I am not a writer. I have wanted to be a writer for all of maybe two months after my incarnation, because that spark within me was extinguished by my duty as a healer. My people say that healing is a blessing. They get on their knees and thank me, they say they will offer their lives for me. What could a Goddess want with the life of a farmer? The worst part is, they mean their gratitude.
Healing is a blessing, that is true. Healing saves lives and keeps families together. There is no greater gift than life. Life can only be traded in life, for there is no amount of finances that can pay for one’s life. Even when people say that they will die so their children are rich, they are merely trading their own life for their children’s.
I do not hate my blessing or my demesne. I do it because it needs to be done. Life is far too precious to be wasted so the mood of one Goddess should not affect who lives or who dies. It is the power bestowed upon me, so I use it. I do not think I am a naturally benevolent person, it is simply that healing is benevolent. It takes little out of me. It’s not particularly taxing on my mind, I don’t even need to sleep after it to recover. I am not naturally benevolent, but I am not evil either. Anyone with my power would do the same, it is simply too much to let waste.
That is all I have to say on the subject, the only reason I am even writing this down is because Allasaria told me it would improve my mood. It did not.
Written by Goddess Kavaa, Of Health, Untitled. Kept within her private quarters.
Kavaa grabbed Iniri’s hand and started to run. Backwards, away from the tumbling roof, she didn’t even care where she was running, she just knew that if they stayed where they had been staying, it rocks would have crushed both of them. Hopefully Anassa would get them out. Maybe Fer could catch them still. Once the rocks settled down, maybe Iniri would be able to dig through, but not now.
Iniri yelped upon the first step, but she quickly found her footing. As sad as the Goddess of Nature was about the situation, she still served in the Great War, she had still survived a century of conflict that left only the strongest of them alive. Behind them, the ceiling collapse caused by that giant snake started to pick up speed. Kavaa began to shout Iniri’s name and tell her to take cover, but all she could manage was the first letter. “I-!”
Roots wrapped around Kavaa’s stomach. Her hand leapt to the sword still sheathed on her hip, but then she felt the cool dusty air of these tunnels blow past her ears. She felt Iniri’s small hand grip hers. “It’s me.” Iniri whispered from the side. And Kavaa allowed herself to be dragged through the air as the tunnel behind them kept falling. An ancient dwarven underground highway once, but abandoned for how long? Then cracked by the Jungle and shaken by that huge monster which had come to attack them…
Kavaa blinked and realised that a huge monster had come out of the wall to attack them. “Iniri!” Kavaa shouted.
“Not now.” Iniri whispered. The roots accelerated, Kavaa moved the torch forwards as Iniri’s magic carried the two of them. The roots wrapped tightly around her stomach, but the last time she had been carried by a fellow Divine, it was when she rode on Fer’s back out of the Jungle’s Stomach. Anything compared to that would be enjoyable. So she watched the walls fly by as the green vines slithered along the jungle’s roots. The two plants fought in places. Every now and then, the Jungle would lash out and try to cut at what was carrying the two Goddesses.
And Iniri’s plants would fight back as they carried the two. Branches would burst out of them, leaves would flower, then harden to be as sharp as doctor’s scalpels. They would swing at the oncoming tendrils of the Jungle, they would try to batter them back as the Jungle sent its own roots to try and stop them. Kavaa, even with her Divine eyes, could not keep track of what was what. When she lost sight of which vines were protecting her and which were trying to drag her into the darkness, it merely looked like the tendrils of two octopi flailing at each other.
Iniri pushed them like that for a long time. Far longer than Kavaa thought the woman could do. At least an hour, maybe two. They had turned down corners as they escaped from the Jungle, ever held up by those vines the and never touching the ground. Eventually, the roots underneath them grabbing at them. Kavaa looked down, bare stone. She looked at the walls. Bare stone, smoothed and carved with geometric patterns that every dwarven structure liked. She looked at the ceiling, it was a copy of the walls. Carved, sturdy, all the angles harsh and sharp.
Iniri dropped them eventually. She was breathing heavily, her cheeks were red and she grunted as the vines dropped her. Kavaa and Iniri both landed on the stone and slid along the stone tiles of the ground. Knees and elbows scraped, Kavaa grit her teeth as she came to a stop. She grabbed her torch, jumped up from her back to her feet and looked around for her friend.
Iniri was lying on the ground, arms and legs extended spread eagle, breathing heavily and smiling as the ceiling. “Are you fine?” Kavaa asked. She slowly worked her own wounds. These scratches were about as painful to heal as they were to touch, that meant not very.
“I’m…” Iniri said through a deep breath and then winced. She looked down at her arm and burst out in laughter. “I’ve broken my wrist.”
“I’ve got you.” Kavaa said as she carefully closed the distance. Iniri would be healed, but Kavaa had been bitten too many times in the past by people who claimed to only need healing. The Jungle could have gotten into her mind. Iniri didn’t usually smile like that. “How are you feeling?” Kavaa make a circle around Iniri as the Goddess of Nature, in her green dress, the strands of living wood slithering along it like snakes, started to laugh.
“I’ve not felt like this since in a thousand years.” Kavaa stopped her slow walk and gave the Goddess a second look.
“Excuse me?”
“I feel great.” Iniri said. “Like I’m alive again.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Kavaa’s mind worked through everything that could have happened. This was textbook shock and dissociation. They were lost in the dwarven underground highway, with no way forwards. Thankfully Kassandora had been paranoid smart enough to force extra batteries on them for the torches. But once those torches went, they were in the dark. “How many fingers am I holding up?” Kavaa held out her hand and Iniri did not turn to look. Instead, her eyes started to shine green instead and the wood from her dress shot at Kavaa.
A Goddess without Kavaa’s experience would have been caught. It wasn’t speed, it was that Kavaa simply felt the blow coming when she saw the branches on Iniri’s dress start to twist. She jumped to one side already drawing her sword and swung.
Kavaa tried to swing. She looked up at her hand. A branch was wrapped around it. And then Kavaa was pulled to Iniri. The Goddess of Health twisted her core, kicked forwards, and the solid steel-cap of her boot burst into Iniri’s side. “OW!” Iniri screamed. The branch untwirled from Kavaa’s hand as Iniri wrapped into a ball and Kavaa moved her blade close to the woman’s torso. She didn’t want to kill her, but Kavaa was the damn Goddess of Health. An arm damaged here and a stab there could easily be fixed. “Why?!” Iniri cried out and Kavaa blinked.
“Why what?”
“Why did you kick me?” Kavaa looked down at her blade as her mind worked. So amnesia then. The kick most likely brought her out of whatever trance she was in.
“Do you remember grabbing me?” Kavaa showed off the red skin on her wrist where Iniri had held her in the air. “And you weren’t saying anything either.”
“I told you my wrist was broken!” Iniri said. “And what is that? You were circling me like a hawk!” Kavaa blinked. She supposed she had.
“You were laughing as if you had gone crazy.” Kavaa said.
“Oh I’m sorry, I can’t laugh when we get trapped down here Kavaa?” Iniri shouted. Kavaa finally sheathed her sword. She had over-reacted. Iniri was correct.
“Sorry.” Kavaa said as she knelt by Iniri and grabbed her cheeks. “Sorry again.” Kavaa said as her powers started to flow into Iniri. Sleep was first, then bruise she had just made on Iniri’s size. Then the broken wrist. The woman had simply landed badly. Then some recovering of vigour for good measure. And Iniri awoke. “How’s that?”
Iniri moved her fingers and smiled up at Kavaa. “Good. Sorry for scaring you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Kavaa said. Of the White Pantheon, this feeling only her and Helenna shared. Even Iniri, sweet and timid and lovely as she was, could utterly overwhelm Kavaa in a fight. Even the Nation Goddesses, if they summoned their animals, could defeat Kavaa. “It just is how it is.” Kavaa reached out for Iniri and helped pull her up.
“Thanks.” Iniri said as she looked around, shining her torch behind them. At the end of the light, there were thin roots of the Jungle slithering along the rock like tiny worms. Following them came thicker ones, worms followed by snakes.
“Let’s not go that way.” Kavaa said. “Unless you can carry us through again.”
“I think?” Iniri said.
“You think?” Kavaa asked flatly. They both started taking steps backwards to put some distance between them and the Jungle.
“The problem is the collapsed part of the tunnel and I hear it louder there.” Kavaa blinked. She herself was immune from the Jungle, the few times she consciously heard it, her mind simply pushed the words away. Iniri had already once fallen into a trance.
“Are you fine?” Kavaa started walking backwards slightly faster.
“I am.” Iniri said happily. “Really, it’s not paying attention here.” Kavaa was not impressed with that answer.
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s very quiet. It just wasn’t loud, almost as if it didn’t care about me this time.” Kavaa sighed. Maybe Kassandora would work it out. Maybe Fer, she was rather smart for her reputation. Anassa? Kavaa had little positive to say about Anassa. The woman was strong but that was all major Divines. She probably wouldn’t be of help even if she was here.
“Ah.” Kavaa said. “I don’t know what that means.”
Iniri giggled as she turned. “Neither do I.” She flashed the torch forwards. “Well, there’s only one way.”
“That there is.” Kavaa said. She turned and started away from the Jungle. She wasn’t scared of the darkness, she never had been, but now, every step felt as if she wading through jelly. As if the air itself was pushing her away. Without Iliyal to confidently make plans and Fer to serve as the best vanguard in the world, these abandoned tunnels had a different atmosphere. Every now and then, she would glance at Iniri. The woman was actually smiling! “What’s so funny?” Kavaa asked.
Iniri shrugged. “I just enjoyed doing that.”
“You did?” Kavaa asked and Iniri nodded.
“Not like…” Iniri began and trailed off. “I mean. It’s proof I can still fight. I’m not just here for building defences.”
“Oh.” Kavaa said. As much as she disliked her own demesne, at least everyone respected it. Iniri had probably been the lowest in the Pantheon’s hierarchy. Maybe her or Helenna, but Helenna had spies to bargain for herself with. “You are strong though.”
The Goddess of Nature fell silent for a moment. “You shine shoes in the Pantheon or you rule on behalf of the Pantheon. It’s as simple as that. I chose the first option.”
“You served in the Great War.” Kavaa said.
“As did you. As did Kassandora.” Iniri said. “Yet both of you are valued higher than me.” She sighed. “I’m not complaining, it just is how it is. That’s why I enjoyed it Kavaa, it was something I could do.” Kavaa fell silent. There wasn’t much she do say to argue against that. “Time goes faster if we talk.” Iniri said. “And I don’t like hearing the whispers.”
“You said it wasn’t looking here.”
“But I didn’t say it was silent Kavaa.” Iniri replied.
Kavaa wanted to sigh but she kept silent. It was usually like this with everyone. Go to Kavaa! Ask Kavaa! Kavaa will solve all your problems! Don’t worry, are you scared? Ask Kavaa! Are you bored? Ask Kavaa! Just because she didn’t mind healing her friends didn’t mean she shined up to be their entertainer. But Kavaa didn’t voice any of the thoughts, she knew it was unfair, she knew it was cruel, and she knew Iniri would help her in the same situation. “Do you think you could defeat Kass?” Kavaa asked. Taking someone’s mind off something was usually better with a question.
“I actually asked Fer about this once.” Iniri said.
“Did you?”
“Mmh.” Iniri said. “I did. She said in theory, Kass should lose but in reality, I would have no chance.” Kavaa laughed.
“That sounds like Fer.”
“Well I’ve seen Kass beat Ana.”
“That’s completely different!” Kavaa shouted as the two descended into mindless gossip. Frankly, Kavaa appreciated it as much as Iniri did, it took her mind off the fact they were marching towards either Tartarus or the Dwarves, Kavaa didn’t know who was worse.
How long they marched for, Kavaa could not say. It didn’t matter down here at the end of the day. It was a day maybe? That was still far too little time for Arascus to mount a rescue operation. And if he would mount one, Kavaa had no doubt it would be aimed at Kassandora, Fer and Anassa before herself and Iniri. They kept walking and talking. They kept talking and walking. And then they stopped.
Kavaa felt her mouth go dry as she looked ahead. She flicked the torch off immediately, and ripped Iniri’s out of her hands to get switch it off too. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have been noticed yet, it was only faint. Kavaa looked at the darkness around them. In this black ocean though, any sort of spark would be a lighthouse.
She looked ahead and swallowed. Hand going to her sheathed sword as she took a step forwards. Behind them was the Jungle, that was certain death. If they stayed here, they could be trapped for millennia, and the Jungle itself was still expanding underground no matter how well Kassandora’s Reclamation War went. So forward it was.
Yet forwards and ahead of them, the tunnels had lights. Warm fires.
And those fires had the silhouettes of people moving about.