[… 2 Centuries have passed on since the Great God Ra, the First Man, reincarnated once again... Since then many empires have risen on the Human World. From the towering stone cities of the Central America, to the desert paradises of Asia, and also the rising of the Great Roman Empire. Even so, many others have turned to dust as well, the great warrior kingdoms of the North Islands, the thriving nation of the Masked Ones in the lower Africa...
Ra has already lived two lives in these past centuries. On the first, he became Raijin, the great God of Thunder of the Eastern World. On the latter one, he became Raitupan, the forest God of Thunder and Life. He brought prosperity and glory to both of his people on both of those lives, now, satisfied once more with what he lived, he seeks the Haven of Gods, yet again, bearing even more power than before.
That is also part of the reason behind the hate for Ra, among the other Gods. His love and care for humankind is mistaken for greed of power. So his constant rate of rebirth is seen as an attempt to not lose power and always remain on top. While other Gods have tried, seeking that deranged view, most of them have fallen from grace and became mortals yet again, caught in the eternal Cycle of Life and Death, once more.
For a God, or any other Divine Being, being reborn and reascending (the process of mortals becoming divine) is not the only means to harness more power. Some Greater Gods, especially the more ancient and vast power or concept that such God represents, may suffer changes as time and civilizations pass by. Such a thing happened with the Nox, the Night, once a being of terror and fear that instilled men, she became not only the Night but also the Moon Goddess, becoming much more than what she already was. But there are a few problems that may come with it. The change is not sudden, it is a stalwart and baffling process that may be harmful to the mind-state of a God. Some times, by not entirely accepting the new powers and the new form, the God may develop a second personality, or third and fourth and so on, by doing so the power and the facets of the God become divided. The process of rebirth and reascendence does not suffer from those problems, because for living another life entirely the affirmation of the new identity can be more easily dealt with and accepted.
Right now, Ra has 8 forms of power, all of them had a great importance in their own people and civilization. He's the most powerful God, and still the undefeated and uncontested Ruler of the Heavens. His rules allow to any Pantheon to thrive and prosper, even amongst warring parties there still can exist trade and momentarily alliances. Small Pantheons are advised and protected, so that they do not fall in Oblivion and descend into mortality. Greater Pantheons are called to council and suggest new laws and treaties.
His Rule has not been the only one though, a Pantheon stolen his Throne during one of his rebirths and tried to subvert the Astral and Cosmic laws to grant favor to their civilization. Of course, that only led to strife and chaos among the other Pantheons in the Heavens. The War of God was a harsh one, and caused the oblivion of many smaller Pantheons, that still to this day, the day you are reading my words, are still lost to both, us, Gods, and you, humans.
That was the only time that his Throne was usurped. Well, that is... until He came. ...]
After a peaceful death, the Great God Ra ascended to Heavens of the Gods once again. His soul brimming with even more power than before, he walked the tile stones towards his garden. The Garden of the Night, the one he cultivated especially and only to his beloved sister, and wife, Nox. He did not dare to enter the Halls of the Stars, where the Astral Throne (his throne) stood, he was far too tired and too eager to embrace his loved one for such a foolish matter. Although kind and just, ruling takes too much of a toll on Ra, the “crown” is heavy and sometimes is best left delayed, before one gets entangled in it's ruling affairs, rules and strifes. For Ra, the promises to his loved come before the promises to his crown.
Ra's recent life could not have ended in a more timely moment, in one year from now there would be a Council of the Void Legacies. While the Void Council, happens far more often and can be requested by other divine beings, the Council of Legacies, for short, only happens in timely moments or when a great disaster happens in one of the other Universes. Yes. You read it right. It is the council where the ruling Gods of each Universe and Reality meet and convey information and reports, and also elaborate alliances or prohibitions. The rules of power, ascendance and rebirth are all shared by the entirety of the Void Legacies. I should stop worrying you all with this bureaucracy, after all I should not bother you, mortals, with the affairs of divine beings, even more so of the divine beings of other realities\universes and worlds. It was simply to assure you that, even existing such different rulers and universes, there are some rules that are shared despite that border.
Well, just to end the subject once and for all. The Council of Legacies chooses one God to preside and host the Council, this time it is Ra's duty to perform it. Now back to what matters.
By the time he reached the Garden it was already sunset, the twilight veiled the entire sky in an eery, yet fascinating atmosphere. Instead of finding Nox dancing between the trees, a view he grew fond of and would often find her doing so when in a happy mood, he saw a winged man standing next to her, in a quite bold and arrogant way, one that a man would assume when wooing a maiden. The mere sight of the man ignited a raging flame inside Ra's heart. He had but one absolute rule in the entire Heavens, no God or spirit or any being should ever enter into the Garden of Night without his permission.
Nox was free to wander out of the Garden whenever she wanted, but Ra created the Garden to be her sanctuary, where she could find peace and just not be bothered, whenever she wanted. It was requested by Nox herself to be that way, one of the few things Nox has ever requested from her brother. One he happily complied.
And now that safe haven was being perpetrated not only by a male, but by someone who even dares to court on his loved one! The sky blackened with dark clouds as Ra's eyes began glowing and brimming with a blue shine, and lightnings could be perceived slashing across his muscles and veins. The mere killing intent oozing out of Ra was enough to break the arrogant courting pose of the stranger and put him on the edge and about fall onto his knees. Noticing Ra, Nox quickly enveloped herself in a dark mist and appeared at the side of Ra.
"Ra: GET AWAY FROM HER!! WHO ARE YOU TO DARE ENTER MY GARDENS WITHOUT PERMISSION!? ", Ra's voice thundered through the trees, shaking the branches and leaves. It was a voice that would put a mortal on the brink of collapsing from mere fear.
"Nox: Brother, just make him leave, there's no need fo-"
"Ra: He disturbed your safe haven! If I do not make him an example, others may try it as well! I'll not leave you to be disturbed! Especially when I created this to be yours and yours alone!", he could barely whisper as rage escaped each of his words.
"?????: Your Gardens? I thought they belonged to that beautiful maiden over there... I am eager to make her my spouse, she is the fairest I've ever seen!"
"Ra: …", he gritted his teeth, rage burning through all of his muscles, thunders roared across the skies and lightnings were ready to obey his command on any second. He was barely keeping control.
"????: Still, although you are the one being extremely rude, let me introduce myself, before you try to cowardly murder me. My name is Adam, the First Man."
"Ra: …", Ra simply faced the man with wide eyes in a surprised expression, he looked in disbelief to his sister, looking for reassurance and only found her frowning as if confirming the stranger's statement.
"Adam: …", the stranger had a rather delicate figure, his manliness was barely covered by a white-cloth and his skin shaved giving a rather glossy semblance, his hair was curly and lightly brown. His eyes were clear blue and his full lips had a pinkish hue. In other words, he was the utterly opposite to Ra's, whose ragged and primal looks gave off a fierce and uneven look, Adam's seemed delicate and perfectly built.
"Ra: Hahahahahahahahahhahahaa!", Ra burst in laughter and the skies cleared letting the moonlight make it's way through the dark clouds, the thunders and lightnings also diminished until they completely disappeared.
"Adam: What are you laughing at, you heretic? Who are you to treat me, the son of God and the first Prophet, in such a way!? "
"Ra: Hah- …", the “h” word cut off Ra's good mood like a cold blade, that word was forbidden to be used in all of Heaven, he made it so that no Pantheon would ever think themselves higher or better than the others. Not laughing anymore, Ra gazed the man with confidant and irritated eyes. "Who am I, you ask?"
"Adam: Hmph.", the stranger lifted his chin, looking downwards towards Ra, as if trying to put himself higher and bigger than the God.
"Ra: I am Ra, The Firstborn, the son of Sky and Earth, brother of Night and Day and the Astral Emperor of the Gods!", despite being slightly shorter than Adam's, the way Ra imposed himself made him look taller and even more dignified than what he first seemed, the complete and absolute confidence in his voice made the interloper break in a cold sweat and rip away the smug and arrogant smile on his face.
"Adam: W-wha-....", the man took a step back.
"Ra: You perpetrated my sacred ground. It's not because I am the Greatest God in the Heavens and it's ruler, that you offend me with such a thing. It's merely because it is mine. Any God or being would feel offended if something of theirs were to be tarnished by a third one's hand... Don't you agree...?". Ra slowly began walking towards the man.
"Nox: Little brother, don't ruin my garden, please...", Nox whispered softly behind his shoulders.
"Adam: Wa-wait a second! I was merely passing by! And then I saw her standing all by herself amongst these trees and she looked so beautiful! Father told me to choose the most beautiful woman I have seen to become my wife, and so I did!"
"Ra: Did He, now? Didn't he warn not to choose already engaged women!?". When Ra was about to grip the man's neck with his bare hand the sound of shuffling of feathers and wings, and soon after a landing stomp, behind him stopped him mid-way.
'Now, what!? Is my word taken too lightly nowadays!?', Ra chided himself in his thought while turning to his back. His eyes met almost identical figures to one another, blond hair and blue eyes, all of them winged with white feathers and covered with the same white cloth as Adam, and just as him, they all were barely covered by it. 'Do all of them have to dress like that? Where's the common sense, for Heaven's sake!'
"???????: First Prophet, why are you afraid? Is this being threatening you or about to harm you?", the front winged figure asked with a cold and measured voice.
"Adam: Samael! Yes, exactly! Would you take care of him, please?"
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'Not even a flinch in his voice... what a coward...', Ra thought.
"Samael: What of the woman? Is she a threat, as well?"
"Adam: No, actually she's my bethroted."
"Ra: WHAT DID YOU SAY!?", following his voice, thunder and lightning roared in the skies.
"Samael: Potestae, charge and defend the First Man!". Being in the crossfire, Nox quickly enclosed herself in a veil of shadows and disappeared from the field, appearing just on top of Ra's garden Throne.
Ra lunged himself with lightning fists towards the angels, his canines grew larger and sharper and his eyes assumed a more feral semblance, with almost vertical pupils. The angels wielded nothing but a longsword in their hands, and they all looked extremely delicate and fragile. Even the front figure, that had 4 wings attached to his back and seemed somewhat taller than the others.
The angels were no match for the God. Their swords barely scratched the target's skin as he easily dodged them with minimum effort, while throwing devastating punches capable of breaking bones with ease. Ra was essentially a leader deity, but in the early stages of humanity to be leader also means to warrior and occasionally warlord. In other words, Ra was a War God.
As they all lied down around him, except for Samael, who somehow managed to stand on one of his knees, Ra glared at Adam with a content smile and challenging expression. Nox looked annoyed and bored at the scene while sitting sideways on the throne.
"Samael: You! Who are you to defeat us, the holy children of Our Lord!?"
"Ra: Tch...", 'These people have a serious higher view of themselves, it's almost sickly...'
"I'm Ra, the Emperor of Gods, and you've all offended me by trespassing my Garden. Leave now, and I'll show you mercy."
"?????: We're all utterly sorry, for this, Emperor. Me and my children will be leaving now, thanks to your mercy."
"Ra:...", Ra frowned on the old-looking man that appeared now, even though he gave off a sick and weak look, he could sense that inside that man there was some hidden power, almost equally strong to Ra.
"Angels: Father! N-no, but..."
"Samael: Holy Father!"
"Adam: B-bu-but!"
"????: QUIET! Now, to home!"
"Ra: What is your name, Elder?"
"????: I am yet to be named at the Council, m'lord. Pay no mind to this old being..."
"Ra:...", Ra frowned on the words of the old man, and stood silent and tense as the trespassers gathered and flew away from his Garden.
Screee. Not long after, a piercing cry came from inside his gardens. Also hearing this, Nox came to Ra's side, knowing what was coming.
Raaaaawwrr. Fwuooooooonw.
A small and slender figure came from the trees of the Garden. He was taller than Ra, but thinner, and the way that he stood on his knee, bowing in front of Ra and Nox, made him look even smaller. He had the same skin tone as the First God, but many parts of his body were painted with many dyes, white and red mostly, and he was covered by many animal furs. The one on his had had a bone protuberance that made him look as if he had a beak.
"'Bird-man': Ravahn! May the spirits bless your hunt, wantar! Noctai, bless us, warriors, and protects us in your nights!", Nox nodded, smiling, at the words of the stranger, while Ra proceeded to lift and hug the warrior."Sorry for trespassing your daywa padu, chief!" (sacred place).
"Ra(vahn): Agio! Rise, brother!", two more figures also came from the forest, one was hugely taller than Ra, standing at 210cm or even more, it's hulking muscles looked capable of breaking stone with little effort. It had two bone tusks attached to the side of the pelt that covered his had. On his hand, a giant club made of wood and stone. The other one, stand at the same height and physique of Ra, the pelt that covered his head had two fangs that almost hid his eyes.
"Ra: Mamuf! Tighra!"
"Mamuf: Gwaraka aed Noctai!], (Beastmaster and Night), [May the earth give ya strength, little great chief!]
"Tighra: The Hunter of the Night and the Night, herself, together! We are blessed with this sight...", the middle heighted figure said with a mischievous smile.
"Nox: Careful, tiger. I still am dangerous, even if you're blessed by the Fanged Spirit...", Nox rebuked with an equally mocking smile, although her voice was rather gentle and good willed.
They were all warriors and hunters, wearing the pelts of their preys to honor their sacrifice and harbor their strength. They were the First Men, brother in arms and blood to Ravahn, and his most loyal warrior and counselors.
"Ra: What are you all doing here? Has something happened to the Hunting Plains?"
The Hunting Plains, are the heavens of the First Men, or Cavemen as they are called by the more recent civilizations. Ra created that sacred place just for his kin, so that they could live by their customs and be at peace with their brothers and sisters. It was a place where the ancient animals and spirits lived together with the ancient mankind.
"Agio: No! It's not that, chief!"
"Mamuf: We came for you, little raven."
"Tighra: The Spirits want you to come for the Plains, warchief."
"Nox: ..."
"Ra: Brothers, you know very well how much I want to wander the Plains...", Ra had an apologetic expression, "But I have a duty to rule the Second ones and the other Children."
"Agio: We know the burden you carry, chief, but..."
"Mamuf: You are in danger."
"Tighra: The little white birds and that old man are bad mojo, little brother. They want to take you down."
"Ra: I knew my guts were telling me something about him..."
"Nox: Are you sure of it, Tigra? He sounded pretty submissive, just now."
"Agio: That's not all, brotha and mistress. The Second Ones requested a Council of the Void."
"Nox: Are they insane!?"
"Ra: What? There is a Council of Legacies coming on the next winter and they request a Coun-"
"Mamuf: That is the Dove fault."
"Tighra: We are telling you, we should fall back, warchief. The next council is a trap, and a deadly one at that."
"Ra: The Dove?"
"Mamuf: While you were human an uprising pantheon came to life. Their symbol is, in short words, a white Dove. They're claiming to be the 'rightful' gods. That old man is the Dove.]
"Ra: Do you know his name?"
"Tighra: No one knows, chief. His kind only calls him, 'Holy One', 'Father', 'Holy Father' and other aggrandizing gibberish. Tch. It gets me on my nerves, I tell ya."
"Agio: So what do we do? The Council is a trap and that Dove fella is a sneaky bastard that want to wipe our kin from the heavens. We can always fall back and retaliate latah."
"Mamuf: Yeah, I don't mind that. Normally I'd say no, but if it's for your sake, little chief, then I am fine with it."
"Tighra: You know I prefer to be the one making the trap. Not falling in one."
"Ra: …", Ra contemplated on his thoughts.
The situation was far more dire than he anticipated. A Council of the Void can easily change any rules and statements of a world, and for one to happen on such short-time before a Council of the Legacies was a pretty bad situation, because recent changes may not be noticed by the other Astral Rulers of the other universes. In short words, they could uncover the hidden change later and retaliate. And if it was not enough, the time Ra spent on Earth may have caused many changes among the mind-set of the other divine beings, his absence may have created an uprising amongst the Pantheons.
Lost in his thoughts, Ra could not see any light in the end of the tunnel. Until he felt a familiar touch on his shoulder, turning he met the eyes of Nox. The dark-haired beauty stood taller than him, the confidence in her eyes ironed his resolve and clad it dark iron. Just like it did so many centuries ago, when they first met. He, a young hunter, who chose to defy his customs and hunt in the night. Her, a lonely figure, that was the embodiment of the fear of men and women. The first time they met, and every time since, they would find a safe place on each other's gaze. Nox nodded delicately.
"Ra: Brothers.", said with a low and strong tune.
"Mamuf: Told ya...", the strong and tall man on the right bumped his elbow on the crouching bird-man figure on his left.
"Agio: Hmph, there's no changin him...", slightly swinging his head from left to right and closing his eyes with a sigh.
"Tighra: Argh, fine..."
Ra grinned at their reactions. They all knew how he acted, ever since they first accompanied him on a Night Hunt, ever since he first followed the lightnings and thunders and brought fire to the hearths of men and women everywhere. He would always jump into the danger.
"Ra: But first I have a request."
"Tighra: We're not talking about reincarnation, right? I'm done with that world. Men distance with nature bugs me!"
"Mamuf: …" the mammoth-man slapped the head of the tiger-man.
"Tighra: Ouch!", the tiger man rebuked with an irritated gaze, but soon bowed to his leader in an apologetic way.
"Mamuf: Anything, warchief.", with strong and reliable eyes he met the gaze of his leader.
"Agio: Name it, brotha."
"Ra: Whatever happens to me. Protect the Fields and protect Noctai."
"Nox: Ra, I don't need protection!!", Nox firmly refused, while stepping back from Ra's side.
"Ra: Even so... Promise me, brothers."
The three men looked to one another. She was right, she was the embodiment of the terror that dreaded the first civilizations, she had the power over fear and over the shadows and dangers of the night, and she even was one of the first deities to ever come to life. If power had a name, it would be her's.
"Mamuf and Tighra: …"
"Agio: Brotha, is that your gut feeling...?"
"Ra: I'll talk to Raoni, from the world of Gaia, his world is a young one and there are hardly any sentient beings yet, despite it having magic, he can harbor the fields and Nox in his reality with ease, he's owing me a favor after all.]
"Nox: …", Nox gasped at the realization of what Ra meant... He wasn't planning on surviving... Putting his kin and his loved one in protection on another reality, on another world, he was prepared to die, once and for all. In tears, she enveloped herself in shadows, one last time, and disappeared from the sight of the four warriors.
"Mamuf: You sure you want to...?"
"Ra: Yes...", Ra gazed upon the place where Nox was standing just a second ago, "I am."
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Author's Note: Big thanks to Vocaloid, for already giving me an insight on how to better develop the dialogues, sorry for the format on the first chapter the prologue submission page didn't give me much of option, I will see to change it tonight still. Now, about the Prologue Arc, yes, aside from many other fictions, this one is rather long and may be boring, but I thought it would be better so that no one gets confused when the MC finally gets reincarnated in the other world. Any questions about the Council of Void, Council of Legacies, and things like that just give a heads-up. The changes in dialogue are underway so there will be updates on that matter, I am still deciding on the pattern, I will probably listen to Vocaloid... xD