In an open area of the God's Plane a cozy hut sits alone atop a small mound. The hut is just large enough for one person to reside and is surrounded by a sea of flowers and herbs of every variation.
The hut is crafted of unordinary wood which is mahogany brown in colour but gives a hue of golden aura. Its walls are petite but sturdy and its roof is triangular and made of light brown thatch. Thin green vines delicately caress the hut before disappearing into the sea of flowers.
The hut has one door and two windows on the adjacent walls. From one of the windows, a beautiful woman sits on an engraved wooden chair whilst staring into the distance.
As she enjoys the view, she sips on her favourite fragrant tea from a golden porcelain tea set.
The woman has a slender figure and a beautiful round face. Her hair is long and blonde, her golden eyes glistening in the daylight. The scene of serenity would make any man pause without breath. The relaxing atmosphere would make even the coldest of hearts thaw.
That is if not for the overbearing aura of superiority the woman exuded.
Knock knock.
Amid the peaceful atmosphere the out of place sound forcefully spoiled the mood. The woman ignored interruption.
Knock knock.
Her eyes narrowed as the interruption proceeded.
Knock knock.
The sound repeated. Again and again as the woman continued to ignore its existence. Angered by the continued rude interruption the woman rose from her throne and approached the door. Her face was contorted with anger and her back stretched high to look down upon whoever dared annoy her.
"Who dares int…", opening the door with a fit of force the woman started before stopping mid-sentence.
"Malenia…, began the calm voice of a woman, "forgive my interruption but I trust you know whom I represent".
A moment of silence followed before Malenia released her angered expression and responded with poorly hidden annoyance, "I do".
The woman continued, entirely unbothered "His majesty requests and audience with you… It is non optional".
Silence followed again as the two women stared each other down, one looking down on the other, the other not giving a damn.
"I understand", replied Malenia, "when?".
"Now".
Annoyed, Malenia stepped out the door of her hut and closed it behind her. Not far from them was a Root Dragon obediently awaiting them.
The dragon is entirely constructed of the roots of ancient trees. They are born from and feed off the roots of elder trees which grow to the south of the God's Realm, far from the God's Plane.
These dragons are commonly domesticated due to their obedient nature and exceptional uses. They can change their size by dispelling or contracting roots, and they have strong magical and physical capabilities. In other words, they are useful pets.
This one seems to be mainly used for transportation.
Elegantly Malenia walked over to the dragon before climbing onto a glorified congregated palanquin. The palanquin is made of golden spiritual iron and decorated with engraved and natural flora.
In the unspoken language of the god's, being summoned with this palanquin can signify respect for the summoned, particularly for women, as the décor constitute delicacy which is a common trend found among the goddesses.
However, this palanquin can also represent incarceration, trophyism or captivity. This meaning originated from the story of the goddess Eris who was banished to damnation atop this palanquin.
The meaning of this act will depend on the contents of her summoning.
Regardless, all the God's Realm will hear of this act as gossip runs writhe amongst gods.
To say that Malenia feels contempt for this act is an understatement.
However, there is nothing she can do but endure it.
As she waits atop the palanquin, the woman escort sits directly opposite her and signals to the chauffeur to start.
The dragon begins moving and the trip starts in silence.
It will take some time to reach the royal abode, however, it would be simple enough to enjoy a nap on top this dragon. The ride is surprisingly stable and enjoyable for a clunky tree lizard. One could even enjoy a nice meal and tea if not for the palpably tense atmosphere.
As the well-trained dragon prodded along, and the chauffeur sat in silence, the two women stared at each other indignantly.
All the previous indifference of the escort had been left behind at the hut. It seemed that the escort was equally annoyed with babysitting Malenia as Malenia was with being babysitted.
The two remained in silence for a long time as the dragon crossed grass land, rivers and between large forest tree paths. It even climbed some small cliff faces and waterfalls but the two didn't bat an eye. Instead, they continued to stare at each other with dagger-like glares.
Long hours later the destination finally neared. Breaching the ecotone of the final forest, it was like stepping into a different world. A mountain that kissed the heavens revealed itself.
Perched atop that mountain a castle gleamed like a shard of the stars themselves.
Great battlements crafted from marble and obsidian, rose like pillars of light reaching for the sky, their spires crowned with glistening silver round shields fixed to the outer cast.
The sky was clear, and the radiant sunlight reflected from each shield, sending dazzling cascades of light to blind its beholders.
Massive gates of enchanted silver towered over a wide path of 10 000 stairs carved directly from the mountain edge.
The castle behind it dwarfed its open gates. It was shaped of ethereal stone, implying that the castle belonged to the mountain itself, before becoming something… more. The castle's three spire towers served as the mountain's peaks and exuded a feeling of prominence, demanding one's adulation. One of the towers felt significantly more overpowering than the others and had a lightning bolt engraved into the stone, nearing the top.
Finally, after hours without blinking, or even breathing, the two women broke eye contact. Tilting her head back slightly, Malenia looked up at the mountain castle before looking away, seemingly uninterested, but a glint of green in her eyes betrayed her.
"Beautiful isn't it", said the escort gloatingly as she continued staring at Malenia.
In response Malenia just closed her eyes and pretended to be resting. But in reality, she was fuming with indignation and jealousy.
Before long, a great stair path lay before her.
Malenia and the escort descended from the mighty steed before the chauffeur took it away. Left with nowhere to go but up, the two silently began the climb.
It would be a simple task to climb the stairs with magic. They could fly to the top, teleport, use speed enhancers, stop time or even have the dragon climb up for them.
But they don't.
That is because all forms of transportation other than walking are banned in approaching the castle.
Such a rule serves no real purpose. It is inconvenient and belittling to make such a demand of the divine. However, that is exactly why it exists. To demand obedience and establish dominance over the other gods.
Due to the inconvenience of this rule, it is often broken, but always with his majesty's blessing. If you do not receive his blessing, you must walk.
After a few minutes of walking, Malenia's escort turned to look at her and said in a disgusted voice, "this is tedious, I will see you at the top", before flying off towards the top, leaving Malenia alone.
As Malenia paced up each individual step, she considered every possible reason the king may have summoned her.
As far as she is aware she hasn't committed any crimes and although she can be quite cruel to the lesser beings at times, she hasn't done anything to warrant his attention in that regard.
That being said, one possibility did come to mind, but it shouldn't be that.
Around a decade ago the king sent a messenger to her requesting that she handle the surplus in corrupt creatures breaching the pathetic little rock called Eardh and killing its inhabitants.
If she recalls correctly, she offloaded that tedious task to some local human with a little bit of talent.
THAT'S RIGHT!
The boy that killed a bunch of her slav… AHEM… reapers repeatedly.
Distracted by the train of thought, Malenia searched through her memories for exactly what had happened at that time. She remembered the messenger coming to her, the annoyance she felt about it, the killing of her reapers, the lucky find with the two talented diamonds in the rough and offloading all her duties to that human boy so that she could return home and relax.
The more she thought about it the more she felt that that was exactly why the king had summoned her.
Ultimately it wouldn't matter if Eardh was destroyed by Nether or not. Eardh is a weak world with weak mana and weak denizens. There is next to nothing that Nether can gain from conquering it.
The only reason the king even asked her to handle it was because he knows she avoids working at all costs. Whether she actually did the work or not, didn't matter.
And naturally Malenia had absolutely no intentions of lifting a finger to save Eardh. She could do it with ease. She is a powerful goddess after all, however, why would she do that to help a bunch of weak, insignificant mortals. That would require her to exert minimal effort!
With that being said, what if the work actually did get done.
What if, the corrupt creatures were slain by the human boy and Eardh is saved. That should be impossible!
He is one insignificant itty bitty human boy with an insy bitsy tinsy bit of talent for magic! That doesn't mean he can slay the billions upon billions of invading corrupt creatures!
RIGHT!?
But let's say he had done that, OR, was doing better than expected, just enough to be noticeable.
How would the king know or care about it.
If the king believes I have actually done this tedious task of his then why would he summon me?
To reward me?
Not likely.
The pricks too stuck up to even say good job.
Does he know about the boy? If he does, then will he reprimand me?
Also, not likely. He wouldn't care enough and if he did, he wouldn't bother summoning me over it. He would just send another messenger.
So why am I summoned?
As Malenia walked up each individual step to the castle gates these thoughts flooded her mind, sending her emotions into a spiral.
Eventually having reached the final step, she still hadn't decided what she should expect from this summoning. The palanquin has mixed meanings but it's not a conclusive clue.
She had all but concluded that the summoning involves Eardh and the boy but is she going to be scolded or rewarded?
If only she had checked up on things there, she could at least know what state the world is in. Is it destroyed or saved? Is the war ongoing? Are the denizens alive? Is the boy still alive?
She would need to check the contract she forged and connected to the boy's soul to know that. It'd be somewhere under some junk in her hut for sure, but that's useless to her now.
All she can do is wait and find out after meeting with the king.
Having reached the castle gates, Malenia was greeted again by the lady escort.
"Took you long enough", she said with a scoff before turning away and proceeding into the castle's courtyard.
Annoyed, Malenia followed, ignoring the numerous guard's gazes as they watched her every move.
Entering the courtyard, Malenia observed the garden indifferently.
The garden was large and covered most the area of the courtyard, leaving only enough room for a pathway. Trimmed bushes and silver roses decorated the majority of the garden, with only a few red roses here and there to break up the colour.
Entering the castle, the escort lead Malenia straight to the throne room, where the king was obviously waiting for her arrival.
Well… they had plenty of time to prepare as they made Malenia walk up the stairs so…
Arriving at the door of the throne room the escort stopped and turned to Malenia saying, "Say anything out of line and I will kill you".
'Bitch' thought Malenia as she gave her a shallow smile in return.
Opening the large silver doors, the two entered the throne room with silent steps. There was no heavy atmosphere to meet them, no scary retainers or castle staff staring at them.
There was only the king.
Sitting atop his silver throne, wearing white robes, with white eyes, skin, hair and a pale simple crown on his head, the king looked down on them from his dais.
The silent air of a true sovereign suffocating them.
This was Malenia's first time meeting the king in person, however, she had heard rumours of him many times before. And now after meeting him she could say with certainty and displeasure that…
The rumours played him down.
Despite his simple stature and quiet nature…
He was foreboding.
Lowering her head under the intense pressure of his presence, Malenia took small steady steps towards the king until the escort stopped in front of her.
At the same time both the escort and Malenia kneeled with their head lowered.
After a moment of silence the king said, with a calm voice filled with authority, "Elina… you may leave".
Then, without a single wasted breathe, the escort stood back up, turned around, and left.
Leaving just Malenia and the king in the throne room.
Usually, a king would have guards or retainers with them in these kinds of situations, however, the king of the gods needed no such things.
Amongst the god's only Nether, the corrupt god can dare to face him in combat.
Only Nether can be considered his equal.
Only Nether can rival his power.
Of all the gods, only Nether can boast the strength to face Zoraz, The God of Light, King of the God's.
"Malenia…"
Without even breathing, Malenia waited for his next words as she felt his gaze bore down upon her.
"Recently I asked that you take care of Nether's forces that were invading Eardh…"
He stopped, inspecting her every breathe before continuing.
"I received a report recently that the extermination is going well. The number of corrupt mortals able to transport from Eardh to the bridge of the main battlefield has… lessened…"
Still staring down at her he pronounced the next word with extreme stress on each syllable.
"Noticeably…"
At this stage Malenia wasn't sure what the fuck is going on. Is she in trouble? Or about to be rewarded? Isn't that a good thing? And what does he mean transported? Is Nether using Eardh as a bridge? To where? Why? What the fuck is going on?
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
Without another word, the king, Zoraz began tapping his finger on the arm rest of his throne. The sound of each tap resonated in the room with the beat of her heart, deciding the very cadence of how her blood flowed.
The tapping was slow. Deliberately so. Making it slightly more suffocating to be in his presence.
The king spoke…
"Tell me… Malenia…"
Malenia tried to resist the pressure, feeling the immense need to swallow, tears forming in her eyes.
"Who has been slaying Nether's forces"?
Silence proceeded his monumental question.
'Who?' Malenia thought.
Many would believe Malenia to be a fool given her predisposition. She is lazy…
Arrogant…
Prideful…
Resentful…
And many more things which are usually not considered good traits to have.
However, she is by no means a fool.
And if it means she can save her own skin, she'll shamelessly prove it beyond any doubt.
"Your majesty, what do you mean by 'who'?" she spoke innocently, ensuring to coo to the best of her abilities with her feminine voice. With head lowered, kneeling perfectly, and speaking with pure confidence and righteousness, an outsider would believe her to be a perfect attendant.
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
Silence ensued.
The awkward atmosphere dragged on, pressuring her to continue.
"It is I; you ordered to deal with the corrupt vermin; therefore, it stands to reason that I, alongside my forces, are responsible for the improved circumstances.
Her voice was clear as a still lake, betraying nothing of her emotions. Her heart, however, had stopped beating entirely. The pressure exerted by the king was not only palpable, it was crushing.
The tapping stopped.
"This is true", he replied, his voice stale with supremacy. "Your forces are… above standard… surprisingly".
Each pause in his speech was like a knife that cut into her mind, causing waves of nauseating discomfort. The underlying message was clear.
The king believed her forces did all the work.
He believed that she shouldn't have forces capable of the work.
Because their commander is incompetent.
Trying not the flinch at his words, Malenia began filtering through the droves of ideas and machinations she could come up with to get herself out of this.
The king clearly knew more than he was letting off. He knew Malenia hadn't done a damn thing. He knew about the boy. He knew about the reaper. He knew what happened at the in-between. She had to assume he knew everything.
She is going to be punished.
For whatever reason the king cares about what is happening on Eardh. She screwed up. Who could've guessed he actually cared about some random rock.
Without another word the king lifted his hand, and a spark of light flashed from it and through the chamber doors.
Once again silence ensued. The king evoking his authority over her, whilst she feared to greatly to do or say anything.
Malenia did not doubt that she had found herself on his bad side.
And he could erase her effortlessly.
Shortly after, Elina, the female escort returned. She entered the room and stepped to the side, her head held high, back straight and eyes stern.
"Elina, take Malenia to the dungeons and strip her of her artifacts", spoke the king plainly.
Horror struck Malenia at his words.
She did not dare to speak or act against his treatment of her; however, she did dare to speak it internally. In ways which shall not be repeated.
Moments later, Malenia found herself being escorted again. Just this time she had cuffs and shackles on which restricted the use of magic.
Her clothes were taken, as they held enchantments, and she was provided with a particularly drab brown cloth to wear.
Elina had to drag Malenia by her hair through the castle. Down each cold, marble step towards the dungeon. And she had to shove her inside the cell before slamming the gate shut, swallowing the small key and cuss her before taking off.
She had to.
All the while, Malenia screamed prolific things in her mind, not daring to actually say them out loud.
She had angered the king… somehow. The exact reasons for her punishment were unclear to her, but they did not matter.
He is the king for a reason. No one will disobey his orders.
After finishing her onslaught of profanity, Malenia endured the sight of her new home. A roughly 2 by 3 white marble enclosure with sparkly white metal bars to keep her inside. A bucket in the corner and some large, dried leaves in the corner for blankets.
Enchantments have been etched into the bars and walls of this dungeon to prevent its prisoners from using magic. They are some of the most sophisticated runes etching Malenia had ever seen, and the most powerful.
However, that is to be expected given that the kings prisoners would almost certainly be divine. No ordinary enchantments could hold them.
The cell is a far cry from her beautiful hut. And although the God's Realm does not usually fluctuate in temperature, it is cold down here, which leads to believe that's intentional.
Unable to endure this treatment any further, Malenia's mental spree of profanity became a verbal one.
Her verbal onslaught continued for hours, essentially driving the guards mad. They came to her cell multiple times and ordered her to stop, threatening her even, but she did not stop.
She knew they wouldn't harm her.
Because she knows she isn't going to be here for long. After all, her forces are 'above standard', meaning, they are useful.
The king wants her cooperation. That is what all of this has been about. A show of superiority, followed by overwhelming might, which will be followed by a deal.
The king wants to make a deal with her.
He wants her reapers. Or more specifically, he wants to use them in his war since they would be effective foot soldiers. Afterall, even if they die, they come back.
'The king undoubtedly heard about what happened with the boy and my reapers. I don't know how, but now that he has, I can't remain unseen'.
To date, which is a long time, Malenia not once mentioned to any god, goddess or mortal how the reapers were 'immortal'. She never expressly lied about it but always dodged the topic and kept it to herself.
She did this for one reason.
She didn't want to deal with politics.
And politics would be the only thing she would ever deal with if ever God and goddess knew she could perpetually make immortal soldiers without any known limit.
Currently they believe that if a reaper dies, they get replaced. But in reality, they get revived.
That distinction makes a world of difference for Malenia's social standing and political importance. After all, most divine can create soldiers of some description, in some manner. But no other can make immortal soldiers.
No other can create reapers.
That is how she knows the king is going to strike a deal with her.
And if she knows the king wants to make a deal, then why should she play the obedient, quiet prisoner whilst she waits. The angrier she 'is' about her imprisonment, the sooner the king will come to make a deal.
And just as expected, a few hours later the king visited the dungeons personally.