Anu stood before a large clump of dirt on that bright, sunny day. Some might consider such a mound to be a hovel of sorts, a lowly place for the poor and downtrodden. Yet there she stood, unblinking and unmoving as she stared with a fixed expression at the hovel before her. She had only just arrived, but was cautious to say the least. If the rumors were true, if her intelligence was sound, then before her sat a gateway to a realm unfamiliar to her. One were rock and stone dominated all. Where metals were smelted and forged into all sorts of useful items. It was the realm of Ferron, her Elder. Her hesitation to step further weighed her down, for she hated her elder siblings with intense fervor. They had let her be birthed painfully, they had come before, they helped humanity grow! But Anu was a crafty goddess, with enough common sense to know what the world would come to.
War.
It was the only eventuality. Whether started by her, or one of her siblings, or even the mortals for all she cared- War was coming. The Sin curse had provided such lovely battles, massacres and heinous debauchery but what she was breeding in humanity would cultivate in their own destruction one way or another. She needed to be prepared for all realities, hence why she had come before Ferron's doorstep. She had bathed in her pool of blood for five days, and while she slept her thoughts and ideas spawned new creations, more servants for her bidding. Chief among these new creatures were different variants of demons. She had given them all tasks so far, but there was still one she needed most, one that would help her armies grow further.
So for now, she would swallow her hatred, swallow her pride, and come before Ferron with pleasant candor. She required his help to succeed. Would the God of Metal refuse her? If he did accept, then what would he want in return? She let out a soft sigh, it was time to find out. Wary of traps, she walked with purpose forward and entered the dirt hovel. What she found was unremarkable, and rather boorish, surely there was more to the room then nothing? She scanned the small room, looking for anything that might show her the way, when at last she fell upon the far wall. Anu smiled, it was a clever little trick, but being the God of Devilry did come with certain perks. She walked over to the door, and touched it. The moment her finger met with dirt, the wall began to collapse, revealing a stone staircase. She walked down it, the earthen door resealing behind her. The only way was forward now, and before long she entered a very large room carved into stone. Suddenly, four giant statues on either side of the room, turned their heads down to look at her. She paused, unsure of how to respond. They did not seem malevolent towards her, yet she felt if she moved any further they would react accordingly. Ahead of her was a large door, wrought of stone.
Having walked far enough for her liking, Anu shouted out,
"Ferron! God of Metal and brother O'mine, I come to ask thee a favor."As if respond to Anu shouting, the silver golem began to move. However, it did not move towards the god of devilry, but instead towards the door. As it reached the large stone door, it knocked three times and then returned to its position. After a few moments, the door creaked upon, and Ferron walked out into the cavernous room. He was not sure what to expect whenever he emerged from the restoring pod, and walked up towards the castle. Whenever he was that deep within this realm, he could not hear what occurred outside of the door, except for the golem's knocking on the door. He had set them up to knock in specific ways depending on different situations, and thus he knew that a god was at his doorstep, and yet even then, he was surprised to see that it was Anu.
Ferron paused for a moment, uncertain of if this is some trick, but considering she did not destroy his guardian golems, at least she most likely did not mean to attack him.
"What brings you to the door of my realm. Of all of the gods, I expect Ragnagedon to come here before you.".
Anu watched the Silver giant like a hawk as it moved, preparing herself to attack but instead the metal giant knocked upon the door three times. In returned to its spot promptly, leaving her in a strange silence before the door creaked open, and her brother stepped through. She sank to her knees before Ferron, and in a silvery voice she spoke,
"Why brother I am hurt that you would think so little of me. I can't visit my dear siblings from time to time? Do you truly believe that Ragnagedon would walk so peacefully into your own realm? No, that would be silly of course." she stood up and looked at Ferron directly,
"I've come to make a request, dear brother. A simple favor if you may. Three things of you, brother. Armor, so that I am defended against our unruly siblings. A weapon, so that I might ward off attack. But most importantly, the knowledge of smithing so that I might shield my people."The Goddess walked towards him, a wry smile on her lips, and began to circle him as she spoke again,
"Your talent is without challengers, Ferron. Your skills are without equal in all realms. There is great beauty in your work, unlike anything this world as ever seen. My brother, there is no one else I would go to, to ask such a thing of. This is of course, should not be freely given. Ask of me three favors, and I shall give them in return. It is only fair, I believe. So, what say you? Will you help your young sister?" Ferron had a tense expression as Anu begin to speak, but his face was otherwise emotionless. However, as soon as Anu mentioned something about a favor, he begin to relax.
"Is that enough of your theatrics? However, I do not believe your request is unreasonable, while I question your motives, if you wish to make a trade, who I am to refuse you. If you wish this trade to proceed, these are my three conditions. You, and your servants, are to not to interfere with my children, the dwarves. You are to uphold this promise, or else I will take a mountain and drop it upon your precious Osarion and every piece of metal that you rely upon will turn to rust. I will grant an exception only to dwarves who have my protection revoked from them, those who willingly serve you not under any duress, and those who willingly enter Osarion or the surrounding territory as clearly defined by a set distance from the castle that we can discuss at a later date. Secondly, I feel like even then you may still eventually cause me troubles, and thus as additional insurance, you are to provide me with a jar capable of sealing away curses. My final condition is that knowledge of this arrangement is never revealed to anyone outside of our selves, and our closest council. It would be a great inconvenience to me should Hyperion ever discover our mutual exchange. I will warn you, I do not take lightly to being cheated, but otherwise, I believe that this can benefit both of us." Anu listened with a coy smile upon her face. She had been willing to part with a great deal if it meant she had what was needed. She was thrilled to learn that Ferron required simple things from her, all of which could be done with relative ease. She only had minor concerns about the jar however, such a request was odd but at the same time reasonable from his perspective. Though she was not a large fan of letting such an object exist, she would have to trust that Ferron would not use it recklessly.
"Very well Ferron." she said with a cool voice,
"Flattery only works on some of us I suppose. It is good to know that you are not one of them, it saves me from making a fool of myself. Your terms are reasonable, once we agree formally, you have my word that your children shall never be interfered with. If one of my subjects ever attacks a dwarf under your protection, then I shall personally slaughter them. All I require from you is a jar, brother. Now, shall make this deal formal?" Anu finished with a sly smile, her hand outstretched.
Ferron was cautious to make a deal with the goddess of devilry, however it did not bother him that she would have access to metals. He was the lord of metals, and would need to be quite foolish to oppose him with the tools of his own creation. He reached out his hand, and went to firmly shake Anu's hand. Afterwards, he focused his divine power into a bronze sphere, and then caused it to passive float towards Anu.
"That sphere will teach one of your abominations how to work metals, and grant him the knowledge to teach others of his kind. He would know how to construct tools of bronze. As for your weapon and armor, I believe that I do have something that would suit you well, however I will need time to work this material, it has proven to be difficult to work with. Are you aware of the spiral that appeared in the northern lands?" They shook hands, the deal was set. There could be no going back now. The Goddess of Devilry listened to Ferron as he spoke again, and carefully clutched the bronze sphere, admiring that such a small object could contain so much knowledge. Would Iva be jealous of such a thing she wondered? She spoke again while gazing at the sphere,
"Bronze tools you say? I am woefully unfamiliar with the metallic arts brother, so tell me, in time will my people learn to forge greater tools? Say of iron? Perhaps other metals and energies as well?" she asked. Anu then looked up at Ferron to meet his gaze. The talk of the spire had not been unnoticed by Anu, for she had been there after all.
"As long as this material proves able to be wielded by my divine body, I shall wait patiently. What about the spire then? It was completely useless to me, however, Iarus might say differently. The fool." she said with spite.
In respond to Anu's first point, Ferron said dismissively,
"I have granted them a foothold onto the mountain of metallurgy, if they are to climb upwards is up to them. That gem only provides knowledge, it does not restrict it." Ferron seemed unfazed by Anu trying to look him in the eye, and then proceeded,
"That spire had changed many things, our brother Iarus, for example. But it had almost touched the metals of the earth, turning it into what I have referred to dark ore. Right now, the ore is to brittle to forge into weapons and armor, however I have only limited time and resources to construct a dark ore alloy. I am sure you will be pleased with the final result." "I do hope so. I would not want your name and craftsmanship sullied by the likes of Ragnegdon or Hyperion should they choose to attack me. It would be such a shame if it broke easily, after all. Now, I shall wait here until my requests have been completed. If thou needs help, I shall provide assistance in the form of energy. Unless you can do it alone? Furthermore, I do still require a jar brother." Anu stated casually. She would have to motivate her smiths to think creatively when the time came to expand to other materials. A task she would do so gladly if it meant she had an edge.
Ferron paused, it would take some time in order to work dark ore into an strong alloy, however perhaps with Anu assistance, he could accelerate the process. After a few seconds, he had an idea. He snapped him fingers and something occurred deep within the castle.
"I was informing servant in order to prepare all of the required materials, however I do believe it would be best if I worked on your armor and weapons within your castle. I will establish a forge within your territory without any additional cost, but I do require something from you in order to create your weapons and armor, a live demon. Perhaps several" "Mhmm, whatever it takes brother. You may use as many as needed if it means success. Shall we go then?" Anu said, before turning away from Ferron, outstretching her hand and ripping a portal into existence. She then looked back at Ferron, waiting.
Ferron waited for a moment, when Bishop, his quicksilver golem, appeared behind carrying itself a chest. He picked up the chest, and then walked through the portals. The doors of the Deep Castle closing as if he left the area.
Upon reaching Osarion, he had wasted no time finding an empty room and converting into a forge. He then proceeded to lock himself in the room for hours, along with some demons. Imbued with demons, it seemed the metal was much easier to work with, though it still required to mixed with iron, but the alloy of darkore, iron, and demons seemed to be very potent. He had coined this new alloy, demon-metal. Once he had created enough demon-metal, he then proceeded to shape it into a weapon and a suit of armor. Once he was finished, he exited the forge in order to present his work to Anu. While Ferron was not fully aware of the properties of demon-metal, he knew that this demon-metal was special. It was created from demons who had been blessed with the gift of blood magic, and thus even in there metallic form, they called out for blood. The sword would consume any blood that it came in contact with, and then siphon that blood into the armor for storage, and later consumption. Ferron had a grim curiosity about this newly created weapon, though a part of him wanted to quickly part with it. However, this was for his children's future.
While Ferron had locked himself away in deep chamber, Anu had been busy preparing her own parting gift for her dear brother. She had at last acquired a jar, and went to work creating the item that Ferron wanted. A Curse stealer, an item that would take upon any curse it came into contact with. It would be a powerful object, and capable of containing any manner of curse known. However, it would only work on an individual affected by a curse. It would do no good for a entire nation of cursed people, less they all touch open it. Likewise, if any who opened it and had no curse, they would receive one at random. If the jar broke, every curse it held would be free to attach themselves to any they came into contact with. Anu took pride in this, for though the jar would uphold its request, it was as equally dangerous as it was a godsend.
When Ferron at last came to her, Anu had been sitting upon her throne of skulls, jar held in hand and being admired. She looked to the items that Ferron held and her excitement became apparent. She got up from her Throne and made her way over to him.
"I take it my demons were most... useful then?" she asked with a devilish smile.
"Shall we trade items then? As requested, your Curse-Stealer. Be careful with this one, it might be a bit fragile for your liking." she spoke with veiled words. Anu then held out the jar.
He nodded, and first handed over the demon-metal weapon and armors, before taken the Curse-Stealer.
"Now, I believe our business together is finished. I now need to see to other matters." he said, before turning around and going to leave the castle.
Anu called after Ferron as he walked away,
"Fare thee well, God of Metal and brother o'mine." she paused before whispering under her breath,
"And may we not meet again for some time, either." She turned her back to Ferron then, and went about to admire her newest items. The weapon was an ornate spear, perfectly balanced, capable of reach and etched with glowing lines of crimson. The spear head itself was immaculate and defined by a single piercing blade. The armor was equally as ornate, lightweight and stylized as the spear, perhaps even more so. The pauldrons resembled that of a demon's skull, and it hummed with the same crimson energy that composed the spear. Unable to wait any longer, she called over several servants and instructed them to fit her. As the process went on, she felt something odd, and feeling trickery, she panicked, hitting several demoness away from her in a fury. In the sudden fray, she noticed a piece of parchment fly out from her leg plates and softly come to rest on the floor. Hesitantly, she picked it up and opened it. It was not any trick of Ferron, but instead a map of the area that surrounded Osarion. The border that dictated their agreement and his people's safety. The area was much larger then she had anticipated, but she would let it slide for now. She put the parchment away, and then went back to arming herself.
When they had finished, she felt
right, like the armor had been specifically crafted to fit her and her alone. It absolutely invigorated her, made her feel untouchable and stronger then ever before. The spear felt as if it was a natural extension of her body. Though she was not the Goddess of war or combat, one would make a foolish mistake to try and attack her. She had reach, and the dexterity to use it to her advantage. She admired herself once again in her pool of blood, for she was now a terrible beauty to behold. After a moment, she felt compelled to stick the spears tip into the blood, and so she did. It was an even greater surprise to see how the spear reacted, as it began to drink the blood, and in doing so she felt the armor gorge itself. She pulled the spear away, and the feeling vanished but she did feel that the blood was still there, just waiting to be used.
"Hence forth, you shall be named Darkdrinker," she said to the spear,
"And this armor shall be known as mine." She then sat upon her throne with a smug look on her face. She was armed, and now it was time for her people to do so. With a thought, she pointed to the ground and from it rose a creature born of twisted flesh and muscle. It stood taller then a human, with a face like that of a skeletons with minimum flesh to house the bone. It looked around, then up to her.
"What is your name?" she asked it.
The creature said nothing for a moment before responding in a voice like gravel, "I am... Tirus?" it said questioning.
"That you are Tirus, that you are. The first and last of your kind. Now take this orb, and devour it's knowledge." Tirus said nothing, but caught the orb as Anu threw it to him. The orb then came alive, and Tirus fed from the knowledge it gave him. His eyes became more intelligent, hardened. When the orb at last fell silent, he looked up at Anu again. This time with fierce expression.
"You are Tirus, Demon Prince of the Forge. Now go, teach and grow my armory with weapons of war. Tirus nodded and left a smiling Anu behind. Her red eyes glowing wickedly in the dimly lit throne room of Osarion.
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