Leonmithas ran towards them, watching a Cybelline started to slowly disappear.
"No!" That voice was echoed by the sentiment of the fae and human as they watched the light that once was Cybelline fading slowly towards the sky. In a moment, their hope had left them. What were they supposed to do now?
The fae felt unspeakable horror as they watched Cybelline disappear.
Ithos and Myrai sat there for the longest time, holding each others hands. Myrai looked at the glowing sparkles of Cybelline's soul, her eyes wide in disbelief. Suddenly she took a handful of dust and scattered into the sky. It fell back to earth.
"I don't believe it." Myrai said her voice shaking, "She can't possibly be going there. That's impossible."
"Where, my love?" Ithos asked, a little perplexed.
"The..." Myrai paused and then she turned to her husband, "I can still save her, her fate is still undecided."
Ithos smiled, "Then we'll do it."
They sat looking at each other, knowing what this decision meant.
Myrai looked at their entwined fingers, "This is the pair of hands that I wish to hold forever. From the time I had first know what love meant, these hands were here."
Ithos's hands tightened around hers, "We have lived a good life. A life that I never thought I deserved." He knew what she was going to do next. Taking her hands in his, he kissed her palm gently, just like the first time. He sighed, "I am a little worried about the children, especially Miri."
Myrai smiled, "Our children are strong. They are meant for great things."
"Greatness doesn't mean happiness." Ithos said softly, "I wish her only happiness."
Myrai sighed, "Yes. Me too. But if don't make a stand now, I don't believe we could live with ourselves."
Ithos nodded, "Then this must be our path."
He raised his eyes to hers, as Myrai smiled, "Love. This will be dangerous, you can leave me and be safe."
Ithos moved to his wife, "As long as we are together, I am afraid of nothing."
He stood and pulled her up with a bright smile, "My purpose in this life was to find you. To walk with you. To support you. To love you. This was my promise to you and that will never change."
Myrai smiled and in that moment the glamour she wore fell off. Her hair turned to gold and her face was devoid of all wrinkles, her shoulders straightened as a cloak of emerald green draped across her shoulders.
Leonmithas gasped as he looked upon the druid priestess, a high fae whose bloodline were entwined in their legends and myths.
"But how?" He asked, "Only three had existed. I heard they had all died in the wars."
"What are they?" The dwarf leader asked the fire fae next to her. The Fire fae swallowed and said in awe, "They are the keepers of knowledge and the messenger of the gods. We have only had three in existence."
Myrai turned to him, "Yes. The other two are dead. One looked into the future and saved the life of dark fae child, to save the last of her kind from an endless war. One spent her life in another world to protect that child at the behest of the dark fae king. I am all that remained." She sighed, "I must beg the fae for their forgiveness, I was young and in love. I chose to give up most of my powers to save the one I loved, just as he gave up the powers of kingship for me. And so I hid my status as a druid and became an ordinary fae, and then an ordinary human woman."
She smiled at Ithos, held her hand tightly, and continued, "Our queen can come back, she is not dead, she has been called away. I will aid her in what I can and I will bring her back."
Myrai said this and her eyes began to glow green. Power surged within her body as she sang an ancient song. circles of green and gold light in archaic symbols covered the ground as she worked, her voice growing stronger and stronger as she sang.
---
When Cybelline woke up, she was in a forest.
"Again?" Cybelline muttered as she sat up and pulled a few twigs out of her hair, "seriously, why is it always a clearing or a forrest that I find myself every time I lose consciousness."
"This was the home of the last fae god. Young fae, you should not be so disrespectful on sacred ground." A voice rang above her as she looked up.
A woman sat in the trees, her robes were lily white and she had a mischievous smile on her face.
Cybelline blinked, "If you don't mind me asking, what the hell are you talking about." Also she rolled her eyes, "Lady, next time you decide to sit and swing your legs on a tree branch, can you wear some undergarments? The breeze is strong and the view is definitely not PG-13."
The girl laughed and jumped down. Somehow clothes covered all her privates despite the height of the jump.
"You are a strange one. I guess that's why they decided to make you a servant of the gods." The girl said as she knelt down by Cybelline's side.
Cybelline watched her wearily, and the girl rolled her eyes, "Trust me, fae, if I wanted, you would be truly dead."
"I'm not?" Cybelline said after a moment, the memories flashed before her eyes.
"No, your soul is intact. That's important in this realm. As long as you have your soul, we gods can choose to let you live or let you die." The girl said, and then after a moment she smiled, "I forgot the most important part. My name is Morrigan, I am the goddess of death."
"Cybelline, just a regular person." Cybelline smiled, "I often wondered what I would do if I met the face of death."
"Usually people scream or beg for mercy." The goddess waited for that to sink in. Cybelline shrugged, "I'm not really someone who screams or begs. usually people scream or beg for mercy at me."
The goddess of death laughed out loud at this, "You know, it's been a long time since I've meet anyone as amusing as you."
"Glad to be of service. Now, you said something about being the servant to the gods?" She asked delicately.
Morrigan smiled, "Ah yes, come let's go meet them. Those bastards have been waiting for someone like you for centuries. Someone who has withstood the powers of the world tree in the mortal realm"
Cybelline stood up and saw that she had none of the wounds that she had suffered. She followed Morrigan out of the forrest and towards a grand palace where two gods stood waiting for her.
They were tall and incredibly beautiful. The golden haired man shone in his godhood while the brunette man seemed to glow with an ethereal light. They were three times the height of average human males and they seemed have an air of ultimate power. Mortals could only prostrate themselves in the face of such greatness.
They stood on the steps of a garden that was shadowed by a tree that was taller than the eye could reach, ten times as big as the world tree in the land of the ring.
Morrigan looked at the two glowing figures, and muttered, "Peacocks."
"Welcome, chosen child." The golden haired man nodded in greeting, "I am the God of the Sun, Epherion."
The other god with the brunette hair only looked down at her, and sniffed. Cybelline ignored this.
Epherion cleared throat delicately, "This is Nimus, the God of Humans."
Morrigan leaned down and whispered, "Gaia, the goddess of earth said this had nothing to do with her. So she's here. But the four of us make the high gods. There were two other ones, Kali the God of Shadows and Titania, the Goddess of the Fae and Folk."
Cybelline frowned, "Wait, but she was the Queen of the Fae."
"Yes." Epherion answered the question, "She was. We had gods had a bet a long time ago. What would happen if we had gone to earth and lived as humans for a while. We may be the guardians of this world, but in our godly forms we could not interfere. So we shed our godhoods and went to experience the world."
"You went on a vacation." Cybelline said flatly.
Morrigan barely stopped herself from laughing.
Epherion paused and smiled awkwardly, "Well yes."
"But something happened," He continued, "Kali wanted to reign supreme, Titania fought and lost. We returned but she truly died in the realm."
"There is no reason to tell her of all of this." Nimus finally spoke, his voice, "She is merely a servant. Nothing more."
"Brother." Epherion admonished, "She has proven an affinity to heal the world tree on earth. As the next servant of the gods, she will heal ours as well. You need to treat her with respect."
"All fae are the same." Nimus said impatiently, "They live longer because they are too stupid to die. They are stubborn and devious. They are not to be trusted."
"Tell us how you really feel." Morrigan muttered. Cybelline sighed, "You know, if you're the god of humans, I get why there's so much conflict between the two races. You represent all the prejudices and ignorance."
Nimus paused and then suddenly raised a hand.
Power and pressure roared at Cybelline who collapsed to her knees. She gritted her teeth and raised her bloodshot eyes. The god wanted to smash her into the ground.
She was not made to kneel.
Slowly, she stood up, her soul cracking like glass under the pressure. The god's eyes widened, even the other gods turned to look at this mere mortal resisting them with all that she had.
Morrigan raised a hand and the pressure stopped, she then waved a hand and Cybelline's soul healed.
Morrigan smiled, "You're lucky that I stopped him. Sometimes the soul is so damaged beyond repair that even the gods can not heal it."
Cybelline was breathing hard, she wiped the blood from her mouth and said, "Thanks."
She looked at Nimus and then gave a smile, "So, this is the power of a god? I'll remember."
Nimus looked at her as if she was scum, he turned to Epherion, "She is not to come close to my quarters. I will kill her." And walked away.
Epherion looked at Cybelline, "When the Fae God died, the God Tree became sick. Your world tree is a seed of ours, the God Tree. You will take care of the God tree, if it accepts you. In ten years, if the tree lives well, we will reward you with the position of a less god. And immortality to boot. You will see that this is for the best."
"Right, so what does it mean if it accepts me." Cybelline asked.
"If it does not, then you will burn to a crisp." Epherion responded.
"And if I don't want to become a servant to the gods?" Cybelline said with a smile, "Because more than anything, I want you and Nimus to take your dumb plan and shove it up your ---"
Epherion smiled and waved a hand, "You can not." All of the sudden the scene changed, Epherion had disappeared and she was standing in front of the God Tree.
Morrigan looked at her with pity, "You can't fight a god. We are tasked to keep the ways of this world."
Cybelline felt pressure around her body as Epherion's power forced her towards the tree. She gritted her teeth and resisted.
She looked at Morrigan, "So why does Nimus hate the fae?"
Morrigan looked at Cybelline, "Why aren't you screaming and crying? You said you don't want to do this."
Cybelline was struggling against the power as it took her closer, "Like I said, I'm not one for crying and screaming. And trust me, when this is all over, I will make Nimus scream and cry."
Morrigan laughed, "Good l hope to see it." She watched with bated breath, if it accepted Cybelline, then she would live. She hoped that this mortal would live.
Her hand touched the bark of the God Tree. In that moment, fire enveloped her body. There was not even enough time to scream as Cybelline felt a rush of wind before the nothingness.
Morrigan looked at the charred spot where Cybelline stood and sighed, "I guess she was not worthy."
"No fae after Titania would be." Nimus said coldlyl
Morrigan shrugged with a regretful sigh, "Lives come and go. Even we gods die if we are too weak. You should not keep your love for her so close to your heart. Even when she chose another. You have created great hardships for the Fae with your bitterness. You will pay the price one day."
"Mind your own business. Nothing can punish me. I am a god." Nimus said and strode away.
Ephyerion looked at the spot where Cybelline had stood and sighed, "Well, if we do not find a way to heal the tree soon. All of this will cease to exist. Too bad she was too weak."
-----
Author's Note:
How is everyone today? I hope you're all well and safe! I took a mental health day from work because I need some time to really reconnect with myself and do some writing. As I'm barreling towards the finish line, please continue with me as you guys are such a great community. The best community an author could hope for. Thank you all for sticking with me and this story, your likes, comments, and reads give me bursts of joy throughout the day as I see the notifications come in.
Thank you again for reading and trusting that I will do this story justice.
Thank you, stay safe, and take time for yourself too.
Love,
Rin