Aftermath

I must say, I'm having a lot of fun finishing this story. This chapter is a bit of an info-dump and mainly for those who might wonder what all happened during Tyz's last days and what not. I've decided to write it for the next life in Namesakes, but I want to finish Aftermath before I start writing more Namesakes. Basically, this means that I will be writing about Tyz's death, the fall of the gods and Illuva's rise/De's birth.

I'm still a bit sad about the fact that Tyz did die. One of the reasons I created Illuva was because I knew Tyz was ill and possibly dying.

Why is Vera freaking out? Well, maybe in the next chapter she'll find a mirror and we'll all find out.

The wall thing amuses me, stone talking makes sense, considering how old the stone would be and how Vera and Una would affect their homes. The torch on the other hand... that's a temporary item and shouldn't be talking.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




“Come, now,” Vera said, “out with it. Are the Aniege searching for the one who ended the world?”

“How. What. I don’t…”

“Several of my workers were once part of the Aniege faction. I want you to tell me the truth, Durth, with those expressions, it is very easy to tell when you are lying. Lying to me is bad, it will result in loss of respect and disappointment. And you’ll have an eternity to find out just how disappointed I can be.”

Durth sighed, “yes, they want to kill the one who ended the world.”

“Ended the world how?”

“The one who was responsible for bringing down civilization as we know it.”

“They knew it.” Vera corrected quickly, “Durth, do you recall what civilization was like? Given statistics, and I followed the fashions and numbers very closely, you would not have had a girlfriend. You would have probably been one of those worker bees who was worked to death, tormented by your fellow co-workers, day in and day out. Work extra hours and receive no thanks whatsoever.”

“I’m. Technically doing that now, it’s not like being a pawn of the Aniege is a job well known for recognition. It’s a cut throat competition.”

Vera blinked, “did you mean to…”

Durth realise what he said and groaned, “no, I didn’t mean to.”

“Do the Aniege even know who was responsible for ending the world?”

“Rel DeAniege. He’s the one who brought down the power systems.”

Vera waved her hand dismissively, “a pawn of someone else. Why not destroy Paw? He is, after all, the Sidhe Whisper, he is the one who declared war on the people. And the Sidhe, in turn, convinced Rel to do what he did. Or perhaps we should kill Ayato. Who was pawn of Illuva and let off his leash so that he could bring down civilization. Even Raya would be guilty then. The man who made Rel’s coffee that morning could be guilty or the one who met Rel’s eyes at the wrong time. Rel’s own father could have been the turning point in whether the civilization continued or not. Millions of lives could have been lost because of some fool who did not install the floorboard properly and caused Rel to stub his toe. Where do you stop pointing fingers and stop killing people to seek revenge?”

“I just agreed to kill Rel.”

“Why?”

“Because if he hadn’t given in, as you imply that he did, then the world wouldn’t have ended and my father wouldn’t have sold me into slavery.”

“If the world hadn’t ended and you hadn’t been sold into slavery, you never would have met Una. You never would have met Ayan or Raya, you likely would not be able to be open about your sexuality. The rest of the world doesn’t care if you are Una’s lover. They are coming out of a society where homosexuals ‘ended’ the world. They hate your kind and you hating your own kind is not going to make anything better.”

“Rel’s homosexual?” Durth squeaked.

“Yes. Yes, he is.” Vera paused, “along with Paw and Una and Ayan and Raya, though he is technically I bisexual, I suppose, and Ayato and numerous others who have played a part in this.”

“Why…”

“The gods like forbidden love,” Vera murmured, shrugging.

“What’s that got to do with a bunch of homosexuals being key factors in ending the world?”

“They were all pieces of the gods, Durth. Playing their part and doing as their Lord or Lady bid them to do. They were not chosen for the job because of their sexuality, they did not gather together and say ‘let us really throw a kink into those opposite gender liking twats’ as some Aniege seem to believe. The gods chose to watch them and as the well of souls emptied, all that was left were the lovers and sexual entertainment. These few, lacking any power of their own, went into the world of the living to do what was right.”

“To end the world.”

“To refill the well of souls. If the well of souls empties, it would truly mean the end of our world. There would be no more people born until a good amount of us were dead and by then, none of us would be capable of reproduction.”

“I think I get it.”

“What do you think that you get?”

“You want me to forgive Rel for what he did. Because…” Durth considered carefully, “he didn’t do it to me on purpose?”

“Wanting his death is what has gotten you to where you are. You should see the journey through.”

“Wait. Now you want me to kill Rel?” Durth asked, confused.

“There are many different deaths, Durth. There is the death of the spirit, the death of the person we were, the death of our pride or our ego. Each of these things kills the person we might have been and births a new person. Then, there is the death of a body. Yes, I want you to kill Rel.”

“What kind of kill?”

Vera’s lips twitched upward, “that is for you to find out on your own, Durth. Not all immortals will hold your hand throughout the process. You need to do this on your own. Very likely, it will not be difficult. Una knows you are Aniege, likely, but he sees no threat in either you or Raya.”

“Maybe he wants Raya’s blood.”

Eyes narrowing, Vera said, “Raya’s blood?”

“Raya and Tah have a child named Shera,” Durth stopped and squeaked, “no, Shirn. I’ve been calling her the wrong thing for the past two weeks!”

“If Tah has not taken your head, you’ve no worries there. Shirn, though, interesting, how old is Shirn?”

“Uh. Six, seven months? They’ve started trying for another child, no success yet. Though, Tah’s mood has been funny since I returned to them. Like she’s happy I’m there so that Raya can’t-”

“She’s pregnant again.”

“Do you actually know Tah?” Durth asked Vera, “you seem to make assumptions about her.”

“Tah, in the ancient languages, means mother. Mothers are healers, Tah is thusly a healer. She was not born to the Tahl-ra temple, apparently. There is a healer higher spirit that I know of who fits her description. She is not the first, nor will she be the last, higher spirit that you meet. Most of them have been born.”

“Because the well of souls was almost empty,” Durth said, nodding.

“No, because Tahl-ra is about to give birth. They are looking for the next god amongst the living.”

Durth considered this information, then shivered, “I think I recall the last time a god was born.”

“De, Tyz was alive for De’s birth. For a while, we thought that perhaps Tyz’s death was caused as an accidental side effect of De’s power flowing across the village. Little did we know, Tyz was already dying. It would seem that De’s birth reinvigorated Tyz’s body. You likely remember him, because De and Illuva were with Tyz when he died. They were combining their powers to try to save him.”

“Why would they try to save him, when they’ve let his soul just wander about in shattered pieces?”

“Illuva has always been.” Vera paused briefly, “public about what she wants and thinks. Rahl-ta may have wanted Tyz alive, but there was little that he would do. He was struggling to keep the throne at the time. Illuva, not being bound to heaven and recently awakening, had all the power of a goddess but was suffering the effects of gods-bane.”

“Do you think. If. Illuva hadn’t been poisoned…”

“Would you still be Tyz?” Vera considered this information, “it is possible that you would still be Tyz. Illuva and De were both godlings, unbound by heaven, they had all the power of a full god without needing to follow the traditions. They could have created another people and be successful, I see no reason that they could not have saved Tyz.”

“Ah.”

“But,” Vera said, holding up a hand, “then you would simply be Tyz and Una. Being bound to a mate was a change for Una, who is a notorious sexual fiend. Such as myself. Being Mother born means that we need sexual gratification, actually need it. Going from many lovers to one was a shock to his system. Had Illuva and De saved you, would Una know what he had? I don’t think so.

“Losing Tyz was like losing his heart. Una realised what he had and how much he needed Tyz. It took a millennia for Una to get over the grief enough to even take another lover. And then, the lover had to be absolutely gorgeous, absolutely skilled, absolutely perfect in every way and form.”

“He went for someone hotter than me,” Durth snapped, “went and-”

“Because he couldn’t take just anyone. When he looked for a lover, all he ever found was Tyz’s face, Tyz’s eyes, how Tyz was broken. But here was this man from another nation who looked nothing like Tyz and had nothing in common with Tyz. He still has trouble taking lovers for more than a few days because they all remind him of Tyz.”

“But I don’t?”

“You have his features, and your hair may darken over time, just as mine did, just as Una’s lightened.”

“Darken?” Durth asked, “my hair is dirty blonde. With tinges of red.”

Vera frowned, “I suppose your eyes didn’t have a speckling of purple, either.”

“No. My eyes are gray.”

The immortal’s lips pressed tightly together, she huffed out and looked Durth up and down, “come with me. We need to find Una and a looking glass immediately.”

There was something about how Vera sounded, that put Durth on edge, “what’s wrong?”

“Not now, just come with me,” Vera growled, grabbing Durth’s arm before she murmured to the stone. Durth tried no to cringe when the stone grumbled in response, eager to react to Vera’s questions. He would have asked what the hell was going on, but he knew that someone would tell him in time, so he followed along meekly and tried not to freak out when he swore he heard an old torch tell Vera that the ‘little one’ had passed through not two minutes before.

In Vera’s temple, apparently, the walls talked. Literally.

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