Chapter 561: Gods & Faith
The training courtyard was silent, the usual din of steel clashing was gone. With a bit of Green, Stryg molded the stone bench he had created into an open egg-shaped chair with enough room for two. He sat next to Tauri and held her scarlet hand as he channeled White mana into a healing spell.
Tauri winced slightly as the bones in her hand cracked underneath her skin, the connective tissues rearranging themselves back into place. The swelling over her fingers diminished in front of her amber eyes. “You’re getting better at this,” she noted.
“It’s not particularly flashy, but you never know when you need it.”
“Except you don’t really need it, do you?” she said quietly and looked him over. The blue hybrid had always been an enigma to her. Visiting his home in Vulture Woods and meeting his mother had only made things worse. The son of the Last Ebon Lady and the heir of House Veres were two traits she had never thought to find.
With her free hand, she traced her fingers across his face. “I saw when your mother brought you out of the troll king’s palace. Your body was broken. You were covered in blood. I thought…” she swallowed hard. “No one thought you’d make it, except Aurelia. I helped carry you down the mountain… I saw your flesh slowly knit itself back together.”
“Lord Noir believed my mutations would keep me healthy for centuries,” Stryg said. It felt like a weak excuse.
“I’ve never heard of a mutation that can bring you back from the brink of death.”
“Death, huh?” he chuckled bitterly. “You’d be surprised.”
“Stryg.” She grabbed his chin and gently turned his gaze to her. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“If I told you… I’m not sure you’d stay.”
She gave him a flat stare. “You attacked me with magic yesterday—”
“Not an attack, only a restraint.”
“You cast a drain spell on me.”
“Because you were trying to hit me, which in retrospect would have only hurt you.” Stryg lifted her injured hand as evidence.
“After you tried kidnapping me!”
“...Fair.”
She groaned to herself. “Look, my point is, even after all that, against my better judgment, I’m still here, aren’t I? There is nothing you could tell me about yourself that would make me just up and leave you—”
“I’m the son of Stjerne and the Monster in the Dark is an ancient goddess bent on eradicating all chromatic species from all ten realms,” he blurted out. “Oh, and she’s also my cousin.” He breathed out heavily and relaxed his shoulders. Stryg hadn’t realized how tense he had been holding the secrets within.
Tauri furrowed her brow and gently turned his head to the side. “I think I hit you harder than I thought.”
“Why does no one believe me?” he grumbled.
She laughed. “Come on, Stryg. You can’t really think I’m going to believe you’re the son of the Traveler just because you say so.”
“You know my body is tougher than steel and that I heal faster than anyone you’ve seen. What else can I do to prove it to you?”
“Yeah, I’m still trying to figure out why you can do those things in the first place,” she wrinkled her nose.
“I like it when you do that.”
“Do what?”
“Scrunch up your nose, yeah, just like that. It’s cute.”
“Stryg, focus.”
He straightened up. “Understood. What do you want to know?”
She sighed, “You’re serious?”
He leaned forward and kissed her in a flash.
She blinked in surprise. “What was that?”
“I love you, Tauri Katag. I don’t want to lose you. No, I’m not going to lose you. I want you to know who I am. Who I really am. So ask me whatever you want, let me prove it to you.”
She smirked, “Okay, as much as I like your confession, I’m still mad at you. You're not off the hook about what happened last night.”
“I thought that’s why you punched me?”
“You broke my hand.”
“No, you broke your hand.”
“Stryg, I swear to the gods if you don’t stop with that bullshit I’ll—”
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“I don’t think you should swear about the gods like that.” Stryg looked around conspicuously, “I’m not exactly sure how much they can hear.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “You think the gods can hear us?”
“When we call their names? I think so? How else do they hear prayers?”
“Prayers aren’t the same as swearing.”
“No, but it’s probably worse, right?”
“I don’t know,” she said exasperatedly, “I’m not a priestess. And since when have you been so pious?”
“Since I found out I’m related to an ebon god.”
“Look, even if the gods could hear when we invoke their names, there are countless people praying to them all the time. I’m sure they block out most of them anyway. That’s why we give them offerings at the temples, right? So they’ll actually pay attention to us when we pray.”
“So you are a priestess.”
“I’m not a priestess. I just have an education,” she said dryly.
“So did I, but our offerings to the Mother Moon aren’t exactly like the ones I saw Karen make at her temple.”
“And what sort of offerings did you make back in Vulture Woods?”
“Blood sacrifices. Usually, those of our enemies or mighty beasts the hunters have captured.”
Tauri swallowed with a grimace. “Right, yeah, I don’t know how much of that the priests do here in the city. You’d have to ask Lady Ashe.”
“Calantha Ashe?”
“She’s the High Priestess of Hollow Shade. If anyone knows about offerings to the gods it’s her.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, but what can I do right now to prove to you that I’m telling you the truth?”
Tauri rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. Do some god stuff, I guess.”
“God stuff?”
“Hey, you’re the one who said it first. If you’re really the son of the Traveler then move the stars or something.”
Stryg looked up at the clear blue skies and then at her with a frown. “It’s noon. And I don’t even know if my father can do something like that.”
Tauri shrugged, “Well, what else is the god of stars supposed to do?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
“You’re his ‘son’ aren’t you?”
“I never met the man!”
“Then how do you know you’re his son?”
“Ananta told me.”
“Who in the world is Ananta?”
“The Monster in the Dark.”
Tauri narrowed her eyes. “The Monster of legends who deceives people into terrible magical-binding deals told you you’re the son of a god and you believed it?”
“And Lunae confirmed it,” Stryg nodded.
“The goddess of the moon?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh-huh… I know she declared you her Chosen in front of all those goblins back at Evenfall, but Lady Ashe is said to be Chosen of Bellum and you don’t see her strutting around like a demigod.”
Stryg leaned back. “You still don’t believe me?”
Tauri crossed her arms. “Are you sure the goddess of the moon said you were Stjerne’s son? Because it seems pretty weird to me that a god would choose another god’s child as their Chosen. Don’t you?”
He lowered his head in contemplation, “Yeah… I guess you're right. That is weird. But she had her reasons. My mother is Lunae’s favoured.”
“And that’s another thing! Why would a priestess of Lunae sleep with the god of stars? That doesn’t even make sense. Actually, a deity sleeping with any mortal doesn’t make much sense.”
Why did Stjerne choose his mother? Stryg didn’t have the answer for that and just thinking about it opened the door to a dozen more questions. “I don’t know.”
Tauri leaned back and sighed. “I’ve played your game long enough. Wanna tell me what’s really going on now?”
Stryg took a deep breath, clenched his hands together, and bowed his head. “Lunae, if you’re watching, if I really am Stjerne’s son, then give me a sign. Please.”
“Seriously?” Tauri deadpanned.
He shrugged. “She’s the Watcher, right? And I’m her Chosen, maybe she’ll listen?”
“Stryg, I’m fine playing along, but I don’t think gods take kindly to being dragged into our games.” Tauri got up from the stone chair and walked towards the gate, “This isn’t funny anymore. The gods aren’t to be messed with.”
“You’re right. Gods don’t like to be bothered, even worse they hate it when mortals like you don’t listen to them.”
Tauri spun around, “Who said that?!”
“I did.”
Tauri looked up at the sound of the cold voice. A pale owl sat perched atop the courtyard wall, watching her with large lilac eyes. She opened her wings and flew down in front of the orc, her body shifting in a mirage of light, before reforming into a beautiful woman clad in armor, save for her face, which was framed with long brown locks. Her lilac eyes looked the stunned orc up and down, assessing her. “This is your partner, Stryg? Huh.”
Tauri took a step back and instinctively reached for her mace, but she had left it at home. “Who are you? How did you get past the barrier?”
“Melantha!” Stryg jumped to his feet. “Did Lunae send you?”
“What? No.” Melantha shook her head. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you all morning. After last night, Holo and I decided that until you gain some semblance of control over your powers, we’d take shifts babysitting you. We can’t have you accidentally igniting yourself again.”
“Igniting?” Tauri glanced at Stryg.
“Igniting the Astral Light, I’ll tell you about it later,” he whispered.
“Who are you?” Tauri stared at the woman warily.
Stryg walked over and gestured, “This is Melantha the Blue, Paragon Knight of the Jade Realm, and my sister.”
“You have a sister? Wait, did you just say Melantha? As in the Saintess Melantha?” Tauri asked.
“I have been called as such, yes. Though I haven’t heard anyone in this realm refer to me as a saint in over two hundred years.”
Tauri laughed, “You’re telling me that you’re a warrior saint of the Jade Realm? The Saintess of Heroes herself? Stryg, seriously, who is she? A True Green? She doesn’t look like a vampire. Does she work for House Gale?”
Before Stryg could answer, Melantha’s pale freckled skin darkened to an angry shade of blue and her dark hair blossomed into a pale silver-white. Her armor plates expanded as her body grew taller until she loomed over Tauri’s small form. “I am Melantha, goddess of death, and you would be wise to stop ignoring my brother’s words, mortal.”
Tauri chocked a terrified noise and nodded repeatedly.
Melantha smiled, satisfied. “Good.” Her form shifted back to the young dashing knight. “Now, little brother, where can one find a good drink around here? Preferably one without blood.”
Stryg wrapped his arm around Tauri’s waist protectively and tried his best to appear fearless. “...I know a place.”
“Wonderful.” Melantha walked behind the couple and wrapped her arms around their shoulders, “Lead the way.”