[center]
[h1][color=orange][b][u]Kalmar[/u][/b][/color][/h1]
[color=brown]God of the Hunt[/color] and [color=cyan]Lord of Winter[/color]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/5kR2yJq.png[/img]
[color=6ecff6]Goddess of Family[/color] and [color=6ecff6]Goddess of the Hearth[/color]
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[hr]

It had been fifty-seven years since his encounter with Shengshi and the Angels on Dragon's Foot.

Kalmar stood on the beach of his island in the Hunting Grounds, a wooden pole in his hands, his finger resting on a strange mechanism. From that mechanism came a string, running along the length of the pole before dangling with a hook at the end. A worm had been tied to that hook, still alive. Kalmar looked upon it was an expression of mild sympathy, before swinging the pole back and casting it forward. The mechanism spun as the hook flew, landing far out into the lake with a distant [i]plop![/i]

Now, he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

There was a sudden tug, and Kalmar quickly began reeling the line in. The fish fought and struggled the best it could, but there was no escape, and it was dragged closer and closer to shore, until finally it was out of the water and dangling before Kalmar's eyes. The God pulled the fish from the hook and inspected. It was rather large, with blue scales, and it wiggled desperately in his hands. [color=orange]"Interesting..."[/color] he said aloud.

He threw the creature back into the water.

It was an... unusual method, to say the least. There was no strength required, no cunning, no intellect. Just patience and vigilance. It was an idea that had occurred to him in the time since he returned to his sphere, fifty-seven years ago. There were only so many ways to hunt creatures before one got bored and had to experiment. Satisfied that this was a success, he returned and began the walk home.

All in all, the time had been uneventful. He had returned to his sphere to rest and think, leaving Vendral behind to guard Kalgrun's northwestern corner. Only occasionally would he venture out, for one reason or another. He had trusted that his avatar, his allies, and his guardians would keep him up to date on anything he needed to know, and nothing of note had occurred. Some new creatures had begun to arrive on his land, coming through the gateway. Trolls, griffins, direwolves, as well as some strange winged creatures made of ice and snow. They had all immediately dispersed into lands that they preferred. Meanwhile, some of the animals from Kalmar's sphere had already found their way [i]out[/i], and it would be interesting to see what effect they had on Kalgrun itself.

After much walking, he finally arrived back at his house, and opened the door. He rested the fishing pole against the wall, and looked to the left, at three shelves he had carved by hand. On that shelf were wooden figures, of the various gods, individuals, and beasts he had met. They had all been carved by his own hand - a skill he had ample time to naturally perfect.

The top shelves had the gods. Phystene, Parvus, Ashalla, Asceal, Melantha, Chopstick Eyes, even Narzhak and Shengshi. His gaze hovered over Melantha's carving, and he felt a certain sense of longing. She had not contacted him in all those years, and he couldn't help but worry as to why. But he did not seek her out. He had told her to take as long as he needed, and attempting to force a decision would only serve to kill his chances.

The lower shelf consisted of exceptional beasts. Fenris, Vendral, Gorm, Shynir, the Slippery Soul Serpent, and even the creature that had attacked Fenris.

The middle shelf was of the exceptional individuals he had met. Arryn, Arya, Hermes, Xiaoli, Makab, Eline, Akam, Liana, Karamir. Arryn had kept him up to date with information - some of the news was good, while some was bad - but he had not seen any of them in decades. He wondered what became of them - Karamir in particular. Years had passed and not once had Karamir reached out to him. It was clear now that Kalmar would need to be the one to take initiative, and he would need to do so soon.

There was also the news Arryn gave him. Of Azura and Asceal's shortsighted scheme to 'rescue' souls that were already dead, in the hope of finding a solution that might not exist. Could he even trust Azura's intentions? That was not something he was willing to gamble on. Still, he would need to find more information before acting rashly - he had already seen the damage wrought by Sartravius's armies, and knew the senseless cost of war. He already had a rough idea of the souls were being held, if the Alma's flight patterns were anything to go by, so it would not be hard to investigate the source.

Yet the troubles didn't stop there. Arryn had reported another incident. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of Selka woke up screaming, reeling from various horrors they had seen in their dreams. Kalmar had dreamt once before, and it had been a pleasant experience, so he had to wonder what caused the change.

He sighed as he set himself down on a wooden chair, padded with furs. He had been gone from Galbar long enough, he knew. The isolation had given him time to contemplate, to readjust his stance and his priorities, but he knew it could not have lasted. There was so much to do, and he needed to get started.

Suddenly, he tensed. Someone was trying to enter his sphere...

[hr]

Arae had never been within another god’s sphere before, not counting the times she slept and entered the Palace of Dreams. Before, she hadn’t been sure what to expect from Kalmar’s, but its first impression was a lot more mundane than she had anticipated. Other than the fact that the land she found herself in was a ring atop mountains, the ring itself housed a rather mundane, but also comfortable, forest. 

Still, this was not the time for aimless sightseeing. She had come to meet Kalmar, God of the Hunt, and her journey led her here. She knew this meeting had been long overdue, and hoped to gain some more information about their siblings’ wellbeings and activities. Arae soon found Kalmar’s trail leading to a small wooden house, and Arae was quick to descend towards it, transforming into her human shape as she landed. Raising her hand, she proceeded to knock on the door three times with her middle and index knuckles.

[color=orange]”There you are,”[/color] Kalmar’s voice spoke up behind her.

Arae quickly spun around to face Kalmar, her back against the door, her expression one of shock before sighing as she soon calmed down. “[color=6ecff6]Hello, Kalmar. I am Arae, the Goddess of Family. Honestly, I had been hoping to meet you sooner, but many things had come up, and… well…[/color]” Arae began to trail off. Kalmar studied her with a subtle impatience, but said nothing.

Clearing her throat, Arae quickly gathered her thoughts and continued, “[color=6ecff6]I wish to talk about our siblings, what they have done and such. In particular, Azura, Vakk, and Orvus. I hope you can spare me some time.[/color]” 

Kalmar nodded grimly. [color=orange]”Of course. Let’s go inside,”[/color] he said, gesturing for her to move away from the door.

Arae complied, and followed Kalmar inside the house. She soon found a chair and sat down on it, then proceeded to ask, “[color=6ecff6]I assume you already know about Azura’s plan involving ‘soul crystals’ as an alternative to Katharsos’ cycle of rebirth?[/color]” 

Kalmar sat down on a chair across from her. He waved a hand, and the fireplace was set alight. [color=orange]”I do,”[/color] he said, [color=orange]”and they aren’t an alternative,”[/color] he added quickly. [color=orange]”They don’t replace the cycle, they only stop it.”[/color]

Arae locked her fingers together nervously, already unsettled by what the soul crystals seemed to be doing. “[color=6ecff6]I fear for the souls inside of them. They don’t grow while they’re inside those crystals. They don’t die, either. If they have any sort of awareness left within them, then I fear for their minds as well. No being should have to go through the feeling of losing their mind, losing their sense of self,[/color]” Arae said apprehensively. “[color=6ecff6]Many of our siblings don’t seem to take very kindly to the idea, either, though Asceal might be supportive of it.[/color]”

Kalmar nodded. [color=orange]”I know she is. She tried to turn me against Katharsos once, and it was she who went with Azura to help steal and crystalize all the souls,”[/color] he sighed. [color=orange]”I never met Azura, so I don’t know if she can be trusted. There is power in souls, and having that many lie dormant in one area under the protection of only one or two gods seems a bad idea. She may have a purpose in mind other than what she says, but even if her intentions are good, some other less noble god might be able to seize the souls for themselves. And even if her word is true and nobody stops her… what if she can’t develop her alternative? There is only a finite amount of soul ash. Once we run out, no new souls can be created, and all life will end,”[/color] he shook his head grimly.

Arae shivered at the thought of using souls for power. The idea was terrifyingly repulsive to her, and she couldn’t imagine that kind of freedom being robbed away. The other problem they faced, all life ending, was just as bad. All the work everyone had put into creating Galbar, being wasted.

Arae shook her head, trying to purge her mind of such depressing thoughts. It would do no good to ponder the worst case scenarios; solutions had to be created. “[color=6ecff6]Something must be done,[/color]” Arae finally said. “[color=6ecff6]These soul crystals should not- no, [i]cannot[/i] continue to exist.[/color]”

Kalmar read her expression, and seemed relieved that she shared his concerns. [color=orange]”I agree. And I think I know where Azura might be keeping them. If you want, we can go there together and try to find more information. Maybe even take action, if we can.”[/color]

“[color=6ecff6]You do?[/color]” Arae asked incredulously. “[color=6ecff6]Hmm… action should be taken, but I’d rather it not involve violence. Perhaps if we convince more of our siblings to join our cause and confront Azura and Asceal, we could get them to see our point of view and convince them to give up their endeavors.[/color]”

Kalmar shrugged. [color=orange]”It wasn’t hard to find out the location. I had my avatar and my guardians watch the Alma closely. Every time they take a soul, they always head in roughly the same direction, no matter where in Galbar they are.”[/color] the Hunter shook his head. [color=orange]“And no, I wasn’t thinking of violence. I don’t want another war. We could go there right now and try to find more information. If Azura isn’t there, we can try to return the souls to the Pyres. If she is there, we try to reason with her. If either course fails, then we can bring in the other gods.”[/color]

Arae nodded. The sooner this issue was resolved, the better. Arae just hoped that Azura and Asceal were willing to hear them out. “[color=6ecff6]Before we act, however,[/color]” Arae began. “[color=6ecff6]I still need to ask a couple more things. One: what happened to Vakk? It was simple enough to tell that he was making quite a few enemies among our siblings, but to be reduced to a state of near-death by Shengshi, K’nell, and Eurysthenes? What in Galbar did he do?[/color]”

The question gave Kalmar pause. [color=orange]”Wait… [i]near[/i] death?”[/color] he asked, with raised eyebrows. [color=orange]”Shengshi told me he was dead. Permanently.”[/color]

“[color=6ecff6]He was certainly close to death, but definitely not dead,[/color]” Arae reported. “[color=6ecff6]From what I can tell, he seems to be recovering, too, but that’s about all I can tell. So what exactly happened that led to this?[/color]”

Kalmar frowned. [color=orange]”Most of what I know is only what I heard. Vakk attacked Li’Kalla, and somehow turned her into some sort of monster. K’nell found out, somehow, and sent messengers throughout Galbar to let everyone know. My Avatar heard from one of them, and passed the information on to me,”[/color] the Hunter explained.

[color=orange]”Meanwhile, Vakk believed that one of K’nell’s creations, Hermes, stole something from him. He sent a beast to capture her, but while it was following her trail one of my own beasts drove it off. Later, Shengshi told me that Vakk tried to personally kill Hermes, so the three gods killed him instead. Either Shengshi lied to me, or they didn’t do a good enough job.”[/color]

Arae racked her memory, trying to remember what had happened after she found Vakk’s Familial Tree in that sorry state. Slowly, she began to recall. After a period of time, while it had been recovering, it had started becoming… not Vakk’s tree, yet it was at the same time, as if it were trying to become two different beings. Arae remembered not being able to make heads or tails out of it. At the same time, there was a slight change in Eurysthenes’ bond with Vakk’s. It seemed inconsequential at the time, but it was the only one that was different from all the others.  “[color=6ecff6]Maybe… Eurysthenes might know something,[/color]” Arae mumbled her thoughts out loud. 

[color=orange]”Or K’nell,”[/color] Kalmar said, not knowing the true significance behind her words. [color=orange]”But if Vakk is still alive, and everything I heard about him was true… he will need to be dealt with.”[/color]

Arae nodded, unsure of whether or not she should’ve clarified, but ultimately decided against it. She wanted to see for herself what Vakk was like, and having too many sides take action might lead to someone finishing the job on Vakk. Arae decided to change the subject, saying, “[color=6ecff6]What about Orvus? He seems to be in a much happier state now than he was before, and if I recall, you seemed to have had a part in that. What did you do that caused this?[/color]”

Kalmar furrowed his brow. [color=orange]”[i]Did[/i] I cause it?”[/color] he asked, sounding confused. [color=orange]”Orvus tried to kill Phystene, and then threatened to kill the rest of the gods and fray the world’s souls. I told him that if he didn’t change his course, I would kill him. That was long ago; I heard nothing of him since. Are you saying he listened?”[/color]

“[color=6ecff6]Perhaps he did,[/color]” Arae said, smiling. At least there was some good news to share. “[color=6ecff6]I think he’s grown quite a bit. His relationships with many of our siblings are quite healthy, or at least not as bad as they were before, and he even has two daughters. I couldn’t be more proud of him.[/color]” 

[color=orange]”And how do you know all of this?”[/color] Kalmar questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Arae tensed up, stunned by Kalmar’s sudden question. “[color=6ecff6]Umm… that’s a… a bit of a personal question, there…[/color]” Arae said hesitantly, before sighing and continuing, “[color=6ecff6]...I suppose I have to tell someone eventually, and you seem trustworthy enough to share it with.[/color]”

Arae stood up from her chair and began to pace back and forth, explaining, “[color=6ecff6]This is the power of my Sphere. It watches and maintains all familial relationships in Galbar… no, maybe even in other spheres too. The moment a strong familial relationship is formed, or if a child is born, things like that, my Sphere records them as trees and lakes. I use them to read everyone’s emotional and physical states, and their relationships with everyone else.[/color]”

Kalmar frowned, and took a few moments to digest this information. [color=orange]”My sphere tells creatures when they need to eat,”[/color] he said, rather flatly, before leaning forward. [color=orange]”How much do you know about me, then?”[/color]

“[color=6ecff6]Mostly that you are well respected by many of our siblings,[/color]” Arae said. “[color=6ecff6]It’s why I chose to meet up with you first before anyone else. Well respected, but not exactly well liked. I thought this to be that you were the most rational of our siblings, and  wouldn’t be afraid to give out even unpopular opinions if it provided the most benefit.[/color]”

[color=orange]”That is how I view myself,”[/color] Kalmar mused. [color=orange]”It’s almost as if you knew exactly what I wanted to hear.”[/color] His frown deepened, and then he sighed. [color=orange]”You don’t seem to have abused this power, at least. Just be careful about what you reveal to others.”[/color]

“[color=6ecff6]I would never abuse power,[/color]” Arae promised. “[color=6ecff6]Power is something to be managed, not misused.[/color]”

[color=orange]”Good,”[/color] Kalmar nodded. [color=orange]”So Vakk, Orvus, and Azura. Was there anything else you needed to discuss?”[/color]

“[color=6ecff6]No, I think that was it. Thank you for your time, Kalmar,[/color]” Arae answered, bowing.

Kalmar rose to his feet. [color=orange]”We’re leaving now, then?”[/color] he asked.

“[color=6ecff6]Unless you have something you wish to add,[/color]” Arae answered.

He shook his head. [color=orange]”I don’t. Let’s go.”[/color]

[hr]

[hider=Summary]
Kalmar has spent most of the timeskip relaxing in his sphere, reflecting on current events, and contemplating his next move. He invents a fishing rod, and has become a skilled woodcarver after decades of practice.

He decides it is time to leave and actually start doing something, and it is in that moment that Arae appears. Arae has come to discuss some of the other gods, most notably: Azura, Vakk, and Orvus.

They discuss what they know of Azura’s plot, and agree that it needs to be stopped. They talk of Vakk - Kalmar tells Arae what he knows about what happened, only for Arae to reveal that Vakk is still alive. They then discuss Orvus, who Arae claims is much happier now. Kalmar is somewhat skeptical, and the conversation then turns to the subject of Arae’s sphere and how it allows her to know the gods’ relationships and feelings. Kalmar is wary of this power, but shrugs it off because it is A) in the nature of Arae’s portfolio, and B) she has yet to use it in a harmful way.

After that, they agree to go to Azura’s soul vault together, because Kalmar believes he has deduced the location.

No MP or FP spent.
[/hider]