“Do you have to leave so early?” Sala murmured, hugging Leah close to her side with the blanket from her guest room. Ava turned over, strapping on their cloak but their eyes showed urgency. Sala stiffened, pulling the blanket over Leah’s head as the girl slept.
“What’s happening, Ava?”
“This recent feud has left more than just Earth and Heaven disgruntled. The Lower Earths have caught wnd of it and it looks like they’ve started travelling to Mere’s domain.”
“Cutting off the path to the Airts?”
“Not while I’m here,” Ava swore to the air, moving to their mount. Sala rushed after but was stopped when Ava looked back a t them.
“Please, Sala, stay here.”
“Will you send back to me.”
“Sal-”
“Will you send back to me or not?” Interrupted Sala, staring at Ava with a fierce glare. Ava smiled, moving forward and taking Sala in their arms. They pressed their forehead against hers, taking a deep breath before finally saying:
“I will do what I can, but I want you to stay here.”
“This is my creation too,” sniffled Sala, reaching out with her hand to grip Ava’s cloak, as if to prevent them from leaving.
“But it isn’t your duty to transform it.”
“I thought we did everything together. Have you learnt nothing from Noxifer’s absence?”
“Sala,” Ava whispered, reaching up to cup the deity’s cheek, “There is not greater absence I could have than to lose you, and that would be the End of All Ends.”
“Please, just promise me you’ll come back,” Sala sighed, rubbing her eyes quickly before smiling. Ava only nodded, pressing a kiss to Sala’s head and stroking the blanketed form of Leah before they turned and stepped into the chariot.
“One last thing, Salah, please make sure that the Aethyrs remain safe. This war won’t end until Putrefactio is complete.”
“Shut up and leave so it can finish quicker,” Sala joked, her voice cracking. Ava smiled sadly and began to ride down towards the Earth. It was now only Sala and Leah in the courtyard. The sun shone coldly on the Abode. Angrily, pained, Sala spoke to the winds:
“Dhena, make preparations.”
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Mere was angrier than usual and Caeli was still bedridden. She had managed to get up a few times to go to the bathroom, but the visions still haunted her at every corner. What made it worse, all too worse, was that Dhena was well aware of the source of Mere’s aggression. She was wiping Caeli’s forehead after a particularly long and tiresome dream when she heard it in the back of her head.
‘Make preparations.’
It wasn’t unknown that the Lower Earths had become unruly, and now the recent war has opened enough pockets for them to come out. Wartime had a strange efficiency at bringing demons from the Depths. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was more than just a sudden uprising of demons, but a slow and gradual trickle of them into the world.
She took up the bracelet and wrapped it around her wrist. It had small bells on it, which had become her signature. She loved hearing the lists of names that her devotees had for her, but one mentioned her as the ‘Goddess Whose Approach is as the Voices of the Bird’. She made it her duty, at that point, to always wear these anklets and bracelets so that that song could be heard wherever she walked.
Reaching onto the vanity, she pulled the small jar of Kohl and applied it. It was only a matter of time, and it haunted her to no end. She couldn’t help but look over her shoulder whenever she heard a sharp noise or saw her husband enter into the room. She needed to make a plan for her servants and Caeli. As for her, she’d be a prize for the demons if they got a hand on her. Still, she would not leave the world so quickly.
It gave her a headache, trying to weigh all the factors and she had started taking to eaten. She had her servants prepare her small sweet cakes, especially those which were glazed with red wine. She took up the sandalwood paste and applied it onto her skin before she had finished. It felt foolish to her to try and maintain an illusion. Yet, there was little she could do than make preparations and appear as though nothing was happening.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
She took another bite of the cakes seated on her vanity, swallowing it almost immediately. The door was thrust open and Mere appeared, face stark and paled.
“Now?”
“What?”
“They’re here, aren’t they?” Dhena clarified, standing up with her hands folded in front of her. Mere’s eyes darkened for a moment, but he let out a steady breath before nodding. Her heart dropped and her skin was prickled with cold.
“Call the servants, send them to Sera. Get Caeli out of here as well,” she commanded as she ran forward to her bedside. She ripped a sword from underneath it, strapping the sheathe to her side. Mere could only stare, his resolve shaken by the sudden authority in his wife’s voice. He nodded and roared into the hallway, and it began.
“I want you to stay with Caeli, don’t come out until this is over.”
“Is this your kingdom or am I your queen?”
Mere turned back, glaring at Dhena who rushed to his side. The tinkling of her jewellery only etching the frown deeper into his brow. He murmured ot himself and ran, not waiting for Dhena to catch up. A part of him hoped that she would come to her ‘senses’. To his annoyance, she didn’t and continued to follow him. That’s when the first horn sounded, followed by a sudden quake as the trebuchet hit its target. Turning to his wife with a raised brow, she only responded defiantly and moved at his pace. Mere, despite his annoyance, wanted Dhena to be safe but knew that she would sooner fight than be placed aside. It was what had made him fall in love with her in those early days but now he couldn’t bear to see her fight. As they rushedd through the halls, the Servants and some of the remaining townsmen were rushing towards the Gate, one of the few places on Earth that could be used by mortals to go to the Airts and Aethyrs.
“Let’s go and make sure that the Gate is fortified,” Mere suggestted, seeing an opportunity. Dhena nodded and followed after him, hushing the townsmen and commanding the servants and the guards to prioritize the children, infirm and elderly and have those of fighting capability lead and trail the movement. They responded, and it almost snapped Mere from his plan. He regained himself as they neared the doors to the chamber, the Gate. Dhena stood at his side as he ushered the fleeing populace in. Finally, all too soon, Mere turned around and pulled Dhena in for a kiss. He gripped her arms tightly, holding her close until they needed to breathe.
“I’m sorry,” was all he said before he pulled her away and threw her into the chamber. He roared for the guards to close the doors. Just before Dhena could rush out, however, she was grabbed by Sera who had been spoken to by Mere earlier. He spared one glance at his wife, briefly hearing her cries of pain and outrage before the doors shut and her voice became muffled.
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For the next few hours, people were shepherded through the Gate, but Dhena did not speak to anyone. She kept to herself, muttering angily and cursing the air around her. Sera knew that she had betrayed her Queen’s trust, but she also knew that the Kingdom would need a leader. They both knew that the possibility of Mere returning decreased by the minute. She only grew darker in temperament, spitting and running her fingers through her hair. Caeli had chosen to stay, offering whatever support she could to Dhena, albeit in her infirm state. Sera had also chosen to stay, unsheathing her blade and standing at the door at the command of her King. For Dhena, it was a much more sentimental reason. She had hope that Mere would return, and so stayed at the Gate for what felt like hours.
To her annoyance, she had to fiddle and walk around to keep her mind at bay but the jingling of her jewellery would give away their position. The sun outside became red with smoke as it wafted up into the heavens, a testament to the remains of their kingdom. Her hand ran over her stomach, wondering what it would’ve been like to be a mother, and all the things she could’ve done had it not been for this, or for Mere’s possible demise.
She shook her head, spitting curses against herself for thinking so negatively. Eventually, there was a thunderous knock at the door. Dhena stood up immediately, her eyes widening with relief until she heard the voice.
“We’ve come to visit the Little Bird of Heaven,” the voice chuckled grotesquely. She staggered backwards, Caeli rushing to support her and pull her towards the Gate. Sera held firm in her position but it was nothing when the door came flying inwards from the blast of some arcane spell. It knocked Sera off her feet, throwing her to the floor in a heap of groans. The splinters shot into Dhena’s side, causing the goddess to hiss and throw Caeli back. She looked up, staring through the smoke to see what it was that had dared to trespass on her land.
In the door were four demons. Four standard demon kings but their armies would probably be outside. Sera tried to stand up but winced and fell back down. Caeli stood up again, limping to Dhena’s side in an attempt to grab her and rush into the Gate. All of this was fine, but when Caeli touched the deity’s arm, she screamed and pulled back. The palm of her hand and pads of her fingers had become red from heat. When she looked up at Dhena, she understood why.
Dhena’s eyes were wide and furious, tears streaking down the sides of her face. Her cheeks had gone red and her knuckles pale with tension. Her skin had taken on a glow like fire as she glared at the Kings who jested, throwing something into the room. Caeli fell back, holding in a gasp when she saw Mere’s scorched head roll into the room to Dhena’s feet.
“No one to protect you now, Little Bird,” spewed one of the Kings as he sauntered forward. He smiled wickedly, kicking Sera’s stomach and sending her flying against the opposite wall. His movements grew more lavish as he came closer to the fierce-eyed goddess. Close, he bent down to look her in the eye, his smile growing wider as he saw tears drip from her face.
Dhena had gone. She slapped the King with such power that his jaw had been ripped off. It left only the flailing, bleeding muscle of his tongue and his wide-eyed fear as she stepped forward. The fiery glow only intensified, illuminating the room as she grabbed his tongue and pulled him forward. She pressed her hand against his chest and pushed it in. Her fingers broke the muscle, the bone and then pierced through his heart before finally rushing out the back with a small piece of his backbone. The three Kings behind him stumbled backwards as they saw the feat. Withdrawing her hand, and the King crumpling to her feet, she looked at the others in turn.
The fire only grew, until her skin had become red like the colour of hibiscus flower and her eyes wide and frenzied. It ignited, her entire form dispersing in a fire until it recollected into a somewhat humanoid form. She stood proudly, with a halo of light and flame around her. Her eyes were wide and fearsome, red with rage. Her skin was crimson in hue, and around her neck, wrists and ankles were the same jingling bells. She wore a skirt, but nothing to cover her chest which was marked with several symbols. Her hair was unruly, and wrapped around her like the vast void. In her hand, from before, was that lengthy blade which now only grew red as her own heat warmed it.
“You come onto my land, kill my beloved, and think I shall be the Bird of Heaven?” She roared. The Kings stood up, waiting for her to make the first attack but none of them seemed willing to fight. She didn’t hesitate at their hesitance. She lurched forward with a scream that shook the heavens and the earth and stabbed her blade into the eye of one of the Kings before grabbing another. She ripped limbs from bodies, and drank deeply of the blood. The more she drank, the more profound her garments became. Her anklets turning into twisting serpents which fell to the floor and slithered out of the keep.
Fearfully, Caeli crawled backwards towards the Gate. A hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her through into the Liminal Space between the Airts and the Earth. Screaming, she clawed at the figure until it revealed itself through its voice.
“Hey, snap out of it,” lulled the voice quietly. Ava, the deity that had been the cause of Caeli’s state, was there at her side and smacking gently at her cheek. It took a while, a great while, until Caeli had actually calmed down enough.
“What the fuck happened?” She demanded through shaky breaths. Ava sighed, stroking Caeli’s hair with tension in their movements.
“What you saw, was what you will become at the end of this.”