Standing in opposition to the gradually warming winds of the lowlands the air that flowed between the peaks of the mountains remained as cold as ever. It was because of the great height to which the mountains rose that their winds were always frigid. This was true for the Henjuk Mountains, who's peaks were forever capped in snow. The lower areas of the mountains saw their fair share of open and bare stone, though even there the winds blew cold year round. It was only at the treeline halfway down where the affects of the seasons could truly be felt.
My destination was further than halfway up among the desolate crags. This was where the home of the lich Barthenor stood: Castle Korchok. Due to its remote location there were no safe roads to travel by, though that was of little consequence to a goddess like me. Neither of its occupants were technically worshipers of mine however which meant I couldn't teleport there either. This also wasn't a problem for me as I could also fly faster than a jet plane.
Currently I was just finishing the journey to the castle by way of flight at human size, my bursts of fire spewing forth from both my hands and feet. Thanks to my goddess powers this trip had not even taken that long and I soared through the sky at least as high as commercial airplanes. It was the middle of the day and all around me was the endless expanse of clouds and sky. As the cold air rushed past my face I looked down and could see the castle far below between the stone walls of the mountains.
With my destination in sight I turned my body in order to direct myself downwards, the rate of decent far surpassing terminal velocity. As I descended I only increased the power of my jets and I was set to arrive at the castle in mere seconds. However crashing into the courtyard like a meteor wasn't exactly a pleasant idea so I had to reverse thrust several hundred feet above the ground.
In a display of aerial acrobatics I whirled around my body so my legs were pointing downwards, the jets from my hands and feet now slowing me down before impact. Quite a wave of hot air blasted out from beneath me as I slowed down and hovered over the stonework of the courtyard. Anyone who had been standing around would have been subjected to the great winds of a helicopter landing at the very least, although I was more like a landing spacecraft.
Once my body was only a couple feet off the ground I released my jets completely and dropped the last bit of distance. In the beginning I would have stumbled on the landing but after so much practice I was able to land my feet on solid ground without so much as a waver. Honestly it was pretty amazing and made me feel like a real superhero.
Now that I was here I put my hands behind my back and looked around. All the damage caused to the castle during my initial meeting with the skele-mage had been completely repaired, as would be expected of someone with his magical prowess. It was certainly a large and imposing castle with very attractive architecture. However the place was completely devoid of life with a lack of even plants and animals. This made the castle feel quite lonely and desolate, the surrounding bleak peaks not exactly lessening that feeling in the slightest.
Just because there was not a single of life to be found here that didn't mean there weren't plenty of signs of unlife. The owner of the castle was of course a lich and his closest companion was a vampire. Even the servants that did the upkeep on the castle were undead creatures. This was something I was going to check on in fact before going to talk to the owner.
With a very casual posture I walked over to the main castle doors and opened them. They were quite large and heavy, made from some kind of treated wood. Their size and weight were of no consequence to a goddess however and I made sure to only open them enough for me slip through before closing them gently. Now inside the cold winds were gone and replaced with a chilled silence. Silence like the grave.
My eyes instantly adjusted to the lower light indoors and I looked around with a small sigh. The inside of the castle was just as dreary as the outside. It seemed Barthenor hadn't taken my interior decorating advice yet. His place really needed some livening up, full puns intended. As it stood now the halls were dimly lit if at all and the never ending stonework was bare of anything more than sparse furniture and rotted tapestries.
Who kept these halls as clean as they were? Why it was the undead servants of the lich in charge. After being released back to his home by yours truly I had been very specific that Barthenor was not allowed to create any undead from humanoid remains from this point onward. No zombies, skeletons, ghouls, or even vampires. Animal corpses however were fair game, and I expected to see his servants if any to be such spawn.
It didn't take longer than ten seconds for me to see the first of his servants. While I ascended the main staircase in the foyer I had entered from I saw something shuffling around at the top of the huge stair. Upon making it to the top I looked ahead and saw a truly grotesque abomination. It was dusting an empty sconce as if it was most normal thing in the world, though it was anything but.
This thing was at least eight feet tall, its head that of a buck with large antlers on display. Then moving down its body came the chest and rib cage of a bear, its legs a fusion of bones from several large animals. It had large arms as well that combined the back legs of perhaps a moose and ended in the skeletal paws of a mountain lion with fingers arranged to resemble human hands. These fusion hands being how it grasped objects it seemed.
The chimera of unholy proportions stopped its task and turned to look at me once I had stepped up the final stair. Its eyes were black pits of darkness as the lifeless sockets leered at me as if there was some intelligence inside its soulless husk. There was of course no such thing and it just as quickly turned back to its task. Generally simple undead servants such as this were indifferent to other creatures unless directly attacked.
I took a deep sigh and turned to the large hallway, walking past the undead beast without looking at it any further. I expected to see more of the same as I walked these halls. While truly disturbing the frightening amalgamation was proof that Barthenor was obeying my directive and only using animals. It made sense he would have to do some design work, so to speak, in order to suit his needs. Whatever. It works for now.
For several minutes I continued my exploration of the castle. There was just something so exciting about walking around a big castle and seeing what secrets might hide in each corner or room. Sadly there wasn't much to be discovered in this place due to the literal lack of life. The only things of note I really came across were more servants who's uncanny anatomy displayed the imagination of the one who had created them.
Being a goddess my powers of perception allowed me to sense all living things in a massive raduis around me, with my worships being visible on my interior map regardless of distance. These undead things therefore didn't show up on my radar and were actually great training for me to adapt my abilities. Thanks to spending a good deal of time around both Barthenor and Nekse I had gained the ability to sense undead, their bodies being categorized as moving objects essentially. Even though these things had no souls inside them they were still things that existed and I could sort of see them like I would a rock rolling down a hill. Both Barthenor and Neske had souls still inside them and for them I could simply use that for identification.
Using my goddess vision I checked the castle for the aforementioned owner and cohort, sensing Barthenor alone in the great library of the castle as one might expect from a lich. Neske however was actually very close to my location and moving towards me at a rapid rate. She was clearly coming towards me specifically and would soon be rounding the corner at the end of the hallway I was in.
With a clack of my shoes on the stone floor I came to a halt halfway down the hallway, my arms once again behind my back as I waited for the vampiress to appear. Within moments she did, her long flowing red hair swirling behind her. As usual there was no spark of life in her cold gray eyes and the dim light reflected of her pale white skin. Despite her undead nature she was quite full of life in another way: that being her fiery personality. This was heavily muted when around me however as she was still uneasy around a goddess.
Neske immediately saw me and her eyes locked onto me. She quickly walked down the hallway and stopped a half dozen paces away. Then she got down on one knee and bowed before me.
“Goddess!” She said with a nervous tone. “W-We weren't expecting you!”
I simply smiled and let out a little giggle.
“Yeah but I don't always have to announce myself do I?” Then with a more reassuring tone. “Don't worry I'm not here for anything serious. Just a chat with Barthenor.”
Neske lifted her head to look up at me. She was so in love with her master that she really hated other women being around him. I wasn't a woman of course but was a quite serious threat to both of their existence which always made her a bit nervous.
“The master is in the library my goddess.” She said bowing her head again. “I can take you there.”
My arms slid down to my sides and I lifted my left hand to twirl my long golden hair.
“I know where he is. But sure you can take me there.”
Neske gulped as she had probably forgotten just how all knowing I was and stood up with a bit of a nervous glance over at me. She was trying to avoid eye contact with me which was sort of cute. Even though she really hated both goddesses and mortals due to her past she was starting to come around on them. At least with me specifically and my worshipers. The more she interacted with me the more comfortable she got around me but of course there was always the reminder that I am a goddess.
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“Please follow me goddess.” She said.
I nodded and waited in order to signal I was happy enough to follow behind her. So with my permission the vampire turned around and started walking down the hallway and towards the library. It would be several minutes until we got there and so she tried to start small talk with me.
“So um.” Neske started. “I hope you have not seen anything displeasing in the castle upon your arrival.” She gulped. “I know you have a distaste for the undead.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and shrugged.
“I didn't see anything that broke any rules.” I replied. “Its not that I hate undead either. I just hate uncessary death, especially that of sentient beings. These erm, creature features, he has running around are fine in my books.” I looked up at the back of Neske's head. “What I wont tolerate is more like you running around for example.”
Neske clasped her hands together in front of her stomach with a nervous posture.
“Vampires, ghouls, and such. Thinking undead with their souls intact.”
I raised my hands and put them behind my head.
“Yup. Maybe that might change in the future but I really don't think it will.”
Neske would be sweating if she was capable of doing so. No such functions were possible by her corpse of a body however. She surely thought I hated the fact she was a vampire.
“I don't hate you Neske.” I said to reassure her. “I've gone over it before. I'm well aware that beings like liches and vampires aren't evil by default. Its just a fact their creation involves terrible and usually evil things.” I looked up at the back of her head again. “You understand that undeath is an actual curse. Something that would become a endless nightmarish existence of torture. You know yourself just how long the years drag on. Us immortals, we're faced with a life that's too much for most to bear.”
My words seemed to calm down Neske and she let out a long sigh. A habitual act as of course she didn't actually need to keep her lungs filled with air. Her shoulders drooped and she lowered her hands in front of her waist.
“Yes goddess. What you say is the truth.”
After this exchange we continued walking in awkward silence. That was the kind of conversation that left one reflecting inwards and thinking about their place in the universe. I didn't really have any good topics to bring up anyway so I was content with us walking through the lifeless castle quietly, the only sounds the wind whistling around the stone outside.
Eventually we reached the doors to the castle library. They were great thick wooden things at least nine feet tall and ten wide, a pair of double doors that were filled with the musty scent of the books locked away inside. Neske opened the doors with little effort, her vampire body having superhuman strength itself.
With the doors open the great library was laid out before us, a massive room with towering bookshelves that went up into the great heights of the room. All around there were ladders to reach the upper shelves and staircases that went between the several floors that the room was made up of. Far on the east side the entire wall was made of a huge glass window, its great size at least thirty feet tall and twice as wide. The massive curtains that could be moved in front of this great window were pulled leaving only the halo of light to filter in around the thick fabric.
If I could I would spend weeks or months locked up in here reading literally every book. But that would have to wait for a more opportune time, though it would come. For now I needed to have a serious chat with Barthenor.
The white clad lich was standing at one of the bookshelves a hundred feet into the room and facing halfway away from me. He hadn't reacted to me our presence yet and I decided to wait.
Neske stepped forward and gave a quick bow. She then spoke out with a timid voice that nonetheless was quite formal and discreet.
“My master. The goddess Jenna has arrived to speak with you.”
With this introduction made Barthenor turned his skull around to look in our direction. He then closed the book he was holding in his skeletal hands and tucked it under his right arm. With this so stowed he turned to face the doors and looked at me directly.
“Welcome back to my home great goddess.” He then bowed himself before standing back up. “What brings you here today?”
I put my hands behind my back again and rocked back and forth on my feet in an innocent manner. I only did this a couple times before taking a more straight posture as my face turned serious.
“I actually have something important to ask you about. No bullshit its serious.”
Although Barthenor's eyes were glowing points of light in empty sockets the rest of his body language could still give away his current thoughts. He straightened up himself and gave me another respectful bow.
“Its truly an honor to have you come to me with such serious matters. I shall be happy to answer your questions to the best of my ability.” He then looked to his vampire servant. “Neske go and tend to the gardens. The goddess and I shall be content here.”
Neske's expression was briefly one of surprise before it sunk into one of disappointment. She was probably devastated with the fact she had to leave her master's side. She was however deeply loyal to him and wouldn't dare disobey an order.
“Yes master.” She replied bowing.
I was a bit surprised myself and after giving the vampire a quick glance turned to Barthenor.
“A garden up here in the mountains?”
Barthenor nodded.
“The greenhouses you had spoken to me about. I decided to try them in my home in order to grow various types of plants. With magic making up where they lack it has worked out well.”
While he was speaking Neske had turned around and walked away down the halls into the gloomy darkness. Having been dismissed by her master she was loathe to linger and interrupt his conversation with a guest. If she was indeed going to work on these gardens perhaps they would bring her a new appreciation for life.
With the vampire gone Barthenor lifted his left hand to wave his bony hand towards himself.
“Come inside and shut the doors. Let us discuss what troubles you.”
I walked into the library and the great wooden doors slowly closed behind me. They let out an echoing creak as they closed before slamming shut with a loud thoom. Once the noise had passed it was once again quiet in the library, though like elsewhere in the castle the sound of the wind outdoors could faintly be heard.
I walked over to the table near where Barthenor was standing and two chairs moved through magic to meet the two of us where we were walking. This was his magic's doing of course and I would have done it myself if he hadn't. Both of us then sat down across from each other at the small reading table on which was a lamp lit with blue flame. I flicked my fingers at it and it turned orange like normal flame.
“Thanks for talking with me Barthenor.” I said with a weak smile briefly appearing on my face. My expression then loosened into a more serious one again. I brought my hands up onto the table and clasped my fingers together with my elbows on the wooden surface.
Barthenor placed the book he had been carrying down on the table in front of him and then put both his own hands in his lap. He was showing that he was focused on me in respect.
“So what may I answer for you?” Barthenor asked.
I let out a quick sigh and then lowered my arms to cross them over my chest.
“War. Pheoa started a war.”
The mention of this word made Barthenor's eyes flicker briefly.
“I see.”
After allowing a few seconds for that news to sink it I flung up my left hand to wave around for a moment before returning it to my chest.
“Not that I'm particularly worried about that.” I continued. “There's not much a bunch of humans can do against a goddess, even if they have mages among them.” I leaned forward. “No what I have some concern about is they apparently have a weapon capable of killing a goddess. Do you know about such a thing Barthenor?”
Barthenor lifted his right hand up to his chin and thought for several moments before responding. His voice had the tone of someone who was almost lost in thought.
“I am afraid I cannot think of anything immediately my goddess.” He replied eventually. “To my knowledge while goddesses can be harmed by extremely powerful magic the only way to kill a goddess is by the hand of another goddess.”
I sit up straight in my chair and slap my arms and hands on the table, a bit of a frown on my face from frustration.
“But its been like a thousand years or whatever since you were around right? Is it possible some mage somewhere figured something out?”
Barthenor continued scratching his nonexistent chin in thought. It was clear this was puzzling him as well.
“Hmm indeed it is possible.” He then lowered his hand down onto his lap once again and looked directly at me. “Are you certain another goddess is not involved in this?”
I shook my head.
“No. The soldiers I spoke to explained that their higher ups were pretty clear that they had an actual weapon of some kind. It was something they were assured their king could control, not a goddess they would have to make deals with and have likely no guarantees from.”
“Yes indeed.” Barthenor replied. “Though there are ways more persuasive than others to get a goddess on one's side. In this case however it would seem they have something that can do harm to an actual goddess, or that they are confident in their belief to do so at least.” He gave me another nod. “I shall do some research into this and speak as well to the mages in this kingdom. There is communication and collaboration between mages that transcends petty boarders. Then I shall make you aware of any discoveries I make.”
A large sigh escaped my body, one of both relief and worry. I then pulled my arms back in towards my body and stood up from my chair.
“Thanks Barthenor.” I said with a small smile. “This helps a lot.”
Barthenor shook his bare skull and remained sitting.
“It is of no hindrance to me my goddess. Not only would such a weapon be the most fascinating development in history, it would also be abhorrent to the very world itself. While a marvel of human intellect it could not be allowed to exist for the sake of the universe's stability.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled a bit more, his comments cheering me up slightly. His thoughts on the matter were perfectly aligned with my own after all. It would be utterly amazing to study a weapon capable of killing of god. But in the interest of keeping existence itself stable, and as a god myself, it had to be destroyed if it did exist. It was still possible it was all a bluff but some still small voice deep inside me told me that wasn't the case.
I tucked my hands into the pockets on the inside of my vest and nodded to the lich.
“Well thanks for the help.” I then looked around. “Say you don't mind if I hang out for a bit and read a book do you? I just can't leave without at least one.”
Barthenor stood up himself and tucked his hands somewhere inside his own robes. He looked down at me and nodded solemnly.
“You are welcome to Goddess Jenna.”
I flashed him a grin over my shoulder as I turned to walk deeper into the library.
“Thanks!”
Having someone like Barthenor around that I could rely on to pass off some of these investigations to was a great weight off my mind. Sure I could do it myself but as a respected mage he could infiltrate deeper into their society and get more information. I still need to be on top of my game for the future however. Having a quick stop to read just one book was important for my mental health and would help me clear my mind. And it would be just one. I can't let myself get carried away.