[center][h1][color=LightYellow][b][u]Departure[/u][/b][/color][/h1][/center] Toog winced slightly as one of the small goblin children decided to use one of his ears as a rope to swing on. While it was nice to take a rest now and again, he couldn’t fathom why Iternis had chosen to do so around so many tiny nuscances. If they had stopped in that enormous settlement, Sanctus Civitas was what those mantis people had called it, Toog would at least have a nice bed to sleep in and Iternis could have thrown about his godly status to get some good food or something. Toog sighed and stood up, sending a cascade of squealing children flowing off of his back, the bravest few tried to hold on by wrapping themselves up in his fur but a quick shake dislodged them. He actually didn’t care about all that luxury, he mused to himself as he picked his way through the tumbles of playing kids, he felt like Iternis seemed stressed about something and deserved some pomp for once. Toog padded over to his God, who was currently taking the form of a beautiful goblin man and had been entertaining the older children for hours now. Toog wordlessly moved around behind Iternis and lay besides him. A few of the goblins were startled by his sudden appearance, but most were too enraptured by Iternis’s story to notice. Toog had heard all of the god’s stories before, but each time Iternis was able to spin them in a new way, usually not a factual way, but a way nonetheless. They were all about the clever and incredibly handsome god Iternis and his savage and undefeatable mount Toog, facing against the forces of evil and playing all sorts of tricks on the cruel or powerful. Toog never really liked being called savage, but the mortals seemed to eat up those tales. As their travels went on, Iternis had begun spending more and more time among the mortals and Toog, as a side effect of most people being terrified by a giant talking beast, had taken to being mostly quiet around mortals. He sort of missed the old days, when it was just the two of them, doing all the things that made up the stories Iternis tells now, but he also enjoyed these new, slower days. Toog didn’t know why Iternis had given up all the daring exploits and his godly duties of creation, but he still loved his master and would follow him anywhere. Even if they were going to keep fading into this steady life of mediocrity. He would accept it, but he still didn’t get it; Iternis had even begun avoiding other gods. They didn’t stay in Sanctus Civitas because the god had seen one of his brothers. And before even that, when crossing the ocean from Toraan to Mylia, Iternis had taken the long way to avoid some great ocean deity. As Toog lay, listening to Iternis’s voice, he found himself steadily drifting off to sleep. [hr] Iternis lay next to Toog, staring up at the setting sun. Toog’s flanks rose and fell steadily in dream. The children had dispersed, called by their parents to go eat supper or do some other chores, and now the God of Journeys was left alone in the clearing, all the goblins living their mortal lives. A faint seabreeze flowed from the beach and into the light forest just to rustle Iternis’s feather crown. He let out a great sigh and stood up. Iternis cast one look back at Toog and smiled warmly before setting off to the ocean front. He climbed the short embankment that shielded the goblins’ camp from the worst of the sea breeze and slid down the other side, stopping only when his feet plunged into the sand. He walked in silence, swishing his robes back and forth absentmindedly with his hands. He paused when he took a step into the water, the warm ocean lapping at his toes. Iternis let out another sigh, this time intentionally over dramatic. The god chuckled at himself and then kicked a pebble into the waves. The small stone shot off at an incredible speed, skipping across the water until even Iternis’s godly eyes couldn’t see it. “That was quite the trick,” A feeble voice laughed from behind the god. [color=LightYellow]“Oh, uh…”[/color] Iternis jumped, startled, and turned around to see a wizened goblin standing on the embankment, a cane made of cork holding up his shaking body, [color=LightYellow]“I didn’t see you there, lost in thought.”[/color] “Clearly,” The old man laughed as he hobbled over to stand by Iternis, his toes in the waves, “What has got you so somber looking? You’re still young, you don’t even have to worry about your hips falling off your damn body!” Iternis smiled at the old man’s joke then turned back to the sea. [color=LightYellow]“The inevitable, I suppose,”[/color] he said. “You’re afraid of death?” the old man scoffed, “I should be afraid of death, not you. You are still in your prime, I have hardly done all that wanted and I’ve already pushed my luck by turning thirty!” [color=LightYellow]“Thirty?”[/color]Iternis was taken aback, [color=LightYellow]“That is a rather short life.”[/color] The old goblin shot Iternis a funny look. “Lad, you’re a goblin too,” He declared, “I’d like to see you make thirty.” Iternis looked down at his body, forgetting that he was in the form of a goblin and laughed. [color=LightYellow]“I suppose… Say, old timer, can I ask you some advice?”[/color] “What else are old coots good for?” Iternis smiled a little but it quickly faded. [color=LightYellow]“What would you do if you knew something terrible was going to happen,”[/color] the god began, his voice growing tired sounding, [color=LightYellow]“And it was just because of what you are? And at first, you were okay with it, and you decided to just live and do everything despite the fact that that doom was impending. But soon, you didn’t want to ever stop. So you tried to change what you were, because maybe if you changed and stopped doing what you were doing, you wouldn't have to leave. If maybe I had just stopped doing it soon, or given up even more, I wouldn’t have to leave. Even now, I know that I still am what I am, no matter how much I pretend not to be, and that still means I will have to leave…”[/color] Iternis trailed off, watching the clouds race by in the blood red sky. They floated, trying to outrun each other, unaware that soon night would fall and blott them all out. The old goblin was silent for a while too. “Son,” He began slowly, “I don’t think I know exactly what you're going through, but I do know that you can’t change what you are. You can change what you do and how you act, but not what you are. You and I, we’re goblins. We won’t ever be able to live as long as the other races, so we will never be able to do all that we want to do. And sometimes that just means we need to do what we can do and try not to drag others down with us. Iternis smiled ruefully, [color=LightYellow]“That is a very grim outlook on things.”[/color] The goblin shrugged, “That’s just my outlook on things.” The two fell into another silence. They stayed still for a long while, until Oraelia had fallen all the way below the ocean line. Iternis opened his mouth to speak but paused and cast a look back in the direction that Toog was sleeping. He looked down at the water and then decided to speak. [color=LightYellow]“Old Timer,” [/color]the god sighed, [color=LightYellow]“If you could do anything, anything at all, before you died. What would it be.”[/color] The goblin sighed and looked out over the pitch black sea. The waves continued to gently touch the two’s feet and then retreat only to sneak back for another touch. “I would want to see what’s over that horizon. I’ve never left this island; I would want to be able to pick a point across the waves and just start walking until my legs gave out. Just so that I could see what I wanted and my daughter wouldn’t have to worry about caring for such a decrepit man like me for the last few months.” Iternis turned to the goblin and looked him in the eyes. He reached into his robes and, for the first time in a very long time, released some of his godly energy. He tore a large swatch of the fabric off in an instant. The cloth exploded and frayed until it turned into a spiral of thread. The fabric swarmed over to the old Goblin, startling him and causing him to stumble backwards. The fabric wove itself around the cane that was clutched in his hands and wrapped his bare, knobbly feet. “Wha-” The goblin began to shout before shuddering as new strength flowed into him. The fabric on his feet condensed into intricate sandals and his cane grew into a staff covered in tassels that fluttered in the wind. [color=LightYellow]“Go,”[/color] Iternis commanded,[color=LightYellow] “Go and fulfill that dream, walk the seas. These gifts will let you do it. But first, go tell Toog, my loyal hound, that I told him: “I love you”, “goodbye”, and “I’m sorry.”” [/color] At that, Iternis exploded into a flock of birds for the first time in forever, soaring off over the ocean and leaving the goblin standing aghast on that beach. [hider=summary] Toog and Iternis are resting in a Goblin tribe. They had been travelling for a long while, but Itenis had stopped wanting to do great feats and godly acts, even avoiding other gods. Toog doesn’t understand why but accepts the discussion anyways. Cut to Iternis, who is deep in thought and on a beach, moping. He talks with an old goblin and reveals that he had been trying to avoid acting like a god to try and stay on Galbar when the coming catastrophe happens, but he can feel that it won’t work. The old gobbo gives him some somber advice and Iternis accepts the fact that he will have to leave. Iternis gifts the old goblin two artifacts for his advice and then soberly flies off into the night, unable to face Toog to say goodbye. [/hider] [hider=Prestige] Toog: Start:10 End:14 [/hider] [hider=mp] Start 1 Dp 1 MP Consecrate Artifact: The Journeymen's Wraps World Treader I (Discounted to 0): Increased Speed and Endurance when Travelling Surefoot I: Any place that the wearer wants to place their foot, even things that usually cannot hold weight, acts like a path to walk on Consecrate Artifact: The Wayfinder's Staff World Treader I (Discounted to 0): Increased Speed and Endurance when Travelling Path Seeker I: The flags on the staff always flutter towards the holder's decided destination End: 0 MP, 0DP 4/5 Pathways Portfolio [/hider]