Invidia: The Goddex of Magic

Chapter 2: The Tale of Chaos

 Hecate woke up before dawn. Not entirely well rested after a nearly sleepless night of tossing, turning, and nightmares, she quickly changed out of her nightgown and into her casual lapis blue robes that matched her hair perfectly. The young deity looked outside to see that the storm had indeed passed. The grounds were still sodden slightly.

Making her way slowly down the spiral staircase, Hecate wondered what would begin her training. Would she possibly be trained by Aeolus? Could she be killed the first day? What if she set the palace on fire? Lost in her thoughts, she passed through an aurae. The wind spirit was not angry. As she was made of air and clouds, she just reformed. Hecate however was covered in water from passing through the aurae.

"I am sorry," Hecate said quietly, and wrung out her hair and continued quickly down the stairs to the dining hall. She picked up an orange from the table and then promptly set it back down. The blue-haired deity peered under the maple table to see her sister asleep. Eris looked peaceful and younger when she was asleep. Hecate silently got up and left, leaving Eris in her peace. The young goddex made her way to the Eastern Courtyard. The sun was not up yet. She looked around at her mother's gardens. They were filled with mistletoe infested holly bushes. The plants contained a rather harsh beauty. Mistletoe was not a plant nor flower, it was a parasite. It thrived off killing other plants, sucking up their water, in order to repopulate itself. The lapis-haired deity gazed over the gardens, and spotted an outlier. Hidden and abused, almost lost and dead among the mistletoe was a single white daisy. Reaching into the flower bed slowly, Hecate plucked the small flower out. Though it was almost dead when she picked it, in her hand the daisy came back to life.

"Hecate," a cold voice spoke. Hecate spun around to see her father, Aeolus, and a tall man with loud copper hair and strange clothing. Aeolus looked void of emotion, though his grey hair was uncombed and his crown slightly off-center. His sky blue robes hung about him loosely.

"Good morning, Father," Hecate greeted, bowing.

"I am sure you remember your uncle, Prometheus?" Aeolus asked.

"Yes," Hecate bowed again, this time to Prometheus.

"Prometheus will be training you in your domains and mastering magic," the Sky King informed his eldest child.

"Yes Father," the blue-haired goddex bowed politely.

Aeolus nodded to her, then turned and left back into the palace. Once he was gone, Hecate spoke.

"He is angry with me," she whispered softly.

"Your father is not angry," Prometheus countered, "he is just worried."

"About what?" The young goddex asked cautiously.

"You are destined to be powerful," the copper-haired god replied, "even more powerful than him. He worries for his power. For his reign over this realm."

"I am not powerful," Hecate mumbled.

"You have potential," Prometheus chided and Hecate took a tentative look at him. She stifled a laugh.

"What are you wearing, Uncle?" she inquired with a slight giggle. Prometheus looked down at his attire.

"This," he said plucking at the red-colored item on his upper body, "is a shirt." He then pulled at the clothing on his legs, "These are denim pants," he smiled.

"Why do you wear them?" Hecate asked of her uncle, "what is wrong with robes?" she motioned to her magenta robes.

"Too flashy," Prometheus proclaimed, "but, we are not here to discuss fashion, we are here to train you." The fire god traipsed around the courtyard for a moment, before seating himself on the edge of a mistletoe planter box.

"Tell me please," he started, "what you know of Invidia,"

"The Elementalist or the object?" Hecate inquired.

"Of how the Elementalist created the object," Prometheus started, then added, "in fact, tell me what you know of the Elementalists." Hecate took a deep breath.

"In the beginning, Lady Chaos ruled over the endless sea of nebulae and galaxies. For eons, she reigned supreme with no one to challenge her rule. It was lonely though, and Lady Chaos felt emptiness in her soul. She imagined company, and almost immediately, a small light appeared in the distance. Lady Chaos drifted over to it, an saw it was similar to a new star. It was different though. This star made noise and seemed to be in extreme pain. Chaos looked at the star more closely and saw that it was not a star, but something that resembled her. Its wails of anguish filled her ears and she imagined something to calm it. A liquid appeared, with a similar creature inside it. The liquid flowed towards the distressed creature and calmed it. The liquid dissipated and only the creature inside was left. It moved to where the star-like creature was and hugged it. The two stayed this way for a while. Chaos imagined a place to house the two, and saw a large spherical object appear near her. On top of it was another small being. As Chaos tried to move the star creature closer, the being atop the orb screamed in pain. It could not be near the star creature. Chaos thought of a barrier that would keep the star close, but could not harm the spherical being. A sort of field generated around the sphere, and the star was sucked into it. A new being flew around inside the field happily. The field enveloped the large sphere. All four of the beings were close enough to be near each other, but could not harm one another. The star and the sphere kept moving away from each other however. Chaos envisioned something to keep all four in place. A ring of indigo enveloped all four beings Chaos had created. A being fell from it and began to keep the others happy. Lady Chaos decided she needed to name these beings.

She approached the star, and thought for a moment. She called him Ra, the Sun. The liquid creature she named Abrianna, the being of water. Abrianna sat atop the sphere with Terria who was the spirit of the Earth. Keeping Ra away from Terria was Ouranos, spirit of wind and air. Keeping all four from going their separate ways was Invidia, the being of arcane. The place where Invidia kept all four Elementalists together is now Origin Palace on Origin Island."

"Very good," Prometheus remarked, "Now how did Invidia the Elementalist create the object we know as the Invidia?" Prometheus was shrouded in a sunrise orange veil similar to Hecate's violet.

"After the Elementalists started having children, Invidia saw these children were too powerful. Ze decided to create a barrier on each being to control their power to ensure it did not get out of hand. Ze called it the Invidia after zemself. The object Invidia keeps power and magic in line. If a creature uses too much power, the Invidia shuts down. We have become dependant on Invidias though, so if it shuts down, we die. The Invidia gives us a life source as well as our magical power. All living sentient creatures have an Invidia. Each is specific to that creature's soul, though some can be the same in color, and the color reveals traits that each being has."

"Very good, Hecate," Prometheus exclaimed.

"Uncle," Hecate inquired, as she watched the sun steadily rise, "What does this have to do with training me?" Prometheus stood up and ambled to the edge of the courtyard. He stared out over the Frozen Forest and listened to the winds.

"Why, you told me yourself. The Invidia is the object that gives everything life force and power. This is essential in learning magic."

The two stood in silence for a few moments, as Hecate watched the sun rise. A small figure appeared in the distance to the Goddex of Magic's eyes in a chariot, the sunrise following it.

"How will you teach me to become an Arcanist if you yourself are a Fire Master alone?" the blue-haired goddex asked suddenly.

Prometheus sighed, "I will do my best to teach you magic. Arcane is a combination of all the elemental magics as well as the fifth element, spirit. You would be better off in the hands of Khronos, Malum, Seshat, or even Lairde Invidia zemself." Prometheus looked down dejectedly, "Sadly, your father has made enemies of Khronos and Malum, Seshat has not been seen in a century, and Lairde Invidia may be difficult to ask. Ze is an Elementalist after all."

"Thank you for training me, anyway, Uncle." Hecate quipped. Prometheus simply nodded and smiled.

"Now, let us begin with your training," Prometheus requested, "and let us start with that daisy in your hand."