Briga reached out to Orn, took his hands in hers. “Oh, do not kneel before me, my love. We are to be married. I can’t have you falling to your knees every time I let my mask fall away. Come, come. Get up.”

Orn slowly and shakily came to his feet. He looked upon the face of the Goddess Briga. Her presence overwhelmed him, as his own eyes began to tear up. “This can’t be real. It can’t be.”

“I have been watching you from a distance since you were born. Watched you cry, laugh, crawl, walk, run. I watched you grow, and soon you will grow into a man. You will be my man. But you are correct. It isn’t supposed to be like this. Our love was supposed to blossom naturally over time. But something has gone wrong.”

“You mean, aside from this whole absurdity that I find myself in right now?”

Briga laughed her musical laugh, a wondrous sound to behold. She brushed his cheek with her fingertips as she said, “I always loved your sense of humour. Your brother is crass, but you, you have a sophistication that belies your backwater village boy upbringing.”

She gazed at him with gentle adoration for a short time and then shook it off. “Right, right, where was I? Yes, your village was never supposed to be attacked. The timetable has shifted forward. Things are in motion far ahead of when they were supposed to be. I think they are doing this because Father is not here. It’s all wrong.”

“I don’t understand what you are talking about at all,” Orn said, consternation written on his face. “Why am I here? How does bringing me here help the situation? And who are ‘they’?”

“They are the dark ones. Some call them devils, some call them demons. They want to take this world and turn it into their own personal cattle farm with all life in your world as their cattle. But their appetites are insatiable. Every world they have ever been to, they consumed until they stripped it clean of all life, leaving barren rock in their wake.”

“But why wouldn’t they just invade the world and start feeding? Why my village?”

“They, like we, are bound by universal laws that prevent us from acting directly. Usually, we must work through proxies. We Gods have our priests and our blessings. They have their cultists and contracts. They aim to push the world into chaos and then use the distraction to place their cultists in positions of power and influence within nations. From there, they will steer the people from their worship of the Gods to worship of them.”

She looked out over the sea and continued, “You have immense power, Orn. But you no longer have the time to learn how to use it naturally. So I am going to intervene to hasten your grasp of it. A small suspension of universal laws to compensate for what they have done. This will hurt, my love. I am sorry, But I must do this.” She turned back to him and placed her hands on the sides of his head.

Orn felt warmth and then pressure. Soon he felt as though a vise had begun crushing his skull, his mind felt as though it was afire. His throat grew hoarse from screaming, though he was unaware of it. Then suddenly it was gone, and Orn was looking up into those green eyes that seemed to cause everything to melt away.

He realised he was lying on his back, his head resting on her lap as she stroked his hair gently. Her tears had fallen into his eyes and removed all the pain of what he had just endured. He had bled from his eyes, nose and ears, but all that remained were traces of the dry blood she was wiping away with her other hand.

“I wish we could stay here like this, but time will begin moving forward again soon. We need to return. I need to talk to your mother.”

“Don’t you mean Duke Thayn? He is in charge, after all.”

“He is of no consequence. You are all that matters to me. She matters to you, so she must matter to me. And I must tell her of our bond, our future.”

“Mm, I don’t know about that. You may be a Goddess, but Mother is…”

“A lot like my mother,” Briga laughed musically. “We should go back to Raugus. My power is not absolute, and it is not limitless.” She paused momentarily and said, “Oh shoot, time is up.”

As she said that, the arched doorway appeared, and Orn could vaguely see the shapes of people sitting at a table with torches around them, only they were moving. It seemed they were looking around.

ᚲᚺᚱᛟᚾᛁᚲᛚᛖᛊᚱᛁᚾᚾ×ᛟᚱ×ᛟᚱᚾ

The space at the end of the cavern had been cleared. A low, guttural, otherworldly sounding chant echoed within the natural structure. An intricate sigil scrawled on the floor in the blood of the naked corpse positioned at its centre - the corpse of Senator Corrus Agular.

Around the sigil were six purple-robed and hooded figures. Each of them held a black candle burning with a cold blue flame in their left hand, emitting an eery glow that cast strangely dancing shadows on the cavernous walls.

Their right hands were outstretched, palms facing down above the body. The chanting grew in volume as the blue flames elongated and started to arc over, the tips of which flickered just short of touching the corpse. Then the blue flames curved away from the floating corpse to etch a different sigil to that painted on the ground into each of their wrists. A mark of the soul contract they had just entered into.

The body arched as though its back muscles contracted to the point of snapping its spine, and suddenly it sucked in a slow, deep tortured sounding breath, laying back down flat once more. Then its eyelids flicked open, but there were no eyes behind them. The sockets weren’t just empty; they were an entrance to an endless darkness. What used to be Corrus’ eyes were now twin openings into the void.

ᚲᚺᚱᛟᚾᛁᚲᛚᛖᛊᚱᛁᚾᚾ×ᛟᚱ×ᛟᚱᚾ

Time was frozen in the villa’s garden, in the town of Raugus…and then it wasn’t. Gereld suddenly gasped out loud and half stood from his chair as Erik fell off of his and yelped in surprise. All eyes snapped towards Erik.

Thayn enquired, “Gereld, what’s wrong?”

Gereld pointed to where Orn was sitting and said in a shaky voice, “I have seen much in my life, but occasionally, I am still surprised. Orn it appears, has disappeared.”

Venna stared at the vacant seat that Orn had occupied, eyes narrowing as she tried to recall if he had vanished or if she just hadn’t noticed that he had left.

“Surely he has gone to the lavatory or something,” Darius assured them.

Thayn grinned slyly and said, “Or he snuck off with that serving girl. I saw the way she was flirting with him.”

“Nonsense. He wouldn’t...” said Venna before mumbling, “if he knows what’s good for him.”

Looking at Gereld, his face pale from fright, Erik stammered, “No, Gereld is right. He was sitting right next to me. One second, that girl is leaning on him to pour his drink, and the next, they both vanished.”

Fronus and Daria’s faces went pale as they both exclaimed in Nevan, pointing to the doorway. They all turned to look and were astounded. Instead of an opening into the villa, they could see a pebble-strewn floor and the sea beyond that.

Then two figures approached hand in hand. A beautiful young woman and a young man. As he approached and came through the doorway, it became clear that it was Orn.

Although it wasn’t apparent until the scene behind them faded into the interior of the villa, the young lady was aglow with radiant light. Thayn, while trying to maintain a veneer of being unflappable, couldn’t completely disguise the awe he was feeling, as his tawny eyes were wider than normal. The Nevans had fallen to their knees with their hands clasped together, muttering prayers in their language.

Gereld simply smiled and shook his head in wonder, while Venna and Erik stared at Orn in disbelief. Gereld was the first to speak, saying, “If I was to die this instant, I could honestly say my life has had a moment that all the years I’ve had combined could never come close to rivalling.”

Briga smiled at Gereld and said in a voice that was gentle yet seemed to come from everywhere and within, in all languages at once, “After all the years you have lived since my father and I touched your soul, you still have wonder in your heart,” She chuckled and went on, “and you are still an outrageous flirt. But my heart belongs to this one.” She lifted Orn’s hand slightly and glanced at his face.

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Her gaze drifted over to the Nevans and then she let Orn’s hand go, approached them and said, “Please, come sit and relax. There is no need for this. Especially you Daria,” Briga crouched and helped Daria to her feet, “not in your condition.” She then looked meaningfully at Daria’s navel.

Daria gasped and covered her mouth with one hand, her other placed on her abdomen protectively as tears welled up in her eyes. Her family gathered around, hugging her and shedding tears of joy.

Her green eyes then fell on Venna, who was still staring at Briga in stunned disbelief. Briga walked around the table to stand before Venna.

She touched her fingertips to the tears streaking her beautiful face and touched them to Venna’s chest. “I know your heart is in pain dear mother, but be easy. This will pass, and you will be whole again.” As she did this, tears began falling from Venna’s eyes, and Briga held her.

After a few moments, she pulled back from the embrace and said, “Come, we must talk, you and I,” and she led Venna away from the table for a short while.

“What in blazes is going on?” asked Erik, as he looked in bewilderment at the lady who had arrived with Orn.

Thayn, while still staring at the glowing woman, said, “I think your brother has brought the girl he is courting to meet your mother.”

“What, that? But she’s…” Erik couldn’t find the word.

Thayn replied, “Yes, she’s…ahem…indeed.” As he shook his head wistfully.

Venna returned with Briga. Her face seemed serene, the lines of worry that were forming had faded from her face. Her steps seemed lighter, as the Goddess appeared to have lifted a significant portion of her recent emotional burdens.

Briga then smiled as she addressed Erik. “You, the young bear. He who would be my brother. Turn your mind to your education. You will need it for the path that is before you. Great things lie in your future.”

Then she turned to Thayn as a slightly troubled expression crossed her face. To him, she said, “You are not supposed to be here. I can see there is danger hanging over you. Brave though you are, do not be reckless. Protect our family, but do not rush foolishly into battle. Trust in your men, and depend on them. ‘Tis why they are here.”

She then turned to all of them and said, “The road ahead will be fraught, but I cannot help you more. I have said and done all that I can.”

Finally, she approached Orn and took his hands in hers again, and brought them to her lips. The tears flowed down her cheeks again as she pulled Orn into her embrace and kissed him once more. “I will wait for you. Be safe, my love. Danger comes, so be mindful and use your gifts wisely.” She walked back through the arched doorway. As it once again led to the pebble beach, waves rising to surround her and then she and the beach were gone.

Venna walked over to Orn and hugged him tightly. It was more for her sake, as she was still trying to reconcile with her disbelief at what she had just now witnessed. Orn himself was still coming to terms with it.

Then they heard a scream from a servant. One of the stable hands came running to Darius, bleeding from a head wound, and spoke rapidly in Nevan. Darius’ face went pale as he said, “The villa is surrounded and my guards have been killed.”

A calm descended upon Orn, as the sensation of power rising from within, coupled with an instinctive knowledge of how to channel it, revealed itself to him. The knowledge felt inherent, as though it had always existed. Thayn, Erik and Venna readied themselves, but their weapons were inside the building. Darius’ family huddled together. They were not warriors, and the fear in them was evident. However, Darius, despite his lack of martial prowess, was resolute and absent of fear as he whispered words of comfort and fortitude to his terrified family.

Gereld stood next to Orn and said to him, “I shall use water. Do you think you can control the flames?”

Orn didn’t answer. Instead, he extended his arms and stood in a fighting stance. His body tensed as pieces of each torch flame detached and coalesced into a multitude of fist-sized flaming spheres.

The spheres spread out to surround the garden in a circle, revolving around them, increasing in speed as they rose to the height of the roof. A slow thrumming became audible, increasing in tempo and volume until it was a constant dull roar.

The first of the men emerged from the Villa, looks of triumph on their faces as they spotted their quarry. The looks of malicious glee lasted right until shards of frozen wine and water from the cups on the table impaled them.

Despite more enemies appearing, Gereld could only take down two. He was out of liquid, and so he backed toward the others to give Orn some space. “I can do no more. It is up to you now. You can do this”

The garden filled with more men. The malicious glee written on their faces had taken on an undertone of caution as they regarded their dead comrades. They held back, a little less certain of themselves, opting to cut off escape and summon more of their number. The pillaging would have to wait until they dealt with this threat.

“Come! All of you, come!” Orn taunted. His tone was neutral, ordinary even, but his voice sounded like it had come from everywhere. Furthermore, everyone understood him. The circle above spun faster and faster until it created a piercing, high-pitched noise that had everyone covering their ears.

Suddenly the sound of dull, rapid-succession thuds punctuated the whine of the fire circle, which had then become a low humming, as the circle of fire had reduced in size and speed. Each of their assailants had a coin-sized glowing orange tunnel through their heads. They swayed momentarily, as their bodies came to terms with the fact their tainted souls had already burned away, and as one, they all collapsed.

The reduced circle of flame spheres had lowered to stay hovering around a foot above Orn’s head. He moved forward and stepped over the ring of bodies. He walked through the villa, searching for further assailants, and then moved out the front of the building. There he saw it.

A figure shrouded in darkness. It pulled back its hood to reveal a misshapen head that resembled a rodent. However, its eyes were noteworthy in that it were as though they were absent. As though they were openings to endless darkness, twin entries to an endless void. The thing had the same smirk of malicious glee that all the men wore on their faces moments ago.

As Orn regarded it, its expression changed. The smirk melted from its face to be replaced with one of confusion. Then the expression turned to fear. Orn launched a flame sphere at the creature, but it turned into a mist and evaporated.

Orn stared at the spot where the figure had been, and he felt a chill through him, as he recalled Briga referring to “they”, the “dark ones”. He dismissed the thought, deciding that was for a later time to ponder, and headed back to his family. As he neared the entry, he waved his hand and the fire circle dissipated into the air.

As he re-entered Darius’ home, he saw Gerald. He was directing the house attendants, who were unscathed, to gather up those who suffered during the attack, in between healing those in front of him.

Miraculously, the guards were the only fatalities. However, some of the house servants had severe injuries. They too would have been among the dead, were it not for Gereld’s skill and swiftness in treating them.

Orn moved over to his family to check that they were all whole. Darius was looking at Orn with a sense of awe. His mother was the first to speak. “Orn! Are you all right?” She grabbed his face with her hands and checked him over before pulling him into a rough hug.

“Am I all right? I was coming to see if you were…Mother, too, tight…ugh.”

“Sorry, I was worried.” She had a slightly anguished look on her face, unaccustomed to being helpless and relying on one who she felt was her life’s purpose to protect.

“I’m fine, mother. But once we have everything under control here, we all need to talk. Erik, you doing all right?”

“What? Yes, fine. I’m all good, yep.” The way he looked around like a cat raised from slumber by being unceremoniously dunked in a bathtub belied Erik’s words.

The servants who had escaped or only suffered minor injuries handled the clean-up. The group had gathered around the dining table again, their cups refilled. They were all armed, having retrieved their weapons, not wanting to be caught unawares again.

“The first thing we need to learn is who were they, and who sent them,” stated Thayn.

Darius offered, “Local criminals from outward appearance. I have never known them to do something like this, though. I can’t see Sanji having a hand in this. It is strange.”

Orn interjected with, “I think Praetor Darius is right. I saw a figure out the front of the house. Briga was warning me about it, which is why she came to us directly. She kept saying things like ‘that wasn’t the plan’ and ‘I had hoped things could happen naturally’ or words like that. And referred to ‘dark ones’ ‘demons’ ‘and devils’.”

“So you think this figure is what prompted the Goddess to intervene directly?” asked Gereld.

“I think so. I mean, that figure waited, saw me walk out of the house and then vanished.”

“It ran away?” asked Thayn.

“No. It vanished, as though it wasn’t really there to begin with.”

“A projection, perhaps,” mused Gereld.

“Whatever it was, I think it was controlling those men. It wore the same expression that they did. When I looked at them, it was like they weren’t in control, but at the same time, they were not resisting it. The only doubt I saw on them, I think, was when they realised that they might die.”

“I have a question,” Darius interjected. “Your voice when you spoke, you spoke Nevan and your voice was as the Goddess spoke. I could hear it inside me and all around.”

“No, he was speaking Halder. I heard it,” said Venna.

“I may have an answer. It also explains what he could do to our attackers. It would seem the Goddess invested some of her power directly in him,” Gereld suggested. “When she speaks, all who hear her can understand, and she understands all. It is a divine gift to communicate with all. We all worship the same gods. To us, she is Briga, Goddess of our hearts. Because Orn is a Halderman, she appeared to him thus. To Nevans, she is Agrippa, the lady of rain. To others, she is different again.”

“A unique way for a young man’s intended to meet his mother,” Thayn added with a wry grin. “Although I am certain it need not be said, what we witnessed this night was of the Gods, but it must never leave here. No one can hear of it. Are we agreed?” There were murmurings of assent and nods from all present.

Darius laughed as he offered, “Agrippa came to my home to tell my guest she would marry her son? Who would believe me? I would be sent to the sanitarium.”

Then to Orn, Thayn asked, “Is there anything else you can tell us about this mysterious figure?”

“I think it was a man, or at least it looked like a man. I can’t be sure. If it was a man once, it isn’t now. It was…empty. When I saw its eyes, they were nothing. The face was peculiar, though. It looked like a rat. A kind of…man rat, long nose, big ears, weak chin and his head was kind of flat and wide.”

Darius suddenly gasped, “By the Gods, no!”

“What?” Thayn asked eagerly.

“Sounds like he just described Senator Corrus Agular. He had me sent here because as Praetor of the Paqurineva district, I was having him investigated for corruption, among other…disgusting proclivities he engages with.” He grimaced as he said that.

“Hm. It appears this whole thing is much deeper than we thought. Orn, Briga gave you some of her powers, yes?” Thayn asked.

“Um, I…guess…so?”

“Do you think you could walk through to Fludavera?”

“I don’t know how she did it, so I don’t think I can, sorry.”

“Not to worry, not to worry. I just wish I could speak to Viggin. He is good with this kind of thing.”