Coney looked at each of the figures in turn. There was a feeling he got, he realized it was the same feeling he’d gotten in the back of his neck every time he’d interacted with something more intense than even his new digital reality. These were gods, each and every one of them, though they may be projections.
“You are…” Coney started, not really sure he wanted to finish his sentence. “Gods. You are gods, I don’t know why you are here. Please… explain? Who are you? What are your names?”
The largest altar, at the center of the now ruined temple room, seemed to project the largest of the figures. He was handsome, a tall burly figure with rippling muscles. However, his body seemed to flicker. Elements of something else seemed to appear and disappear in his skin.
“We have no names.” The voice saidm somehow booming but also raspy. It was an odd juxtaposition. “We are the old gods here. We have been here since before you’re own kind came to this land.”
Coney nodded. “Beast kin.” He said confidently. “The leaders say my ancestors came to this land three hundred years ago. Sent here by the Empire, itself only coming to this land about two thousand years ago.”
“No.” The voice said. “Do not interrupt. I did not mean beast kind. In fact, your race was here long before humans ever took these lands.” He flickered, and his skin seemed almost scaled, before it flickered back to its human form. “No, I mean your religion. You are a member of what you call the old church, subsumed by the church of the empire but still independent.”
“Yes, of course.” Coney said, a little uncertainty. “We’ve been here for five thousand years, though my own church is only a few thousand years old. We represent the religion from before the empire took over, though even imperial citizens trust our word.”
“That is not completely true. All of the words you say are true, but there were gods before your church began here. Before then, we were the gods. In fact, it was our priests that converted the people to your church.” An angry expression took his face, and for a second he had horns like those of a bull, but when he calmed down he was back to his nondescript human visage. “We were sealed away, our places of worship torn down and given into the hands of the earth. Here our spirits remain, and only these last vestiges of our once great power remain.”
“Why are you flickering?” Coney asked, looking at the others, none of which had spoken yet.
Not too far away a pure white goddess spoke. “We are forgotten.” Her eyes glowed red, thank pink, then went back to normal. Her body seemed both clothed and unclothed. As he looked at her she flickered, looking like a human, like a lion woman, like anyone that was attractive. “Our names are lost. We still live only because our cores remain in other faiths.” She sighed. “I myself have a place in your church, but they nurtured my true nature. Only in the east do they still worship me in my full capacity.” She shook her head, the pain too much to bear.
“That’s the long and short of it.” The big man said. “We are known by many names, and you may even know some of them, but those are not the names we went by here in this land. We will never go by those names again.” Tears seemed to run down his cheeks, even though he was a large beefy guy that Coney felt weird to see crying. “We are all but dead, only the shared worship of our other forms keeps us in this half life. I… I don’t want to stay like this.”
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Coney thought for a second, before kneeling before them and closing his eyes. “I can’t snuff you out, that’s not what I believe in, but I can give you some of my faith. At least for now.” His paws pressed together, and his hackles rose, the feeling he got as he began to feel the power of spirit flow through him.
“Gods of place, gods of the old things, lost gods… hear me. I want you to take from me what you need, for I give all of myself so that you may survive. Do not despair, though your worship is nonexistent, for you remain aspects of your other forms. Remember yourselves, so that they may draw upon you when their need arises!”
There was a feeling of things all around him. He felt a kiss, this one far more invasive than the one he’d gotten from the sunrise goddess. He felt hands pet his body, his ears, his legs. He felt as cuts lashed his arms, and blood seeped from him to stain his fur. Throughout all of this he kept his eyes closed, unwilling to rescind his offer, even with the violation that it necessitated.
Finally, the flurry of motion stopped. Opening his eyes he realized that around him the images had formed into a kind of solidity. His eyes looked at the lord at the center of the room. He’d formed into a spanish looking man wearing gold and a tunic. “Thank you, child rabbit.” He said, a soft smile on his lips. There was a glint of mischief, but he couldn’t really tell.
All of them had gold. One of the goddesses had odd circles in her hair that at first he thought were buns like princess Leia , but realized after a second were in fact chariot wheels that were made out of gold and tucked into her hair. “We wish we could give you blessings.” She said, a soft smile as well. “But that would defeat the purpose of your sacrifice, as it would drain our divine power despite the faith you gave us.”
“We can not bless you.” The king said. “We can not do anything for you. However, I can give you one recommendation. When you come to an empty room, look for the wine god.” He grinned, eyes flashing an odd white golden light.
“But…” Coney asked, unsure of himself. “I didn’t ask for a blessing.” That was true, but internally he had hoped he’d get something special for this incredible time he was spending down here. “Could you tell me the way out?” He asked hesitantly.
“Proceed behind you, past the rubble of our church’s entrance. There you will find a cave. At the top there are kobold tunnels, which intersect back where you came from. From there, you’ll find your way.” This was the voice of one of the gods he was completely unfamiliar with, but still he gave them a nod.
“Know this, little one.” The booming voice of the king said. His voice no longer had the rasp, and was pure bombasity. “If you find our other forms, know that we will be predisposed to you. They may not know why, but a part of them will always be rooting for you.”
Coney nodded and walked, trying to walk with alittle dignity. Admittedly, he was unable to do so when he reached the rubble. Sure, maybe few could have, but his stumbling effort was enough to make even the gods behind him snicker. He didn’t look back, but he knew they were holding back their laughter for his sake, which he was severely thankful for.
Finally he reached the end, and there was another cave. This was simular to the one he’d walked in. It was as he walked there he got a message.
Hidden Quest Finished: Restore the Old Gods
Description: The original gods of this land have been locked away for thousands of years without faith, give them some to restore them to their own personalities.
Reward: 4 Luck
“Wow, luck really isn’t hard to get in this game huh?” He said to himself as he walked forward. It was weird, luck was such a mystery, but if it was this easy to get he would have assumed someone else would have figured it out by now.
Right as he was walking around a corner he realized his mistake, his light had gone out and his sickle no longer glowed like it had in the presence of the old gods. With a soft whispered fuck he focused and made his paw glow again. Again he got a kiss, though it seemed to match the one he’d gotten only a few minutes before, even as a whisper came through his ears. “Even gods get jealous.” The voice said, leaving him speechless.