Of Gods and Ends - 3 of 3
Dennen clasped the rail that separated him from several hundred feet of empty air and leaned out to draw in a deep lungful of the fresh air. A short distance off he could see Cetelian, that city that was a series of stone structures sprawling along the coastline of a large lake. Though it had been born of two huts and a mule it had become the jewel of the lake, and had since grown in both geography and power, largely as a result of Dennen's involvement.
The city had stood for nearly a millennia, built on the bones of the bones of those who had killed to claim the land. Would it stand for another thousand years? Dennen's brow furrowed, he was not so sure anymore.
For the last hundred years Dennen, the God of Deceit, had orchestrated the geopolitical power struggles in the region. Of course to any outside observer it would have appeared to be the normal ebb and flow of warfare and negotiation, with its winners and losers. If one were able to trace a fine enough path through the histories, however, they would find that there was one common, if mysterious, winner. And though it had made him unimaginably rich and influential, and with little of the notoriety that usually accompanied such traits, he could have cared less. What he wanted, the coffers of all the kingdoms in this world could not provide.
Closure. An end
Sondi, Elal, Death, Life... and Khyrs, you're in Cetelian. Do you know?
The God of Deceit had manipulated the last hundred years of history in Cetelian, had set house against house in heroic campaigns that had seen obscene losses for all involved, save for the houses of Cetelian. 50 years prior now, Dennen had orchestrated a three-pronged war against an array of belligerent state actors who had conspired to act together in capturing the jewel of the lake. Internecine fighting among the enemies, a result of Dennen's work, had given the Cete Houses the day. The crippled warlords had retreated badly mauled, and Cetelian had continued to grow. Dennen had a plan, was sowing the seeds of rule that would one day lift Cetelian from the Jewel on the Lake to Capital of the Cete Empire.
He had thought to rule that empire as he had this city, from behind a veil where he could freely float among the humans.
Not anymore, though
Damn it, Sondi? Did you realize what it was you'd been carrying all these years? I'm not ready!
Even now I can feel Khyrs, finding himself, understanding what he's become! His influence on magic grows!
Insanity, thy name is Sondi
If all that was happening was as he suspected, he only hoped that he had enough time. Time could be deceitful.
Sondi watched the God occupied table from where she stood at the bar. Elal had never turned his head, but she knew that he had seen her every move and would remember the same. He was too early, she hadn't expected the convergence to occur within hours of capturing Khyrs in the Shard Universe, she had thought to have days. Thankfully, she had already spent significant time preparing Cal for the role he would play, even if he hadn't realized it until today.
It will have to be enough
Grabbing Cal's elbow, she pulled him along the kitchen until they were in the back alley, where she roughly set him against the rocky surface of the alley wall. He began to speak but Sondi's stare stayed his speech. This had to be serious.
"Don't talk, listen. Don't speak, follow my first rule," she poked him in the ribs, he half chuckled and groaned.
"I am the God of Truth," she removed her hands from his shoulders and stared into his eyes. Cringing, Cal's eyes slowly widened and then he was laughing. "Oh right, Sond, you're the God of Truth and I'm the King of Cetelian," Cal tried to shrug her off.
"Tell me, Cal. Have you ever been with a woman?"
"No."
"Have you ever murdered a man?"
"No."
"Have you ever lied to me?"
"No... but you've never really asked me anything before."
"Oh." Cal put his hands to his mouth and covered his lips, a rosy blush blooming on either side of his fists. He'd not been able to resist the urge to answer her truthfully. "How'd you do that?" He murmured from behind intertwined fingers.
"I'm a God, lard brains. Now listen, my sisters will be here soon and I need your help. We need to get to the lakebed."
Cal was no longer blushing.
They had seen the men, still many kilometers off, gathering atop their horses and filing into ranks. Perhaps an entire lake drying up would cause some alarm, I suppose. They seem too prepared, she observed wryly. She was almost certain Khyrs was in command of this force, his nature often propelling him to control whatever he could touch. Her stride, nor that of her sister, had faltered even slightly at the sight though.
The Sisters Life and Death had known they would not be able to approach subtly, the effects of their particular powers constantly engaged with, and tainting, the environment. The path through this world had been more of a tunnel, affecting everywhere they went. So their search for their siblings this last hundred years, for answers and resolution, had seen them travel through small hamlets or on the outskirts of towns. It was too dangerous to do otherwise, so they did not do so. Only once.
That city was by the water too. Signa. I hadn't meant any of it, how could I know my power would drive the City's Garrison to see enemies in the streets where there were none, only citizens. Those townsfolk in the street, grabbing whatever they could to swing and mutilate each other, joining in with mobs that were doing the same...
Butterflies, the lot of us. And the hurricanes we cause, too.
Sorry Khyrs, I don't have time for these games. You need to show yourself. Maybe if I threaten your precious control...
In the back of her mind, she reached out, had been reaching out since the moment she had seen the soldiers gathering and had believed Khyrs was in charge here. The scrape had started several hundred feet back, a small noise that hissed on the trebly wind riding above the dry lakebed. It had become a scratch that sounded hollow, echoing from some deep, cavernous place far underground. Soon it was a subterranean waterfall, tumbling unseen the earth underneath.
The thundering boom sent a spray of rock a league high into the sky, and announced Dee's guests.
Lee, the optimistic and deadly God of Life, only glanced at the trailing undead Dee had summoned before looking forward again. It was her turn to roll her eyes.
So dramatic, Dee
She giggled.
The horses across the lakebed whinnied, even from this distance, shifting sideways and jostling their riders. The men themselves looked more than a little uncomfortable, but they held position.
Dennan rode up to the line of horsemen, saluted, and lifted his visor. Dee hadn't looked his way. Good. He trusted his power to disguise him among the ether that is in all material things, but he did not want to tempt fate. Or Death, for all the temper and attitude she could have. Turning his head to his second-in-command, a warrior sheathed in metal so that he seemed more machine than man, Dennan reminded him, "Remember what we talked about. My sister is not the most reasonable at times. I know she will suspect that my brother holds the city, that we are his forced subjects. Do not engage her directly, stand ready to repel her undead. I am sure I can convince her that we are not Khyrs' men. And Captain," he continued, "keep the men on the battlefield."
He did not need to say anything else more, it seemed that men would die today on this lakebed, if needed. But his men were beyond reproach in their loyalty, and his second-in-command was no exception. The metal man snapped a salute, turned, and walked off.
If I'm right, and lucky, I can stop her before she loses patience and tears the city apart looking for Khyrs.
Death and domination had struggled eternally, but Deceit did not want this city reduced to a smoldering bin of ash. Cetelian was the jewel of the lake, yes, but it was also the jewel in Dennan's plan. They all needed it, even if they did not and would not accept the fact.
Does Death know about the shard? Is she here for ascension as well, to chase her greatest rival and brother through the halls of the Holds of the Gods?
Death turned her stare upon Dennan and narrowed her eyes. She had seen him, her brother the God of Deceit.
When he trotted out to where the sisters waited, he heard Deaths melodious voice, carried by the wind. A voice he hadn't heard in a hundred years.
"Brother, I see you." Death called out.
"Sister, you are seen." Deceit called back, and dismounted.
How could I have missed his essence, it is so beautiful. It puts shame to the mortal he inhabits. He is not Dominated
He turned to Life, "Sister, I see you," he intoned.
She tilted her head, curls bouncing "Brother, you are seen."
Sondi had cleared the massive gates and made her way, faster than thought, towards the clearing where undead faced horsemen, and where two sisters and a brother were reuniting. The crystal shard she carried in a hidden pocket glowed warmly against her chest.
Hurry up, catch up Cal.
She stopped, and was standing among her siblings.
"Brothers. Sisters. I see you all"
The Shard was definitely warmer now.
As one, "You are seen."
When Elal had entered the clearing, five of the Six stood together. It had been a search for two of the siblings, a stolen retirement for one, empire-building for yet another, and the simple truths and joy of human life for Sondi. But this convergence had been inevitable, as death, deceit, memory, life, domination and truth were intricately linked throughout the universes, would inevitably cross paths or overtake one another, and would do so throughout time.
For so long, Elal had remembered the Desolation by the God Khyrs, but he did not know everything, could not. It was his to remember, not to scry, foretell, or prophesy. He would have to find answers on his own, much like the humans he had lived among.
"Where is he, Sondi?" Dennan stared at the God of Truth, his face unreadable but his eyes shining. He had known of Elal's deceit, had left him to the harmless retirement he sought, never revealing himself. But he had missed his brother.
"He's dead." Sondi turned to face him directly.
The scoff that issued from Lee had drawn yet another eye roll from Dee, and turned heads from the rest. "You can't kill a god, Sond. We're immortal. You look great, by the way. Wonderful choice."
"He's here," she tugged at the hidden pocket lining her shirt and revealed a gleaming sharpened sliver of green glass. The Shard Universe. "This killed him."
Dennan interrupted "You killed nothing Sondi. For a God of Truth, you can be ignorant, sister."
Her eyes steeled and the muscles under Sondi's jaw bunched and flexed.
"You set him free!"
Everyone stopped, stared at Dennan. free?
"You carry the last living part of this creation, the universe that we all know here. When you took Khyrs, you didn't kill him, you helped him ascend. Have you not felt it? The place inside where you once could feel all of us more hollow now? And magic itself getting stronger? His is now the only House in magic, and it is slowly reshaping magic in its own image."
No
"No, I killed him," the realization and horror slowly unfolded across her eyes, and she at once seemed small and scared.
Dennan reached his hand out to touch the Shard Universe, but Sondi reflexively snatched it back.
"Sondi, don't you see? We aren't Gods without memories!" This got the attention of the entire divine group.
"What do you remember Elal?"
By now, the humans who had been the companions to Gods had also gathered, and goggled at the scene they beheld. Cal approached Sondi and stood behind her, to her left.
Elal's eyelids lowered slightly, as he scanned the memories of endless time behind. Opening his mind to his siblings, he shares their collective beginning, with no need for words.
We are walking, together. This is the earliest memory. We know each other, but now how. The white is everywhere, and hints of shapes and colors play behind milky glass too far to reach. We do not understand why, but we continue to walk through the void, and we discuss. I can recall... something. A hint, an instinct. I know who you all are, or at least your essence. I name you, drawing the names from a place I do not own, a place not owned by any here. Our walk leads us to a green glass palace. And Khyrs...
"Enough, Elal. We remember the rest," he looked around at his brothers and sisters, "we all remember that. It took me a hundred years to try and understand what we are, but when Sondi captured Khyrs into the Shard, it all made sense." Dennan had begun to pace, as though he were working it out again by himself, without Gods in attendance.
"Sondi, we aren't Gods with no memories. We are new Gods, the Gods of these people. We are their very strongest strengths and flaws, vices and hopes, and we are made manifest by their existence. That palace was ours, and Khyrs destroyed it, trapping us on this planet, forced to take hosts to exert any influence upon the world," Dennan had suspected it for years, had prepared what he would say to his siblings when they finally would again meet. When Sondi revealed herself to draw out Khyrs, and then released him back into the ether, she had provided Dennan the final evidence to support this theory. "We are magic".
"Khyrs is once again ascended, and his influence as the only House has already made its mark on the world. We need balance. We need to assume our roles as their Gods, to answer their petitions and to let the men and women of the world conduct the affairs of the world, with observance to us. Their faith built us and the Palace where the Houses are arrayed, it is for us to only sit the thrones."
Dennan once again reached out for the Shard and this time, Sondi let go. The Crystal Shard Universe was glowing hotly, a deep emerald hued star from down within the crystalline universe lending vibrancy to the green glass.
"Gather, brothers and sisters. Companions, come forward as well," Dennan called out to the humans who were the friends or allies of the Gods.
Cal stepped forward to stand beside Sondi, their hands brushing softly and passing, like strangers in the night. "Cal, I asked you here to become my next Host. Thank you for agreeing to that, but everything's changed. I need you to do something different for me now," She looked up into his eyes, two captured points of blue stolen from the sky, "Cal, I want you to be my High Priest." She stared into his eyes, waiting for his response. When he bowed his head, his fist to his heart, the God of Truth rolled her eyes and poked him in the ribs. "Lard for Brains." Cal blushed.
When Ayvare joined Elal, however, the God of Memory shook his head and looked to Dennan. "You may not have known it, friend, but you were his man all along," He squeezed the Demonologist's shoulder and then dropped his hand down.
"And here I thought I was good company," Ayvare grumbled as he walked toward Dennan, "What, am I to be your Priest now, too?" Dennan grinned and shook his head. "How does Emperor sound? In close council with me, of course." The satisfying silence that returned from Ayvare's slack stare pleased the God of Deceit in a way no gold could supplant.
Circles in circles, the game begins anew. Maybe the empire will be born, after all.
The humans here would be part of the seat of power, part of the God City of Cetelian, Capital of the Cete Empire, the Empire of the Gods. When Dennan beckoned all the Gods, they placed their hands, together, on the Shard. The glow became a shine, then a scream from behind Sondi.
The sheer power that was coursing through Cal and Ayvare exploded from them in streams of glittering light. The screams of the two men matched the shrieks of the Gods themselves as, one by one they streamed into the Crystal Shard Universe, until only Ayvare and Cal were holding the dull, green glass that shone no light, whatsoever. The covenant was sealed.
The underworld denizens, Death's guards, crumbled into dust.
Behind them, a deep rumbling became a loud roar as the earth itself began to heave. Throwing the men to the ground, the earth shook and popped, breaking underneath the city! Cetelian, instead of sinking, began to rise! A shower of boulders flew out from the quaking earth and flew towards Ayvare and Cal, who found themselves imbued with new power. Instinctively, Cal summoned a field of energy to protect them, and Ayvare flung out with his magical senses, scattering incoming rocks before they could reach them.
When the stream of earth subsided, both men were doubled over, panting heavily.
They had stood, side by side, and stared long at the floating city, their home. Cetelian had become so much in so short a time, but this was the most unexpected development either man could have imagined. They had suddenly found Gods, and this floating fortress would be their jewel upon the land. Both Ayvare and Cal had been called to protect the city, to help it prosper as the seat of an empire they had just watched birthed. They knew others would be coming, the representatives of the other Gods, come to claim their place among the councils that would form. The old Demonologist, the silent representative of the God of Deceit, would ensure that balance was struck, and maintained.
Above them, Cetelian shed some rocks that tumbled down out of the floating edifice.
And down, deep below in the crater that had formed under the floating Capital of the Cete Empire, a crystal sat, red and quiet. A new palace of the Gods had been built, and the Houses therein would now start to take shape, to affect the world. Cultures and religions would form in devotion to these Houses, and the Gods themselves would enjoy the faithful, while imprisoned in their service to the same.
But circles turn in circles, and what is now will be then soon enough. And what is to come cannot be wholly known.
Thank you very much for following along with "Of Gods and Ends," an adventure set in the universe of the Cete Empire. The God of Domination has had a lot of time to consolidate his position. His effects on the Crystal Palace, and the Cete Empire, have not yet begun to manifest. What will become of Cetelian, and the budding Cete Empire? Find out in the forthcoming arc "This Shorn Shore".
And if you enjoyed this, keep an eye out for the next project, a community-oriented fantasy where you're part of the story! Stay tuned, and thanks for spending time here.
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