The Asly Expanse
Neptis felt it from miles away, well before they were sight of it. Even now on the other side of the long extinct volcano Neptis could feel the bloodlust of the place they were approaching, the echoes of the dead and dying across time.
"The Asly Expanse? You shouldn't have." Neptis licked her lips as the blood poured freely from her mouth.
"It is a place where nature and war have long intersected, Lady War." He paused to pluck an apple from a tree, and offered it to Neptis. "Please, enjoy nature's bounty."
Neptis accepted the apple, but looked at it dubiously. She hadn't eaten since her apotheosis. "A question."
"Your body still knows what to do, young God." He placed a massive hand on her shoulder, and nodded gently.
"My nourishment is blood," she began, but stopped. "But thank you."
She couldn't see it with his mossy beard in the way, but the Raven King gave the faintest of smiles as she thanked him.
"You are most welcome."
Neptis quietly ate the apple in just a few minutes as they rounded the base of the volcano. The sparse trees that dotted the smooth path gave way to a massive grassland that stretched to the horizon. Neptis grinned like a child on their birthday and gestured around.
"This is what it's all about, old man!" She paused to laugh. "War! The violence of the battlefield!"
"What of the beauty of nature, hmmm? The Raven King asked in turn. "Observe."
He pointed at a long discarded helmet nearby, covered in rust. Neptis crouched next to it and looked at it before shrugging. Gesturing for her to lift it up, she did, only to find several field mice scurry away as she did. She put it back down, turned back to look at him, and gave a confused look.
"They seek shelter in the forgotten relics of the battles. Man's junk is treasured by nature."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He shook his head. "Not everything has a deeper meaning to it, Lady War."
"How about I show you my favourite place here?" Neptis asked as they walked further into the grassland.
"Some great pile of bones I suppose?" He chortled as he asked this, much to Neptis's amusement.
"Wrong, old man. It's a secret, you'll understand when we get there."
"I shall certainly do my best... little girl." His mirth was obvious with this line, and even with his beard in the way Neptis could see his lip quivering, struggling to hold back his laughter.
"Hah!" Neptis let loose a barking laugh, causing the Raven King to start laughing as well. "I like you. You're not as stuffy as Sargon."
"Hmrh," he murmured. "The Judge has a role to play. We all do. You are impatient, yes. Reckless? Perhaps. Moody as well. But so is war. So is violence. You reflect your domain more than you think."
"I've been meaning to ask that." Neptis observed the wild horses in the distance. They seemed to be unsure of the two of them, and kept a wide berth. "Do Gods become their domains, or is it the other way around?"
"That is a question even I cannot answer, Neptis."
"You of all people admitting you don't know?" Neptis's face said it all.
"There are secrets hidden so deeply even I cannot find them. This is one of many."
Neptis paused when she saw a glint on the ground. A sword that was not yet rusty. Interesting, she thought to herself. How old was it? She elected to pick it up and place it in her belt for the moment. The Raven King watched this with great interest and it appeared to trigger another chain of thought from him.
"Tell me Lady War. What does being a God mean to you?"
"The title means something different to all those who attain it."
"You mistook me for a shadow, is that it?"
"Hmrh. An apt analogy." Perhaps he had been too quick to judge her.
"A mortal can look for a life time and never find it."
"Find what?"
"Meaning." Neptis took the old sword back out of her belt, and felt the heft of it in her hand. Something about this sword was calling her. She ran her hand down the blade, letting a smile escape her lips.
"I met the last owner of this blade. I remember now. Ninety years ago."
He nodded. "The weapons, they speak to you?"
"Enough to fill a library."
"The trees will do the same, if you let them." He watched carefully to see how she would respond.
"I spent many afternoons helping Taenya Valmaris garden, old man. I know just how much plants can speak thank you." The annoyance in her voice was clear.
Neptis refused to entertain any more of his questions for quite some time, and eventually he decided to just let her be. She would talk when she was ready, of this he was certain.
It was hours later as they reached a small island of trees in the open grassland that Neptis spoke again. She pointed at them and gestured for him to follow.
"Here."
He felt it immediately, not just an echo of the divine, this was the site of an apotheosis. The air shimmered with energy, as if the event was still happening. The air tasted of blood and steel, and the stench of decay filled his nostrils. Then he saw it. A massive sigil carved into the ground, crackling with blood and red lightning even now. The symbol of the War God.
"The place of your second birth." He understood now, why she took him here.
"This is where Neptis Celeste died." Neptis said, staring at the sigil. Her words were soft, not harsh. "This is where War God Neptis was born." She turned her head to look at the Raven King directly in the eyes. "Tell me. Am I her? Am I still Neptis Celeste?"
He waited a long moment before speaking. "Who do you feel you are?"
"Like... Like..." Neptis trailed off.
He said nothing, and continued to observe.
"Like a child!" Neptis wailed. tears threatening to form in her eyes. "Like I meddled in power beyond my ken!"
He raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected. "What is this, the crying of a long lost child?"
"Yes! It is!" Neptis shouted. "It's been fifty years and I still don't know if I made the right choice! I was warned! They both warned me!" She sobbed openly.
"Yet you did it anyway." He observed.
"Yeah... that's right." Neptis's breathing began to slow slightly, but her voice was still shaky and unstable. "I did. I wanted this. I spent a century getting here."
Neptis threw her head back and began to laugh.
The Raven King smiled. Even the God of War had doubts, he supposed.
"How do you feel now, Neptis?"
"That's right, I'm Neptis. War God Neptis. The Blood Knight." Neptis continued to laugh uneasily. "Neptis Celeste died here, the Warrior Priest named for the God of War. My apotheosis was retroactive. I was there. Every war in history, I've seen them all."
She inhaled sharply and stabbed the sword she picked up hours earlier into the centre of the sigil on the ground.
"It is done." She stated.
"What is?"
"Who can say?" Neptis answered with a wink. "Thanks for coming here with me, old man."
"Anytime, Lady War."
"So, where are we going next?"
"Well, that's a secret I'm afraid." He gloated, laughing. "See if you can guess on the way."
The two Gods talked and laughed as they left behind the now glowing sword in the centre of the sigil. None who ever visited the sigil to pray ever knew they stood at the grave of Neptis Celeste.