@Kho Relax, Helvana found Violet and they're tagging along with in her journey. Though I do have some trouble with them, I barely mentioned Violet in my last post...
Also, at some point Violet was supposed to leave, but @Antarctic Termite didn't mention it anymore. Not like I'm complaining, Gwyn sure likes his furry friend.
"This is...strange..." Helvana said in wonder. It had been just about a week since the battle with the star-fiend and the travelers continued on heading south despite their proximity to Xerxes.
"Hmm? What is?"
"We should be getting near Xerxes, but...I don't feel anything. I'd expect to start sensing it a few days ago."
"And you want to know why, right?"
"I... I don't want to risk you two. Just because I don't feel anything doesn't mean there's nothing there."
"We still have some daylight to spare. We can just scan it from afar."
"Even then..." She sighed. "Fine, we'll take a look." She reluctantly conceded. Despite her worrying she had kept on going south long after she should've steered west. She was curious, but didn't want to sate that curiosity for the safety of Lloyd and Gwyn. And now she had let that curiosity take over because of Lloyd's approval.
A few hours later, flying along the coastline, they arrived within an eyeshot distance of Xerxes. Or at least where it should've been. Near the shore of the White Ocean was only a crater as if the city had been scooped off the ground.
"What's that?"
"Hel, are we in the right place?"
"According to the map Vestec gave me, yes. He said something was going to happen here, but didn't say what. This must be his doing... Frederic."
Cawing in response, Frederic lowered his altitude and landed near the edge of the crater. Now they could see that pieces of of the city wall and some buildings were left on the edge, painted red from the soon to be set sun. They didn't jump off the bird, instead Frederic walked into the crater in case they needed a quick escape. The broken buildings and pavement ended abruptly into dirt and rock.
Violet noticeably squirmed around Gwyn's neck. "It's okay, you're safe with us." He said while gently running his hand over the Fiberling.
"This is surreal..." Lloyd said amazed. "Did your father really do this?"
"I'd guess so. I can feel traces of his essence here. What he did is what I really want to know."
They soon reached the center of the crater. Aside from the ruins on the edges nothing else was left of Xerxes. The red tinge of the sun quickly left as it went beyond the Ironheart Ranges.
"Whatever happened here aside, seems like it's safe."
"And it's getting darker. Guess we'll have to settle here for today." He said while getting down from Frederic.
"Alright." Helvana and Gwyn got down as well.
Lloyd went for the food sacks they got from the Hain to check its contents. What could've lasted for quite a while had been quickly spent thanks to the oversized crow. Lloyd sighed. "We're already running low... Hel, you'll have to hunt more for tomorrow's lunch."
"Alright."
"Are you okay? You've been feeling down ever since we left the Hain village."
"It's nothing, I'm just bothered with what happened here."
"Are you really alright, Helvana?" Gwyn asked worried.
"Yeah, don't worry about it." She replied ruffling his hair.
"Well, if you say so. I'll go make a fire." He grabbed some wood from his bag and pilled it up on the ground. In just a couple of minutes he had a fire going and started to prepare dinner.
"Hey Lloyd." Gwyn approached his brother with a worried look.
"What is it?"
"Isn't Helvana acting weird?"
"Definitely. If she's not willing to tell us what's bothering her we can't force it out of her."
"But..."
"I don't like seeing her like that either, Gwyn. But if we pry we'll only make things worse."
"Are you sure?"
"She can trust us and she knows that. If she wants our help she'll ask, I'm sure of it."
"Alright..." Despite Lloyd's reassurance, Gwyn was still downcast with worry.
The sun was completely gone now, the campfire being the only source of light for them as usual. It wouldn't be long until dinner was ready.
"Lloyd." Helvana approached him.
"Can't wait for it, right?"
"Actually... I don't feel comfortable here. I'll be going out to hunt now so we can leave first thing in the morning."
"But it's late, and dinner's almost ready."
"I don't have an apetite today, you can eat without me."
"What? You can at least wait until after we ate, right?"
"Helvana...are you sure?"
"Sorry, I better go now before whatever's left out there hides for the night. You don't need to wait for me."
"H-hey!" Despite his protest, Helvana jumped high in the air and turned into a crow and flied away. And just like that Lloyd and Gwyn were left alone. "I was even making the stew she likes so much..." As much as they wanted to wait for her return, time didn't move any slower. They had dinner alone that night, it didn't taste very good.
Helvana didn't keep track of time since she went out to hunt, but at least a few hours had passed. Her stomach rumbled, having not eaten anything in a long while. On her back and on each hand was a deer, they seemed to be common around the area.
"I ended up going pretty far..."
She couldn't carry so much as a crow, so she flew while on her normal form. Since she couldn't fly as fast she was taking a long time to get back.
"They're probably already sleeping..."
It took her several minutes to get back to the crater. The fire was still burning and the figure of a person could be seen sitting down near it.
"Did that idiot wait for me after all?" She got closer... And noticed something was off. Although Frederic was immobile, his eyes were open wide and glaring at the person. Helvana let go of the deer on her hands and formed several quills in her hand. This person wasn't Lloyd!
"He waited for you, you know?" the intruder whispered, as if to read her mind.
"The older one yearned to see you before he slept off, but you know, the spirit is willing, yet the flesh is weak.”
Helvana clicked her tongue. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The man let out a soft chuckle. "Your first question has grown rather difficult to answer of late. I've died twice now, I have no name I can give to you, so call me whatever you'd like. As to answer you second question..." the man paused to rub his naked chin. "I believe I have every right to be here. This land you now reside in was once my own you know?"
"A nameless bum... I'll ask again, what are you doing here." Despite the refined speech, the man didn't sound amicable. She readied her quills.
"You're a fascinating lot aren't you? A demi-goddess, two human boys, a giant crow, and a rather repulsive slug creature. Why, aren't you a band of misfits?"
"This man is more dangerous than he looks. You're quite sharp for a mortal. And daring too."
The man snickered. "Please, if only you heard my repertoire, daring wouldn't begin to describe the kind of man I once was."
A sigh escaped from his lips. "Alas, that is all behind me. I am of no threat to you, demi-goddess, I am but a mortal as you said."
"Of course you aren't. I don't have much of a reason to let you be here, or to let you live for that matter." She threw a quill at him, a feint, but it still came dangerously close to his head. "If you won't say why you're here, then leave before I make you."
No fear shone in the young man's eyes, instead they seemed to exude a rather apathetic tenor. Or maybe it was pity. "I was like you once, demi-goddess. Tell me, do you think your divinity gives you a right to my life, or the life of these boys, or beasts?" he inquired, gesturing at the sleeping forms around him.
"..." She narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her remaining quills. "You're wearing down my patience. What's your point, nameless bum? Or do you just want to anger me before dying?" She glared daggers at the man.
The man seemed to ignore her threats. "No, see you and I are kindred spirits, seemingly bound to mortals because of our yearning for....let us say 'a purpose'."
Despite her waning patience, she lowered her hand. "What are you trying to say?"
A knowing smile formed on his face. "These boys, I know little of their past, yet I can tell it's none the less turbulent. They look to you for guidance and protection. They love you. Yet..."
Helvana grimaced and threw another quill, this time it grazed his cheek, drawing blood. "Silence. Who do you think you are to speak of me like that?"
A smirk of self-satisfied confidence formed on the man's face. He threw back his head and raised his hands to the sky, as if he prepared to proclaim some great name to the cosmos. Yet no sound came from his lips. His hands returned to their place and his expression turned neutral. "I am no one, demi-goddess. But if you where to ask who I once was, then Amartía, son of Vestec and master of vice and desire, would be your answer."
Her expression turned into one of surprise at the sound of her father's name, and lowered her hand again. "Vestec, you say... Huh, what are the odds of meeting one of my brothers, and stripped of power to top it off..."
Amartía chortled. "Forget the formalities. I've been disowned. I am no longer of the Chaos family. If one could even call it that."
"So you're here because of me, or rather because I happened to be here."
The former demi-god shrugged. "I sensed your presence, so I sought to introduce myself. But now that I've gotten a closer look.." Amartía leaned forward as to inspect the young Chaos spawn, as if she were a unique specimen to be studied. "It seems that it is Fate, who brought us together today, oh lost sister of mine."
"Maybe so. I don't think you'd come just to say hi, though. What do you want of me?" Her voice wasn't as aggressive now, but it wasn't that much friendlier either. Just then, her stomach rumbled again. She let off a deep sigh. "That's what I get for skipping dinner." She looked away, but didn't seem ashamed in the least.
"This isn't a discussion meant to be had no an empty stomach, demi-goddess. Allow me, what is it that you desire?" he cooed.
"To eat and go to sleep, really. But not before dealing with you." She released the deer that was on her back and finally sat down near the fire. She looked and Frederic and gave him a nod, he closed his eyes in response.
Amartía scoffed. "Well, let me not waste your time then, it isn't as if you are an immortal or anything."
With a single tap of his staff upon the dirt, a rock sitting only a hands-reach away from the demi-goddess became bread before their every eyes in a flash of red light.
"That should suffice for now, no? Since I helped myself to what I assumed was your portion of the stew, it's only fair I repay you for your hospitality before we go any further."
"You really are a daring one, aren't you, brother?" She picked up the bread and took a bite out of it. For her first bread it was not bad at all. Her being on an empty stomach helped as well. "I'm Helvana, just so you know." She kept on eating the bread.
"The pleasure is all mine, Helvana." He glanced at the sleeping forms of the brothers in the distance. "So tell me, those boy, how did they become the close companions of a demi-goddess of chaos?"
"... They got too close to me. My crows made the people of their village angry and these two kept coming back. Eventually they were exiled and have been with me since. It's already been a couple of months actually."
Amartía placed his right hand on his chin an leaned forward with a smile of childlike innocence. [color=Crimson}"You talk as if what happened to these boys wasn't your fault...or wasn't what [b]you[/b] wanted."[/color] he cooed.
Hearing those words, Helvana froze. She looked back at him with furrowed eyebrows. "What would you know about that? They kept coming out of their own will. I had nothing to do with that."
”Will!?” he laughed ”But just a moment ago you held my measly existence in the palm of your hand. My will meant nothing in that situation. I was completely at your mercy. Helpless against the power of a divine.”
Amartía’s innocent smile turned to a smirk. ”Can you honestly tell me, that you’d be able to abandon these boys at a moments notice?”
"No... I wouldn't, I just..." She grimaced again. Why was she letting his words affect her so much? What would he know about her and what she feels? "I needed to be alone."
"Ah, that's an interesting word, alone." the man sighed airily. "Us spawns of Vestec where born in loneliness, raised by it. But each of us found a purpose, a reason to live. My yearning for this world and the pleasures that it offered filled that void in me. And the boys, they are your purpose, no? They are your motivation. They fill your void. If anything, you need them, more than they need you."
"So what if that's true? What if they mean something to me?"
Amartía nodded in agreement and leaned back a bit. "Yes, yes, so what? So what indeed. Since we are in the questioning mood, let me present to you a question of my own."
"What if it was all a facade?"
"... Huh?" It came back to her, that feeling when Manna asked to come along with her. She was already suspecting it, but...she didn't want to admit it. "What if I forced them to love me, you mean. I thought as much. They accepted having to leave their village too easily."
What if she had unintentionally ruined their lives? What could happen to Manna because of her influence? She couldn't get those questions out of her head no matter how much she struggled. "Curses are my specialty. I can make them with just a thought, but...curses can make all sorts of things. I didn't even realize I was forcing others to like me... It's true, I need them in my life. But what's the point of having them if what they feel isn't even real?"
Amartía simply shrugged. "You divines and mortals think greed is just about money and power, but everyone wants something they don't have. You want these boys to need you, you need them to need you. But their love never belonged to you, you simply stole it. But you have what you want, what does it matter how they feel?"
"Because I know it isn't real... I don't want to live in a fantasy world and convince myself that doesn't matter. I love them, but I can't live knowing I'm forcing them to love me. To ignore that reality... Is not love, it's obsession..." She looked down in melancholy.
The former demi-god's features darkened. "Another divine blinded by sentimentality. You know what I don't get, we are all powerful beings, capable of bending the universe to our will and whim, yet you lot are no different than the very mortals you created. Always hung up on notions of love and loyalty."
Amartía thrust a bony finger in the boys direction. "In the face of your power, they are mere ants, yet you coddle them, and let them weaken you."
He paused for a long moment.
"Helvana, I find your situation ironic. You love these boys, you need them, yet their love for you is fabricated and completely nonexistent. What will you do? Abandon them? Live by the saying "If you truly love something, let it go."?"
"That would be the right thing to do, wouldn't it? But can I do it? I am nothing without them. I don't want to let them go, but I don't want to make them stay either."
"The notion that you are nothing without them is a laughable one, I pity you. Nevertheless, I cannot say I wasn't at one time in your position. I simply found another reason to keep striving, I'd simply ask them."
"I guess the best solution is usually the easiest one. I didn't have the courage to talk to them about this, even though I'm hurting them because of it. What if they decide to leave because of that? It...scares me just to think of that..."
Amartía glanced the brothers and chuckled. "I know mortals better than anyone. Trust me, they'll make the decision that's best for them. You should be content with that, if not, you will learn to be."
"Hmph, It's weird. We're supposed to be chaos spawns, but we aren't really evil. Or maybe something made us turn good." She looked at the brother sleeping together under Frederic's wing. "Sorry for attacking you earlier, you really know how to strike a nerve. And thanks, I guess." She scratched her face, slightly embarrassed.
"Your're welcome. Now let us discuss the bill."
"I guess that's fine. What do you want in return?"
"A prayer."
"A... A prayer? That's it?"
"That's it. A prayer to the goddess Ilunabar."
"Another one I never heard of... If I ever bother calling daddy to a meeting I'll make him teach me all about the other gods. Anyways..." Helvana held her hands together in prayer. "O goddess Ilunabar, hear my calling and come before me." She had never tried to contact any deity before, not even Vestec, so she wasn't sure if that would even work.
Amartía snorted. "You call that a prayer?"
"I-I've never done this before. You expect me to do it perfectly on my first try?"
"For Fate's sake, you could at least be more mannerly. "-come before me."?" he mocked. "Who are you calling? A dog?"
"I don't even know what she represents. She's the goddess of what? Light or something?"
"For a funny coincidence, I am the only deity that has done anything related to domestic dogs as far as I know, but it is truly not a big theme for me." the goddess told, suddenly interjecting the conversation, appearing near the duo without the typical fanfare of chimes and light.
A sigh. "Quiet the entrance."
"I am Ilunabar, goddess of beauty, dreams, stories, colors, aesthetic, flowers, jewelry, and everything nice and worthwhile, really." she jested, taking the time of her joke to analyze the demi-goddess who had summoned her. "And you are that crow witch that I noticed in some dream or another, I suspected you were divine, but I have to say the scent of Vestec is a surprise, you don't feel like the typical chaos child."
"It... It actually worked. Wait, you saw my dreams?"
"I cannot see the dreams of gods and demi-gods, so do not worry, I did not spy your psyche nor discovered your hiddenmost secrets. she smirked softly "But you left quite an impression with a handful of mortals, and I observed some of those dreams and nightmares and connected the dots. It is how I keep an eye out on all the businesses in this world, that and mirrors."
"Speaking of mortals, this one is quite happy to see you again."
The goddess turned slightly to face the mortal that had just spoken, initially, she had assumed it was just another mortal man like the other two she sensed in the area, but upon closer inspection, she could feel something different. She noticed the staff the mortal carried and quickly connected the hint to the smug face.
"Ah, you are alive." she said casually. "That is a bit of a surprise, considering all the people that decided to attend to the Slap the Enas day."
Amartía shrugged. "Vestec couldn't stand to lose his beloved son forever. Love conquers all."
"What did he do to Xerxes anyways? It's like he scooped the city clean from the ground."
"He turned my fucking city into an arena." he breathed, losing his mannerly tone for a moment.
"Language."
He quickly recomposed himself. "It needed to be cleaned anyway. Place was filthy."
"Ah, so he stole the city? Interesting, I thought it had just been vaporized." the goddess pondered.
"Well, he can have it. The first and last gift he'll ever receive from Amartía."
"So, I take it was your plan to summon me? Considering the witch girl here did not even know who I was..." the goddess stopped and felt like asking the demi-goddess something, but first, she wanted to hear more from Amartía.
Amartía flashed Ilunabar a brilliant smile. "Indeed it was I. You were the only divine I knew that I actually desired to break words with. I seek both your knowledge and guidance, if you would so graciously provide."
The goddess couldn't help but half smirk "Well, we all know how that ended last time, right? The whole do not ally with Logos you are going to make a whole lot of enemies and turn allies into enemies venture?" she sighed heavily and placed a hand on her face.
"I might be an immortal being, but there are a hundred thousand mortals worth more of my time than Old Amartía. The question then becomes, do you feel like you have changed?
"Amartía is dead." he simply stated.
"Let us see if that is so, old habits die hard, no?" Ilunabar turned away from Amartía to face Helvana "Did this man try to intimidate, torment or confuse you for no apparent reason?"
"He did poke his nose in my business." She scoffed. "But whether he wanted to or not, he helped me sort out my feelings. And he didn't hurt my companions either. He did eat my dinner while I was away though."
Amartía maintained an innocent smile, content with just watching from his perch in the palm of his hand
"I see..." she didn't expect to have to think about this right now, her heart twisted between her natural quest to influence the most she could and her previous distaste of everything Amartía did wrong. In the end, euphemism would not do, she would need to be rough.
"You see, this whole plight, all this ruin, all of this initially started with something simple. Amartía needed something from a goddess, and the path he took was to extort it by kidnapping one of her friends... The irony being, of course, that he could have likely got what he wanted without making an unnecessary amount of enemies. Stories such as these repeated themselves over and over until we arrived in this situation." she explained. "So you, person whose name I have yet to ask, understand why I feel a bit doubtful about this investment? Do you feel like this person who stands by our side is not the same person that built his own terrible fate?"
"Hmph, I wouldn't know, really. I don't like his character, but I'm very young, you see? Vestec didn't tell me anything about my brothers when I was born, so I don't know what he did to deserve punishment."
Amartía began counting off with is fingers. "Kidnapping, extortion, abuse, murder-" he paused. "I suppose mass mortal-experimentation and transmutation can be considered a crime?" he emphasized the last part by gesturing towards the barren landscape around them.
He turned to the goddess. "I understand your concern Ilunabar, Amartía's..."methods" were rather incongruous and aberrant. But I think my actions tonight were both rather admirable and good showing of "my" new methodology."
"The real problem was not so much the fact they lacked moral but, instead, that they never achieved anything, or worse, often leading to a lesser result than a more clean method." The goddess told, brooding, before sighing.
"Oh well. What did you want from me anyway? How do you think I can help you in your situation?"
The mortal minced no words. "I want you to look within me, and tell me whether or not any divine power remains to be seen."
"Oh, I see." the goddess clapped her hands and brightened up. "There are many methods to analyze that, the issue starts with finding one that can not potentially kill you or lightly hurt me."
"I'd prefer a rather painless method if any."
"Yeah, that kills off some possible paths for sure. Ideally, we would need a god of souls here, but the ones who knew that are either dead or are Astarte. On the same note, using the path of the mind could also work, but again, no gods of mind. I could dabble in those territories, but you seem to want something less risky..."
The goddess pondered. "Well... I could try to guide you in your dreams. You are so weakened that surely the Raka's manipulations can take hold of you. I just need some source of chaotic energy, so I can see how you react to that..."
Amartía turned and smirked at Helvana. "Well, we have our "chaotic energy" right here."
"..." She looked at Amartía quizzically. "You want some of my powers?"
"Well, if you could be so kind to help your little helpless brother. I guess just punching some energy into his face would be too rough... Say, you are a master of curses right? That could work here."
"Older brother." he corrected.
"What is the formal rule for rebirth? I always assumed it sent you back, but if you want, you can be the helpless older brother, if that is your thing."
Amartía shrugged. "I'll have to add that to the list."
"Well, if a curse'll do the trick..." She glared at him. For Helvana nothing more was needed to create a curse. "That should do it."
A moment passed.
"As entrancing as your glare was, sister, are you sure you were successful in cursing me?"
"I can curse anything with a thought. This one just so happens to have catch." She smiled smugly. "Why don't you try being...your usual self?"
The mortal snickered. "It seems the chaos spawn has yet to fully grasp her power. I feel no different."
A sudden gust of wind blew. It wasn't particularly strong, but embers from the campfire were taken away by it. One of them landed on Amartía's robes and it quickly started burning, too quickly in fact.
"Oh you bitch!" he growled as he frantically attempted to pat the flames out.
He glared at the divine beings. "Do you not see me burning?!"
With a sigh, Helvana stood up, formed a clump of darkness in her hand and threw it at his burning garments, putting the fire out instantly. "I'm sorry, I thought you said you didn't feel anything?" She said with the same smug smile.
Amartía had collapsed to the ground. "Oh...you think...you're funny?" he panted. "Just wait, I'll show you funny."
"Don't bother, there's nothing you can do against me, big brother. As thankful as I am for your assistance regarding my troubles, the way you approached them were very unpleasant. And so, whenever you act like that again the world will conspire against you. It won't be anything big, but it'll surely teach your place."
He tried to get to his feet, but only succeeded in creating another ache for himself by falling again. "Fuck you, Helvana, I'll play with you another day." he growled.
"Language!"
Amartía glared at the demi-goddess before turning to Illunabar with a forced smile. "Does that satisfy the "chaotic" requirement?" he said in a singsong voice.
The goddess smiled "As amusing as it would be to say it is not and that more curses are necessary, it actually is enough for me to work with." staring at Amartía intensely, with a gaze that clearly focused on this deeper than the mundane plane, her smile gained hints of a smirk. "It was in Vestec's plane, the Realm of Madness, that you had your powers stripped away, right?"
A frown. "That is correct."
She hummed "Ah, how useful~ Well, I can already sense some sort of godhood left in you, truly, you are not a simple mortal, but a god in a fleshy shell, of course, simply breaking the shell won't result in the god breaking away, if anything, it would be more like spilling all over the place in a mess of godly gore. I would like some more time to pinpoint a few factors though, not a godly time of a few years, just a day, a mortal can wait for that, no?"
Amartía seemed to vibrate in place, his excitement clearly shown in his features. The notion of godhood lit a fire of ambition within him. "A day? I can wait a day. Do what you must." he glanced at the demi-goddess. " I'll pass the time with Helvana."
"Oh? Some more time for bonding? As long as you behave yourself everything'll be absolutely fine."
Amartía grinned. "I'll just be myself."
"Are you sure you want to? If you keep up being yourself you'll just end up hurting yourself, you know? But you don't need to worry too much. This curse'll only last a few days."
"On second thought, I'll just keep to myself. We've done enough bonding to last us a lifetime."
"So, once you are back to it, what is your plan? Seems like even your left hand has left in her own quest and I doubt Xerxes can be scavenged. Do you plan to want to start yet another empire?"
"Yes I do. Xerxes may be dead but Amestris lives on." Amartía chuckled. "Although, I don't plan on returning as Amartía, or in this useless fleshy shell."
"And what is the overall idea for the area, if I may ask?" she crossed her arms. "Personally, I think a development plan would be more interesting and successful than the overextension and resource drainage caused by a quest of world domination."
The mortal said not a word.
"Well, we will see how it goes. The world is no longer the same as the one in which the original Xerxes was born. A great many people have figured out the art of metal smelting, populations are booming with the rise of agriculture and society is now increasingly complex and, at least while the food and metal last, very stable. They will crack eventually, bronze is too hard to make and bound to unreliable trade and they have no idea how much their methods of farming is damaging the land, it makes me wonder if no other god realize that, or just think it is a natural step.
"That is, in fact, a constant issue with societies created by godly influence. Godly sensibilities are not the same as mortal ones, and since we are creating mortal empires for mortal purposes, it is not hard to see why raw godly logic does not work too well. Oh well, I am speaking too much, you should really think about the metal and food situation though, solving that would give Amestris an upper hand without needing to mutilate it with divine craft."
"I will give it much thought, Ilunabar." he acknowledged with a yawn. 'Unfortuantly, this mortal body begs for rest. I suppose I'll see you soon?"
The goddess nodded. "Very soon." It was her that had induced Amartía's tiredness, it would be so much easier to study his situation if he was in her territory, furthermore, the goddess had the interest in knowing more about the mysterious witch-goddess and she knew the once-Enas of Amestris well enough to know talking too much near his ears was not wise.
"Wonderful." the mortal murmured as he lay prone with his back to the fire. A single sigh of contentment escaped his lips before his mind dragged him into the oblivion of sleep.
"But what about you, witch girl? I have been curious about you for a while, I had seen you in mortal dreams, but not in person. I now know your name is Helvana and that you, like Amartía, is a child of Vestec... Yet I do feel something else, do you have some other deity in your ancestry?"
"Julkolfyr is my other parent. He infected Vestec with his own essence and when he expelled it I was born. I inherited Julkolfyr's affinity with darkness."
"Julkolfyr..." this made the goddess react in a more serious tone from before, staring at the witch from under her hood with a newfound doubt. "I wonder if you are the surge of dark essence I felt... the timing is a bit off though..." she told under her breath, before shifting to her normal tone "But above all, I am baffled, you are very much unlike him and Vestec, I mean, no offense to your second father, but he was master in the art of boredom, his holy land used to be just some dusty dark crater before I took over the abandoned area and made it nice and pretty. Meanwhile, you seem to be someone interesting and you even got a nice outfit."
"No offense taken. I didn't get to meet Julkolfyr after I was born, so I don't have any attachments to him." She said expressionless, but quickly put up a smile in response to the compliment. "And thanks. The dress belongued the late mother of the boys accompanying me, the cloak was all me though. A compliment like that coming from you must mean I have an eye for this." She said with pride. "What is this surge of darkness you mentioned, though? I don't remember feeling anything, so it must've happened before I was born."
"Hmmm, preferably as you are born because I would much rather have you be that surge." Ilunabar sighed. "But yes, as I said, I took over Julkolfyr's old divine home, and while it is fully my home now, it is still somewhat connected and sensible to him... If that was not you, it could have been something else related to that god, maybe even a sibling of yours, in a sense."
"I see, a sibling, huh? I don't feel anything right now either, and though I don't care about Julkolfyr this surge interests me..." She held her chin pensive for a moment then shrugged. "Well, I'll keep this in the back of my head, maybe someday I'll find out what it was, but if a full fledged goddess doesn't know what caused it then there's not much I can do."
Ilunabar nodded "Well, stay safe if you ever get to cross the source of that." the goddess sighed, "That aside, I cannot help but feel curious, I can tell the boys are from far away, what brought you all the way to Xerxes?"
"I'm exploring the world with them, you could say I adopted them. We were heading to Alefpria, I was going to make a detour when we got close to Xerxes, but I though something was off so I came to find out what it was. I didn't expect to find a crater though."
"At least you did not travel half a world to visit Xerxes, that would have made this situation a whole lot more annoying." the goddess discretely glanced westward for a moment, towards Alefpria. "Pardon my curiosity, but why exactly are you heading to Lifprasil's city?"
"Is that the name of the ruler there? I was just going there to know the city, no reason in particular. Vestec asked whether I wanted to know all about the world or learn myself. I chose the later. So now I'm going on a journey to learn about the world, the people in it, everything really."
"You did huh? A wise decision really... well, actually maybe not, as it does expose you to many dangers, but it is surely the option that brings the most unique experiences." the goddess smiled but then shifted into a more uncomfortable expression. "Alefpria is a wondrous place, a great many designs of mine decorate its streets, furthermore life is good there and the empire is fair. All that said, you might not want to expose yourself too much, or Lifprasil might want to add you to his arsenal of divine beings and weapons. You two do not have matching personalities so I doubt he could convince you directly, but he is the god of emotions, the whole town being under his influence, so, say, your two human companions would be quite susceptible to recruitment."
Helvana flashed a serious expression when Lloyd and Gwyn were mentioned. "And for what reason would he want two human boys? They're nothing special, even more so to a man with an arsenal of divine beings."
"Well, if done intentionally, because you would protect them. There is the possibility it would be unintentional, just a side effect of his power."
"I see." Her serious expression shifted into a cold one. "If he dares to charm them he'll be disappointed, even if I do end up hating myself for it. I suppose we're not very different in our...charisma."
The goddess crossed her arms and tilted her head, "It is a curious topic, to say the least. I talked with Lifprasil about it at once, he wanted to rely on his power to manipulate emotions, and I reminded him that he would need to rule over people who lived way beyond the range of his powers." she told.
"And while I do think it was wise to say that, and I wish I had said the same to Amartía, I cannot help but feel I missed something, after all, even not counting his natural emotional manipulation, people would not hear Lifprasil equally if he exchanged his gentle voice for a loud and stuttering one, or if instead of an elegant dress and jewels he wore a tunic that smells like a pigpen..."
"Ah but I digress. Let me spare you of my senseless brooding." the goddess suddenly straightened up her posture and looked directly at Helvana again. "Furthermore, I should stop talking about Lifprasil so much. When you arrive at Alefpria, it will be Lifprasil all day, all night, you will not be able to order a glass of water without hearing about how he is great or something." she snickered.
"But since you are going to Alefpria... hmmm..." the goddess tapped her chin. "Say, I do not want to stop that wonderful discover the world by yourself quest of yours, however, while you do not want information, do you mind gifts?"
"Gifts? You'd be willing to favor me? Did I interest you that much?" She said with a smug smile. While she wasn't exactly being respectful, she knew the weight a deity's favor could have.
"I must tell you that my standard for gift giving is very low, any random vagrant can get one, even Amartía got a few!" she teased, before raising her hand towards the many "nests" of Helvana's crows. The many bits of glass and metal the birds collected started to gently move towards the goddess.
"Feels mean to confiscate the collection of such smart animals, but I think it adds value to the piece." she calmly said, the metals and glass forming a ring near the goddess' finger before slowly fusing together into a large ring shape.
When the process was done, the goddess had a mirrored bracelet on her hand. "This has been made to not reflect Galbar and its people, as such, without the land and atmosphere, the mirror will always show the night sky and the moons." she explained while handing the demi-goddess the jewelry.
A gasp got stuck in Helvana's throat as she looked at the bracelet. Taking it in her hands, she began to turn it in different angles to see all it had to show. Countless bright spots of stars and the several moons of Galbar could be seen in detail when looking from the right spot. "This is...beautiful..." She finally voiced her thoughts as she put on the bracelet on her left wrist. Even after a while her curiosity kept pushing her to look for more details, just like a child with a new toy.
"You really are the goddess of beauty... I've never seen anything like this. Even looking at the sky at night is not the same."
"Ah, glad to see you can appreciate such things, though I was pretty confident in this was the sort of gift you would like." the goddess said, a bit too happy with the comment from the demi-goddess, recognition of her work was a rarity in the divine family, and without knowing Helvana had easily manipulated the goddess.
"I cannot give much more right now without spoiling you, but should you ever need something of the sort again, you know who to summon."
"Really? You'll answer my summons again?" Helvana asked in surprise. "I don't want to rely on anyone other than myself, but...I guess divine intervention might be the only solution to some problems. Thank you, Ilunabar, if I ever need your help I'll ask."
Something crossed her mind just then. Something that still worried her. "Say, you can see other people's dreams, right? Can you influence them too?"
The goddess couldn't help but smirk, considering how manipulation of dreams would be an understatement to what she can do in her own plane "Absolutely, though I do not do that without a reasonable motivation, as I do enjoy seeing the natural paths mortalkind takes."
"Would you mind doing me a favor then? There's a family of Hain I met a few days ago. They lost a member of their family to a Star-Fiend while I was there. Can you make sure they have good dreams at least?"
"Hmmmm" the goddess looked up and looked a bit divided at the request. "I do not like to assert values such as good and bad to dreams and it goes a bit against how I work... but... well, since you asked nicely, I guess I could do it this one time."
Helvana flashed a genuine smile. "Thank you, I couldn't do anymore than I had already. I truly owe you for this."
"I understand the frustration, even for a demi-god, there was not much that could have been done during the invasion of the Realta." the goddess sighed. "I myself wish I could have done more, but despite we both being gods, there was no way I could face Logos."
"Logos? Is he the one that sent those things? When did this invasion happen?"
"Did it happen before you were born? So the Realta stayed behind and attacked even after the invasion was over?" this made Ilunabar perplexed. Her eyes raced around as she tried to perceive any oddity. Finally, she gave up, she was too focused on Amartía to also try this. It was clear though, that Helvana did not understand the full picture.
"It was a single day yet the devastation was immense, as it targeted the entire world." the goddess looked back at Helvana, her face increasingly bitter. "Most gods see mortals as merely a tool, something that has value only as means to an end. Logos is the logical apex of that, he sees himself as the ruler of this universe, and all in it, be it mortal, demi-god or god, are its subjects. Not being able to cooperate with the other gods, he exiled himself from Galbar eons ago, but recently he returned, and saw himself fit to commit atrocities for the sake of his ineffectual view of purity and perfection."
"I see." She spoke in a cold tone. "If only I could stand up to a god... I'd make Logos pay dearly for this. Could Vestec do anything to him?"
"Not alone, no. But with the cooperation of many other siblings. It is the reason why Xerxes is gone, Amartía was allied with Logos in his quest for twisted purification... Do not take it too hard on him though, he was being an idiot and plenty told him so." the goddess then tilted her head. "And there is just so much damage you can do to Logos before new problems raise their ugly heads. Vestec himself also sent hordes of chaotic beings to torment civilization."
"I don't spread chaos indiscriminately like that. The one time I did it was for revenge of sorts and I ended up regretting it a bit." She said while looking away from the goddess. "I can't risk the safety of the boys too. As much as I'd like to help being a nuisance to Logos, I won't do it." She yawned loudly while not bothering to cover her mouth. "Sorry, this conversation dragged for longer than I expected."
"Do not be silly, I am not blind, I can tell the difference between you and Vestec. And furthermore, I do not expect or want you to get involved with this. Stay out of the intrigues of gods for as long as you can."
"I plan to do that, really. Anyways, I guess it's about time for me to sleep." She yawned again, this time covering her mouth. "Thanks again for everything. I look forward to seeing you again."
"I too, hope to see you again. Stay safe while on your journey, and if you find anything odd regarding your father, please contact me." a gust of wind blew across the camp and with it, the goddess was gone.
Taking a deep breath, Helvana stood up. Forming a lump of darkness in her hands, she threw it at the bonfire to put it out as per usual.
Before she went to sleep, however, she looked at her sleeping brother. As much of a nuisance as he was, he was a mortal and had nothing but the clothes on him to ward off the cold and, sure enough, the night chill got to him now that the bonfire was out.
"I guess I should do at least this much." She took off her feathered cloak and placed it over Amartía like a blanket.
"Now then." With that out of the way, Helvana headed towards Frederic. She carefully got under his wing and next to the soundly sleeping brothers. She hugged Gwyn, sandwiching him against Lloyd, and smiled softly before nodding off.
The sound of bells and chimes echoed on the dream. Suddenly, Ilunabar was sitting near Amartía in his palace.
"Nostalgia for Xerxes, eh?" she looked around. "It has been a long time since it looked this nice."
Amartía reclined elegantly in his jewel encrusted throne. "Yes, I cannot say I don't miss the old days."
She smiled. "It was quite a sight, back then, the aesthetic of the region was curious, to say the least, shame so much of it was long lost before any other village could dream of imitating the style." Not that it mattered to the goddess, no info was lost to her about Xerxes.
"Nevertheless, about what you requested me, well, I have noticed some divinity left in you." she explained. "It seems recoverable."
The young man bolted forward in his seat, his excitement at the news almost uncontainable. If it hadn't been for Ilunabar's presence he likely would have awoken then and there.
"So my days of mortality are numbered." he sighed in euphoria.
"I made a few notes on the situation of your soul, I have to say, I am no specialist on that area yet, but upon actually looking into those matters, it was not as complex as I thought, my experience with Astarte helped. I left them with your real body." The copy of them, that is, the goddess kept the original for herself, and, since it would not hurt anyone, the soul probe was a bit lasting, ready to capture some more information that Ilunabar required on the matters of Chaos.
"Hopefully those will keep whoever helps you to become divine again from doing a poor job. Considering your situation, I think you should try something with Jvan, I do not think she will help after your treason, but she has rogue avatars. Also, Lazarus, I do not know why you two parted ways, but I doubt she would not take this opportunity." she then approached the former demi-god. "Just stay alert, both are likely to pry beyond what you request. Stand your ground and do not let the dangling bait of godhood lead you into shady deals."
Amartía snorted at the mention of "shady deals", his experience in the field was second to none.
"Speaking of which, Ilunabar, what do you stand to gain from all this? I mean no disrespect, and I am certainly grateful for your help, yet nothing is ever simply given. Everything has a price."
"Hah, if I did not know it was you, that worldview would have undoubtedly revealed it, dearheart. It is just so 'Amartía', truly fascinating." The goddess laughed. "Let me share two facts. First, I am not a self-serving goddess. Second, I am incredibly generous. My job is to spread beauty across the universe, I do not need a prize, if I help someone to build a palace, the reward is seeing the palace complete. I liked some of your work on Xerxes and I think I need to be more active in the domain of Chaos. There is no further intention. Unless you succumb again to pathetic failure, I will have got exactly what I wanted from this."
"That's why I'm puzzled by you, Ilunabar. Of all the divine I've met, only you seem to do what you do out of a sense of duty. I don't understand the appeal."
Amartía rose from his throne and strained his silken robes, a nod to a forgotten past.
"Then we have nothing more to discuss?"
"Not at the moment. I will leave you with your dreams now. Good luck on all that will come after this, knowing how things are, you will probably need a good serving of it."
"Next time we meet, Illunabar, we'll be on equal footing."
Ilunabar smiled widely "Right... Uhm, see you there then! Farewell." with another echo of bells and chimes, she disappeared from the dream.
When Helvana woke up the next day, she opened her eyes to see that she was alone under Frederic's wing. She could hear wood cracking on the bonfire and the smell of cooked meat tickled her nose. She stood up and walked towards the smell while covering her mouth from a yawn still a little sleepy.
"Morning..."
"Finally up, huh?"
"Good morning, Helvana."
"Come here, food's almost ready."
Lloyd and Gwyn greeted her with smiles painted on their faces.
Beside the usual pair, a third man was sitting near the fire as well, not too far from the brothers. It took Helvana a moment to remember what happened last night. "Oh, right, you're still here. You didn't do anything funny while I was sleeping, right?"
The robed man downed a bronze goblet of mysterious contents and snorted.
"If I had, you wouldn't have awoken to find me still here. I'd have been long gone."
He turned to the youngest of brothers and held his goblet out to him.
"Fill my cup up again."
"Sure." Gwyn replied picking up a bottle and heading over to Amartía to fill up the goblet.
"You sure got friendly already." She said while sitting down between Lloyd and Amartía. "And in case you forgot about the birds, they wouldn't let you get away if you did do something."
Amartía glanced at the birds disdainfully. "Don't remind me, filthy fiends."
"Don't badmouth them. Or do you want to get burned again?"
"Don't be too harsh on him, Hel. We just talked a bit."
"Ah yes, me and the boys got to know each other while you slept. They're quite interesting."
"We did get surprised when we saw him, though. But Frederic was alright with him, so we talked a bit."
"By the way, where's the Hairball?" Helvana asked, only now noticing the absence of the Fiberling.
"It's hiding with Frederic. When we saw Amartía it just jumped off of me and ran away."
Amartía adjusted the feather cloak upon his shoulders. "Speaking of which, Helvana, I still require your service, if you'll so graciously impart."
"Hmm? What's that?" She asked in an uninterested tone.
The man brandished an inscribed parchment. "I require a transport to the realm of Jvan. The next leg of my journey continues there."
"And where is that? If it's too much out of the way to Alefpria I can't help."
"From what I can gather from these notes, the next stop is a place called Metrea, just south-east of Alefpria."
"If it's past Alefpria I can't do it. Unless you want to stick with us for our tour."
"Don't be like that, Hel. A few days going around it won't hurt, right?"
"I guess, but... I don't want to be near him for that long." She didn't voice her thoughts, instead she just puffed a rather irritated sigh.
"Isn't it okay, Helvana?"
"Ugh, fine. We'll take him there." Helvana gave into the pressure, as usual.
Amartía flashed the boy's and Helvana an excellent smile. "I truly appreciate your generosity, Helvana, Lloyd and Gwyn. I'll be sure to repay you in kind."
"Of course you will." She said sarcastically.
"Food's just about ready. Help yourselves, people." Lloyd said taking a piece of meat for himself.
While the four of them ate, Helvana further explained what happened in the past night, mainly about what happened after Amartía fell asleep. The star bracelet proved to be just as, if not more, impressive to the brothers than it was to Helvana, taking up a few minutes for them to stop ogling it.
Amartía sneered. "Of what use is that gift to you?"
"To look pretty, of course. Somethings are fine just as that."
"You should be the last divine being alive worrying about aesthetic, that with your disgusting patronism of the corvus."
"Are you sure you want to be rude like that? You're still under the influence of my curse, after all."
"Careful sister, I may be mortal, yet my words can still destroy your world."
Helvana leered at Amartía. "You sure are daring for someone that's covered in my power."
"What does he mean, Helvana?" Gwyn asked, curious about Amartía's words.
"I'll explain it after we drop our little passenger."
"Yes as much as I would love to see the detestable confessions of divine groveling before a mere mortal, we really must get going." Amartía cooed as he stood.
Loose earth shifted under his sandal, and the man was nearly sent sprawling back into the dirt. Only the leverage of his staff saved him from his fate.
"How much longer do you intend to keep this curse up, because as I said before, I do plan on repaying you?"
"I already told you it'll last a few days. You already know what triggers its effects, so just work around it." She said while standing up herself and putting out the fire.
"I'll get our things ready then." Lloyd, who kept quiet until now, said while getting up too.
Amartía grabbed the long since replenished goblet and with a flash of red energy downed it's now alcoholic contents.
"Call me when everything has been arranged." He grumbled as he crushed the bronze container an set off for the edge of the basin.
With all said and done, Helvana, Lloyd and Gwyn packed their things and departed for Metera with Amartía in tow.
One week after leaving the Hain village, Helvana notices something strange. They should be approaching Xerxes, but she can't feel it at all. After being convinced by Lloyd to check it out, Helvana orders Frederic to keep going towards it.
They find only a crater and go in to see if there's anything left at all. Helvana notices it was Vestec's doing, but she doesn't know what he did exactly. Since it's getting dark they decide to set camp at the crater.
Helvana feels uncomfortable being there and leaves to hunt on her own while the brothers eat dinner alone.
A while later she returns with some game to see that someone else's waiting by the campfire. She tries to threaten him to leave, but he won't budge and even annoys Helvana while he's at it. The man introduces himself as Amartía, her brother, and now a mortal.
Helvana calms down a bit upon learning that and sits by the fire as well to eat and talk with him. Amartía asks about the brothers and Helvana explains the situation. He digs deeper and touches a sensitive topic that Helvana was struggling with. Turns out she's been unwillingly cursing people she likes into liking her. She's genuinely sad about it, being responsible for what happened to Lloyd, Gwyn and even Manna.
Amartía eventually convinces Helvana to talk it out with the brothers and asks for a prayer for Ilunabar as "payment". She does so badly as it's her first time attempting to summon a deity, but Ilunabar still replies and manifests before them. She recognizes Helvana through a handful of dreams she's been seeing lately.
She also recognizes Amartía and is surprised he's still alive after what happened, upon which Helvana asked what happened to Xerxes. Amartía simply states that Vestec turned into an arena, being clearly upset about it. He then shrugs it off and asks a favor for Ilunabar, but she's not inclined to do so given his past record. He says that's all behind him now and Ilunabar asks Helvana if that's true. Helvana plays innocent saying that she doesn't really know since she never heard of him before and takes his side saying that, despite his rude ways, he did help her with her problem.
Amartía accepts that his past deeds were aberrant and that his helping Helvana was proof that he was a better person now. Ilunabar is not exactly pleased about it, but concedes in the end and agrees to help. Amartía asks her to see if he still has any divinity in him. After a few moments of pondering how to achieve it, she says she can guide him through his dreams, but she'd need some Chaos energy to see how he'd react. Helvana then does her thing and curses Amartía, but he's doubtful of it working and mocks Helvana. He's promptly burned by a stray ember from the campfire and accepts that it works. (Note: this curse causes misfortune upon being triggered by Amartía's...personality, I guess, seems like the best term to describe it.)
Exhausted from the panic caused by the fire, and also by Ilunabar's influence, Martía falls asleep. With him out of the way, she turns her attention to Helvana, asking about her other parent, if she has one. Upon learning that It's Julkolfyr, she wonders if Helvana is the cause of a surge of darkness she felt, but dismisses it as the them of occurrences don't match. She then compliments Helvana for not being like her parents and brother. Helvana feels proud about it, but the part about a surge of darkness caught her interest and asks about it. Ilunabar doesn't know much herself, but says that it could be related to Julkolfyr and maybe even a sibling. Helvana wonders about it, but decides to ignore it for now since she has no idea.
Ilunabar then asks what brought Helvana and the brothers to Xerxes. She explains what happened to them and that she's exploring the world to learn about it. She also says that her next stop would be Alefpria and Ilunabar promotes the city's beauty, but warns her about Lifprasil, saying that he could try to add her to his ranks and that he could charm the brothers into serving him, even if unintentionally. Helvana isn't pleased with the mere thought of it and claims that if he does something like that she'd make him pay for it, even if she endss up hating herself for it. Ilunabar further comments that Lifprasil relies on his powers to manipulate emotion more than anything else, but states that he does have a natural charisma.
Ilunabar then quickly changes the subject and offers a gift to Helvana, to which she accepts. Ilunabar makes a mirrored bracelet from stray pieces of glass and metal that Helvana's crows gathered over time. The bracelet reflects the stars and moons of Galbar without showing the planet itself and the atmosphere, giving it a permanent starry look. Helvana is thoroughly amazed by the gift and compliments the goddess for how beautiful it is and puts it on.
Pleased by the compliment, Ilunabar says that she can't give Helvana more than this, but she'll answer to her prayers again if needed. Helvana is glad about it and immediatelly asks for a favor from the goddess. She asks her to give good dreams to Manna and Safin and, though Ilunabar isn't very fond of the idea, accepts it.
While on the subject about Manna and Safin's sircumstances, Ilunabar explains to Helvana about the Realta and the Blinding Purge. This turns Logos into Helvana's Nº1 enemy and is displeased by the fact she can't stand against him. She asks if Vestec can oppose Logos and Ilunabar says that he can't do it on his on and proceeds to reveal that Amartía himself was allied with Logos before losing his godhood, brushes it off as just Amartía being Amartía. She also says that Helvana can, in fact, do something against Logos: spread Chaos like her father does. The idea doesn't please Helvana at all and she's reminded of what she did to the brothers' village.
Helvana starts to feel sleepy and before Ilunabar leaves, she advises Helvana to stay out of the intrigue of the gods for as long as she can, to which Helvana replies saying that's exactly what she wanted to do. Helvana says that she looks forward to their next meeting and the goddess leaves. before Helvana goes to bed, though, she uses her feathered cloak to cover Amartía for the night.
Meanwhile Ilunabar visits Amartá's dream. She can indeed feel a shred of divinity inside Amartía and says that it may be recoverable. She passes all she learned about his soul to Amartía while keeping a "probe" on him to further monitor anything else she might want from the Chaos Domain. She further instructs him to seek help from Jvan's Avatars or Lazarus and how to find them and warns him to not lose himself over his quest to retrive his divinity.
With Ilunabar's part on the business done, Amartía asks what she wants in return, but she simply says that seeing him reclaim his divinity is enough of a reward. With nothing else to discuss, Amartía dismisses Ilunabar, saying that the next time they meet they'll be in equal footing.
Next morning Helvana wakes up to the smell of cooked meat and heads over to the campfire. She's reminded that Amartía's still around and sits down with him and the brothers. The three of them had talked while she was asleep and seemed friendly to each other.
Amartía then asks Helvana to take him to Metera. She initially refuses, but Lloyd and Gwyn help convinse her to do it. Amartía thanks her and claims that he'll return the favor one day.
While they eat, Helvana tells the three what happened between her and Ilunabar while omiting sertain important parts. Helvana and Amartía have a little fight where he hints to what she did to the brothers. Gwyn is curious and asks what he means, but Helvana dismisses it saying she'll explain it when they drop Amartía off.
After that they pack their things and depart to Metera
And then Jvan created the sun to light up her blunt.
Ilunabar: No Might spent 1 freepoint spent on the soul examination.
I think I'll do just that then. Need to finish up the post I'm working on though, should be up later today.
I... I finally managed to post it... Server wouldn't stay alive for more than 10 seconds yesterday and got interrupted all the time. But anyways, here it is: Hel & Co go to Xerxes.
@Muttonhawk Wew, I wasn't going to have Hel fight him, but thanks for the tip. She'd probably feel this much power and it might make her steer away, actually. I'll give it some thought.
@BBeast@Muttonhawk Oh yeah, I forgot that happened at the Hilt. Hel & Co might visit the place before going to Alefpria, better read that post again just to be safe.
Server malfunctioned and posted the same thing twice. Since I don't know how to delete posts I'll just turn this one into something productive.
Can anyone give me some info about the Hilt? I read that it has some waterfalls, the sword itself seems to be hollow at the handle as described in its creation post and Hain live in the edges of the valley. Is there anything else to it?
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