Zilliad shot up and began to violently expel the excess sea water from her lungs onto the sandy shoreline. Startled, she began to scan the area with bloodshot eyes as the memory of sinking into the Enratic Sea flashed through her mind. Where did they go? Did Sego and the others survive the storm? I must get back to my people, Zilliad thought.
"Assumed you dead," a deep voice rumbled from behind.
Zilliad quickly grabbed as much wind and aggravated air as she could before hoisting herself into the air while simultaneously twisting her body to face the voice that addressed her. The daughter of Haboo's cloudy, gray eyes crackled with the power of thousands of volts of electricity as she prepared for an onslaught and day turned into night as the clouds above turned into foreboding thunderheads. A torrent of wind tossed Zilliad’s pure white hair into a silvery mane of power.
It was then that Zilliad saw what had just spoke. It was a massive, stone golem that had dozens of floating hands circling its body. Zilliad had felt a presence similar to this creature before, caught in her web of wind. Isaa had called it a Ruonian, but something was different about this one's form. Last time, Zilliad had no doubt that the creature's hands were attached to its body. Zilliad directed all of her gathered electricity towards the stone creature.
In a flash, a streak of lightning plummeted from the heavens. But this wasn't enough to satisfy the tension that festered inside of Zilliad's defeated mind. How could she have failed her father, Haboo, and all of his people a second time? Zilliad struck the Ruonian over, and over again, until the sands beneath its feet became singed. Zilliad let her anger simmer and she descended to a standing position on the beach. As the smoke cleared, Zilliad saw she had done little to damage the behemoth.
"Done, are we?" It snapped. The Ruonian, taller than three grown men, stared down at Zilliad with unblinking, unmoving, stone eyes.
"Where am I, Ruonian?" Zilliad asked angrily, "what happened to the deities' fleet?"
"Hmph, good is that question," was all the Ruonian said before pivoting and walking away from Zilliad.
Zilliad stood still for a moment, slightly baffled, before chasing after the stone golem. "Wait!" She shouted, just as one of the stone giant's loose hands shot towards her. Zilliad tried to avoid the inevitable before becoming restrained in the cold embrace of the Ruonian's detached hand.
"Here, you will stay, follow, you shall not," the Ruonian said without breaking stride. The stone hand placed Zilliad back on the coast and she fell on all fours. Tears began to form in Zilliad’s eyes. Why does this keep happening? She thought as she struggled to stand. Why do I keep failing?
"I am Zilliad, daughter of Haboo!" her voice was shaking, "and you will answer me, Ruonian!"
Zilliad allowed her web of wind to catapult her in the direction of the stone giant who responded by sending an open palm to block the daughter of Haboo. Zilliad smacked into the floating hand and then allowed herself to gently float down to the surface.
"A Ruonian, I am not. Henric, I am."
Henric, Maker of the Weather? Zilliad thought to herself. Isaa had taught her the names and powers of all of the Makers and if this was actually Henric, Zilliad had found herself face to face with a powerful enemy. Zilliad began to culminate the power of electricity once more but before she could ignite herself, Henric turned to face her. Zilliad felt all of the irritated air begin to still.
"Stop that you will, interfere with the winds, you will not!"
Zilliad watched as Henric's stone face turned into a scowl. Zilliad ignored the behests of the Maker of the Weather and began to pull the winds all around her. Now I've got its attention, she thought. Zilliad formed a stiff gale and sent it straight for the stone figure. Zilliad felt her winds lose their force and halt as they neared Henric, who responded by sending a gale twice as powerful towards Zilliad, who was flung from her feet, past the shore, and landed with a splash several yards into the Enratic Sea.
When Zilliad made it back to the shore, soaking wet, Henric had already continued its strides inland. As the Maker of the Weather walked, each step created a small shockwave within the ground. Zilliad chased after the Maker in one final attempt to pacify it. Zilliad placed both of her palms forward and attempted to create a vacuum within Henric’s body. That is when Zilliad discovered that Henric did not have a respiratory system similar to the other living things of Garsuna, and she turned one of her open palms into a condemning point.
“You did this, didn’t you!? You sent a storm to wipe out the deities' forces and leave them with nothing! Finish me off! Take me to Kigulbisis to be with my father!”
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Slightly annoyed, Henric turned to address Zilliad, “bring you here, I did. Destroy the humans, I did not.”
A figure began to materialize next to Henric. The figure was slightly taller than Zilliad and appeared to be composed of thick smoke. Zilliad's breathing faltered and her heart skipped a beat as she realized what this being was.
“Here, Chosrgel is,” Henric announced.
“Yes, my simple-minded friend,” a voice filled with malice and hate sounded within Zilliad’s head, “I am here.” The black, gaseous figure crept towards Zilliad, over the sand, as if it were not grounded. “I thank you for bringing Zilliad to me, you may go back to your work.”
The daughter of Haboo snapped out of her momentary shock and leapt into the sky, forcing as much air behind her as she could and propelling herself further and further from the beaches where she once stood. Chosrgel, Maker of Chaos, the nemesis of the Makers, and reaper of all destruction is here? What does it want with me? Zilliad thought as she realized she had not leapt into the air at all, and she remained petrified atop the sandy beaches, facing Chosrgel. The same voice of pure evil resonated in a deep chuckle behind Zilliad’s ears.
“I will not allow you to escape until I have said my piece,” Chosrgel said inside Zilliad’s mind while Henric disappeared into the tree line that bordered the beach, “so please, do listen. Apena and Garsuna seem to believe I am responsible for all the ills of this world, but what do you think?”
Zilliad was struck by such fear, she dared not respond.
“Do I strike you as a villain?” Ziliad shook her head.
“Good. You see, I came from far away, long ago, before Garsuna made this world. The Maker of the World seems to think it knows best what to do with its planet, but I disagree.” Chosrgel’s form began to flatten, and it wrapped itself around Zilliad, slowly embracing her. “The Makers have given me much trouble in the past and now, the deities revolt against them. This works in my favor. Enia seems to think you hold some special purpose in the battles to come, so I used Henric to bring you to this place to ensure that you do.”
Without warning, Chosrgel’s gaseous form penetrated Zilliad’s skin, entering her body. Zilliad’s cloudy gray eyes turned completely black as she felt the vile presence enter inside of her, as if she were being violated from within her soul. The daughter of Haboo fell to the ground and curled into a ball, trying desperately to deny Chosrgel’s access. But she could not.
Zilliad’s eyes returned to their natural color, and the Maker of Chaos began to flow out of her body, but it never left her mind, “you will find your beloved humans and deities have reached Vatiguth by now. Go, be with your mother’s and your father's people.” Zilliad couldn’t distinguish a face within Chosrgel’s form, but she could tell it was contorted into a devilish grin.
Wanting to get as far away from Chosrgel as she could, Zilliad shot into the sky and began flying north as tears, blacker than ink, streamed down her cheeks. What did Chosrgel do to me? She thought to herself. By the time the first sun had set, Vatiguth came into view.
Zilliad landed forcefully in front of Guth's castle and barged through the set of double, stone doors. Ten of the fourteen deities of Garsuna whipped their heads around to watch the daughter of Haboo entering the castle's dining room. Among them were Sego, Joeb, Tete, Mahon, Cajo, Enia, Lind, Noies, Xle, and Guth.
"I told you that she wouldn't be taken down so easily!" Enia exclaimed, happily clapping her hands together, "not even the forces of Henric can defeat the new conqueror of the sky."
Sego waved his hand to silence the other deities who began to chatter amongst themselves, "silence! As discussed, we will press to reclaim footing closer to Mount Caxpa before making a decisive strike, we will ready the humans in the morning..."
"Chosrgel presented itself to me." The faces of the deities turned from Sego back to Zilliad.
"Nonsense," Sego began, "the hourglass shows no signs of Chosrgel for a long while."
"I'm telling you, I spoke with Chosrgel, he used Henric to pull me aside. He did something to me, I'm not sure what..."
"Bah, just a bad dream, I am sure!" Joeb declared as the rest of the deities resumed their dinner, uninterested in what Zilliad had to say. "I am glad that we didn't lose the child of prophecy!"
"Here, let me get you something to eat, you must have hit your head during the storm or something, honey. You need to replenish your strength," Noies uttered softly, pulling a chair for Zilliad to sit beside her.
Zilliad took her seat and began to ravenously devour the food presented. She indeed was famished. The daughter of Haboo decided to say no more of her interaction with the two Makers, the reality of the situation feeling like a far-off dream.
"Our next move is to Isonia then?" Tete asked after finishing his meal and standing to head to his room.
"Aye," several of the deities responded in unison.
After finishing her meal, Zilliad retired to her room without saying a word. She kept her eyes on the floor and made no intention to speak to the deities. They cared not for me anyways, only themselves, Zilliad thought. When Zilliad finally found sleep, scrunched in the cushioned chair provided to her in Guth's castle, she was invaded by nightmares.
Zilliad was running through the expansive chasms of Kigulbisis. The air was still, and there weren't any wind currents for her to feel. Ghastly figures reached grabbed at her body as she called out for her father and uncles. "Haboo! Isaa! Sab! Where are you!?" Suddenly, Zilliad felt something get caught in her web of wind and she changed her trajectory. She began running at an even quicker pace. When she reached the figure that was disturbing the air currents, all she found was the black, smokey figure of Chosrgel. Zilliad awoke, drenched in sweat, and Chosrgel's menacing laugh echoed throughout her mind.