It had been quite some time since I last remembered having a dream, but it looked like I was in for a bit of a treat tonight. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a vast meadow, with rolling hills that extended for miles. In the distance was a massive, snow-capped mountain range, easily capable of dwarfing the one I climbed to get my bearings. Flaring out from the bottom of the mountains was a sprawling alpine forest, and a few flocks of birds could be seen diving in and out of the canopy. The view was reminiscent of the Swiss countryside.
It was a warm day, with a soft breeze that carried fresh, pure air. I hadn’t had much time to truly relax for the better part of a week at this point, so it was nice to have an opportunity to not be in a life or death situation. I made use of whatever time I’d have in this comforting dream by taking a casual stroll, not failing to see the irony in using my break from walking to do more walking. However, I wasn’t fortunate enough to conjure up something like a party, so entertainment was limited. I let out a short bitter laugh.
“My first real break in weeks comes in my sleep, and it’s not even anything crazy! Where are the dinosaurs, the spaceships, the pirates, the stuff that doesn’t belong anywhere? It’s like there’s no plot here or something,” I shouted at nobody in particular. “Though, I guess I’ve had that for the better part of a week now, having become an interdimensional traveler…” I kept on aimlessly wandering for a few more minutes, wondering what the point of this dream even was, before finally spotting something that didn’t belong as I crested a hill.
“Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me,” I muttered with a roll of my eyes. “We’re just plagiarizing Earth here, huh?” A few hundred yards in front of me stood a large marble building, essentially an exact copy of the ruins of the Greek parthenon, were they to be restored. Standing amongst the pillars were eleven figures of various sizes, with Deimos front and center. Apparently I was in for a meeting with the gods, not rest or respite. I contemplated attempting to wake up for a while, but ultimately decided that I likely had no choice in the matter either way and approached the group.
All eleven stood towering over me, despite not all matching Deimos in height, and similarly clad in intricate robes. This time, though, Deimos did not have his hood on, and I was able to get a look at his face. Surprisingly, the only word that came to mind was nondescript. They all looked entirely average, yet simultaneously indescribable, their features almost seeming to change if my focus left them for another. What did very much stand out, though, were their tattoos. Or maybe markings would’ve been a more apt term.
Their faces were covered in the same patterns that adorned their robes, lines swirling around and chasing each other, sparkling as they caught the light. Every deity had lines of a different color, likely correlating to their individual aspects, aside from Deimos. His were gray. I looked down at my hand, where I had noticed my own markings appear on my first day here. They were, indeed, the same. Okay, so I can at least rule out magical poison. Maybe.
I was broken from my stupor when Deimos spoke up. “Welcome, Zachary. Your attunement has gone quite well, I can see,” he said, as he inspected the markings that were taking over my skin. He ran a hand along my arm and up to my face, a buzzing feeling coursing along the markings that he came into contact with, which carried all the way into my face, alerting me to the extent of the spread. I had been unable to properly do so due to a lack of encounters with mirrors in this world. “I do not foresee a need for you to return after this. I implore you to heed my warning about wielding your power. Incidents like you just had are likely to keep occurring if you do not exercise caution,” he warned.
“I don’t intend to have any repeats of that, or anything close, believe me,” I said. “Now that I actually know how to use magic, I’ll be able to be much more careful.” He nodded his head, satisfied with my response, and moved behind the first being in the line before me. Going down the line, he introduced each of the gods.
First, with patterns of red, was Buhtal, the god of combat and might, according to Deimos. He was well built, his physique even visible despite his robes. Next, in green and among the shortest of the group, was Adina, the goddess of constitution and vitality. The orange markings belonged to Marquis, the god of travel and navigation. With purple markings, and by far the most diminutive figure of the group, was Dremir, the god of death and decay. I noticed Adina shifting somewhat as Dremir was introduced. Hmm, not a fan of your opposite, eh, I thought.
“Why would I be? He is the one to undo all of my work,” Adina said. Her voice was soft and comforting, yet I shrunk under her comment, not having known my thoughts were not private here. Apparently, Dremir found my reaction amusing, and cracked a crooked smile that sent chills up my spine. Deimos put a hand on each of their shoulders and their stances tightened up, before continuing down the line with introductions, as I tried to prevent myself from having any more rogue thoughts.
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The next in the line was Irahil, the goddess of nature and fertility, sporting dirt brown markings. Beside her stood Estra, goddess of emotion and intimacy, marked with patterns of blue. Next was Selara, goddess of the elements, covered in jet black lines. In stark contrast, with sharp white, was Corsal, the god of awareness and the mind. Then, there was Grijea, the goddess of light and dark, represented by a nearly blinding yellow. Finally, on the end, and with stunning iridescent markings, stood Zelamot, the god of entropy and disaster. With introductions complete, Deimos retook his position at the forefront of the group.
“This is the team I’ve handed the responsibility of managing operations on Astema. As this is your last time here, I wanted to give them the opportunity to attune with you as well, should they desire,” said Deimos. I couldn’t hide my bafflement at such… normal behavior. I’d expected many things when getting ready to meet gods, but people wasn’t one of those things.
“Operations… What, are you like some board of executives or something,” I asked incredulously.
“In a sense. A project as large as this one is too expansive to be run by a single person.” As Deimos spoke, Adina stepped forward to place a hand on my shoulder, and a faint green began to intertwine with my gray markings. I stared in amazement, and she gave a small bow of her head before returning to the line.
“So, this is some kind of business to you, then, or is there some other point,” I asked.
“Art,” Deimos stated plainly. “What more beautiful of a creation is there than life?” That statement left me speechless. To know of, let alone have met a race capable of making life for the sake of entertainment was so far beyond anything I’d ever thought possible. In all honesty, it wasn’t a great revelation. I felt inconceivably small, at that moment.
“If you have the power to make life, why not send me home? That doesn’t seem like it would be out of the realm of possibility for you,” I said. As dangerous as hope can be, it would have been nice to skip out on the rest of the trip to the capitol.
“While I could do that, I do not know who made you, and therefore I do not know where you belong. Humanity is a very robust design, and is found in most realms. The only way for you to return to your home is to have the shard that brought you here repaired, as it is linked to the one in your world,” he explained. As I listened to his reasoning, I could feel my blood pressure start to rise.
“How did that crystal even end up in my world, then? And how come you can’t find it? It’s the only thing there that has any trace of magic, specifically from here, at that.” I did my best to remain calm, but some anger managed to slip into my tone, nevertheless. “Or repair the thing?” Buhtal seemed ready to step out of the line to dole out some punishment for my slight outburst, but Deimos stopped him in his tracks.
“One of our subjects managed to find your realm and designated it as his destination for a teleportation ritual. We were unable to stop him, as our attention was on the war in the Brimlands. It was too late to track him by the time we realized what happened,” Deimos stated. To his credit, he did appear to at least be disappointed by the shortcoming. “His is the first known instance of a creation traversing the barrier between realms, so no measures were taken to prevent such an occurrence.”
Those statements held some equally worrying and vital news. First of all, there was a war on a scale large enough to draw the focus of an entire pantheon. Second, such a war would likely leave resources stretched thin worldwide, which could lead to an increase in difficulty finding someone able to fix my way home. And third, if repairing it failed, there would likely be no other way to get back. I hung my head, unsure if my mission would even result in any success, or if I was stuck in a foreign world for the rest of my life.
Estra watched my inner turmoil unfold, and stepped forward to place her hand on my shoulder, alongside a warm smile that spread from ear to ear. “The road ahead of you may not be easy. Do not be afraid to seek the confidence of others, should your journey prove too much to bear alone,” she said, before taking her place back in the line. I mulled over her advice as I watched the blue glow mingle with the gray and green, and thanked her for offering some of her power.
While the gods may not have been able to support me directly, I figured it was worth a shot to try to pull what information from them that I could. “How bad is this war? Should I expect to be in serious trouble if I don’t make it home soon? Will there even be anyone left who can help me,” I asked, hoping for at least one positive answer.
“You will find the answers you seek when the need arises,” Deimos said. “It seems that no others wish to attune with you for the time being. Good luck, Zachary.” Once the words left his lips, I was left frustrated as the world around me started to fade away.