[center][h3][color=brown][b][u]Algrim[/u][/b][/color] and [color=FFE4E1]Arira - Goddess of Cycles[/color][/h3] [h2]The Post-Pillars Celebration![/h2] [i]A collab by [@Not Fishing] and [@Crusader Lord][/i] [/center] [hr] After months spent educating his people and constructing settlements and palaces for them, Algrim felt compelled to return to Paradise, and check on Arira. Although it had been some time since they last spoke, he had not forgotten her promise to hold a welcoming feast for him, nor had he forgotten his promise to take her up on it. Besides, of all the gods he had met, she perhaps left the strongest impression on him. Maybe it was because she was the first he had encountered, or maybe it was something else. The Underking decided he would not journey to his new realm alone or unadorned, and so he brought an escort of a dozen dwarves. They had come from one of the newly-created underground settlements; one situated directly beneath the Paradise. They were those who had demonstrated exceptional leadership, initiative, or work ethic. Pillars of the community, one could say. They were donned in robes of varying colours. Algrim himself wore bright blue, and made the decision to go in his flesh-form rather than his stone-form. Upon his brow he wore a heavy crown that appeared to be carved from simple stone, but was adorned with several bright and rare jewels. Before he departed, in a rather uncharacteristic display of vanity he conjured up a mirror to examine himself. That was rather odd, he mused. Never before had he been all that concerned about his appearance. Oh, who was he kidding. He knew why. [hr] The mountain walls of Arira’s paradise were within sight. He had sent word ahead, and the messenger had returned to confirm that they received it, so the inhabitants should be expecting him. The dwarf god felt an unusual twinge of nervousness. [color=gray]“Get ahold of yourself,”[/color] he whispered. “Is something the matter, oh Honourable Underking?” One of his followers questioned. [color=gray]“Nothing,”[/color] Algrim said, shaking his head. [color=gray]“Now let’s go. I have a pledge to honour, and we have a feast to get to.”[/color] If the offer still stood. Hopefully the goddess still remembered, and wouldn’t feel jilted that he had taken so long to take her up on it. And with those words, they carried on toward their destination. [hr] As the dwarves would eventually make their way up to and enter the Ariran Paradise, before them would be something that only Algrim himself had seen before. Trees and bushes and shrubs and so forth all about, land stretching out farther than the eye could see with hills and plains and so forth, game and beasts and fruits and plants of all possible edible kinds one could imagine...and then some, and even untouched minerals and eternally-regenerating deposits of all resources civilizations could ever want and so forth that lied below it! It wasn’t as comfortable as the underground perhaps was, and yet all the same the aura of the place screamed of ‘divinity’ and ‘bliss’. It was a vast enough, grand enough place that a city and towns and villages spread and growing all about were possible for those who lived above, though the untold potential and incredible beauty of it all was notable indeed. Still, it seemed the humans had built up more since the last Algrim had been there as the group in time would have gotten closer and closer to the temple. Homes of proper brick and stone, with proper roofing and all, were beginning to pop up as the former wooden abodes and huts and such of yesteryear were beginning to decline. Even so, it would be...a long time for the population to grow and change things fully. Yet more than this, it seemed as if the population was abuzz with activity! Racks of great grass-feasting beasts were being carried about on mortal-carried palanquin-like work platforms. Hunters wielding longbow and matchlocks and so forth in a peculiar array were resting, cleaning up, or even jovially laughing amongst each other. Paths made with brick and very tightly-fitted stones were beginning to emerge, even, to connect living spaces and the barely-starting-to-grow population. Smells of savory cooked meats offm myriad kinds that had been simmering for untold hours, lovely pots of stews and soups sat bubbling with both lighter as well as richer and darker broths that contained untold spices, fire-roasted veggies and fruits seemed to add a sweet scent to the air as they cooked upon great fires or upon slabs of metal placed over fires, and so forth trailed through the air. There too were celebratory hangings of myriad colors, ranging from light blues to lovely yellows and rich reds and royal purples hung about on banners, flag-like hangings, and the ilk. Artistic depictions of Algrim and Arira hung about in places as tapestries or paintings or so forth, all alongside even a few statues that dotted along the side of the grain main street that now led to the temple’s entrance rather than the former dirt path leading to the bottom stairs. As the dwarves and Algrim would walk along, humans would make bows or tip hats and so forth in their direction in respect, with a few young children watching from behind their mother’s backs or chattering among each other excitedly as they looked at them from afar. Even those of some...oh? Some other races seemed to be present as well. Festive magical lights, woven by the shorter and furry Brynlic, could be seen along with those weaving them whilst other Brynlic danced about. Orderly and mannerly Erimav could be seen dotted about as they helped organize humans and others alike...though one or two seemed to be struggling with a few rather mischievous Brynlic out of the corner of the Earth God’s gaze. Even the great Ketto, rather large female-looking humanoids with red skin and superhuman musculature to boot, had donned great robes and so forth as they stood either as policing guards, big cooks helping with the preparations, sitting among hunters, or simply helping hang things from the homes or from festive poles and such. Dirham were too among the bunch, somewhere between humans and Erimav they might seem physically, and wielding strength somewhere between Humans and the towering Ketto as they could be seen in good numbers among the rest. Algrim wasn’t entirely sure what most of these races were, or where they had come from. Another sign of how busy the other gods had been while he toiled underground. His own companions looked upon them with varied reactions; suspicion, fascination, curiosity. “It’s a very diverse place, eh?” one of the dwarves commented. “Da,” another answered. “Zey have sekritz we can learn?” Algrim for his part was silent, taking in the sights, and contemplating what he would say upon meeting the goddess herself. Assuming she was here. She had to be, with all this activity. Ultimately, the troop of dwarves and Algrim would be met more properly at the bottom of the stairs that ascended up into the fortress-temple. Whilst a proper wide landing and public square had been added down there by now, at the foot of those stairs stood a semi-circle of representatives. Among them, one adult human man who seemed to have several ladies bearing lovely sashes of dwarven size and colored after valuable metals and jewels. “Greetings, Lord Algrim, God of Earth, and your compatriots with you in kind! We were told to prepare for several, but we did not know much of what to bear to you,” the man said before politely gesturing to the ladies about him, who would come over and gently place the sashes over Algrim and the dwarves with him, before the man spoke again, “Still, these most festive of sashes were prepared with the finest Ariran silk in the whole of the Paradise to decorate our most honored of guests to this first great feast and festival so held in your honor! As Lord Algrim is the God of Earth, Lady Arira decided upon these colors that stem from the valuable things of the earth! We pray they will be suitable for your lordship and your entourage.” As the dwarves ran their hands over the strange fabric, Algrim looked the man in the eye. [color=brown]“My title is th’ Underking now,”[/color] he said. [color=brown]“But I thank yer lady for th’ hospitality, and th’ gifts. Please show me ta her.”[/color] “My sincerest apologies, great Underking! But my thanks for the correction.” The man spoke once more and gave a deep bow, before stepping aside and gesturing to the temple entrance at the top of the stairs. “Lady Arira awaits you in the lower chamber, where the Great Pillar rests. If you desire I shall guide you myself, and any others about would be willing to do the same of course!” [color=brown]“Unless things ‘ave changed, I remember th’ way,”[/color] Algrim answered, as he began to stride forward with his dwarven escort in tow. As they ascended the stairs up to the building, some of the dwarfs made comments on the stone workmanship. Some offered quiet praise, while others mumbled criticisms. There was no clear consensus, and most of it would be lost to any observer. They entered the temple, and then descended to the lower chamber. Algrim was the first to step into the large room, with the rest of the dwarves filing in to take their places beside and slightly behind him. The vast chamber itself was something to behold even now, having been cleaned up and smoothed out and so forth. Lovely stone flooring clacked underneath the step of the Underking, Even the stairs on the way down had been far clearer than the first trip, though the same winding trip down had been inevitable perhaps. Yet upon this platform, this one that sat before the great and mighty pillar whose width and the massive size of the chamber outshone even the grandest of fields in space and scale, a familiar face stood there as she had been looking upon the pillar proper. She was adorned, however, in finery far better than the first Algrim had seen her. Her golden ornaments seemed to have been shined to perfection, their craft far beyond any mortals’ hands could dream of, and were now studded with rubies and sapphires and emeralds and other precious stones. Her dress was longer and silkier to the touch than ever before, and along the borders had been intricately decorated with cyclical depictions and even touches related to her and Algrim having made the pillar. Indeed those borders each bore a story, and were woven of the finest silver and golden threads that a divinity’s power could manifest. Even the circlet upon her head seemed to have flowered rather than be in the form of berries. [color=FFE4E1]“Hmm?”[/color] The goddess turned her head at hearing the approach, but seeing Algrim there her gentle smile returned in an instant. In fact, it seemed even wider and more jubilant than before as she turned around to him and gave a bow before him. Still, one could tell her joy was being restrained in order to keep up appearances...or perhaps it was something she only subtly allowed Algrim to see in particular. [color=FFE4E1]“Dear Algrim, it is most splendid to see thine face here in mine Paradise once more! A most welcome sight I hath looked forward to indeed.”[/color] For a moment Algrim was left speechless by the sight, but only a moment. He offered her a bow in return. [color=brown]“I could say th’ same,”[/color] he said to her. [color=brown]“Never in my travels have I met someone more fair and more friendly than ye.”[/color] Then he cast his eyes downward, seeming almost ashamed. When he spoke next his tone was drastically different from the one she had known him to use before. [color=gray]“I offer you my apologies for not coming sooner, and for breaking my word. I said nothing would keep me from it, and, well… I did get caught up in something.”[/color] Slight distress at seeing Algrim in such a state gripped the goddess’ face for a moment, and taking a knee she put a gentle finger under Algrim’s chin and lifted it to look at her own face. [color=FFE4E1]“Worry not, nor should’st thou feel guilt over this thing. If thou desirest, thou art forgiven. Yet stilI could’st never be wroth or such ilk at thee, for what thou dids’t need to do then, that hast thou done. I too twas’ caught up in mine own work for this world…and twas in such I ran into mine own troubles to be truthful with thee.”[/color] Despite her gentle smile and putting in her best to try to cheer up the Underking, Arira’s tone did seem to drift into a melancholy near the end as she trailed off. Letting out a sigh, the goddess then returned to a warmer smile as she gently took Algrim’s hands into her own. [color=FFE4E1]“Wherefore do not fret, for naught is wrong with thee in mine eyes. Quite the opposite!”[/color] Algrim returned the smile, but then his expression shifted into concern. [color=brown]“What sort o’ troubles? Anything y’ need ‘elp with?”[/color] A flash of sadness crossed the goddesses’ eyes, and ever so slightly she gripped Algrim’s hands tighter as she still held them within her own. [color=FFE4E1]“I...oh dear. I shalt be truthful to thee, nay a lie, I did go far into the heavens to try to bringeth mine pain to a finality. I did take on my true form, and in that I did bring the seasons and climes and all cycles into existence and bound deep into mineself to be rooted and bound eternally. It cannot all be undone, save I cease to exist, and indeed it did bring my pains to a halt. …...Yet it was too much all at once. I did return to this form, and from the center of all the heavens I fell like a great stone dropped from there.”[/color] She grimaced at the mention of her falling, somewhat embarrassed at admitting she had overexerted. [color=FFE4E1]“Twas nothing most could have done, so there should’st be no regret from thee or the few I have met yet, but whilst unconscious I was’t plucked from mine fall by the Goddess of Beauty, Wyn. To the sight of her did I awake thereafter, and she dids’t ask of me what I had been doing. So I did answer her, and spoke even of mine Paradise and parent as she did ask me about them, though as she spoke of if mine rather peculiar parent would desire mineself to marry I did admittedly panic and become afluster with worry.”[/color] A long-drawn out sigh then came out of her lovely lips before the goddess continued. [color=FFE4E1]“She was’t most lovely to the eyes to behold, and was most kind to me despite beauty itself not being always so, yet I was’t most unprepared and twas’...seduced then and as I recovered. Naught but mine inexperience to blame, but all the same I worry it shall make me look less to thee for speaking this truth...tho I would’st prefer to tell thee this truth than hide from thee. Would be’st mine greatest regret to ever lie to thee most of all.”[/color] Her eyes struggled to meet his, and she seemed near to almost crying to be frank. Meanwhile, her words had been enough to almost send Algrim reeling. How was he to respond to that? She had begun by confessing to an immense personal struggle. Between her flowery speech and her somewhat vague wording, Algrim wasn’t entirely sure what she had done, but it sounded important - not just for her, but perhaps the world. Surely, she should be consoled, or offered help, or something. That was clearly the more important of the two subjects. At the same time, she had also confessed to bedding another goddess, and that was the source of Algrim’s conflict. Was she unaware of how he felt toward her? Of course she was. He had only had one conversation with her and had never told her. They had no commitments to one another. The feelings he had felt for her even before his revelation were both premature and irrational, yet he felt them nonetheless, and this revelation still stung as a result. And yet he also felt ashamed. Ashamed for his selfishness. Because now he was thinking about just how much this revelation had hurt him, when she herself had gone through a great deal of pain, over something far more serious, and still seemed to feel remorse over the lesser of her two problems. That in turn gave way to anger. Not at Arira, but at this ‘Wyn’ woman. Had the beauty goddess manipulated her? Put some form of spell on her? Is that why she was so regretful? If that was the case, Algrim would need to swear a vow of vengeance against the Goddess of Beauty, for regardless of how he felt, Arira was his friend and ally, and he would allow no one to strike such a person with impunity… Then confusion struck. Why had Arira told him this in the first place? Why did she think he would about who she shared a bed with? Unless she already suspected his feelings. But if she did, why tell him that at all? A subtle way to deter him? No, that was an unworthy thought - he had no reason to assume she would resort to such manipulations. Did she want him to take some sort of action against Wyn on her behalf? The anger threatened to return. Perhaps he would. Or maybe… he considered her closing words. It would be her greatest regret to lie to him most of all? She was asking for forgiveness. Why would she think she needed to be forgiven if she didn’t… which meant… Algrim cursed himself. Once more he was thinking selfish thoughts. Friend, ally, or something else, she had exposed her secrets to him and such confidence demanded a reply! And then suddenly he was conscious of the fact that several seconds had passed, and he had failed utterly in concealing the maelstrom of emotions which raged across his face. [color=gray]“I…”[/color] he began. [color=gray]“You don’t…”[/color] and then he was conscious of the eyes on his back. [color=gray]“Leave us!”[/color] he suddenly commanded his companions, who had watched the entire exchange in stoic yet awkward silence. [color=gray]“Wait outside, and speak not a word of this to anyone.”[/color] Obediently they marched back up the stairs. Only when they were gone did he look Arira in the eyes again. When he spoke next, his words were quiet, but clear. [color=gray]“Do not weep on my behalf,”[/color] he said. [color=gray]“I… I will return truth with truth, as I always have, and as I always will. Your words have hurt me, but that is more my fault than yours. I had just… I had hoped that something might be possible between us. Perhaps I should have told you sooner, or perhaps I am a lovesick fool of a godling for developing such feelings so quickly.”[/color] [color=gray]“Either way…”[/color] he continued. [color=gray]“Whatever has passed between you and this ‘Wyn’, it is not my place to judge you for you for it. I would ask you, though… what does she mean to you? And what do I mean to you?”[/color] A couple of tears rolled down the goddess’ face as she looked Algrim back in the eyes. [color=FFE4E1]“Dearest Algrim...oh my I have caused thee such pain, though to hear truth from thine own mouth touches my heart so,”[/color] Arira said, still holding the Underking’s hands in her own, though she did move up her right hand to cup the left side of Algrim’s face softly as she looked into his eyes, a few more tears beginning to come down from her eyes as she spoke, [color=FFE4E1]“To know how thou feelest...it in truth makes mine heart most glad. Worry not, for Lady Wyn is a friend but no closer. I holdeth no hate for her, yet she doth not hold mine heart.”[/color] She would then place a chaste kiss upon Algrim’s forehead. [color=FFE4E1]“Such is why I hath felt such great worry to confess what had happened betwixt mineself and Lady Wyn to thee...for in mine mind I have thus feared thou would’st cast me aside forever more. I am no expert in matters of love, and all of this is new, yet still if thou thinkest thineself a lovesick fool even after all of this...then I shalt forever be one alongside thee as well.”[/color] Arira then took a long, deep breath, drumming up what courage she had before she continued once more. [color=FFE4E1]“I hath felt such great worry to confess what had happened to thee...for in mine mind I have thus feared thou would’st cast me aside forever more. I am no expert in matters of love, and yet still if thou thinkest thineself a lovesick fool even after all of this, then I shalt be one as well so that thou art not alone. So if even with the truths I hath told thee thou desirest not me anymore, I shalt respect it. For I wish not to hurt thee, as such even in thought causes me pains greater than those I felt from the world itself prior. Yet in the plainest of language I shall most truly make mine words and feelings most clear here and now... [b]...Of all the gods or mortals I have met or ever will meet, of all the ages before and ever to come, no matter what come or what may, my heart belongs to thee [u]alone[/u]. I love you most of all, Algrim Underking, and this will never change no matter how the tides of this Shard of Creation go and no matter what you decide for yourself. Since our first meeting my heart has longed after you for uncountable nights. The touch of your strong hands, the comfort of your presence and splendid character...all of you. Such is my deepest, heartfelt truth that I make known to you now and forevermore.[/b]”[/color] Algrim blinked in astonishment. The way she spoke, the attraction she had to him burned far more brightly than what he had felt for her. This was not what he had expected. Not at all. It went beyond what he had dared hope for. For the second time that day, he was at a loss for words. So, he didn’t speak. Instead, he lurched forward and upward, planting his lips on hers. Arira returned the gesture without hesitation, her lips pressed against those of the dwarven God’s own. She kept her hand on his cheek as she kissed him in return. No words. No shouts of jubilation. No nothing. Just the warmth of the Underking’s face pressed against hers was enough, the silent feelings shared between them without anything else needed in that most precious moment. The god wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the embrace. And then, he pulled away, but still held onto her. [color=gray]“Well…” he said softly. “I accept your feelings, as you have clearly accepted mine. But…”[/color] his voice trailed off. [color=gray]“It could be unwise to progress too swiftly. Whatever we might feel toward each other, we have in truth spent very little time in each other’s company, and there is much about each other we do not know. Let’s fix that. And then, after enough time has passed, and we have seen more of each other, we shall see if we both still feel the same way.”[/color] He brought a hand up to touch her cheek, wiped away a tear, and awaited her response. The goddess silently nodded as she held onto Algrim in return, a joyful and happy smile upon her face as the tears that had begun to flow more freely now began to dry. [color=FFE4E1]“Indeed...haha...but to spend time with thee more so now would be most welcome indeed. So let us spend time with each other, to get to know one another, and see if our feelings thus remain the same.”[/color] [color=gray]“Indeed. And um… no more affairs with others,”[/color] the Dwarf-God said, somewhat awkwardly. The goddess lightly nodded in return. [color=FFE4E1]“Tis’ my promise, dear Algrim, and for thee I shalt keep it,”[/color] she said, still smiling despite the truth and seriousness of her words, though one hand came to her stomach as she raised an eyebrow at her stomach before looking to the Underking again with a small chuckle escaping her lips, [color=FFE4E1]“Oh my...perchance I crave some of the feasting foods above?”[/color] Algrim smiled. [color=brown]“Aye. We’d best get to it.”[/color] He offered her his arm, and the two proceeded up the stairs. [hr] [hider=Post Summary] After months spent civilizing his dwarves, Algrim decides to go return to Arira and take her up on that feast offer. He arrives to a warm welcome, having already sent word ahead. He then goes down to meet Arira herself. They exchange some words, and Algrim asks how things have been. Arira then tells him of some of her troubles, before also confessing her past fling with Wyn. Algrim is a bit hurt by this because he had a bit of an infatuation with Arira as well. He goes through a bit of an emotional roller coaster because he’s not sure why Arira has told him this, before finally deciding to confess his feelings toward her. Arira then reveals that she feels the same way about him, and told him about the Wyn thing specifically because she didn’t want to feel like she was keeping any secrets from him and wanted to get that sort of baggage out of the way before anything else. They kiss. But then Algrim is like: “Hold up this is only our second conversation and we don’t actually know each other that well.” So they agree to enter what is basically a period of courtship; spending time together and getting to know each other before they come to a final decision on whether or not they are actually compatible. [/hider]