylia knew that one could only protect a civilization in two ways. Peace or war. Perhaps it was a shortsighted view and one unfitting for a Divine to conjure. There could be other ways but it all boiled down to destruction or salvation. With any deterrent, you could only hold off the inevitable. Toil and chaos taking root like cancerous cells, ruining the great works of her time. Sylia knew she could live forever but did not know if she would. The burgeoning threats of the cosmos had become evident and there were murderers amongst the pantheon. El could only hope to see herself from violence, through it.
Sylia’s hand grasped the forming item within her hand. The pool hummed, vibrations turning the mercury into the like of fine grains. Each a star in the vastness of space, or the cell of a living, breathing thing. They shimmered in patterns that spoke of both madness and clarity. In one instant, her sanctum was alive with the elation of the craft, the building block of civilization itself.
Sylia pulled the sword from the mercurial pool and silence flooded back in as if a dam burst. Refractions off the blade caught the sunlight of the room as Sylia opened her eyes. She found in her hand a long greatsword of shining metal. No, not shining, it was so polished that it was like she was looking into a mirror. It reflected everything. But it was just a blade. One as tall as El’zadir and perhaps as wide as half her chest.
Sylia let go of the blade and let it hover in the space before her. Next she summoned a pale bone of some forgotten thing and fashioned it into a grip. For the pommel she placed a large diamond, as it reminded her of El’s eyes. And it was done. A blade, capable of great feats and terrible acts. Sylia smiled.
“You are unnamed.” She said to the blade. “May your wielder pick one befitting you.”
As Sylia worked, El’zadir also worked on what was requested, a thing that was rather easy for her to do; she had done many works that involved abstract concepts for mortals. Her mind, after all, was not just a product of then but could also foresee progress. At first schools were created with teachers to educate mortals in the work of writing, philosophies and enlightenment but after that, she set up a system of education under control of the government of the city. Centered around a school of enlightenment, something that took a bit longer to set up, as enlightenment for the many cultures of Sylann meant different things.
El’zadir, as she organized the system, stood alone in a room pondering once again who she was. Looking at her obsidian hands, she just felt like focusing on them, pondering things. It seemed rather more complicated than when she walked Galbar for a long time. The other gods seemed to have had a better time dealing, even the ones she met, with the threat of the outer gods. As she looked, she soon slammed the stone table that was before her with her hand. Anger coursed through her and the table cracked and shattered in two with her force. She panted as paper fell around her and she leaned back in her chair mumbling to herself in dwarvish. “I’m worthless…”
As silence stood for a moment, she sighed. Rising up, El had a final part to complete: a grand academia for the people but she also felt she needed something for Sylann that was close to her but also would help the people of their civilization.
It was something she felt she needed to do. The next day, as she looked at the blueprint and helped those around in organizing, she constructed a holy site for herself but also one where the people of Sylann and the school of enlightenment would benefit. A grandiose college of wisdom, knowledge and progress where those who seeked enlightenment would come to find it. But also was a holy site for herself, as she blessed its construction and used it also as a temple. Standing at its finished part of the university, she sighed, overlooking the city below its massive structure. Cracking her head, she then said, “Reminds me of the old days…
“You were not there for the true elden days, El'zadir.” Sylia’s voice came and El looked to see that the silver goddess once again had appeared beside her. This time she held a cloth covered weapon, one as tall as the smaller goddess. Sylia looked out over her work and after a time, nodded her head. “You have done good work and now I deliver my end of the bargain.”
She removed the cloth to reveal the reflective surface of the sword. It was almost glowing in the sunlight of the day. Its bone handle sparkled white and called to a hand to wield it. The cut diamond at the pommel dripped with raw power. “A mercurial blade, El. Powerful enough to cradle any civilization, building them to the greatest heights or…” She paused and held out the sword to her, pommel first, “Capable of terrible ruin.” Sylia’s face was a mask of calm but her eyes were strangely wild, shimmering with some inner sense of joy or madness. “Once you claim it, you must give it a name. Now… Go on.” She hissed softly.
El’zadir hesitated for a moment before grabbing the handle and holding it. She could feel its strength, power and potential before her. With a small swing her divine strength combined with the blade and a great swirl of wind dashed forth. As the wind slowed again El smiled with excitement saying, “What a nice gift!” She held the sword with elegance and ease almost like she had branded many before. “Gift…” She mumbled to herself before smiling. “A good name I think ‘Gift’” She said, thrusting the sword into the air again.
“Then Gift it shall be forevermore.” Sylia mused, taking a step back. “Now I must bid thee a farewell. You are welcome in Sylann at any point in time and do not forget the other half of our agreement. One day I shall come to settle the debt.” Sylia said.
El’zadir gave a bow saying, “Thank you for welcoming me into your city, Sylia. It was a pleasure to meet you and do not worry when the time comes I shall settle my debt.” She smiled at her and the silver goddess only nodded in return before blinking out of existence with a knowing smile on her metal lips.
El’zadir began to walk away then. She needed to return to her children in the underground. All in all, it was an interesting visit and a good one after the incidents she experienced.
“Right… new entrance hole…” Looking around some more, she saw that the land was finally peaceful, the crisis of long ago, gone. She was only having to deal with the silence she never grew accustomed to, even while managing the dwarfs down below as high queen. Putting her hands on her forehead she thought for a moment before saying. “Not time for this… I need to check the weird visions I get around here…Sylann, I think, was the name by what I could see.” She wandered forward wearing her dwarvish clothes. Mixed with some iron armor, angular and tough, that they made for her. The dwarves were growing faster by the day. So she marched on, thinking they could handle themselves for a little while, in the direction of the city in question.
It wasn’t so much the city that El’zadir came before but that of a great white wall, surrounded by pristine earth and the heavy flow of traffic leading from one of the main gates. Goblins wearing toga’s and mix matched leathers, walked in groups or rode upon wagons pulled by great rolly polly’s of blue and gray shells. The pitter patter of their multiple feet was like that of rain upon the worn cobbled path. Many of these merchants heckled one another and the random passerby, selling such goods as dried fruits, the random Tricity knicknack or the weathered bones of dead outer beast spawn.
Beastfolk praddled about in their myriad of forms. Some looked like seasoned warriors, large weapons strung at dusty leathered backs. Others wore garbs and some finery, carrying large woven baskets on top of their heads. Many small children ran amok upon the road, weaving in and out of traffic, under carts and in between legs. So too did some beastfolk ride on wagons pulled by an assortment of beasts of burden, carrying their trade goods. There was much talk of Thysia to the north, and the growing disputes of land claims. It seemed a border between the two lands had never actually been drawn out but the trade was good at least.
There was also the occasional human traveling amongst the groups of travelers, usually weather beaten and with dark expressions. Snouters in large droves waddled past as well, obviously in a hurry to get home. Those often carried various farming tools and a knife or two. And twice did a Syllianth gallop past upon a horse, even more in a hurry.
When the gates at last neared, El’zadir could see just how massive they were and that was when the wandering crowds began to pile up. It seemed before one could enter the city, one first had to pass the guard checkpoint. Large metallic figures loomed above the crowds, standing silent and imperious. They could have almost passed for statues until one moved at the behest of a Syllianth guardsman and off back into the city.
She could see that not many, if any at all, were being turned away from the gate. The flow of traffic continued on at a steady pace and before she knew it, El’zadir was before the gate itself. It was her turn. On either side of the road, guards were looking over passengers and then shuffling them off into the bustling streets of the city.
A youthful Syllianth man, wearing a simple tunic of leathers, came before her, a large black quill in his hand before a scroll of creamy paper. He didn’t even look at her as he asked, “What’s your business in Sylann today?”
While he didn’t watch her, she stood out of the entire crowd, a woman five feet tall with obsidian skin and moon silver hair. But she didn’t care about the lack of attention; it was something that she caused to those around her. She seemed in place even while sticking out completely; her divine powers allowed her to command, influence and even convince individuals of how they perceived her. Looking around she soon lowered herself with a light smile. She then said, “Forgive me, I am new around these parts. I traveled from long distant lands and just wish to visit.” she closed her eyes, turning her head a little, her smile looking quite friendly.
The green skinned man at once looked down at her, his quill ceasing its whimsical movement. His brows at once rose. His emerald eyes, set in that smooth metallic skin, seemed to scrutinize her for a long while. He then opened his mouth, revealing pearly teeth, and asked, “Say, what are you?” He then seemed to take in his own words and blinked before adding, “Pardon me but I have not yet seen one of your kind before these walls.”
El’zadir continued smiling, giving a light shrug. “My people aren’t easy to find. I guess you can say we are named by other people around us…” El’zadir thought for a moment, thinking of her origins. She was called more by others than by herself. She sighed at herself, her face breaking the smile for a moment. She looked exhausted as she opened her eyes. Their red glow seemed more intense. Her Will also seemed supreme over the green skinned man, almost like her words commanded authority. Like a king forcing him to comply. “But I think this is not much of a worry for you right? I mean I am just passing by, it's not like someone like me can cause a lot of problems…”
One of the towering constructs seemed to swivel its head and focus on the two or had it been watching the entire time? The syllianth man seemed to shrink before the shorter woman, if that was possible. He blinked a few times, seemed to shrug his shoulders and brought up his parchment to his face, quill beginning to work with flourish. “Carry on and stay out of trouble.” he said a few moments later and stepped out of her path, motioning along.
The great gates waited bare before her. She smiled, giving a nod to the man, before moving forward towards the gates. She looked at the constructs and pondered what they were for a moment. Sapient yes, she could tell, but wondered if they were mortal made or god made. She passed them all the same and entered into the outskirts of the great city. Here the crowds were thick and evermoving. Vendors in their ramshackle carts lined the streets before stone houses. They called out to the passersby, peddling their goods with every hand gesture and eyebrow raised. From food to wooden trinkets, there was a plethora of such stalls. All preying on beleaguered wanderers for the greatest gains.
El did not linger here for long, as the flow of the crowds took her deeper into the heart of the city. Here stalls became businesses with colorful signs above their nice homes. The smells of baked goods and of ale, for once, cut above the waft of the crowd and unwashed bodies. Here children ran amok, play-fighting and chasing one another. Several almost ran into her once, proclaiming that they were to run down a great demon before supper. The streets grew less populated with every step but there were still so many different people. Unlike the road in, Sylann seemed to have a healthy population of almost every sentient race save her dwarves and the few more unsavory types. They all blended in well and there was seldom any signs of violence or thievery, with the large constructs and guards wandering the streets here and there.
People laughed and the chorus of the crowds seemed to be of pleasant talk. Of trading, homelife and the random rabble of the day. One of the more prevalent rumors being gossiped about was that Thysia, that city in the north, was growing in might and it was a worry. After more walking and sightseeing, the crowds around El began to stare and point and the Goddess would find that she was no longer walking by herself. A figure of liquid silver, hands behind her back and chin high, walked beside her. The people began to hush and an unnatural quiet fell over the street.
“You are not the first to wander the streets.” The other goddess said, her voice soft but edged with adamant. “But you seem aimless and I am not familiar with you. Pray tell, who might you be?” she asked, for once pausing in her step to look at El with swirling silver eyes.
El’zadir could easily tell the woman was divine; it was there, the anomaly seemed to come. El's Civilization was made manifest, so this city would be something she felt but the presence of a god also would alter that feeling just a bit. El’zadir took a defensive stance; she had armor on after all, made out of iron with gold trims and dwarven engravings. While a silence stood between both El, she soon said, “My name is El’zadir…” She looked to the side, thinking for a moment, she then hesitated and wondered what to call her title besides what her own people called her, even if she felt she was not attached towards it anymore. Instead, she felt conflicted on who she was still but she continued. “... Goddess of Civilization and you?”
The silver divine looked down upon El'zadir for a few moments. Her blank expression revealed nothing of note. She then said, “El’zadir?” As if tasting the name, then she said, matter of factly, “You were not in the place before time. I do not recognize your presence from the Khodex.” The silver Goddess seemed to be studying her now, letting her eyes roll over El’s form with a scholar’s intensity. “Fascinating. Did you come about to propagate civilization or were you the byproduct of it?” She asked.
El’zadir was still surprised by the goddess beside her, even if her expression showed more worry. The Khodex she saw once when she met Allianthe in the island of creation. It was not surprising knowing it but hearing how she came to be, El stumbled, “I…” Her expression broke as the silver divine could see doubt, worry, a mixture of negative emotions and a lack of self esteem as well, before recovering her composure as she replied, “It was the latter unfortunately… I do wish to have been born when you were around. I think things were more interesting…” She still kept a courteous tone of voice, almost like she was from an aristocracy.
“A divine born of mortal systems.” The silver goddess mused to herself. “I wonder if there may be others or perhaps you are unique in this regard.” She also said, more to herself. Her eyes were fixed upon El, but she had the suspicion that this silver divine was more focused on her own thoughts. After some time and a restless crowd who gathered and gawked, the silver goddess extended her hand, palm facing down, towards El. “You may call me Sylia, young El’zadir. I am the goddess of craft, metals and the very earth.”
El’zadir gave a respectful bow saying, “A pleasure to meet you, Sylia, but forgive me if I may ask…” She was confused about hearing the roles the divine had, especially after hearing what she herself had said. She then continued, “But you are crafting, metals and the very earth… You came before these things existed?”
Sylia’s hand still lay outstretched towards El and made no sign of lowering as Sylia said, “Crafting was my origin. I lay bare before the Khodex and supplanted myself within it, so that this universe would know my laws and be fixed by them. My gift was of the God Metal, the greatest of the material realm. It was only natural metal and earth followed once this world began to bloom. Would you not consider that civilization is but a concept of mortalkind and that crafting the very atoms of existence precedes it?” she asked, tone brimming with a scholar’s prose.
El’zadir gave a nod to her statement; it made sense in a way. Looking at the crowd around them, El soon turned to the group and uttered words that seemed more commands and powerful suggestions than just words. “Do you mind, giving us a moment?” She smiled as the group suddenly began to disperse back into their regular ongoings. Sylia could notice El’s gift seemed to also connect somewhat in control of people. Turning to her, El soon said, “Do you have a place for us to stay and talk, instead of a public crowd?” She smiled at Sylia, her heart held no ill intentions. Instead she was now driven by curiosity, even if it was far from what she came to do.
Sylia at last broke eye contact and looked at her hand. Outstretched and discarded. She seemed to stare at it a moment, before flexing her fingers. Then without warning she took one step closer to El’zadir and put a hand on her shoulder. One moment they were in the dispersing crowd and the next they were in the center of a pale stoned workshop of mercurial pools and floating metal shards. Along the walls were rows and rows of workbenches, pristine and orderly. Almost as if the place was brand new and hardly ever touched. A soft lullaby of a hum was ever present around them, with different melodies intertwining and harmonizing. Sylia let go of El and took a step back, then let her hand rest at her side. “Why have you come to Sylann?” The silver goddess asked with little emotion.
El looked Sylia in the eyes before saying, “I can feel all cities, all nations, all monuments of stone and metal raised. From the abstract of laws, to how a family may be thinking. This place had a strange anomaly,” El looked around before adding, “It’s here yet not here… I originally thought they built and moved the city but it was always here so I came to investigate. Well, I guess I know why my senses felt odd about this, it was you…” El said, extending her hand gesturing to Sylia with a light smile. “You were making my senses a bit confused.” she finished.
Sylia didn't say anything immediately. Instead she looked at the gesture and furrowed her brows in puzzlement. With some hesitation, she eventually unfurled her arm and took the hand of El. She seemed to wait and then look around. “I don't understand.” Sylia at last said, looking back at El. “Why have we not moved locations? Is this not the intended purpose of touching?”
El’zadir was confused. When her hand was touched and upon hearing the goddess, it made sense being taken back and feeling shy. Her cheeks red, she then replied, “Oh ah, that's not what I…” She took a light breath before saying, “I don’t do that, teleporting is interesting but I wasn't wanting to do that, forgive me if I lured you into thinking. I don't even know much about the rules of celestial phenomena. I just gestured towards you.” She held a light smile while having her hands up in innocence. She felt awkward and more shy because of the incident.
“Ah, I see.” Sylia said as she folded her arms across her chest. “A gesture of intimacy. I have seen the mortals act in such regard. Indeed, it is often a courtship ritual. In my own standings, it seems rarher pointless to hold the hand of another without moving through the world to a new location. I can’t understand why they would want to touch one another. It is inefficient to only have one hand in use at any given time.” She paused and seemed to look over El. She then said, “Let us move on from this act of miscommunication.” And she turned, walking across the floor until she reached a mercurial pool, wherein she looked into the liquid and asked, “Why am I the source of your senses confusion? Perhaps because without me, they could not come into civilization? Or are you younger divine simply not attuned to your own domains? No offense of course, El. I am simply intrigued.”
El pondered for a while she was also curious as to why she soon said. “I don’t know, probably divine energy and your presence messed with my senses with this city, possibly the city being the only one in a sea of nomads might be the reason. Alternatively my wound was deeper than I thought.” she soon rubbed the side of her chest, feeling it a bit.
Sylia's eyes snapped to her. “A wound?” She asked, leaving the mercurial pools to stand before her. “What could wound a divine? Save the Outer Beasts and their ilk or… A fellow god?”
El sighed, remembering the day. Her face looked exhausted and she soon said, “Outer beasts, yes… one caught me by luck or by the chaos of the battlefield down underground. I have a bite scar running from here to here including my back…” She made a line in her armor and clothes running across her chest finishing near her waist. “It's a good story to tell I guess…” She looked nervous, even a bit ashamed, after finishing the small story. In her mind a god shouldn’t be able to be wounded so easily.
“Show me.” Sylia said. Her expression of captured interest.
El’zadir thought for a moment, giving a shrug as she began removing some pieces of iron armor she had on. Removing it and making it lay on the floor, she soon rolled up her shirt and revealed the scar. It was a bite wound, like she said, already healed. The bite mark of wide pointy teeth, by the looks of it, were still able to be seen in the obsidian skin of El as Sylia’s eyes wandered. El soon replied, “It was quite painful but I managed to get the better of him… I guess I was the unlucky one.”
Sylia walked around El, taking in the full measure of the scar. “Hmm. Unlucky?” She spoke in a quiet voice now, coming to a stop before El. Her posture straight as an arrow, Sylia tapped her fingers together. “I have often thought about the nature of divinity. The Khodex is the origin of the universe and we were called, in a myriad of ways, to create within it. We, who could walk across the surface of the sun unscathed. We, who could survive in the vast vacuum of space. We, capable of feats beyond any. We, who are immortal. Yet, we are capable of dying. Of being wounded and scarred. Already Lareus and another have been slain, not to mention the first of us, Sloth.” She paused and tilted her head slightly. “Do you feel powerful, goddess of civilization? If you wanted, could you not know all and be everywhere at once? We fed the Khodex with much delight and terrible purpose and I for one, do not accept the title of divine. Not a true divine. A true divine could not be slain or wounded, whilst capable of thought beyond you and I.” She sighed, “There is evidence to suggest that we are being watched by forces beyond our own universe. Someone or something sent the outer beings. I wonder if they view us as we view the mortals. Now,” A piece of El’s armor hovered up from the ground and fastened itself back from where it once sat upon her, “You are without a weapon. It’s no wonder you were touched in battle. We cannot allow it to happen again, can we?”
El stood, taking in the words Sylia said to her, heightening her worries. She never considered herself above many thanks to who she was. Civilization was just a small part of a greater whole. Reality itself was greater than the constructions of mortals. She was a projection of them, after all but she felt different. Why should she? Looking at her own hand, staying in thought for who she was, she soon raised her head after hearing how the gods above might think of her. The thought of other gods dying as well, was not something she thought of. She sighed in worry, hearing the words of Sylia, to not allow things to happen again. She replied with more resolve, “YES…” She calmed down her nerves by replying in a more polite tone next, “...I agree, you are a smithing deity. Can you help me with that?”
Sylia studied El. The silver goddess then cupped El’s chin with her hand, tilting her head up to make eye contact with the tall divine. “What is it you desire of me and what will you be willing to give for it?” She asked.
Taking time to think, El stood pondering before stopping, straightening herself. “I request a weapon from the mightiest smith that exists in the pantheon. The price, I believe, that is yours to set.” She replied with a smile and a light bow of courtesy.
Sylia withdrew her touch. “Very well. Then my price is this; Create for this civilization of Sylann, an education system, with a school of enlightenment. And, you will be beholden to a future request of me, no matter the cost. When I have need of it being fulfilled, you will answer.” Sylia, for once, smiled. “Does this satisfy you?”
El’zadir thought for a moment before giving a nod, saying, “Right, it's acceptable.”
“Then we have an agreement. I won’t need long, best to see that school. I will have one of my Syllianth escort you to a suitable location for its building.” Sylia said, already in motion towards her mercurial pools. “If you require anything else, ask the Syllianth.” It was her dismissal. The doors opened and a green being entered the room, bowing. “If you would come with me, Goddess.” The man said in a deep voice.
“Oh, sure, thank you.” El said to the small green man she soon turned to Sylia. “See you soon, Sylia.” She replied with a smile leaving the room.
When El’zadir was gone, Sylia thought awhile in the silence of her sanctum. She stared, transfixed upon the mercurial pool at her feet. The civilization God was unlike any she had met yet. El had no aura of authority around her. She did not feel divine. She was uncertain of herself. Conflicted and embarrassed. If Sylia had wanted, she could have easily taken advantage of her. Manipulated her into doing whatever she wanted. It was still an option. In truth, she knew not what else to ask of her. Sylia’s own mind was too busy in thought.
That scar on her flesh should not have been. Divine flesh marred. It made the silver goddess irrationally upset. Not out of some protective response but because it painted the image that they were fallible. It was a weakness and one that could prove exploitable. Sylia knew in her cold metallic soul that such flesh, even of divine property, was imperfect. Wholly unlike the shimmering metal at her feet. For metal was strength. It could not be so easily scared.
She would not use Divinium in this weapon. For El did not place a part of herself into the Khodex at the beginning of creation. She had no alloy to speak of. Besides, there were other materials that could be made just as potent. She bent and placed her hand in the mercury pool.
She closed her eyes, her fingers flexing outwards in the tranquil warmth. What was civilization but the culmination of mortal triumph? What took them from the simplest forms to being capable of such complexity? Thousands upon thousands inhabited Sylann now. Would they have been able to build the city without her divine aid? Did it matter? For beneath it all, there was only one path any man, woman, or child could take- And it was the procreation of their species, the passing of their culture, the nurturing, the growing, the ability to want instead of fulfilling the base needs.
Her fingers began to move rhythmically, swaying the mercurial pool into circular transience. Each wave pulsing to a hidden beat.
Sylia knew that one could only protect a civilization in two ways. Peace or war. Perhaps it was a shortsighted view and one unfitting for a Divine to conjure. There could be other ways but it all boiled down to destruction or salvation. With any deterrent, you could only hold off the inevitable. Toil and chaos taking root like cancerous cells, ruining the great works of her time. Sylia knew she could live forever but did not know if she would. The burgeoning threats of the cosmos had become evident and there were murderers amongst the pantheon. El could only hope to see herself from violence, through it.
Sylia’s hand grasped the forming item within her hand. The pool hummed, vibrations turning the mercury into the like of fine grains. Each a star in the vastness of space, or the cell of a living, breathing thing. They shimmered in patterns that spoke of both madness and clarity. In one instant, her sanctum was alive with the elation of the craft, the building block of civilization itself.
Sylia pulled the sword from the mercurial pool and silence flooded back in as if a dam burst. Refractions off the blade caught the sunlight of the room as Sylia opened her eyes. She found in her hand a long greatsword of shining metal. No, not shining, it was so polished that it was like she was looking into a mirror. It reflected everything. But it was just a blade. One as tall as El’zadir and perhaps as wide as half her chest.
Sylia let go of the blade and let it hover in the space before her. Next she summoned a pale bone of some forgotten thing and fashioned it into a grip. For the pommel she placed a large diamond, as it reminded her of El’s eyes. And it was done. A blade, capable of great feats and terrible acts. Sylia smiled.
“You are unnamed.” She said to the blade. “May your wielder pick one befitting you.”
As Sylia worked, El’zadir also worked on what was requested, a thing that was rather easy for her to do; she had done many works that involved abstract concepts for mortals. Her mind, after all, was not just a product of then but could also foresee progress. At first schools were created with teachers to educate mortals in the work of writing, philosophies and enlightenment but after that, she set up a system of education under control of the government of the city. Centered around a school of enlightenment, something that took a bit longer to set up, as enlightenment for the many cultures of Sylann meant different things.
El’zadir, as she organized the system, stood alone in a room pondering once again who she was. Looking at her obsidian hands, she just felt like focusing on them, pondering things. It seemed rather more complicated than when she walked Galbar for a long time. The other gods seemed to have had a better time dealing, even the ones she met, with the threat of the outer gods. As she looked, she soon slammed the stone table that was before her with her hand. Anger coursed through her and the table cracked and shattered in two with her force. She panted as paper fell around her and she leaned back in her chair mumbling to herself in dwarvish. “I’m worthless…”
As silence stood for a moment, she sighed. Rising up, El had a final part to complete: a grand academia for the people but she also felt she needed something for Sylann that was close to her but also would help the people of their civilization.
It was something she felt she needed to do. The next day, as she looked at the blueprint and helped those around in organizing, she constructed a holy site for herself but also one where the people of Sylann and the school of enlightenment would benefit. A grandiose college of wisdom, knowledge and progress where those who seeked enlightenment would come to find it. But also was a holy site for herself, as she blessed its construction and used it also as a temple. Standing at its finished part of the university, she sighed, overlooking the city below its massive structure. Cracking her head, she then said, “Reminds me of the old days…
“You were not there for the true elden days, El'zadir.” Sylia’s voice came and El looked to see that the silver goddess once again had appeared beside her. This time she held a cloth covered weapon, one as tall as the smaller goddess. Sylia looked out over her work and after a time, nodded her head. “You have done good work and now I deliver my end of the bargain.”
She removed the cloth to reveal the reflective surface of the sword. It was almost glowing in the sunlight of the day. Its bone handle sparkled white and called to a hand to wield it. The cut diamond at the pommel dripped with raw power. “A mercurial blade, El. Powerful enough to cradle any civilization, building them to the greatest heights or…” She paused and held out the sword to her, pommel first, “Capable of terrible ruin.” Sylia’s face was a mask of calm but her eyes were strangely wild, shimmering with some inner sense of joy or madness. “Once you claim it, you must give it a name. Now… Go on.” She hissed softly.
El’zadir hesitated for a moment before grabbing the handle and holding it. She could feel its strength, power and potential before her. With a small swing her divine strength combined with the blade and a great swirl of wind dashed forth. As the wind slowed again El smiled with excitement saying, “What a nice gift!” She held the sword with elegance and ease almost like she had branded many before. “Gift…” She mumbled to herself before smiling. “A good name I think ‘Gift’” She said, thrusting the sword into the air again.
“Then Gift it shall be forevermore.” Sylia mused, taking a step back. “Now I must bid thee a farewell. You are welcome in Sylann at any point in time and do not forget the other half of our agreement. One day I shall come to settle the debt.” Sylia said.
El’zadir gave a bow saying, “Thank you for welcoming me into your city, Sylia. It was a pleasure to meet you and do not worry when the time comes I shall settle my debt.” She smiled at her and the silver goddess only nodded in return before blinking out of existence with a knowing smile on her metal lips.
El’zadir began to walk away then. She needed to return to her children in the underground. All in all, it was an interesting visit and a good one after the incidents she experienced.
