Grijs
Enzayne
MarshalSolgriev
Lord Zee
Frettzo
DracoLunaris
Cao the Exiled
Vec
Can something that has been forgotten remember itself?
What if it’s whole existence depended on another?
Take for example the idea of memory of a lost loved one.
“They live on through our memory of them,”
What of theirs?
Time had passed, there had not been a stirring for quite enough of that time and contentment filled That One. It had turned its back upon the world that the Architect had forced it into, choosing to dwell upon the past and watch the decline of that host that it had burrowed itself into. It knew not what had caused this decline, but it mattered little since it was but mere entertainment at that point.
Until it was not.
Vakk, as of late, had found itself growing quite bored of watching the amnesiated Eurysthenes bumble around for a reason it continually cared little for. It had grown so careless of Eurysthenes, that being which had done much good for the well-being of That One while the other half simply degraded. Vakk had been able to abide by it, even tolerate some of the pointless actions, but it had been left a sour taste after the Infinite Maze had turned against it. The event itself meant nothing, no.
The death of many of the Aroiox had brought back a modicum of anger that Vakk had transferred to the people. Even then, That One had been silent. It had not spoken for quite some time. It had not created for even longer, the power of gods being submitted to idlism through centuries and everything blended together as time seemed to pass quick enough to where Vakk could not identify when a specific event happened, but he knew the event had happened. Even then, That One had been silent.
”Eurysthenes, I believe it is time for me to leave you.”
The words from That One were heavy, almost uncharacteristically hesitant as it finally found its voice after a long silence.
”Who?”
”Y-you.”
”No, you.” something of the tone held the small amount of familiarity the two had garnered in the past just out of reach of Vakk. Perhaps it was the straightforwardness, perhaps the dissociated timbre. Or, perhaps, the sounds of two ideals speaking in chorus.
”I seek not to play your games, Eurysthenes. I know you have forgotten much, but surely you could not have forgotten about something that has been a part of you for a long while,” Vakk scoffed in its many voices, refusing to believe just how much that Eurysthenes had forgotten.
”Stop calling me that. You’re new, who are you?”
A flash of white light appeared in front of This One, as a foriegn form a pale white stepped in front of it. Purple tendrils moved independently, almost flowing in the wind rather than being controlled by the being. Gold lined the body and it almost seemed as if the being was wearing robes that ended just above its shins. Its face held no defining features other than gold that merged into the white.
Then the mouth split open, skin ripping apart to reveal a maw of teeth as That One spoke, ”Eurysthenes, you know who I am. All this time we have spent together… our creations.” It paused before extending a hand to touch the face of the one that it knew as Eurysthenes. ”I refuse to believe that you could have forgotten so much. What of the Aroiox? Surely you must remember the creatures that we have made together?”
This One swatted Vakk’s hand away as one might a fly. The earth below it wriggled, tiny bumps pushing up, eager. ”No. I’ve never known you before.
”Yes, you do! I know you do!” Vakk said, desperation clear in the many voices as it grasped the shoulders of the other, ”Do not cast me away like this!”
The ground exploded and little tendrils of stone shot up, eating into the pair, pinning Vakk’s hands to This one’s shoulders.
It screamed.
”Ge- get away! No I don’- don’t… what? Go!”
But That One couldn’t, its hands were rooted. This just made This One scream louder, its mouth widening viciously, black sludge foaming out.
Vakk, unable to pull away and in the midst of being in conflict with one it did not want to fight, chose to rely on a power it had not used for a long time. ”It is okay, be calm. I am stuck to you, be calm. I will leave, if you remain calm,” the words of the many stated, their words flowing throw the other to sway it.
The screaming quieted second by shaky second. This One looked up at Vakk, foam still pouring from its mouth. ”Will it?” it asked, each word sending forth a fresh wave of sludge.
Attempting to hold back a hesitancy, as well as a disgust at the sludge, Vakk spoke, ”Yes, I shall.
”But what of…” it said, looking towards the spikes.
Without speaking another word, That One allowed the purple tendrils to move forwards, breaking off the spikes before going through the process of pulling them through the flesh of the gods. Their ichor flowed little by little as the spikes were brought out, until Vakk was done and could retract its hands from the other one.
Vakk gave a faceless look to the forgotten before turning away with its head down. ”I will need to get the Aroiox, or at least what little of them are left. I… I wish you luck, stranger,” That One spoke, a defeated tone overcoming the voices before the mouth fused back together, hiding the maw behind a thin veil of flesh. Then, it left.
This One watched Vakk leave from the floor in the sludge. In hindsight it wondered how they had been able to calm it so easily. The sludge dissolved.
As Vakk left the mess, it began to ponder why it had allowed things to come this far, how it allowed the one it had enjoyed the company of to become the mess that it currently was. But was there even a way Vakk could have prevented this? Was this something that Vakk could fix? The thoughts were staggering as That One contemplated all the different paths of fate that could have led to Vakk still having the pleasure of keeping Eurysthenes, and not having the forgotten that no longer cared.
It was drawn out of its head by the sight of a handful of stone houses in a cove off in the distance. On nothing more than a whim, it went towards it. It’d be good to clear its head.
The inhabitants beheld Vakk with awe, largely silent in their reverie. All except one, who looked like no stand out among the lot of golden beings.
”You look like our god, but aren’t. Who are you?”
Vakk’s head tilted down to acknowledge the speaker, before the thin veil that hid its mouth ripped itself open. ”I am Vakk, god of speech. I have been inside of Eurysthenes for a long time, so I have adopted a similar yet… more connected form,” it spoke.
”Is Eurysthenes what you call the god?” the smaller being asked. Vakk noticed how its mouth opened from nowhere, much like its own, but without the tearing.
”That is- was its name. But it has forgotten,” Vakk said, its many voices displaying a sadness at having to remember such a fact. It let out a sigh before continuing, “But who are you? What are you? I have yet to see creatures such as you, especially on a continent that I have created.”
”I am Zisqe, the first Bujzell and a Storyteller. I don’t know what I am though. You created this place? How?” it asked, eyes widening in awe.
“I created with the goddess known as ‘Chopstick Eyes’ and we raised it from a large rock that come from the heavens. We created the Feasting Forest and the shrines within. However, this was long ago. Certainly before any creatures of intelligence were spawned,” Vakk said, allowing the pleasant memory of creation to wash over it before it also remembered the blatant evil that it had done.
”But I was different then, I was evil and ruthless. Perhaps I still am, but without anger. It has been too long since I was killed.”
”Chopstick Eyes? What’s that?” it asked, wrinkling its face. ”How are you here if you are dead?”
”I am here for I hid within Eurysthenes. They destroyed my physical form, but my essence coated Eurysthenes and thus, my soul was able to move to it rather than pass on. My previous form was one of anger, massive and terrible. I would have destroyed on sight then, for not presenting me with offerings.”
Vakk took a step forward as it looked between the people, tucking its arms behind its back as it maintained a proper poster.
”But I am different now.”
”You haven’t done that, you must be very changed. You must feel proud,” they grinned, revealing rows and rows of teeth. ”We feel thankful you have not. What’s a soul?”
”A soul is what allows life, such as your people, to flourish. It is an energy that powers your small, feeble forms. All animals have souls. Gods have souls, however, godly souls are far more powerful than you can comprehend.” Vakk answered, boredly looking to the stone huts.
”That’s interesting,” Zisqe said. They noticed Vakk’s boredom with vague disappointment, but a god is a god, and mortals mean little to them. ”You know a lot. I have a riddle to solve, ‘To find the one you lost, you must come to us. We are a mighty legion of armoured siblings. We do not fear weapons, no matter how great or small, but water ruins us. We are effortlessly strong, yet push nothing. To reach us, you must first pass through our footsoldiers.’”. Do you know the answer?”
Vakk scoffed arrogantly, ”I have resided within the God of Puzzles for centuries, a mere riddle means nothing to me. But tell me, why should I give you the answer? Eurysthenes seldom likes giving away an answer, nor does it value cheaters.”
”Oh, no. I was asking if you know the answer, I don’t want you to tell me,” Zisqe responded, looking slightly confused.
There was a silence as Vakk’s head slowly turned to look back at Zisqe, looking the mortal up and down. ”My apologies,” Vakk hissed, almost finding those words hard to say to a mortal, ”I do know the answer.”
Zisqe heard Vakk’s tone and shuffled a little. They considered not talking, but that would be rude, so it said ”I feel glad you do. Maybe I can know it soon,”
As Vakk continued to look at the mortal, it let out an audible sigh as the riddle brought back the thought of the other one. It spoke in a softer tone, ”Perhaps. Look to all of Galbar for your answer, its highest, and its lowest points.” With that, Vakk turned away from the mortal and stepping away before stopping. It turned back to Zisqe before a nearby hill began to morph, shaking off the grass and other plants to reveal the stone that laid beneath.
It formed into an obelisk, with strange symbols of all different, whispering what each meant in strange and foreign tongue. “If you seek to travel Galbar, you will need to know to speak its tongues. That obelisk will teach you any language you do not already know, it will also teach any of your other people, but it must be maintained.”
With those words, Vakk left to return to his home.
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