Goddess of Martial Combat 2 Might and 23 Freepoints
Time: The Day the Gods Came
When Seihdhara finally shook herself from the vision and opened her eyes, there was an immediate pensiveness to her. Urhu's words, though she had no idea what they meant, stuck with her. She muttered them a few more times, and each time she did she felt herself relax. They seemed to be a release of sorts. The vision seemed to highlight something she had somehow ignored - now that she considered it, it was rather odd that so many of the other gods had spoken so harshly or patronisingly to her. Dismissively even, or as though she were a burden. Sighing, the mere soul looked about herself to see where she now was.
It was a realm of scorching heat. Which made sense, seeing as this was Sartravius' domain. Ash - almost like soul ash only it was not so cold and did not hold that yawning, whispering emptiness - wafted about everywhere, and wherever she cast her gaze she saw fire. There were rocks also, and those that were not slowly melting into some lava lake had been blackened by soot. Rivers of molten magma made their way through jagged cracks and every now and again a great rumble would shake the earth as a volcano emptied its bowels. Floating not too far from her were her living strand and upper corpse. The strand seemed now to be the thickest it had been since coming into this world, gleaming with health and strength. Seihdhara approached it, and the strand huddled closer to her. Together, they floated through Sartravius' fiery domain.
For whatever reason, the angry lord of flame did not bother with the trespasser (in fact, was that snoring she heard?) and Seihdhara wandered about aimlessly, wondering why she had come here in the first place or how she thought she could make use of this affinity with heat that her strand seemed to have. As she thought, she allowed the strand to lead the way, and eventually, they found themselves floating above a bubbling lake of lava. The living strand stopped and Seihdhara paused also. Then the strand brought itself about Seihdhara and the corpse was brought so that it occupied the same space as did Seihdhara's soul. They stayed like that for a time, then Seihdhara let out an exasperated sigh. That's not doing anything! And so saying she moved away.
The realm rumbled once again and not too far from them another volcano exploded. Almost immediately debris and flames began to rain down upon the three. Seihdhara turned about just in time to see a great boulder smash the airborne strand and corpse. The living strand untangled itself easily enough, but Seihdhara watched helplessly as her corpse fell towards the lake below. Swiftly the strand and Seihdhara raced down towards it, but no swiftness on their part could prevent the inevitable. For a few moments the corpse floated on the surface of the lava, and then it was gone. The living strand snaked into the flames after the corpse, and Seihdhara uselessly tried to hold onto the unsubmerged end of the hair. Heat pulsed through the strand, but Seihdhara could immediately see that these flames were far too great. The strand was burning.
H-hey. Get out of there. Hey! Seihdhara tugged at the hair with ethereal hands, but it was no use. Then suddenly the strand was aflame, and what a bright flame it made! It was only momentary, and then it was sinking. No! Seihdhara shouted, going down after it and disappearing also beneath the bubbling surface. The physical flames could do little to Seihdhara’s soul, but helplessness washed over her as she watched her strand burning beneath. And then anger. Her soul shimmered with fury and suddenly took on a more physical, flaming form. About her the lava retreated and she gripped the burning strand with an all too physical grip, and she launched herself from the lake. In her hand the flaming strand cooled and was returned once more to its glowing form. The upper corpse emerged from the lake also, the strand having managed to wrap itself about it. There was not a single burn on it, but it seemed to glow with a fiery light.
Pulling the strand up and wrapping an arm about the upper corpse, Seihdhara’s soul flew clear of the lake and landed on land. It was a few moments before she noticed the figure before them. She looked upwards, and her gaze met the gaze of the fire lord. Ah. She thought the snoring had stopped. Ah. Danglyd- she began saying in her usual tone, but then the soul stiffened and stood straight. Sartravius. We meet again, it seems. The goddess spoke not with her usual energetic voice, but with a more polished tone that oozed charisma.
The mighty flame god sputtered spastically as his right eye burst open. Still half-asleep he looked rapidly around at his surroundings to find the source of the noise. Was it an intruder? Did someone come to do harm to him or his surroundings? He would crush whoever it was to dust if he had to!
”WHO DARES TO DISTURB MY~?”
Yet as soon as he became more or less awake, he looked down to see a simple floating sphere near the edge of his magma spring. After analyzing the voice that had spoken to him, as well as the message he received from the family goddess, he was finally able to recognize who it was.
”OH,” the god rumbled as he positioned his exposed torso towards the tiny sphere, ”IT’S ONLY YOU, DHARA. ARAE TOLD ME THAT YOU WOULD COME. SO WHAT IS IT THAT YOU POSSIBLY WISH TO SPEAK TO ME ABOUT?” Seihdhara visibly relaxed when Sartravius shortened her name, and a smile rippled across her ethereal face. For a second there I thought you’d be yet another uptight god, Danglydong! She chuckled. Yes, I asked Rayster to speak to you on my behalf. It seems that I’ve managed to put myself in something of a tight spot and I’m rather weak at the moment. I have a feeling that you might be able to help me, what with all your heat. My living strand here seems to have a real affinity for heat, and my corpse there is left looking… well, pretty good when subjected to heat. So something tells me that there is a way to make use of this affinity to get my body, my strand, and my soul back together. Care to help a sis- she paused suddenly, her eyes hardening for the slightest moment, but then she continued easily, a fellow god out, Danglydong?
Sartr grumbled slightly at her response as he stroked his flaming beard. He looked at the sphere closely, then back at the surrounding world, and then back to her, before finally giving his own response.
”YOU WISH TO USE MY HEAT?” the flaming god affirmed to ensure he was hearing correctly, ” FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT? YOU HAVE QUITE THE BALL~ EH, TITS, TO REQUEST MY SERVICES IN SUCH A VULNERABLE STATE!” He paused again to reflect on this notion before smiling rather devilishly.
”BUT WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I’LL BE WILLING TO GIVE SUCH ENERGY OUT FOR FREE, EH?” he confidently boomed as he leaned his head upon his fist, ”ONLY A FOOL CAN BELIEVE IN SUCH AN UNSENSIBLE TRADE OFF. IF YOU WANT MY HELP, YOU MUST GIVE ME SOMETHING OF EQUAL, IF NOT BETTER, WORTH! THE QUESTION IS, WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?” Seihdhara cocked her head at this admittedly unexpected response. But now that she considered it, it seemed sensible that she pay somehow since she required him to render a service unto her.
I mean, I don’t have anything to give you right this instant... she paused and furrowed her brows in thought, and as she thought her eyes found their way to the famed sword. Her eyes widened - goodness, it was quite something on closer inspection. But, uh, she looked up quickly I’ll be happy to give you whatever you want once I’m back in shape! I couldn’t give you anything now even if I wanted to - as you recognised, I have come to you in a rather vulnerable state. And reflecting on that now, perhaps that was not the wisest of moves seeing as she had aided Rayster in beating up Danglydong’s pet. Last time she was at the mercy of another god it very nearly ended in disaster. She looked up at Danglydong and hoped he was not as uptight as Cat-head.
Sartr’s eyebrows shifted in place before leaning towards Dhara. Seihdhara stood still as his hand approached, but her living strand leapt away along with her corpse, and she just about saw them both leap into a lava pool. Carefully Sartravius scooped the sphere in his mighty hand and brought her up to his level. His burning eyes gazed straight at her spherical form, his tiny flames dancing around the tips of his flaming fingers.
”YOU HAVE TO BE MORE SPECIFIC,” the flame god teased with a wicked smile, and Seihdhara felt very suddenly uncomfortable in the god’s palm, ”BUT ALLOW ME TO BRING UP MY SUGGESTION. TO HARBOR MY FLAME MAKES ANY INVOLVED AN EXTENSION OF MY POWER. HENCEFORTH, YOU WILL BE BOUND TO MY SERVICES AND TO THEM ALONE UNLESS I SPECIFICALLY DECLARE OTHERWISE. BUT AS LONG AS YOU ARE WITH ME, YOU WILL GAIN FULL ACCESS TO MY FLAME AND MORE!” His massive face then leaned closer to Dhara suddenly. ”SO,” he announced boldly, ”DO YOU COMPLY WITH THESE TERMS?”
Seihdhara eyed the other god for a few moments, unsure if he was being serious or if this was some strange joke. Sooo… you basically want me to be your slave? She asked with a raised eyebrow. She poked her chest a few times with a finger, as if to emphasise how ludicrous that was. Because yeah… that’s not happening big boy. I said whatever you want, but within reason was the unspoken qualification, you know? She crossed her ethereal arms and looked at him defiantly.
But one could not defy the god of flame so recklessly. As soon as she finished, the heat that radiated off Sartr’s hand began to grow even hotter. Yet while Dhara would find the heat within the middle of the palm to be admirably tolerable, anywhere any attempt at escape - even if she attempted to float upwards - would have her subjugated to intense heat. She was essentially locked in what could only be described as a flaming prison.
Yet Sartr’s face did not contort into rage - but one of utter smugness. His face rose into a nefarious smile as his eyes locked onto his captive with immense glee. Seihdhara, meanwhile, was standing statue still, eyebrows furrowed in anger and ethereal fists clenched. She had been played for a fool, and she knew it.
”WRONG ANSWER.”, he replied teasingly as a shit-eating grin formed across his lips, ”BUT I ALREADY FIGURED YOU WOULDN’T COMPLY WITH IT. IN FACT, I HAVE ALTERNATIVE PLANS FOR YOU. FOR YOU AND ARAE’S INVOLVEMENT IN DISRUPTING MY SACRED PHOENIX MUST NOT GO UNPUNISHED!” A movement to the side suddenly caught the great flame lord’s eye, and Sartr glanced over to observe his magma bath. Floating there upon the molten surface was a body. Scooping it up with his free hand, he carefully examined the strangely unscorched corpse and what appeared to be an absurdly long strand of hair wrapped about it before looking back at Dhara’s sphere. Before long, he was able to connect the dots and added both to his makeshift prison.
”YOU HARNESS AN INCREDIBLE POWER, GODDESS OF COMBAT,”, the God continued as he raised his hand above his face, ”IMAGINE WHAT YOU COULD’VE BEEN ABLE TO USE IT FOR IN MY NAME. BUT ALAS, IF YOU WILL NOT SUBMIT TO ITS POWER.” His massive mouth opened past the embered hairs of his beard, revealing a molten gullet that bubbled in anticipation. ”THEN I SHALL ASSIMILATE IT INTO MYSELF!” he roared victoriously as bits of lava and fire sputtered from his mouth. And with that, his hand released their grip as he proceeded to eat her and her lifeless corpse. Seihdhara raised an ethereal hand above her as Sartravius’ mouth approached. There was no escape, it seemed.
You absolute fucker! Were her last words before she disappeared into the fire lord’s enormous maw. With one great gulp the giant god swallowed the shadow of a goddess and her physical remains.
And then there was silence.
Though volcanoes erupted and rocks sank into molten rivers, and though ash fell and Sartravius now snored and now roared and now stretched and yawned, there was a certain silence. And in that certain silence, if one listened carefully, a footstep would manifest itself - subtle, for the tremors it sent out through the world were not as mighty or all-encompassing as the tremors sent out by one eruption or another. But it was there, step after step, echoing from a far off and distant place - and yet oddly near. And maybe they were not footsteps, but more of a…
Pounding.
And in the shifting flame and bubbles of Sartravius’ great belly, a shadow shifted and moved. And in the redness of the great red burning god, there emerged a brighter flare, a burning flame that fed on fire. It spread in all directions, and the calm belly was suddenly disturbed by currents and waves large and small. They rippled and pulsed and moved with an energy all their own. And as a wave came in and crashed, there was very suddenly a great tearing sound. And there, out of the hole in the belly of the beast, a Saffron-haired goddess stood and stared.
Wearing the Inside Out
Because she was alive. The goddess' hair slowly emerged from the Sartravius’ belly, extending in all directions like a second sky (were it not so that Sartravius' domain had no sky to speak of). Parts of it, still searing hot and aflame, wrapped about her body and arms like clothing. The goddess stood in the god and stared blankly for a few moments, her feet still submerged in his flame and ichor. She raised a hand to her head and felt the strands, burning and pulsating and alive. It felt different somehow though. Slowly she began to remember things - dragging the corpse across Galbar, the great pool of ichor that had formed, falling from the sky, floating in space after Orvus. And Narzhak. She had been asleep when he passed them by, but the strand had witnessed it all. Her eyes softened at the memory that now became her own. Was it out of kindness that he threw her out of the laughing maniac's way? Perhaps she would ask him when next she saw him. Or perhaps it was a thing beyond words and would be marred if subjected to them.
And now she understood why the hair felt different. The memories. They were weaker now. Before the Door there had been a fullness and strength and character, now it was diluted. They were still there, the memory of things they had been through together, but only a single hair strand's worth. It was truly just her now preserving all that she was. Her in the belly of the beast. Suddenly, instinctively even, she released a great cry. And it was, ‘TU EMU SOH OH YEOKEAHEA HA EY!’
Then the goddess restored leapt and, landing with a roll, stood with her back to the gored god. She turned back to him with a small smile. ‘You’re a dick, Danglydong. But I guess I always kind of knew that. Next time you want to eat me, just ask boyo,’ and with a mischievous wink the goddess leapt out of the god’s reach. She turned and looked at him, surveying the damage her emergence had done.
To have a goddess burst out of his own chest was an experience he would never forget. Sartr bellowed in absolute rage and fury as he held his stomach with his own hand. He was now standing fully upright, once again showing his ruined pride and glory as he glared towards the reborn Dhara. But as he emerged onto the blackened volcanic rock, he found himself weak to his stomach as he vomited up excess magma tainted by this cursed individual.
Yet his rage and fury momentarily subsided as he issued one gurgling chuckle at the shame of his current shape. ”CLEVER GIRL...” the flame god blurted out before he issued another discomforting groan, ”YOU GOT ME REAL GOOD. BUT WHAT MORE COULD I’VE EXPECTED FROM A GODDESS SO FIERY AND TENACIOUS AS I...?” Seihdhara’s smile waned at the other god’s pain, but she chuckled at his words.
‘You had me in the palm of your hand Danglydong, but greed got the better of you this time around. I had something good in mind as a reward for you - there were many different ways I could have made you groan. But for today, that’s the groaning you got. Luck of the draw and all that. I would stay and care for you, kiss your tum-tum so the hurt would go away, but there’s no guaranteeing you won’t try your antics again - so,' and she bowed dramatically, 'until we meet again Danglydong. May our future clashes prove more… congenial,' she considered blowing him a kiss, but decided that she had teased the poor fellow enough. With a simple wave, the goddess turned and hopped from rock to rock and into the air. And her hair fluttered outwards very suddenly, spearing every horizon.
And Seihdhara flew.
It had been a lucky escape, she admitted to herself. Had it not been for this strange affinity for heat who knew what would have occurred when the fiery god ate her. These were far too many close calls for comfort. She would not permit herself to be so vulnerable again. And her memories…
The other gods had not been as lucky as her coming into this world - they had forgotten, or had been forced to forget. Seihdhara frowned, now worried. What would have happened had Danglydong succeeded in consuming her? And what would have happened had she been destroyed by that Cat-head? Her eyes narrowed at memory of him. It had been odd in his presence. She had not felt like herself. Apologising and grovelling before the one who kept her prisoner. It had come out from some sincere regret at the time, but as she reflected on it now she could not help but feel somewhat disgusted. She shivered and anger pulsed through her.
But focus - her memories. Had Cat-head destroyed her when she was weak and helpless and unable to defend herself, then they would have been forever lost. It was important to prepare for that possibility - and for the possibility that in some distant future she could pass through the Door again, but without her memories. She would have to leave a trail that she could find, a record that could return her memories if the worst were ever to happen. She rubbed her nose thoughtfully.
Releasing a small breath, the goddess accelerated towards Mount Muspell. But she would have to be careful in the manner she set about leaving this record - it would have to be done in such a way that her more sinister sib- Siblings? A flash of anger shot across her face. No, that did not sit well with her, not anymore. Companions? Colleagues? Gods. It would have to be done in such a way that more sinister gods could not mess with it. She would have to think on the matter more in due time. But for now, it was time to get out of here.
Too weak to follow her out, Sartr fell to his knees as he reeled in his own molten ichor leaking down his gut. However, as he looked up to watch the reborn Dhara leave the world of Muspellheim behind, something suddenly caught his eye. Watching the patterns of her hair, the flame god discovered a sign so clear that it may as well have been an inscription flowing in the blazing wind.
And it was… “Ember of the Great Sword”.
Seihdhara enters Muspellheim and tries to work out how to rejuvenate herself. She is unsuccessful. She finds Sartr and discusses her plight with him. He offers her his services if she would pay - and it turns out he wants her to pay by becoming his slave! Seihdhara naturally refuses, falling right into Sartr’s trap. Imprisoning her, he declares that he will consume her and take her powers for himself. And he does. Then Seihdhara emerges dramatically, restored once more. She flies free towards Galbar, while Sartr unknowingly discovers his soul-name.
Goddess of Martial Combat 2 Might and 23 Freepoints
Time: The Day the Gods Came
And I floated like a distant dream
When there were none looking to see
And it was a dozen claps and beams Across the shore and into the stream I floated like a distant dream
And the mind perceived a simple thing
The heart, it danced and sang with glee
As we often used to dance and sing Where you held the blade and hid the sting I floated like a distant dream
There on that yonder red river bank
You gush and gush and gush and- flee
Till you breathe your last and break your flanks And sink where all the other ones sank Where I floated like a distant dream
And she knew a hotness beyond heat, so intense that the difference between hotness and coolness became indistinguishable - a heat where heat itself let up, fell down, and lost its meaning. And when meaning collapsed there only remained what meaning you had created for yourself in yonder days and times when ease was abundant and the promise of hardship was far and easy to shrug off and wave away like so many irritating flies. But that self-created meaning, for those who had taken the time and care to carve it when it seemed unneeded would prove to be the final crutch - the only crutch. If you did not stand on that, you in reality stood on nothing, on an illusion that slipped away the moment everything you thought so real became what it truly was: immaterial.
You are dead, and that is all that you are.
Strength rippled through her and she rejected the words with defences she never thought would prove so necessary. Because you will not kill me, much as it would please you.
I will teach you to respect your elder.
An inward flinch, a furious gaze. They who looked with the outer eye only, saw little. A massive eye stared unblinkingly as if hoping against hope that all its great one eye could see would make up for the closed eyes of soul and mind and heart and being. But for all your seeing you could never see me could you? For all your gawping eye.
My cause is beyond your understanding, but my instructions are not. When I give them, I expect that they will be obeyed.
So proud of your great big eye. So insistent on blind obedience. And this purpose you have violently carved into the minds of the free spirits you fished from the great beyond, this illusion you have given as a false crutch too fool those who attempt to see. For all your great big eye, you truly do hate sight don't you?
Child! This denial that you are experiencing is a most frequent thing.
Don't you 'child' me. What have I done for you to take such a tone w-
Equality in death! It is not a matter of whether your life was fulfilling, or whether you were a god or a tiny vermin. All must be subjected to the cleansing fires here. You are dead, and the dead must make way for the living. This is the only way.
No, not dead, I reje-
When you enter the Pyre, your thoughts will manifest to my eyes and I shall be elucidated. In that final moment, I will understand you. But before then, it seems unlikely.
I won't let you. You can't look i-
The fortitude of your frame, the blood in your hair and flesh, the very air that you breathe. I gave you all of this!
Not true. You're a liar. Why are you ly-
Oh, Seihdhara, you fool! I should’ve realized it sooner. You’re still dead.
W-what? No. Go away. I'm n-
Things fall apart, and souls do not last forever. Those that are not yet so decayed, like you, I feel no need to rush. Eventually all dead things must find their way into the pyres.I'm n-You are but a pale mockery of life, a lingering vestige. Once the death of body comes, the death of soul should not be protracted for long, lest they decay and become like the most wretched of specimens.H-Before I brought you here, you were nothing but a worthless echo, a formless shadow, doomed and trapped in the Beyond. Such a waste.Yo-Ugh, I knew I should’ve dragged your corpse back up from that lake of blood you left behind. I am not about to take any chances here. You are to remain with me until we can get you up and alive again, ok? Don’t put yourself in more danger than you already are!Notyourchildyo-The Vortex of Souls brings all of the dead here, and you are clearly dead.Ugh, I knew I should’ve dragged your corpse back up from that lake of blood you left behind.Call it misfortune, or happenstance, or destiny that killed you and brought you here. You are dead.Before I brought you here, you were nothing but a worthless echo. Such a waste.Fuck you. And you. And you especially.What a-Now that you are dead, there is no leaving this place. There is no more acting, no more doing anything anywhere else, no second chances. The only things left for you are rumination, and then taking the final step.Oh, Seihdhara, you fool!Equality in death!
Stop. Back o-
You cannot escape. There is no choice to be had in that all must find their way to the pyres.The fortitude of your frame, the blood in your hair and flesh, the very air that you breathe. I gave you all of this!Your purpose is nowhere near so grand as you purport; your lot was to die, so that I could look into your pyre and see you, and know you. Or perhaps there is no purpose at all. You are incorrect in your convictions, Seihdhara.Ugh, I knew I should’ve dragged your corpse back up from that lake of blood you left behind.I will teach you to respect your elder.One does not write their own destiny, or simply decree that he is beyond death.Such a waste.Fuck you. And you. And you especially.Can you just-It is disappointing to see you so unable to grasp my perspective or look beyond yourself, but I hold hope that the others are more mature. I can see that you will not be swayed, yet neither do your words or threats change my mind. Here you shall remain, until the end of your days. Here you shall remain, until the end of your days. Here you shall remain, until the end of your days. until the end of your days.
Have you ever heard the screams of a dying god?
You may well not be expecting to hear this of all things, but they sound unexpected. No god expects to die, you see. It's not something we do, you know? When I was cloven in two, I admit that it was pretty unexpected. Gods are not meant to die - but if they were to, I would be the one that didn't. And yet I did, didn't I. I remember only that the world was very bright, and then my legs were falling down beneath me. I was still alive then - what was the loss of hips and a few feet? And then pain exploded behind me, I might have said something - umph or some such sound with meaning beyond words. And then I fell right out of my body, looking down at myself, blood exploding from the gored bald head as though my hair was back and as living as it had always been. And it tumbled awkwardly earthward like some tattered and broken ragdoll. That's how I died. My lot was to die. My purpose was nowhere near so grand as I purport; my lot was to di- w-what?
What?
Oh, Seihdhara, you fool!Equality in death!I will teach you to respect your elder.You are dead, and that is all that you are.that is all that you are.that is all that you are.that is all that you fucking are. You are but a pale mockery of life, a lingering vestige.Before I brought you here, you were nothing but a worthless echo, a formless shadow, doomed and trapped in the Beyond. Such a waste.
Pale... mockery. Such... waste.
Tu emu soh oh yeokeahea ha ey
Rhu?
Oh, Seihdhara, you fool!
Tu emu nuyyu oh yeokeahea ha ey
Tu?
Tu emu soh oh yeokeahea ha ey
Tu emu soh?
Tu emu soh oh yeokeahea ha ey
oh yeokeahea ha-
Tu emu soh oh yeokeahea ha ey
ey
Tu emu soh oh yeokeahea ha ey
Child! This denial that you are experiencing is a most frequent thing.
TU EMU SOH OH YEOKEAHEA HA EY!
This appears to be set in Seihdhara's mind, references to heat suggest that she is in Muspell. Seihdhara is assaulted by the voices and (variations on) words of gods she has interacted with in the past. The words prove overwhelming and it is not certain who is speaking. Even when Seihdhara's voice comes through its content suggests it may not be her speaking, but nothing is clear. Towards the end Urhu's voice comes through speaking in a different language. The words, whether she understands their meaning or not, appear to strengthen Seihdhara.
Goddess of Martial Combat 5 Might and 23 Freepoints
The CyKhollab that was very nearly the LAST CyKhollab
Be Grateful Peasants
Time: The Day the Gods Came
This soul was different.
In the mess of screaming, wailing, gibbering souls, in the cacophony of self-righteous announcers, tyrannical dictators, energetic orators; this soul - it was different. It was not so much that it was less or more rambunctious than the others - indeed, it did not shout the less or lash out with inferior fury as an ethereal soul now latched onto an arm or an impish spryte seated itself atop its head or yet another took grip of its naked leg and hugged it for dear life. And no, it was not the mere fact that, unlike others, this soul did not leave a flaking trail of soul-stuff in its wake - though that was indeed rather notable if not entirely unique. No, the most immediately noticeable difference was as a bristling flame, white and orange and red all at once. And yet it was not simple as a bristling fire, this soul actually aflame. And so as she swatted the impertinent souls that thought to latch onto her, all that she touched swiftly burned away in pain and glee. Indeed, seeing in her a far swifter salvation than the lengthy way to the Pyres above, they all gravitated about her, tearing and pulling and lurching and biting to touch her - hotly they came, fired their gleeful cries and passed; hotly charged and broke at last! And ultimately - ultimately they disappeared. But between the tug of the Vortex and the pulling and tearing and resolute charging of her fellow souls, Seihdhara could hardly think up or muster an escape. And so even as she fought with all her fury (which was, admittedly, far inferior to what she remembered herself capable of) she ascended ever higher and ever closer to the Pyre. And even as she looked to the fires above, and even as she burned endlessly she could not help but wonder - could... could that which was already aflame be set aflame? Perhaps it was the one cohesive thought she mustered in between the frantic get off mes and not there you don't you cheeky buggers, though she knew not from where the thought came or from where the sense of deep and growing unease emanated.
So it was that Seidhara was raised up, up and above Galbar and all of those lower celestial planes that hovered just above it likes halos. Her spirit passed the boughs of the World Tree - and she looked upon the enormous thing and was filled with awe. And she determined that she would visit this place in time and make herself a great tree also so that she could show it to that Twigirl. Yes, she liked trees. A lot. And as the World Tree disappeared from sight, the breathtaking remnants of Asceal's shattered comet emerged, and beyond it the cold emptiness of space. And Seihdhara looked at the shards all over the place and the destruction, and she knew that it had been from here that the crystals that struck her came. It seemed to her somewhat callous of Buzzkill Sealy to create an explosion like that just so there could be some light and fireworks. But also surprising! Maybe she was not so uptight after all! And even as she thought this, the invisible force that pulled at her refused to yield. She was dragged ever closer to the distant stars, and she felt the grim aura of the Sky of Pyres growing in her mind and heart as it pulled her closer at an ever increasing speed. Here, after being swept away by the currents for so long, the gaps between her soul and those of the maddened others began to grow. Soon the space was such that she batted off the last of them and there were no more within close enough reach to scramble onto or claw at her, though a few dozen were still travelling close enough for her to vividly see.
Another difference between her own fiery spirit and those of these other souls soon became clear: the crumbling spirits were experiencing far greater forces. Horrific ripping resulted here or there when they tried too hard to fight the Vortex. All of them were dragged directly towards some of the nearest stars. But as for Seihdhara, the tug was not so overpowering that she was utterly unable to steer. It was like she was caught in a river that was dragging her towards her inevitable end where downstream there was a fateful waterfall. Struggling against the mighty current to go back upstream was ultimately futile, but she could still swim left or right and choose just where she fell. There were many stars nearby with different hues and intensities, and then there were of course great black voids between the lights, where nothing drifted save for strange clouds.
Seihdhara did not like the look of those great black voids in the slightest, and so steered herself gently towards the closest of the lights. As she approached she saw that they appeared to be - as she already knew on a level - great fires into which the souls were being swept in by updrafts. Huge billowing plumes of dark vapor emerged from the flames and surrounded the pyres as smoky coronas, and something flaky to the touch yet nearly imperceptible was wafting everywhere here--ashes. There did not seem to be much choice involved for these spirits being incinerated. At first, Seihdhara did not know whose work this was, for the essence that she felt and the hand that was at work in all of this was not one she had crossed before. But as she cast her memory back to her entrance into this world, she vaguely recalled the gods she had not met but of whom the Ugly Old Ogre had impregnated her mind with knowledge. What was his name? K-Ky-Kha-Kho…
She frowned deeply and began to exhibit a greater degree of resistance to the flow, swimming slowly but surely to whatever shore this torrential flow had. Aye, she did not like the look of those black voids in the slightest, but she utterly despised being unable to make her own way, being pulled along whether she liked it or not towards whatever lay at the end of this all. And so she pushed away from the pull and and made for the darkness. And yes, there was something not quite comforting about that darkness, but at least it was her choice to head there. No pull, no matter how overpowering, would be forcing her anywhere. She was the absolute master of herself wherever she went and however she was and in whatever state she found herself. Eventually she found that she was coated in darkness and free, her burning soul freer now than it had been since being torn away from her body. Here and there she heard a whisper, but Seihdhara was not afraid. Still, she was no fool and, throwing her hand outwards, a great gleaming soul-blade appeared.
Safe for now upon the dark and empty ‘shore’, she watched on as more and more of the maddened and broken souls were dragged forth and condemned to the flames. Upon closer examination, those flames within the massive pyres were not at all like any mundane fire she’d ever seen before, nor even like her hair! Like the dead souls themselves, these flames did not breathe. And Seihdhara did not understand it. She did not understand what had caused these souls to become like this and what had caused this fire to… well, it was dead. A dead fire. The very thought of it was horrifying, but seeing it with the eyes of the soul as she did now sent a slithering coldness through her, and it was like no cold she had ever felt. A small eddy of smoke wafted toward her, but where she had naturally expected to feel some warmth she instead felt nothing. The light of her radiant soul dimmed just a bit as the smoke passed through her. And she knew in that instant that the fire - that fire there - promised a truer death than simply being flung from her body. To step into that would be the true end of Seihdhara - but for now, why! She yet lived!
And though everything screamed at her to leave this place at once, her curiosity and horror had been piqued. She wanted to know what had caused these souls to become like this. She wanted to know why they were being flung into the dead flames. Even this smoke - what was it? Her soul-blade in hand (though she did not know whether it could protect her against what this place had), she ventured forth and looked. And her eyes were quick to find the greatest flame. It drew her like nothing else, but she resisted and thought that to go anywhere near it would surely be lethal. But then she smirked, and without a second thought she flung herself forth and headed right for the great dead eye.
Traversing that void between the stars took time. As she drifted closer and closer to the greatest and brightest of all the star-pyres, she had time to contemplate her choice. Great nebulous clouds of smoke and ash stood in her path, but in this ethereal form she passed through them unimpeded. Finally, as she came nearly upon the star, she witnessed a colossal head of fire. The visage was a twisting bestial thing, filled with all the furies innate to the flame. The great head of flame did not seem to see her, busy as it was staring deep into the howling depths of that gigantic star, but on seeing it Seihdhara knew him immediately.
Oh! I know you now, she muttered to herself, you’re that... that Cat-head! Seihdhara declared once her slight surprise at seeing the fiery feline head had subsided. So you’re the one who did all this? And as she spoke she surged towards him until the far larger god was right before her. Why are they all so broken? She asked candidly, and this place and all of it - it all seems horrible! The fires, the souls, the smoke - something is very wrong. Why? She looked at the great head for some time, her question lingering between them. But there was no response and Seihdhara had the distinct feeling that the other god had not quite registered her presence, his eyes fixed on the great star-pyre before them. He seemed to be muttering something to himself, but Seihdhara could not quite make it out and, being a soul, she could neither nudge nor pull at her sibling to get his attention. Indeed, despite her flamboyant colour and fiery nature, it seemed like he only registered her distantly as yet another soul waiting to burn. Shaking the soul-blade in her hand into dust away, she surveyed the countless souls being sweeped willing and unwilling into the dread dead flame. She watched them, silently, for longer than she cared to count. Shedding themselves and weeping, crying out for an end - and yet... no, she could not say they were alive, the shadows of life perhaps - and yet…
There came to her then the image of her body, shattered and broken. Falling like a battered ragdoll away, all fire, all dignity, all strength… gone like ash blowing off in the aftermath of the firestorm. She trembled at the memory of that terrible unliving - joyless - husk. And the husk was gone but she - why, she yet lived! It throbbed within her, ceaselessly, stubbornly, with a fury and rage, with an eternal fervour and vigour, with an excitement that whispered - that urgently pitched - for her to go, just go! Now! And she trembled once more, but not out of cold or horror, but so great was the fire that wished to be loosed. She needed to do something - this life. Clenching and unclenching her ethereal fists wildly, Seihdhara looked back at the near-but-oh-so-distant Cat-head and knew that there was nothing in that vacant head for her. Not now anyhow, for this god was elsewhere, preoccupied utterly in a world entirely different where she could neither reach him nor he hear her. And so she reached out - carefully, oh so carefully - and fished a soul from the impossible surge. It cried out and burned under her fiery touch, and she realised that it was not crying out in pain - not entirely at least. But he burned slowly - slower far than he would have burned in the pyre - and so she had the chance to inspect him, look into him, observe his innards more closely.
Yes. Life. This was the stuff it was made of. Without this the husk was nothing - all the strength, all the great martial feats. They all started here at the wellspring of each individual life. Were they separate then?- the husk and the soul, that was. Or was there more? She looked more closely at the soul in her grasp, but only twisted her nose at the strange way in which even as he burned bits and pieces were peeling away. And she knew then that burning was in fact a mercy, for this soul was ill and dying slowly - oh so slowly! But why? And no amount of staring into him, or the one after him, or the one after her, would grant Seihdhara an answer. Tell me! She finally demanded in exasperation, grabbing yet another soul. She screeched and clawed at the goddess’ face as the flame-souled mistress of battle questioned and demanded again and again. TELL YOU WHAATT?! The burning soul at last screeched, gasping beneath the effort of summoning coherent thoughts and sculpting them into words that left her ethereal, ever-shifting, throat. Why? Why are you fading away? Why are you… dying. The soul looked at her wide-eyed, unable to understand or comprehend the question. Am...am I… alive? Seihdhara scoffed at the question. Don’t you know? You are life! The soul seemed only perplexed by this. But...how can that… be… it managed as it slipped away from Seihdhara’s grasp and disappeared into the illusory torrents. Indeed, how could it be? How could it be when they were all so devoid of life. And for all their emptiness they all still held onto different forms, onto… Seihdhara’s eyes lit up and she smiled faintly.
Memories.
She looked up at the smoke, and she knew it for what it was now. Knew why it had left her cold. The remnants of life, black and formless. There were no memories there, nothing at all. She rose up to it then, her eyes distant and withdrawn. And for a moment there the smoke of the greatest of the sky-pyres seemed to her a great obsidian bear, the light of the fire reflected beneath it as red flowing water.
A Visage Dark, A Memory Stirs
And she who was and had always been Seihdhara suddenly knew the Bear Over Red Water. And all distance and pensiveness left her and her soul-eyes were filled with wonder and glee, and if souls could cry then Seihdhara shed tears. And the flames about her grew ponderously large and took on a heat that defied the wintry death of the flames of the sky-pyre. She extended a single ethereal flaming hand, she smiled. And her brother saw her then. It is given you, all of you, by the Bear Over Red Water. And it was a momentary thing only, but for that moment a nebulous flame-red hue seemed to wash across the velvet fabric of heaven, awash as it was with pearly stars. Seihdhara looked below, and Cat-head looked above, and there was a silencing of souls then. The goddess with soul aflame grinned. You had a good idea Cat-head. But this isn’t the solution. The question is why do they peel. You do your thing - but me, I’ll find out! And so saying, the goddess turned and surged off with the billowing smoke into the endlessness of the void and- ah. That was a funny looking seal there! Only, rather than drawing closer to it, Seihdhara found that she was very suddenly being drawn back. Furrowing her brows and blinking in confusion, she looked behind her to find that the gaping maw of the dread pyre was yawning after her and growing larger by the second.
That… was not good.
As she had done before, she made for the shore - if one could call it thus - and escaped the relentless tug, leaping back into the dark clouds. Once there, she dashed off again with greater determination and fury. Her speed was greater than the star could hope to pull helpless souls into its cavernous maw. And yet, just as the strange red seal came into sight once more and freedom was within grasp, she found herself drawn back yet again. Frustrated, she fought free of the flow yet another time and gave an irritated flaming fucktwit. It was quite apparent that this place drew souls in whether they wanted it or not, and no exertions on her part would allow her to fly free…
Unless…
Her head turned abruptly until she found the form of not-so-talkative Cat-head again. Surely he would know how she could free herself of the insistent pull of this place. Without further thought, she rushed down towards him and shouted his name so loud that every soul round every star could hear it. But in truth that was merely her being her excitable self, for it was to the mind of the lord of death that she spoke and not to his ears. Your help, death god! I need it. Wake up.
He knew now that all judgement founds its roots in ignorance and assumption. In the depths of the inferno before him were the ghostly vestiges of liars, traitors, thieves. Murderers. All of the ‘evil’ and ‘degenerate’ scum that other gods might have been wont to judge harshly, but not Katharsos.
How could he judge them when their every thought and moment were laid bare before his eyes, unravelling one by one as the memories were committed to flame and smoke? To look into the depths of the flame was to empathize with the dead in a way that he would never be able to empathize with any who yet lived. These souls needed no punishment, and Katharsos needed no explanation or apology from them; everyone was just a product of happenstance, a leaf caught adrift on the currents of a stream. Life was their blissful, or tragic, or wild, or calm journey down that river.
And death was equality.
death god
A faint echo roused the lord of death and made him break his gaze away from the depths of the flame. He turned from the great pyre, only to see another flame. He might have squinted closer to see if it were merely one of his other distant pyres (for at this time there were many ablaze, and he could not hope to watch over them all at once) but the hue of her flame made such a determination easy. This was no pyre, for the flames in this little spark still had a flickering heartbeat, a life and a warmth to them. It was a faint heartbeat, though.
There was a gentle force that brought Seihdhara away from the darkened distance of the proverbial shore. In an instant she came to be right before the colossal head of fire, and perhaps to her surprise, the tiger-faced god radiated some small amount of warmth. Enough for her to feel, at least. She closed her eyes and basked in it, and it seemed to strengthen her.
He looked at Seihdhara’s soul and contemplated her in silence for a few moments, the hue of his flames gently shifting from a dull orange to a soft gold. The tiger’s face unceremoniously sloughed away and reformed, and now she was looking at the visage of something more like a monkey.
”Death god,” he finally echoed. ”Is that all that you see?” The goddess, he eyes open once more, grinned and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
Not really no. I just didn’t want to go in and call you Cat-head. You seem like the serious sort, and last time I joked about with the serious sort I got… well, it didn’t go too well. And something tells me that, right now, I’m in no position to be angering anybody!
Her strange mannerisms earned little more than a puzzled look, but it didn’t remain upon the simian face for long. ”Sometimes I see blurs, hear echos, and think that once I was another thing. But now you are right, and this is all that I am. And you are dead, and that is all that you are.” Seihdhara considered the other god with raised eyebrows.
Ah, so you also can’t remember things from before the Door. Rhu-rhu is the same as you. I wonder how many of the others are like that too. It’s a shame, don’t you think? Not being able to remember anything. D’you reckon the Old Ogre did it on purpose? Rid you of your memories that is. Whatever his reason, he didn’t take mine away - or maybe he couldn’t! I’m pretty stubborn that way you know? She grinned and hovered closer to the other god, placing an ethereal hand on his now-apelike nose. Her grin disappeared slowly and a wistfulness caught in her eyes. You seem sad to me. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think that you are just a death god. Why should you be defined by the role you play? It is important, don’t get me wrong. I can see that. But you’re not just a death god. And no, I’m not dead. That’s not all that I am. I am alive! And she dashed away from him and spun around in a great fiery whirl, laughter rippling off her. But she was dead, Katharsos knew, and her joy was lessened by the leash that stifled her flight and tethered her close to the other god.
And as in for her words, she may as well have been skipping stones off the surface of a pond.
”These names that you mention are…” His face changed into that of a lion, now. ”...alien to me. But when you enter the Pyre, your thoughts will manifest to my eyes and I shall be elucidated. In that final moment, I will understand you. But before then, it seems unlikely.” ‘You don’t know them because you’ve locked yourself up here all on your lonesome silly! If you went and talked to everyone else then you’d know everyone wouldn’t you. And wait,’ Seihdhara looked at the great sky-pyre behind her and then back at Katharsos, ‘you want me to go in there? Why!?’ She asked, perplexed at the suggestion.
For the first time, he proclaimed his dogma aloud. ”Equality in death! It is not a matter of what I want, or of whether your life was fulfilling, or whether you were a god or a tiny vermin. All must be subjected to the cleansing fires here, so their souls may be recycled that life may spring forth anew. You are dead, and the dead must make way for the living--this is only natural. This is the only way.” Seihdhara looked back at the stream of suffering souls and back to Katharsos. It did not seem to her, when she had observed the souls, that this was the case at all. She had rather thought that there was something wrong with them, that they were suffering, that they were dying slowly. The great pyres to her seemed a mercy, a swift burning away that was preferable to this endless, painful shedding. She turned back to Katharsos. So… so there is no actual reason for burning them? I thought you burn them because they are suffering, because of that shedding and peeling. They seem to be in a great amount of pain. But you only burn them because… because… she frowned, if that’s not why you burn them, then why do you burn them?
”I acknowledge their pain, and for that reason hurl them into the flames without hesitation. Though they long to find an ending, it is in their nature to survive, so they inevitably struggle and rage; for these souls, I must give swift relief. It is my duty and my imperative.” Katharsos had a way of speaking slowly so that every word had time to sink in and crush one under its implications before even the beginnings of the next word left the god’s mind. He was in no hurry as he explained further, “Things fall apart, and souls do not last forever. Those that are not yet so decayed, like you, I feel no need to rush. Eventually all dead things must find their way into the pyres so that they can make way for new life, but you may have time to contemplate the meaning of this lifetime and reflect until you are prepared to accept and face your destiny. Time within reason, of course.” Cocking her head, Seihdhara placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. Something was not quite right in this all. There was a piece that did not quite click. She scratched her head and tried to figure out exactly what it was.
Pain. Rage. Struggle. Survival…
Her eyes brightened and she looked up at the smoke leaving the pyre. Now that stuff, that was dead. There could be no doubt. But those… she looked down at the screaming throng being forced into the great star-pyre. Those were not dead. You are contradicting yourself Cat-head! She declared excitedly, you say that I am dead, that they are dead. But dead things can’t feel! They don’t have a need to “survive”. Just because their bodies have collapsed, it doesn’t make them dead. I’ve looked into those souls down there and I have every belief that they are life itself! I need to look more, I know, but without them there can be no life. So how can they be dead? They feel, they want to survive, they rage - these are all clear signs of life. It is that smoke there, unfeeling and cold and… it’s that that’s dead. No, souls aren’t dead Cat-head. They only come here to die.
“No, what they have here is but a pale mockery of life, a lingering vestige. Once the death of body comes, the death of soul should not be protracted for long, lest they decay and become like the most wretched of these specimens before you.” He looked closer into Seihdhara’s fiery soul. The same gentle force that he’d used to bring her into his vicinity now lifted her chin and made her meet his gaze. “This denial that you are experiencing is a most frequent thing, and perhaps a natural one, from what I have already witnessed in these others. Those that find acceptance and face reality are more content in the end.” Seihdhara considered Katharsos’ words carefully before shrugging.
I have to think on it more, and I have to see more. And I can’t see more while I’m here. I’m glad I came up here and saw all these souls, I think it was important that I did. I left some of my soul behind when I came through the Door you see, and I need to get it back. This - all this, you know? - might be important. But I can’t stay here. She approached him, a slightly vulnerable look in her eyes, Cat-head, she whispered (though there was no need truly), you need to let me go. I need to get back to my body and to my only living strand of hair. It’s important.
The radiant gold of his face lost its color, and then Seihdhara saw that every fire could be black. It was a mournful, sympathetic look, but the warmth that he had been exuding had now gone cold. Just like the ashes. “You have not understood what I told you, and nor have you come to grasp with your situation. You are dead--I do not know how that came to be so quickly, but I shall mourn. But now that you are dead, there is no leaving this place. There is no more acting, no more doing anything anywhere else, no second chances. The only things left for you are rumination, and then taking the final step. Equality in death. And then rest. And then nothingness.” Seihdhara bit her ethereal lip and looked at the pyre behind them, and at the smokey soul remains above.
No. She would not go in there. She was Seihdhara. She had not been born to die and forget. She was alive. And when she died, she would rise again complete and whole. Seihdhara did not die. It was not her way. She wracked her mind, trying to find something that could persuade her committed brother to let her go. She could fight him, but it seemed to her that he cared little for resistance and showcasing a living spirit - it was merely denial and to be expected as far as he was concerned. Maybe she could try to knock him out if it really came to it, but she did not fancy her chances in her current state. Thinking back to what the Old Ogre had placed in her mind about Cat-head, she saw that he had been swift to leave once summoned into the world. Very eager to carry out his given purpose. Looking at the death god, she did not see any harm in trying that with him.
Uh. You know, I like your whole Equality in Death thing. It seems sensible. But don’t you think we gods were brought into this world for a reason? Don’t you think that we are especially important? Don’t you think you’d be messing with the Old Ogre’s plans if you burned me before... she frowned and tried to think back. What was it that Ugly Old Ogre had wanted her to do? Oh! Before I make my Sphere. My Sphere is very important, and if I die before making it then that Old Ogre won’t be happy. Na-Aah. So I really think you should reconsider burning me - at the very least until I’ve made my Sphere.
“A purpose?” He fell silent for a long, long time in serious contemplation.
”In truth, I have been grappling with such questions as well. Perhaps this is indeed a part of the One-Eyed One’s design. But maybe your purpose is nowhere near so grand as you purport; it might be that your lot was to die, that I could look into your pyre and see you, and know you. Or perhaps there is no purpose at all to what we do or are. How can you or I say? If He deigned that you were to live, would He really have allowed you to die so soon? Would He not deliver you away from this place now if there was some urgent cause, in His eye, to undo the death of your body?” Seihdhara shrugged at Katharsos’ questions.
I can’t say that these are questions that have been bothering me. I am the self-creator of my purpose, and I have already decreed that I am not born to die. But if you are worried about these things, I think it would be good to ask the Ogre before doing away with me, don’t you think? Or if you have no time to go ask him, I can go. But I won’t promise you that I’ll be coming back! She smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head again, unrepentant in her honesty.
”If you indeed have a purpose, and if it would offend Him that you fail to fulfill whatever role this is, then we speak of destiny. One does not write their own destiny, or simply decree that he is beyond death.”
He looked away from her, toward a great patch of nothingness in the dark void between stars. Melantha’s darkened Sphere obscured the way, but it was easy enough for the two of them to feel that this was the precise direction in which a small rocky planetoid drifted, inside of which was the Architect’s palace, inside of which was Him on His throne, and His unbroken eye. The gaze of that eye had never left them, and even now Katharsos felt its stare…
”He sees us now. He saw you then, whenever you died. That He did nothing and does nothing seems telling. I think that you are incorrect in your convictions, Seihdhara.” Seihdhara looked in the direction Katharsos had looked for a few moments, then she turned back to her brother and, shrugging, grinned again. You might be right, Cat-head! But maybe he sees no reason to intervene because he knows I’m fully capable of dealing with this on my own! You are the master of death, and I am that wards you off. So maybe it is time for me to do what I do! What do you think? And the memory of a sword seemed to manifest itself at her fingertips, and she flared with a fire that was not just of the soul. Because this soul was different.
If she had expected a reaction, then she wasn’t met with the reaction she hoped for. In fact, she was hardly met with any reaction at all. Katharsos still stared into the distance, looking toward where the Barrier was hidden behind darkness. He had heard her, though she might not have even realized. He simply had nothing left to say save for the silent statement that he remained unswayed. Seihdhara moved a short distance from him, now distinctly aware of the ethereal grip he had on her. But even in his grip she grew, her fiery soul swelling and gushing until it matched the other god’s in size. And the ethereal blade she had waved away returned and glistened. If you would kill me, Cat-head, then I will fight. Will you not let me go?
Before him was the ultimate defiance, a direct challenge, the very pinnacle of the ‘denial’ he had spoken of. Yet when he finally turned to face her again, there was nothing but an infuriated look that suggested he’d expected this. ”You cannot escape,” he told her flatly. ”I do not care for violence; it is not becoming of us, and entirely futile as well. Calm yourself.”
His eyes darted to her ethereal blade, and by the sheer force of his will did the ghostly facade of a weapon begin to fade and dissipate. She smirked at his words and actions, tightening her grip on the ethereal sword and forcing it to remain. Violence, Cat-head? You pulled me here forcefully and are keeping me against my will - is that not violence? Violence and force are keeping me here, and violence and force will get me out - unless you see reason and release me. There is no reason at all to keep me here. I refuse death. I am not peeling and shedding like the others. I still have much to do. The others, and she gestured to the millions of souls shedding themselves in pain, need to burn, but what need have I for it? Have you thought about that? Why can’t you send me through complete? As I am. If you have no answers, if there are no good reasons, then we must fight until I am free.
Finally, with that accusation, she managed to provoke a reaction and some semblance of emotion. His face molded once more, now into something like a dog. The black flames turned to bright red. ”I brought you here? I am keeping you here through violence?” Some mixture of confusion, anger, and (perhaps promisingly, for her) even guilt manifested upon his as he tried to grapple with and process that perspective.
”I do not bring anybody here. The Vortex of Souls brings all of the dead here, and you are clearly dead. So call it misfortune, or happenstance, or destiny that killed you and brought you here, but not I! And I would think that I am anything but violent, for offering you the mercy and grace and time that I have. I would like it if all lived fulfilling and good lives before they came before me. I would like it if all felt prepared for what is to come, and stepped into the Pyre of their own free will. I have not flung you into the flames against your will, although I certainly could have, and for that valuable consideration and all others, I am not violent!” Seihdhara only scoffed at Katharsos’ empty excuses and justifications.
You say that, Cat-head, but let us not lie to ourselves. You are the one who created the Vortex - no soul was given a choice in that matter, I know I wasn’t! Already that is violence and force whether you realise it or not. It may not be physical, but you are taking away freedom - and freedom is only taken by force whether physical or not. Don’t try to wriggle your way out of responsibility on that front! As for not flinging me into the flames and giving me time - what difference does it make? You have decided, whether I want it or not, that I will burn. Whether that happens now or in billions of aeons, the decision is made. That is force and violence even if you have coated it in kindness and mercy.
”This cycle, these pyres, my doctrine--all are for the greater good, and I can envision no better system. But the system would fail if none were to enforce it, so perhaps you are right in that I do use force. But I do not enjoy being heavy-handed; I fling these broken souls into the flames only as an act of mercy, and even still I feel regret. And I have not been nearly brutal enough to be called ‘violent’ in my dealings with you! There is no choice to be had in that all must find their way to the pyres. If it were not I, another would have to bear this burden and play this role. If the souls were not committed to flame, then perhaps they would be committed to ice, but in the end it would make no difference. Channeling your rage and denial and using it to wound me undeservedly is a great cruelty, and a most unjust one at that!” Seihdhara raised her head and huffed.
If you can’t handle the truth don’t blame me for it. If you are hurt by what I say then you are merely hurt by the truth - without all that flowery decoration and philosophical prettying-up. Why is there no choice to be had? Why must all find their way to the pyres? A healthy soul such as mine is not the same as those ones there that are shedding themselves. Surely justice demands that you treat me differently - equality here is injustice. How can you treat those half-souls, diseased and broken, like my full soul, vigorous and full of health? That is the very heart of injustice, don’t you think? What will you do in the future if other souls that are unbroken and not suffering come to you? Will you throw them in just the same? Would it not be better to create another route for them? One that does not involve all this burning and… she looked up with dread at the smoking remains of the souls and all this forgetting. She looked back at him, if you are unwilling to consider the plight of those souls that come to you before their time, then you know no mercy or justice. Why then should I show you mercy in word or action? Your system, I can see that it is necessary. But it is far too rigid. Equality in Death - it seemed sensible to me at first, but now that I think on it there is no sense to it. There should be justice in death. So give me justice, or give me battle!
”You are not treated the same, child! Where you see my wind hurl them into the fires, you are given the fair and valuable consideration of time. Of the right to even speak this conversation, to even be greeted by me! How is it just to send a soul that’s only half-ruined back to the Spheres below, when a detached spirit would only create mayhem? Why should I permit the selfish dead that refuse to pass on the right to inflict themselves upon those that yet live, when instead they can be ended as they are? When one dies, his soul is recycled and takes new form and another being lives. There is no battle here, Seihdhara, but there is justice.” Seihdhara frowned in confusion. She did not understand everything he was saying. Inflict themselves? Selfish? Half-ruined and detached spirits?
Look Cat-head, I don’t know what you’re saying but if you expect me to be grateful because you allowed me, in your endless magnanimity, to speak, then think again. If I am to bow down at your feet in utter humility and subservience because you have given me time to contemplate, then you have another thing coming. I am a prisoner here, brought unwilling. And you intended to annihilate me, destroy all that I am, and look into my most private thoughts and memories. This is not merely violence, this is an all out invasion, a metaphysical assault and violence of enormous proportions. I will not be grateful. I will call you out. And you will rethink this. And you will let me be free - at the very least put me back where your Vortex kidnapped me from. Or if you have to burn me, then don’t burn my memories. Reform me whole. And don’t look into me.
His fires shook gently side to side as if the fluttering flames were blown by some wind, but there was no wind here in the cold of space. ”I thought that my purpose might be misunderstood,” he wistfully said, ”but I had hoped it might not be so. It is disappointing to see you so unable to grasp my perspective or look beyond yourself, but I still hold hope that perhaps the others are more mature. Very well, I can see that you will not be swayed, yet neither do your words or threats change my mind. So here you shall remain, until the end of your days. You may still choose when that is.”
With that final condemnation, Katharsos turned away from Seihdhara and left her. She watched after him dolefully until the distant light of his fiery body disappeared around to the other side of the great pyre before her. The lamentations of the steady stream of souls being swept into the pyre made a fitting ambience for her plight. She puffed in frustration and threw the soul-blade away in anger, her great body fizzling and shrinking like a great balloon swiftly releasing air. That did not go well at all. She had let her anger get to her and, instead of convincing her brother with kind words she had forced him off with harsh ones. Even now, moments (or it seemed like moments) after the heated fight she could see with exactness where she had gone wrong and where she might have been able to speak better. Slapping herself for the nitwit that she was, she made to go after him. But almost immediately she stopped herself. No, she had hurt him. She had sensed that. Perhaps more deeply than she could have imagined. She would have to give him some time to think, to calm down. Perhaps time would make him take more kindly to her advanced when she approached him at last. Biting her lips and sighing, she stared miserably at the endless stream of souls being swept into the star.
She was not sure how long it had been when she finally started, and got up from what must have been a slumber. She had lost count at what must have been the four thousandth soul to be flung into the pyre. She looked about and began searching for Cat-head. Slowly at first, for she was worried about getting caught in the torrent this close to the huge star, but once she had gotten her bearings she sped up. She found him eventually, brooding as he had been before he heard her the first time. She bit her lips and looked at him shyly, before approaching close enough to touch him. She extended a hand and touched his fiery head. C- Cat-head, she murmured, I just wanted to say that- and here she smiled awkwardly and her eyes were as full of repentance as she could sincerely show, I was stupid I was harsh I got angry I shouldn’t have I know it was so dumb. Please, don’t take what I said to heart. I might have gotten a bit too harsh in my accusations - I only wanted you to free me see? And, well. I saw that you were kind - it’s so clear that you are! I just thought that if I made you feel guilty enough then you would let me go. I know, I was bad, I shouldn’t have. Look - I understand why you bring them up here, I can see that you would prefer for them all to have lived complete and fulfilling lives, to willingly leap into the flame and be annihilated. It is a beautiful ideal. I still don’t entirely understand why they are shedding - and I still intend to find out! But the reason I want to know is because I too don’t wish for them to suffer, I too wish for them to live complete and fulfilled lives. And yes, I know they are dead the moment they leave their bodies as far as you are concerned, but I want them not to suffer even in the brief time between departing their bodies and being truly annihilated. Call me sentimental or emotional, or whatever else you will, but it is what it is I guess. So- uh. I just wanted to say that. So you know and don’t think too harshly of me - or of yourself at that. And yeah - sorry about my outbursts. She looked at him apologetically and gripped his flames tighter, as if her closeness to him and her words would soften his heart to her and have him forgive her. And somehow, her words found her way into his heart and she convinced him.
”Go,” he told her. It had been almost a whisper, a tiny crack in the smooth surface of silence, but now he was silent once more. Had he even spoken at all, or was it only her hopeful imagination..? But erelong, there was a gentle tugging upon her. It brought her toward the pyre, and it tightened, but it didn’t let go. Swiftly realising what was happening, she held onto her brother and resisted the tug. N- no. Talk to me first. There was a desperation in her voice and her eyes told only too well of a deep fright. It was not the horror he had seen in her eyes at the prospect of being burned, but something rather more immediate. I... and there was suddenly a wide-eyed naivety about her, I don’t want to have lost you. ”They’ll always think what you said. That I’m a tyrant,” he accidentally mused aloud. He shook his head slightly, and the force spiriting her away grew stronger. She frowned and shook her head also, still clutching onto him against the pull and tears suddenly forming in her ethereal eyes and dripping onto him. No. They won’t. I will tell them otherwise. They will know of your mercy, as I have come to know. And you know it too. And then the force grew too strong and it carried her up, over the brazing inferno, into the great plume of ash that the flames belched upward, and in that updraft she was caught and swept away. The ashes carried her back down to Galbar, the great billowing cloud of them unnaturally retaining its cohesion so as to bear her against the current of the Vortex of Souls. She passed by many a spirit and broken soul on its fateful journey to the stars. Some didn’t react, for she was not the only soul about even if she was the only fiery one, but just as many took notice, and they laughed or made faces or jeered or screamed. Still, the cold ashes bore her away from them and back down to Galbar. The cold, dead ashes. They were raining down everywhere here on Galbar; she just hadn’t known to look for them before. She looked up and all about here, awed into silence by the… all-encompassing nature of these things. She sank closer to the ground, following now this piece and now that piece, peering within this piece and tearing apart that as if to see in it. And closer to the sea she saw a tiny creature, far too tiny for mere sight. It was tearing itself apart, slowly, and bits of soul were crowding about it with urgency. And then, with a suddenness, the creature was now two identical creatures and a single piece of soul disappeared inside it. And Seihdhara could suddenly see the new, whole soul that lay within the tiny plankton of her sister’s creation. And so the cycle was complete.
With the ghost of a smile dancing on her ethereal face, she looked up above to where she knew her brother sat in thought and contemplation, considering the memories of unknown thousands. What knowledge he must have, what wisdom! She shrank inwardly in embarrassment at the thought of having spoken so outlandishly before him in his own realm. It was only a sign of his mercy and wisdom that he did not lash out at her then and punish her as the Old Ogre had done before. She could learn much from one like Cat-head. And it seemed the first lesson she should take to heart was quite clearly not to anger those with power over her!
She considered this deeply for a few moments. There was an altogether serious expression on her face.
Oh fuck it. Who am I kidding. And she scratched her head sheepishly. But no! She had to learn to pick her battles carefully! And she had to know how to fight her battles! That lesson she could - and would! - learn. And so thinking, she extended her senses until she felt where that distant part of her - that hair - was. And she dashed away, ready now for her second - and final - coming.
Seihdhara gets swept up into the Sky of Pyres. She tries to speak with Katharsos, but does not succeed. She observes souls. She gives souls the capacity for soul-names and gets her own. She attempts to leave the Sky of Pyries, but fails. She speaks with Katharsos about this, attempting to persuade him to let her go. She gets angry and offends him badly, causing him to refuse to help her. Feeling bad, she leaves him along for crawling back before him and apologising. He seems sadder yet, and she tries to comfort him but he has already dismissed her from the Sky of Pyres. She’s back on Galbar in her soul form and observes some sexy plankton soulling it up. She goes to find her body and living hair strand.
--MIGHT & FP EXPENDITURE (Seihdhara): ----Seihdhara imbues all the soul ash leaving each of the star-pyres in the Sky of Pyres with the capacity to possess soul-names. Souls DO NOT immediately have a soul name and need never have them. They are totally and entirely optional. A soul-name can only be discovered by carrying out a simple ritual to be detailed in the relevant wiki article. Unless this ritual is carried out by the person in question (or on their behalf by someone else) then the person will be without a soul-name. Discovering and embracing one’s soul-name grants a person greater martial capability (free portfolio action) along with a soul-related unique capability. Embracing one’s soul-name merely relates to acknowledging it and accepting it. If one discovers it but does not acknowledge/want it, then its effects are not forced upon them. They are entirely and completely optional. It’s a free world. I just want a soul port and this seemed cool. Leave me alone. (-3 Might Points)
After a few hours she had gotten a very good idea of what the continent was like. In a word: boring. It was rock and rock and more rock. Oh and a random river of blood that ran through most of the continent. Because why wouldn’t that be a thing? Or perhaps calling it a river of ichor would be more fitting as Phystene could sense it possessed a divine nature.
I may have misunderstood, but I was under the impression that our resident river god had made Continent Kirron his base and that, if it is not already flush with rivers, it already has the Hemen/Giant's Bath (are they the same thing or am I confused?) at it's centre. I never imagined Continent Kirron being rocky at all. On the contrary, thought the mere presence of the Gateway to Fengshui Fuyou meant it was rather riverfied.
@BBeast You are right, I think making the river run with ichor can be subsumed under giving the Seihdh and Seihdhar the properties mentioned in the wiki article. I'll go with that and save 3 FP. I would say that applying the Monument dynamic to the river and lake would be somewhat forced. While natural things (a tree for instance, or a hill) could easily fall under the Monument model, a river seems too vast to me and not quite destructible by non-divine or extreme magical means. In a similar way I wouldn't call a swamp a Monument if being in it confers blessings, or a cloud if being rained on by it has certain effects on land/people. To my mind, these fall under the more general '1+ Might: Perform some other godly feat.' My reasoning for this is partly because to my mind artefacts and monuments ought to be of more immediate use to the god or gods who create them (e.g. a god could use the artefact themselves, or could benefit from the monument's effects). The Seihdh and Seihdhar, however, don't confer any immediate benefits on Seihdhara, but are aesthetically and symbolically nice and have some benefits for mortals, and they will likely have some interesting impact on the cultures and civilisations that grow about them. Maybe I'm overly limiting what Monuments are, but that's my two pence!
Now regarding the river and the lake being two separate bodies as far as Might and expenditure goes, I'd say the lake is part of the river (so the 2 FP that created the river also created its headwaters, they are one in that regard). The depths of the Seihdh Lake are a Gateway and, as you mentioned, that comes with a set of properties all its own, and I'll expand on that once I have thought on it more. Now if we break things down a bit, there are effectively two sets of blessings and a 'curse' in place on the Seihdh and Seihdhar together:
-The blessing granted by the waters nearer the river mouth -The blessing granted by the waters nearer the headwaters and the upper waters of the Seihdh Lake -The adverse (possibly lethal) effects suffered by those who drink from the upper waters of the Seihdh Lake without having received training in the Seal first.
As each of these is a powerful and permanent blessing/curse on a natural phenomenon rather than a group, I'd think 2 FP for each makes sense, to a total of 6 FP for the properties all together, and the blood would be subsumed under them all generally as mentioned earlier. Of course, these are not curses or blessings in the conventional sense, and so would still fall under the above-mentioned 1+ Might for a godly feat, but the curse/blessing costs give a good guideline for what price makes sense as the effects are more or less curses/blessings only that there is a conduit.
And yup, making things out of bits of gods is very present in ancients myths. I was reading some Mesopotomian creation stories not too long ago and there is a lot of chopping up gods. What happens there would be the equivalent of all the Mk.III gods conspiring against Archie, chopping him up, then making the different spheres out of his body parts. :| My little river is really tame in comparison. xD
@Muttonhawk@Cyclone@BBeast I have edited the expenditure in the last post to the following: --MIGHT & FP EXPENDITURE: ----Creation of the River Seihdhar across Kirron's continent - a minor landscape change. (-2 Free Points) ----Causing the River Seihdhar to run with Seihdhara's ichor rather than water. (-3 Free Points) ----Giving the River Seihdhar and the Seihdh Lake the properties detailed in the wiki page. (-6 Free Points) ----Making the Source of the River Seihdhar (the lower half of Seihdhara's corpse at the bottom of the Seihdh Lake) a Gateway to the Seal. (-7 Free Points) 0 MP & 0 FP Remaining
@Goldeagle1221@Scarifar I apologise if my introduction arc is a bit underwhelming! Seihdhara is indeed a mighty martial lady, but she also lives in the moment. Therefore my plot decisions have been very in the moment also. I have purposefully refrained from overplanning, focusing instead on her themes - her joy, the importance of her hair, etc. I also enjoy building up the small and seemingly irrelevant aspects of a character or their previous actions or events that have happened to them. So during her entrance she appears to have lost parts of her soul and her hair also. These have impacted the decisions she has made so far but have also had a tangible effect on her physical form - its weakness etc.
It is a character and story development arc. If the way I have gone about it has bewildered you and others or is not to the liking of everybody, then I am deeply apologetic.
@Crispy Octopus No no, there's no need for you to explain anything from your end. It all has to do with Seihdhara being incomplete, and so weaker and more susceptible to mortal wounds than she should be. Once this arc is complete she'll go back to the Architect's moon and beat him up.