War and Nature, Part 1

Year 950, The Hissing Lobster, Dragontail Mountains

Vaust was intrigued. Eigengrau hadn't called a special meeting in at least a century, so he knew this was going to be good. It was near the end of the day for the Inn, and he was shooing out the last of the customers from the eating area. He decided to head downstairs, and walked about for a bit. For a brief moment, he lingered at Rebecca Ashe's old private room. It hadn't been hers for a long time of course, she was dead. For over a century now, he reckoned.

Well, in a matter of speaking. It was the Demon Queen's now and she was doing something truly terrible with the laws of space and time modifying it. She paid him in good alcohol though, so he was inclined to leave the matter be. Mopping up the latest stains of blood from the floor in front, he headed back upstairs to find Eigengrau already there with Neptis the God of War.

That was strange, he knew the Inn wasn't closed yet. This piqued his curiosity. Why were they early?

Choosing to ignore his very conspicuous companions, he continued mopping. Eigengrau sat on her reserved stool while Neptis made her way over to a lounge chair. With a gentle thud, she flopped into it and looked over at the patron who was fast asleep in the chair across from hers.

A grin flickered across her lips, but she could already hear Eigengrau admonishing her if she did anything inside the Inn, and so she chose to just put her feet up on the table instead.

A few minutes passed, patrons slowly filing upstairs or outside one by one, until at last Vaust came over and nudged the man awake with the handle of his mop.

"Alright off to bed with you. The bar's closed."

With a few grumbles, the man staggered up the stairs to the rooms. With his departure, no mortals remained downstairs.

"Shall we begin?" Vaust asked as the surroundings shimmered, signalling that the bar was now in the place between places.

A knock at the door was heard. The door swung open and Vordea entered first, followed by several other Gods in quick succession.

Vordea, wearing a black gown and gloves that went almost up to her shoulders looked like she was dressed for a ball, not a meeting.

"The usual." Her voice was soft for a change, 

"Help yourself." Vaust gestured at the bottles of alcohol behind his bar, and continued to walk about picking up mugs. Something nagged at the corner of his mind. Why was Vordea dressed up all fancy?

Next was a tall lumbering bear of a man, who ducked as he passed through the frame of the door. On his shoulder he carried a gigantic war-hammer, and his beard stretched down to his waist. There was no mistaking the God of Justice for anyone else.

"Vaust!" He roared, the chandelier rattling as he did so. "How's my favourite Innkeeper?"

"Busy as ever, Sargon. Got what I asked for?" The floor was at least for the moment clean and he moved on to wiping tables.

"Of course!" A bottle was pulled out of Sargon's beard and placed gently on the bar counter. "It wasn't easy, I'll give you that."

Agbus said nothing, simply standing in the centre of the room after bowing. Close behind him was a very large raven, which swooped in and landed on Neptis's shoulder, much to her annoyance.

"This again?" She tried to remove it by force, but it just flapped its wings and cawed. She could swear it was laughing.

For the moment she looked the raven in the face, and the eyes looked more alive than normal. That was strange, she thought. It was like looking in a human's eyes. No, not a human's. Something far, far older. She blinked and Eigengrau was next to her, soft and still.

"That is why we are here tonight."

Neptis was left slightly shaken. Eigengrau didn't like doing parlour tricks at meetings.

The final three Gods filed in quietly, saying nothing as they did so.

Thalassius the God of the Sea observed the rest from a distance, sitting near the door. The seaweed tangled in his hair never seemed to dry and even now he smelled of the sea. He never liked these meetings, and he especially didn't like Neptis. Not after what she did to him the first time they met.

Zalas the God of Lust moved with cat like grace through the furniture, before laying himself across a lounge chair, falling asleep nearly instantly. His green tunic rose and fell with his breaths. Neptis shook her head.

"Useless."

Drota the Magic God chose to wait with Thalassius. Her purple hat had only gotten larger in the past twenty years, and Neptis joked that it was the source of her power, constantly threatening to steal it. She didn't want to find out if she was right.

"On to why we are here." Eigengrau wasted no time, getting straight to the point. "First I must confess we have been keeping a secret from the rest of you for a long time."

"Who's we?" Neptis asked lazily, the words falling out of her mouth. "Should we wake up the cat?" She poked Zalas with a foot, who just snorted in response.

"Myself, Vordea, and Agbus. I have known exactly where the Raven King has been for the past 14 centuries." The words came slamming down with a thud. The missing God was never missing?

"Do share." Sargon's voice rumbled across the room. He had been most fond of the Raven King, and was greatly saddened when he disappeared.

"For fourteen centuries, he has slumbered in silence. A forgotten grove near Valenca, where even the wind held its breath." Eigengrau's words hit the other Gods like a blast of arctic air.

"Why did you hide it?" Vaust had taken his usual spot sitting a top the largest table in the centre of the room. He didn't hold it against Eigengrau, but there was mystery. The Raven King had always been the most reclusive of them all.

"He needed to be forgotten, so he could heal." Vordea answered before Eigengrau could, her soft tone smoothing out the mood.

She had already been informed and took over. Eigengrau was giving off her all-too-subtle tells again. A slightly delayed answer, a blink that lingered half a heartbeat too long. She wasn't annoyed. She was uncomfortable.

Sensing Neptis about to ask something, Vordea spoke before she could. "That is not what's important."

"So what's this actually about?" Sargon was hooked. A thousand year mystery, a divine secret. All the hallmarks of a good story.

"He is ready to wake up. He has chosen who will do it." Agbus spoke for the first time, the soft white glow coming off his body increasing briefly.

Even Agbus was speaking for a change. Vaust and Sargon shared a glance.

"Oh no." Neptis knew who it was going to be. It all made sense now. The giant raven that never left her alone, the eyes that were far too alive. The way animals treated her.

"Oh yes, my lovely War God." Vordea's lips parted in a large smile, showing off an impressive display of a mouth with too many teeth. "You. Just you."

"Another Elven trial. Of course." Neptis was just annoyed. Being a God wasn't nearly as fun as she had assumed it would be. Too many rules. Too many meetings. Even more than The University.

"You know what they say. Cats sit on those who hate them." Vaust's grin spread from cheek to cheek. He knew Neptis would be in for a hell of a time with the Raven King.

He didn't say it, but Neptis remembered the rest of that phrase. They knead until the bones are soft.

She huffed in annoyance. Being a God sucked.