Waiting for Son.
This is a dangerous tale.
It is set in the time after Twister came to Vig but before she was (converted).
This was the time when the unrepentant daughter of the Evil One lead the Great Hunt.
Things to know because even though it is an important Tale, How Rac stole fire from the Son hasn't made it from my note book to the computer. In that tale Son destroys 80,000 humans with a hydrogen bomb, diamond tipped arrows. He does this by using Rac's great trick to compress liquid deuterium (the two) and tritium (the three) by shrinking the space inside the carbon atoms of the hollow diamond head far enough to cause a fusion reaction. As seen in the time line, he has used these arrows in the past with no regards to innocent humans. He wants your soul to pass through the gate of Paradise, but he doesn't care how soon. The ultimate, kill them all and let god sort them out sort of guy.
Storyteller's note.
This is one of the formerly proscribed tales that Nova asked Harf to
publish after the great restoration.
Prior to its release, Harf interviewed may of those involved. Since
many of the main characters in this tale were gods or became gods, he
was able to collaborate much of the original tale. In a long
conversation with Mother, she added the scenes between her and Son.
Son gave Harf insights into his disappointing interaction with his
priest.
Many will find this tale very disquieting. It contradicts many of the
current common beliefs about Twister and Son. In it we see that
Twister was always a force for good and that she with her love and
mercy converted Son. Also she never corrupted Remus, and as can be
seen from what happened in Portus, Father's Priesthood, her most
fervent detractors were totally corrupt.
With Harf's additions and clarifications the tale has taken on two
voices. The voice of the old style storyteller and the more modern
narrative voice.
So here is the Tale of the Senators First Rebellion, how Remus XI
with the help of Twister put it down. Please listen and know it is
true, even though it contradicts many of your cherished beliefs.
One thousand five hundred and fifty years ago, the Senators thinking
they had drawn enough power to themselves having either driven off or
converted most of the small farmers to surfs, from armed yeomen,
effectively destroying the legions, the armed and trained militia of
Remes, decided that it was time to take complete power. They gathered
their personal armies and marched on Remus.
The Senators had calculated wrong. They weren't yet strong enough.
Remus XI called the legions and from the royal lands around Remus and
the small merchants of the city, 10 legions answered the call and
they drove the six senators of Remus from the City. But still a vast
army approached as the Senators consolidated their armies, mostly
drawn from the south. But, there was one Count, for he would never
call himself Senator, Tiberius, the Count of the North, the kings
cousin, the other great Caesar, answered the kings call and marched
south. He brought with him from Tall Rock, 5 veteran legions because
even though the great invasions had not yet started, they had to
march north almost every year when the Bison Riders started to raid
the lands of the Panther tribes. Also, with the legions came the
Great Hunt. It was lead by Twister and all of the Gods were armed
with her gifts, her blood. Amongst the Hunt were Ganius and Roxxanna,
patron gods of the northern legions, Remus, the founding God of Remes
and patron to the kings, Wolf, totem goddess of Remes, the king and
the small peoples, Panther, as totem for the Northern Legions, Rac
for the love of Twister, and Ganius and Roxxanna, Snake Woman, the
king and Tiberius' ancestor, Bull for his love of Snake and Twister,
and Raven, for his love of all the rest, Twister most of all. Of all
the greats of the lessor gods only Odin and Lion stayed away. Odin
because he would no longer come to the west and Lion because he was
estranged from the rest.
So Tiberius and the legions came south and they moved much faster
than the Senators thought they could over the still broken road.
Twister and the gods went before them and the common folk, the
northern peasants and surfs followed behind and with the power and
belief of the legions and the multitude that followed, Twister, like
Brun in the north, remade the road and so they marched forty miles a
day. The gods stripped all of the iron from the rock mist and at the
evening camps the covens added just the right amount of carbon and
they gave steal spear and ax heads to the peasants and surfs to take
home with them.
On the road, they over took the Senator's army from Balor and the
arrows filled the sky and the Senator's army died, even before it
could form for battle.
At last, the Northern Legions swept into Remus. By this time, Twister
like Brun was generating the healing sphere of belief and this time
she did not forbear, but with all of the power that was flowing
between her, the gods,the legions and the multitude, that followed
behind, the power of healing, of both body and soul, flowed out from
her to its maximum full extent. Anyone, that came within 20 miles of
her, had their corruption burned away. Most of the the citizens of
Remus, where lucky and only felt a flash of pain as the sphere of
belief swept over them. A few, mainly the priest of Father and Son,
and the Senators enforcers that remained hidden in the city, fell to
the ground and burned in pain.
Remus XI met Tiberius in the center of the great market square, which
was once more a market and a cross roads, for Twister did not let the
Temple of the Three stand because Son stood with his priests, who
supported the Senators. Mother only cried when her children fought
and Father was away somewhere beyond the Gate. After that, the
Father's Priest preached, that Twister had came to temp the city,
that destroying the temple and temping Remus were her first steps, in
her fathers long range plans.
Remus XI and Tiberius met in the square and agreed to move quickly
and that Tiberius and his veterans would lead the way. They had to
move quickly to keep the Senators army and Son's arrows of
destruction away from the city.
That night, Twister sent the multitude away because with the now 15
legions, 76,000 men and women, there was more power than even she
could control and she didn't wont to risk the untrained in battle,
because she had seen and felt Sons arrows at Vig. She sent them away,
but sent everyone of them home armed. No more would the Senators'
knights, their bullies and roughens have their way.
The next morning, the legions marched south on the road to Portus,
the road to Xexes where the great roads from the south come together,
where the senators were concentrating their armies. The legions
marched south, Twister and the other gods in the lead repairing and
widening the great road. Behind them came the came the northern
veterans followed by the militia legions of Remes. For two days
they marched, 45 miles a day. The gods made them a walled camp every
night when they stopped to rest. On the third day, they marched out
of camp and deployed for battle for they were within ten miles of the
great cross roads that was Xeses, ten miles from the where the
senators were gathering their army some 150,000 strong.
They
deployed into the line of battle, the five northern legions in the
center of the front line with two of the of the Remus legions on
either flank and the other 6 Remus legions in a line behind . The
northern cavalry
Tiberius's household guard and the legions horse, 3500 horsemen in
all guarded the flanks.
Once they were deployed, Twister came before them with Remus XI and
Tiberius by her side and spoke to them all in their minds because at
this point the line was a mile and a half wide and a fifty yards
deep.
First, she let them all hear what she heard, and Eleven addressed the
troops. Then Tiberius his own. Finally, she spoke to them and asked
them for their belief and help today. She told them that the gods
where there for three things that day and no they would not fight the
opposing army for them, The Hunt does not hunt mortals. They were
there to protect them from the other gods and they would do two
other things, that with their belief and power she would supple power
for their witches and once again extend the sphere of belief that
burned the corruption from the soul.
Then she turned from them and took out her sling and taking a number
of prepared sling stones, she covered the expected battlefield with a
grid of her bloodied stones, Son was not going to use his hydrogen
bombs that day.
Remus
gave the order and the army started forward. When they were with in 5
miles of the Senator spread out camp, they were noticed and the camp
began began to boil with activity as the Knights rushed to arm
themselves and form a line. The legions, who had just crest the top
of a large hill, stopped and started to dig, first a trench before
the line. Twister shunted power back from Bruns tinny moon that shown
over head and began to glow and she believe in the witches and sent
power their way, the power she and the other gods were receiving from
the love and respect of the legions behind them. The covens used the
power to form witch glass blades in the bottom of the shallow trench.
The legions formed far enough past the crest of the hill, that today
the archers did not have to move in front of the heavy foot and the
heavy foot brought their pikes forward and sheathed their swords
because they were fighting knights, cavalry
today.
A last, the Senators line formed and they began to advance,
confident and full of pride because they were knights and no common
men could stand against their charge.
They advance across the open country side and when they were about
two miles away Twister decided it was time, she did not want to leave
her people unprotected anymore. Above her Bruns moon went dark.
Twister burst into light, a brilliant pillar of light so bright
everyone had to look away, and two spheres of belief went out from
her. The first and smaller swept over the legions, a wave of healing
that left them feeling stronger and refreshed, the sphere of healing,
that had let them force march to the south and still arrive stronger
and unfatigued ready to fight. The second and larger sphere was the
wave of pure belief that healed the soul by burning away the
blackness, the corruption. Now, the legions had faced this test
before and some had fared better than others during the first test
but today they were all clean and not one flinched as it pasted over
them. The legions watched as the wave front past over their enemies
and they weren't disappointed, many of the knights had done evil
things in the service of their lords, and deep in their being, the
soul knows, no mater who gives the orders, cruelty is cruelty and the
soul blackens with guilt. The wave crossed the enemy line and they
could see them jerk and fall from their horses to lie screaming on
the ground. After 10 long seconds the legions heard the screams as
fifty thousand men's souls were almost burned away as the fires of
belief cleansed their blackened souls. The riderless horses, bolted
and scattered and the still mounted knights had to break the line to
ride to capture them. Tiberius singled his horse archers forward and
the witch covens started firing their bows. The arrows sped away,
cracking like thunder as they past the speed of sound, and today the
witches did not get tired, they weren't using their personal power
but the belief that Twister poured into them. The legions saw and
they believed and their belief in themselves and their little demon
goddess grew even stronger.
Raven, who this day sat on Twisters armored shoulder, asked, “Well
wicked child are you happy with yourself.”
She laughed and reached up with her free hand, the other already
carried her great bow and an arrow.” Not yet uncle Raven, this is
just the beginning of the show, those that can still think over there
must be praying for help right now. The trap is set, how long do you
think we will have to wait before he and his little friends, the
Senators family gods, step through.”
Raven shook his head and said because Snake Woman was standing close
by,”You are doing it backwards today. The line about the son is,
put an arrow in his eye and watch him burn in the gate. Not watch
him burn and put an arrow in his eye.”
Snake laughed as Twister replied with a glowing grin,”Now I think
Snake and I will be happy to do it either way, especially if it keeps
our mortal friends alive, daddy could never figure out how to
confront him without endangering the mortals, daddy was trying to
save. But Brun came up with the burning sphere in Vig and we can use
it today. Someways, I am sad to use it now, because he is not stupid
and next time he'll go burn in the gate before he confronts us.”
Across the field, the covens had found their range and the supersonic
arrows were blasting into the advancing line killing man and horse.
The line shuttered and some of the fallen knights recovered their
horses and the still moving knights started forward redressing their
line as they moved. They may serve corrupt masters, but they were
brave men. Along the line of the legions, the arrows still cracked
away, a steady rain of death that slashed through shield and armor,
passing through one man into the next. They were few in number, it
took an entire coven 13 witches to launch them at these distances.
Two covens per legion 15 legions thirty bows shooting the super fast
arrows of death. Sixty arrows a minute and you couldn't see them
coming or even hear them because they out raced their sound. The
first time the knights saw them was when they blasted the knight
beside them, and it was always followed by that sharp crack as the
sound of their passing caught up. Well, yes the knights were brave
men.
Keeping to the sides, out of the line of fire of the covens, the
horse archers advanced.
Twister stood an arrow knocked to her bow, ready, listening to her
grid of scattered stones, because Son and his allies would have to
come through the veil soon or his human allies would be to close to
the Legions for him to use his arrows, she hoped he was at least
that sane.
Rac stepped through the veil beside her and reported, “Get ready,
Son and the family gods approach, they should appear about there, he
pointed to a point just in front and to the center of the knights
line.
“Well that's why Brun and Twister have never let him lead the Hunt
after Panther died, he never had any tactical sense, a frontal
attack, not the flank or from behind.” Twister shook her head,
smiled bitterly and continued, “then who needs great tactics, when
your attack is based on blowing everything to smithereens with the
the fires of the sun. There.” She had heard what she was waiting
for, Son's scream and her arrow was away, all of the gods, her coven,
accelerating it and she was in the arrow in the point, where her
blood is so is she.
Son stepped through the veil, arrow already knocked, he had fought
Twister before and he knew he could not give her a chance, and he
stepped into her burning sphere of belief, and his soul was corrupt.
He knew guilt for Panther, for Vig, for all of his priest that would
never past the gate, for supporting the Senators, who he knew were
corrupt and he had not yet live and died as a man, he had not yet
learned mercy not even for himself. It was never long before his soul
was streaked with the blackness of corruption and guilt and he had
come to fear the gate. Therefore, he stepped through the veil into
Twisters sphere of pure belief, a fire stronger than the gate, that
burned the corruption from the soul and his soul began to burn and he
screamed. He was still screaming, when the arrow that was Twister
found him, for she was there in the point, not where her body stood
two miles away still lowering the bow. She struck him in the the eye,
plunging into his brain. Then Twister stood beside him and she had
brought Raven, Snake Woman and Rac along with her. She stood over him
and they watched him as he died because even with her in his brain it
took a long time to draw his power away. He contained so much power
that Twister had to shunt it away, least it destroy her and the other
gods, Brun's little moon burned brightly in the sky. She looked down
at Son and said,” Well Raven guess we get to do it both ways.”
Raven and Snake laughed and Rac looked at her questioningly.
She grinned at Rac and for a moment he thought, she was someone else,
she poked the now dead Son with her toe and asked “What was it
your mother always said about Son when she came upon something he had
destroyed?”
“Put an arrow in his eye and watch him burn in the Gate.” He said
with a coon smile, as he remembered his little demon child creator,
his sweet mother Brun and he felt the twinge of guilt he always felt
when he looked at the glowing Twister and felt the same love.
“Well today, we got to do it back to forward, then forward to
back.” Said Twister.
Rac's eyes widened and all he had to say was,”Oh”.
Raven laughed from Twister's shoulder and said as always,”Wicked,
wicked child.”
To which Twister answered as was by now tradition, “Yes I am.”
Rac shook his head and thought to himself,”That’s Raven and
Brun's exchange.”
Twister looked at the family gods that also lay screaming on the
ground and said,”Lets clean up this mess before the mortals get
here, I don't feel like killing mortals today.” then she looked
down at the poor weak godlings as they lay screaming on the ground
and said, “Never mind, they'll be lucky to make it back through
the veil. Come with me.” And just before she jumped them away, she
caught something out of the corner of her eye. She saw Son's soul, he
had not fled, but stayed to listen because he though he was safe, a
disembodied soul. But Twister sees souls with a body or not. Her
energies leaped out and encased him, bound him tight, he could not
escape. “Well look at what I caught, “ she said as her energies
started to glow and they could see the outline of Sons soul. Then she
took them with her as she jumped back to the legions. With the danger
of Son passed, she and the other gods retired behind the front line.
They appeared beside Tiberius, where he stood with his coven on the
top a small mound of witch glass that they had created to give him a
better view.
Twister grinned at Tiberius, as he flexed his great bow. “I got
him.” and she showed him Son's bound soul.
“Good, that's one less worry today.” Said Tiberius, as he sent
another arrow cracking away.
Twister, then turned her attention to Son. “Well, what a scarred
and ragged thing you are. Been having a little trouble with the gate
have you? She let enough power flow into him so he could reply for
they were speaking mind to mind.
And despite his situation, bound and captive, a naked soul in the
hands of a soul devouring demon as his priest always described
Twister, he started out confrontational and self righteous. “You
have no right to do this. You, know who I am? Just who do you think
you are?
Twister laughed and since she was filling particularly wicked today,
she told him what he needed to know. “Well today you came to harm
humans and in the eyes of The Hunt and humanity that makes you a
malicious god. You have suffered the fate of a malicious god
encountered by the Hunt; we killed you. Now, you may have been lucky
that you encountered the fires of the gate before my arrow because as
your priest always forget to say, a soul has to be corrupt before I
can devourer it. Now it is known that you are a malicious god, ready
to kill the innocent with the guilty and being cautious, The Hunt
came south with the legions because we feared what you might do. We
were overly kind, we did not hunt you, but only set a trap. So nice
for you to step into it for me and isn't it telling, that of all gods
and humans on this side of the line today, you were the only one to
burn in the fires of the gate. You and the ones that came with you.”
And you ask who I am? Well today I am the leader of The Hunt and I
arm them with my blood and I keep them alive. As leader, I have final
say in who is to be considered a malicious god. Now after Vig there
was some question amongst The Hunt whether to consider you a
malicious god or not. Some argued this way and some the other. I
usually go with the majority, but after Vig I didn't. What happened
was partially my fault after all. I lost my temper when I saw your
little trophy display, Mother's Coals, daddy's shrine stones in that
bowl on top of the alter. Brun had covered them with stone dust, but
I walked into the temple and they were clean. I turned the stones to
dust and asked daddy to call back his blood and all that was left was
a dirty bowl. You got mad at that. That I had the audacity to take
back my father's gifts, that you had stole. So you cast your
vindictive and uncaring curse and took fire way from all the Panthers
from the Edge to the Ty. All of them innocent of any crime, even the
corrupt chieftains of Vig. Because of that, of the curse, Rac and
Panther went to you and not the leader of The Hunt, Brun as they
should have. Therefore, instead of the cleansing fires of belief, we
got the destroying fires of the sun. So, I told The Hunt that we
would give you one more chance.
For many years you have been good. You have left your arrows of mass
death home. But, you brought them today and to help who, petty,
little men, who have lied, cheated and stole, to drive free people
from their lands and make them slaves and you come to help the
Senators' bullies and your priest dare call me evil, the Twister of
Souls, the soul devouring demon child of the Evil One and Temptress.
Yes, I've killed mortals but only when they've turned cannibal
chicken and I had to cull the flock to keep the rest safe.”
“But you, the so called good god, burned the evil and the good in
the sun's fire at Vig and planned to do it do it again today to 76
thousand, all of which have pasted the test of the gate. Looking at
you now, I can see, that you have no guilt at the thought of that
horrible act, that you feel justified, you need those souls.” She
stopped for a second and stared at him; he stared back unrepentant.
Twister shook her headed and looked away and took out one of her
sling stones and gave it to Rac. “Child of my love, take this
stone, it will jump you to my portrait in Tiberius' hall. The place
were you can step through the veil into Son's kitchen. I want you to
go there and retrieve all of his diamond tipped arrows that you can
find and bring them back to me.
Rac took the stone, nodded to Twister and was gone.
She turned back to Son and continued her rant. “Now were was I in
my villain’s monolog. Oh yes, it's as if you are harvesting souls.
Why do you need souls trained for war? What have you found in the
worlds beyond the gate? Is that why your mother keeps talking to my
family? What does she say to my gods, that makes them go, with only a
short goodbye? What horrible thing have you found, that makes them
think it's their duty to go? Because, that is the only thing that
would make them go. What are you keeping from my father and I? You
know, that what ever it is, father and I would help.
Unlike, the soul harvesting remark over which he felt no guilt, her
last remark made his soul sizzle and pop because they were still
inside her field of belief.
She watched him sizzle for a minute, then looked at him intently and
he just shook his head at her. This was something he would not tell
her, no matter the pain.
She relented and then Rac returned with an arm load of diamond tipped
arrows.
“My, my.” she said looking at Racs
haul. “Someone has been a busy god. How long did it take you to get
all of that 2 out of the sea water. How much belief did it take to
collapse the hydrogen atoms to make the neutral particles for the 3
and the skill it took to force them into the extra 2. Well for now on
they are proscribed by The Hunt. Any god that uses them will be
hunted and killed on sight and I will use one of these.” She called
it to her a special arrow, a weapon that she had devised to cure the
problem of gods not evil enough for her to devour, but to malicious
to let run free. So far she had made two, both for gods that or had
threatened to use the reaction that heated the the sun on humanity,
Son and Father.
She showed him the arrow and Son could
feel its hunger and even bound as he was he flinched away. She
laughed at his reaction and said,”Yes it's alive, a malicious
imagined, the only reason I would
create it, is because it is immobile and I am dealing with malicious
gods that keep returning from the gate.” The arrow was made out of
aluminum with a steal sharp point which she had coated with her
blood. Just behind the point was the rest of the head, a dark glass
like imagined creature and it was a soul devourer; it would trap and
contain any soul. She had made the metal arrow and then imagined the
soul devouring head and believed and what Twister believes is.
“When I heard
that you planned to support the corrupt and petty Senators. I
originally planned to use it today.” She grinned at him and pulled
him closer. “But today is your lucky day, I decided to give you
one more chance. She took a small quartz disk out of a pocket and
showed him then thrust it into his soul and turned her belief on him
and created a new body for him around his soul and the disk.
“Well you don't
need to go to the gate today after all and don't bother to say thank
you. Think as the disk as a leash. If you try to use one of your
arrows, it will drain your power and I will come for you with Hungry
here.” She said and showed him the arrow again. “You may want to
git tricky and remove it but I'll know and Hungry will be in you eye
in an instant, and I won't even be there just Hungry and you. Oh and
if you step through the gate, don't bother coming back, Hungry will
be waiting for if you do. Tell your father that your sun arrows are
forbidden; I made a hungry for him too.”
She released him
from her energies and he tried to flee, he stepped through the veil
and flashed away. Then he was standing back in front of her; she was
in him and had jumped him back. He looked at her with eyes full of
fright.
Twister and the
other gods laughed and the little demon goddess explained,” Even
you must have heard, were my blood is so am I, well it works the
other way, were I am so is my blood; therefore, I am in you and since
you won't answer the important question, then you should now go away.
I think you should go see your mother. She is sitting in the hall of
Little Fury's judgment as she so often does.” She dismissed him
with her hand and sent him away.
“Was that wise
wicked child?” asked Raven from her shoulder.
She shook her head
and said.” Wise, no, tricky and wicked but if I was wise I would
have used Hungry this morning and sent him into space were only I can
go. Then set a trap at the gate with Hungry's sister for Father.
Raven didn't even
have to say it, he just cocked his head so he could look at her face.
But she answered him anyway. “Yes, I am.” All of the gods
laughed.
This confrontation
with Son was the business of the gods, so they were just a blur
because Twister had taken them deep into accelerated god time. While
they had been away, only moments had past and the battle had
progressed very little.
The knights advanced across the battlefield, crossed over their now
silent gods, who faded away through the veil. As they advanced more
and more of them fell as the covens sharpened they aim and the arrows
cracked into them.
Still they advanced, at last, the legions' horse archers swept into
range, and began to rain arrows into the lines flanks. The knights
made desperate attempts to charge them, to drive them away. But the
archers would not stand and fight. They and their lightly armored
horses would run away from the charge, firing back behind them. Once
the charge faltered, the horse archers would turn back and send
their arrows slashing into the knights. The knight's grew frustrated
and yelled at them calling them cowards and unchivalrous. The horse
archers just laughed and said we are legionnaires, our job is not to
stand and die, our job is kill you and live. So the knights tried to
play tag with the archers, who were veterans of hundreds of fights
with the mounted tribesmen of the great northern plains, in the end
the final result was the flanks of the knights line was driven in.
Despite the constant harassment of horse archers and coven arrows,
the knights were still confident , because they still out numbered
their foes and all they really faced was a bunch of farmers on foot
and they rode down peasants for a living.
Twister stood on the hill behind the front line in the center of the
line next to Tiberius, who was with his coven firing his great bow as
they all waited for the knights to close into charge range. To those
who looked on, it would seem that she was doing nothing more than
looking over the battlefield and glowing softly. Tiberius, who was
fitting another arrow to his bow, knew better as he felt her pump her
belief into him and the other witches and because he was a witch and
could see he could see the bright lines of belief flowing into her
from every man and woman in the legions, and being who she was, that
belief was taken into her and was converted and her belief flowed
back out of her and into every legionary and it was shaped as to
their need. For the common legionary it was a flood of healing and
endurance, it would take a mortal blow for them to die today, and for
the witches it was that and more for they also got power for their
magic. He flexed his great bow and sent the arrow screaming away
toward the enemy still a mile away. “Today I am using magic like a
god, burning away belief instead of me, I could get used to this, it
would be good to become a god.” he thought to himself with Twister
just feet away and connected to her with thick cables of belief as
well.
Twister grinned and turned to look at him eyes wide,”We'll have to
work on that, I need to add to the family, I want another Caesar for
my collection.”
Tiberius glanced over to where Ganius and Roxxanna were scanning the
battlefield on the look out for hostile gods and even before he could
form the thought, Twister answered the question forming in his
mind,”No, you are married, so there will be none of that, unless it
includes the wife, a little temptress demon must protect her
reputation, you know. So if you want it to go that far, ask your
wife.”
Livia, Tiberius wife, who commanded the eleventh legion and stood in
his, the commanders coven, laughed,and sent to him, Twister, Ganius,
Roxxanna and Grandmother Snake for good measure, “Don't worry
husband, Grandmother and Roxxanna have filled me in on how it goes.
Yes dear Twister, Tiberius and I will share you pleasant dreams.”
Twister grinned at Livia and said, “My dear, I like you.” then
she turned to Snake Woman and joked, “See how easy that was? I've
lead two more of your descendents into temptation.”
“Yes, I see you have, you evil little demon child, who is the
center of a sphere of pure belief that burns the corruption from the
very soul, for a soul twisting demon you don't do a very good job. I
don't see anybody falling down and screaming here.” said Snake
grinning ear to ear.
“It's because I'm tricky and subtle, they don't know until I eat
them in the end.” said Twister with a mock snarl.”
“Tricky, I'll give you that but subtle no, your as subtle as an
arrow in the eye, tricky and wicked you are but but subtle no.”
Snake said with a laugh, then she added losing her smile, “And you
don't eat them as you and I sadly know, when we lose them, you, your
loves and I, my grandchildren it always to the gate.”
“Now aunty, not in front of the mortals, I have to keep some
secretes you know because I am the soul devouring demon child of Evil
and Lust as the priest of the Three say.” Said Twister trying to
lighten the mood.
Snake grinned and replied in mock outrage, “So it's aunty now, I've
always thought of myself as your older sister.”
Twister shook her head and stated. “No you're aunty and Raven's
uncle and that something I've always known.”
Snake grinned and hugged the beautiful glowing goddess. “Yes, I can
accept that.”
Twister hugged her back and said into Snake ample tattooed chest,”Not
in front of the mortals, we must retain some dignity you know.” but
she still did not let Snake go.
Tiberius, as he released another, wondered what he was getting into,
with his new extended family . Then he looked at the legion around
him who had been listening and watching the interplay between the
gods, and the legionaries, who had been growing tenser and tenser as
the enemy approached were relaxed and smiling. “So your not subtle
are you little demon child” he thought hopefully to himself, and
Twister winked at him from between Snakes breast.
Tiberius sighed and said. “Now I know why Raven always calls you a
wicked, wicked child.”
Twister pulled away from Snake Woman and turned to face him in
outrage,”Only Raven and Snake can call me that!” Then she broken
into a grin that lighted up the air. “You, you youngsters have to
call me a …..Wicked, Wicked , girl. And Yes, I am.” and she
laughed and it went out through the channels of belief and fifteen
legions all relaxed and smiled.
“Not subtle are you.” he thought knowing she'd hear, and he
heard heard her laugh in his mind, “My father didn't call me
Twister of Souls without reason you know.”
Tiberius shook his head and turned his attention to the approaching
enemy and they had ridden into a half mile of the line. They were
close enough, that individual witches could accelerate arrows to a
fast enough speed to reach their line. His only regret was that the
arrows could no longer reach supersonic speed. Then he heard her
laughter in his mind and heard her say, “And what are you witches
today, you're gods not men, just believe and it will be.
Tiberius, sent the order out to the covens. “Brake up, go to
individual fire, and use full power go supersonic for Twisters here
with us today.” It took about a minute for the all of the witches
to ready their own bows but they soon they were ready and he set the
order “loose.” and the thunder rolled as 390 arrows cracked away.
The wave of arrows hit the knights before the sound, which seamed to
herald the next round that slashed in 30 seconds behind. But these
were brave men and proud and despite their loses, they still rode
forward.
Twister stood watching and shaking her head and said to Remus, who
had come forward from where he had been standing with Eleven. “What
kind of fools are these, to attack legions dug in on a hill and even
worse not a witch among them?”
“The same type of men I fought for twenty years when I united
Remes, self important men, who feel they are better than anyone else,
who fight for what they call honor, their code of chivalry. The
trouble their code never extends below their class and they will do
what ever their nobles say.” Remus laughed grimly and opened his
arms wide as if to gather the legionaries to him. “That's why I
picked the small farmers and the tradesmen, men and women, who just
wanted to be left alone, who wanted to be safe, and not subject to
the whims of every entitled bandit that came along. So I took them
and made them soldiers not knights, legionaries who fought for love
and family not power and honor. Soldiers who’s job it is to kill
and live not stand and die with honor. But, when the knights and
senators look at our farmers and tradesmen, they don't see soldiers
trained to kill in the most efficient way, they see poorly armed
peasants who will flee and die.
As for having witches, what is the last name of the two men, who
leaded these legions, of two of their gods, you should know quite
well little love, you collect us like dolls, didn't you collect two
more of us today. Then he looked back where Remus XI stood with his
coven wielding his bow. “or will that be three?”
Twister laughed softly and said possessively, “Yes my Caesars, my
other family, and almost every witch in Remes is a distant
grandchild of Snake and most are your descendents too. What is it my
father taught the witches long ago, so much easier than genes and
those things, it takes power to breed power. So almost every witch
south of the Ty is least Eleven's cousin, to some degree. “
“And thanks to you, and Ganius and Roxxanna, it is mostly true of
the Panther witches too.” Remus smiled at Snake to include her,
“And all of the Bison shamans are Grandmothers Snake distant grand
children. “ Then he had a thought and address Snake directly,
“Grandmother is there a witch in the world that isn't your distant
grandchild.
Snake looked at him and after a moments thought, smiled intently and
said,”No, most probably not.” Then she laughed and said,” Why
else would I let you brats call me grandmother when I look like
this.” Now Snake, who was older than Twister, looked like a young
woman not over the age of 25.”
Remus looked at Snake appraisingely and said, “You have kept quite
well, you don't look a day over 7,000.”
Snake Woman glared at Remus and took a mock step toward him.
The laughing Twister stepped between them and said, “Not in front
of the mortals.” Then she continued, getting back on subject.” So
you are all related then.” as if that explained every thing.
Remus laughed and said,” That’s only part of it, witches have
better and safer things to do than help petty men lie, cheat and
steal. How many warnings does the furies give to a witch who abuses
her powers?”
Twister smiled back at him innocently and because it was common
knowledge answered, “Depends on how bad the transgression, but if
they're minor, three before they die in their dreams.
“So little teeth and talons, you are a reason there are no witches
over there.” Remus grinned at her and before she could think of
some clever way to tell the truth and still deny that she was a fury.
“Don't bother little thing I've walked Brun's road and I know who
looks lovingly at her father across the road at every mile.” Then
for the last part, he sent directly to her for there must some reason
she was keeping her secretes. He could think of three and she had
just put an arrow in the eye of one of them.”I've been to Mother's
Temple of Judgment in Brun's gift, littlest Fury, Brun, Twister of
Souls, Twist.” Then he put something together in his mind because
if you took Fury and Twist and Brun and blended their faces together
you got a forth face, one he knew as well as Twister's. Witch Girl,
the powerful little goddess that came with Snake Woman to help Wolf
and him, some of his earliest memories were of her holding him as a
child. “Witch, I saw you go through the gate and it burned your
body away.” He saw her flinch as the fires of true belief burned
the guilt from remembering that incident away.
“Rem, I am sorry but it had to happen. We had brought Remes
together, driven out the Achenes, you were a king and after all the
work was done. The Three began to come around, even Father was
present in a one of his few stays on this side of the gate. They were
visiting your court almost everyday. People were talking and I had
used to many of my powers, I had not as my father told me at Vig
forborne , this was one of my first forays into a region they
controlled into the heart of their power. I had used the powers that
were special to just me and dad. Legions that marched 100 miles in a
day and a night and arrived fresh on the battlefield in the morning
fresh and ready to fight. Legions that fought toe to toe with
monstrous imagined and had weapons that could destroy them, at least
no one said, “and Witch went down and bloodied the legions swords.”
The small Hunt that destroyed the malicious gods and imagined without
the fires of the sun. Son was sure he had destroyed all of fathers
gifts to the Totems. The story that we had gotten them from Odin
would only hold water for so long. The three especially Father had
begun to suspect and he came one day unexpectedly to the Villa and he
looked at my soul and I knew he knew who I was and I could feel the
jealousy and rage build, so I marched into the throne room and told
you, Snake and Wolf that I had to go. We had done what we set out to
do and it was time for me to go through the gate. When the three of
you started crying, I almost called my bow and killed them right
there, but I knew they would return from the gate, and we were only
just recovering from them breaking the world and Father and Mother
weren't wearing their amulets that day. So Witch couldn't act and
had to prove she wasn't the daughter of Protector. Everyone had to
see her step through the gate. So I told you to be ready to go, that
I had some final preparations to make and I would be back in a few
minutes. Then I stepped to through the veil and flashed away to the
northeast Odin's Land and then jumped to the moon. Once on the moon
where only me and my father can go, I opened my link to the gate and
formed a body of belief, a doll of me, around one of my sling stones
and then I went to sleep and as Raven had taught me and my father I
entered the doll and made it my body. Since my blood was on the
stone, the doll could still use my powers and I jumped back to Earth,
then flashed back to Remus and stepped through the Veil and we all
went to the gate. There after our tearful goodbys, I stepped through
the gate. My body was stripped away and because what of I done to
you, Wolf and Snake, I burned for a little while in the gate. Once I
was done, I walked in turned and moved out of sight and became one of
the lost souls of paradise, those soul that make it through the gate
but refuse to serve the Three. Once I was out of sight of the gate,
I struggled to enter dreamland proper and after a long fight, I
entered dream land and awoke on the moon. Therefore, the Three saw
Witch burn in the gate and no more questions were asked. She was just
a special little goddess who's powers somehow mimicked mine, but now
she was gone. And then I was Brun and we got a little clever, she was
Protector's daughter. And I did come back as soon as it was safe and
I've learned some new tricks and I was no longer one of your foster
mothers.”
Now, since they were talking mind to mind, this all had occurred in
an instant and he had relived that day from her point of view and
felt her emotions of the day, the pain, guilt and sorrow for what she
had done and he also felt Fathers anger, when he thought that Twister
had dared interfere with his plans for the world. Seeing that, he
knew that she had done what had to be done because if she had even
hinted of what she was doing, Father could have read him as easily as
Twist had read Tiberius without even trying.
He reached out and hugged her to him and since he had been around her
since he was a toddler and learned her wicked sense of humor,
whispered, “Mom.”
And since she was a wicked, wicked girl, she showed him the doll and
asked. “Do you want to get physical big boy?”
Remus laughed and held her tight and said, “No pleasant dreams are
good enough.”
Laughing they pulled apart and brought their attention to the battle
and the oncoming line of knights despite their loses were approaching
charge range.
When the knights crossed the 200 yard mark, Tiberius sent, “first
line fire”. The first nine legions started firing a mass of 36,000
arrows hit the knight's line at one time, the knights broken into a
gallop. The second wave of arrows hit them at 150 yards, but there
were 60,000 arrows in this round as the second line of legions were
now in range. At 100 yards they were hit by 50,000 arrows, the front
two ranks had dropped their bows and picked up their pikes and thrust
them in a wall of blades over the trench filled with blades of razor
sharp spikes of stone. The arrows in this wave fired by the witches
were deadly accurate because the witches controlled them for the
entire flight not just the first 100 yards. At 50 yards the next wave
of arrows hit just a few less than the previous valley as the century
witches went to work with their bags of anthracite grit and their
torches . Four hundred and fifty snakes of burning coal grit sprang
from the deployed front line and the slashed like whips across the
faces of the on coming knights and they were blind, eyes full of
burning coal grit, that also got into their nose and their mouth.
Then they final reached the trench and the few remaining horses
stopped. The witches had blinded the men not the horses. They wanted
the horses to see the death lined trench and the wall of pike blades.
The Knights had crossed the last 200 yards in 40 seconds of hell,
wave after wave of arrows killing men and horses by the thousands,
then the blinding choking fiery grit. So blind and hacking they came
to a sudden stop, the horses refused to face the pikes or jump the
trench. The horses stopped so suddenly, that a great many knights
were thrown by their momentum into the trench to die twitching
impaled on the glass blades. The following waves of knights rammed
into those that had stopped, pushing the ones in front into the
trench. As this was happening the fiery coal snakes still danced and
the arrows fell like rain, as the archers fired high into the air and
let them plunge down at very steep angles, they were all well trained
to shot to the line.
Remus looked down on the the ruin of screaming men and horses a
wailing wall of dead and dying a mile and a half wide and the bodies
stretched behind it scattered over two miles deep path of death and
he rephrased and answered Twisters question again. “ What kind of
fools a attack legions dug in on a hill? Stupid arrogant fools and
they do it only once because they they don't live to do it again.
Twister, looked down at all of the death and shook her head. Then
jumped away to XI and brought him to Tiberius because it was the
king's decision about how it would end.
Remus XI stood by his cousin looked down at the horror below and
said, “Enough, cousin let it end.”
Tiberius sent the order out over the net “Stop.” The bows stop
firing, the fiery snakes plunged head first into the ground and ate
their tails. Then he turned to Twister and asked, “Twist could you
give them some help? Could you heal their eyes? It might help if they
can see, and dear can you help the horses, the poor innocent things.”
She smiled and said, “Gladly dear.” and the burning shell of
belief changed into a sphere of healing power, which she set to heal
the horses and the eyes of the men. Then she backed into Remus arms
and said,”Rem love, your little witch has some work to do, please
keep me stable I'm going to leave my body with you.” He held her
tight and she slumped into his arms and her conciseness was away
skipping form stone to stone of her grid across the battle. Because
she could heal the horses but she had to be closer to remove the
arrows. So she skipped from stone to stone and dissolved the arrows
away. Within moments she re-awoke in Remus arms and stayed there
because even a powerful and deadly little demon goddess needed a
little comfort on a day like this.
Remus XI drew in Twisters belief because Tiberius had commanded the
battle but this duty was his and he sent to the knights and said,
“Surrender and Twister will heal you, she has already healed your
horses. Dismount and disarm.”
Those that could and there was a pitiful few, dismounted or struggled
to stand and threw their weapons on the ground.
Twister once more changed the sphere of belief and all within its
reach were healed and once again she slumped and skipped from stone
to stone dissolving arrows. Soon, she was back and the few surviving
knights, now healed, struggled to their feet and backed away from
their weapons. In the end,0000000 of the 150,000 that rode forth that
day 45000 thousand survived and it was ironic 40000 had survived
because they were so corrupt that they had not been able to rise
after being burned by the fires of the gate, the other 5000 were the
survivors of the 110,000 who had made the ride of death.
Now those who survived blamed Twister for their defeat, even though,
if she and Son had stayed away it would have ended the same. Oh the
witches would of collapsed by the end but the horses would have still
stopped at the trench and the arrows would have poured in and even
more would have died because the full 150,00 would have made the ride
and many more would have died without Twister's healing. But to those
who would listen they told the story of how Twister of Souls had led
the legions South with her corrupted lovers and had killed Son and
blasted them with her magic and it was only by her power that those
farmers and shopkeepers had defeated noble knights.
Now on the field the gods dissolved the stone knives and formed a
bridge over the trench and the front line sent back their pikes and
picked up their shields and drew their swords and the legions
advanced across the field herding the knights before them and as they
moved forward the reserve move forward and joined the front line
which now stretched 2 miles wide across the plain.
Bull came forward and called the horses to him and he dissolved their
tack away and lead them away to the open grass lands to the west and
told them to run free that they were to face war no more.
The legions reached the original starting line of the enemy army and
wrapped around the surviving knights and pushed them to into an ever
tightening circle at last the ends of the line met.
The now horseless knights stood in a huddled mass surrounded by a
wall of shields through which poked the sharp blades of swords.
Remus XI, Tiberius, and Livia were standing with the gods, together
behind the first two ranks of legionnaires of the 11st
Legion the first legion of the north. Eleven looked out at his
defeated enemies, shook his head in disgust and said in an worried
and exasperated tone. “Twist, look at the mess you have given me.”
Twister looked at the defeated knights and Senators and could
understand Eleven's exasperation and apologized. “Sorry dear, I
didn't mean to create this problem. It is unfortunate, that the worst
of them survived and you now have to deal with it. But in my defense,
we were worried about Son, just one of his arrows would have sent at
lest 20,000 to the gate.”
He looked at Twister and smiled softly, “I know love, but it would
be so much easier if they had rode the charge, now I have two
problems, two groups to deal with: The men who were good enough to
with stand the flames and stupid enough to make the charge and those
so far gone to corruption that they fell to the ground and could not
longer stand because of the pain. It is just wrong that we have 5000
of the former and 40,000 of the latter. Twist we've sorted them for
the worst and I am left with the culls.”
Twister held out one of Son's diamond tipped arrows and with a glint
in her eye said, “There's always Son's solution at Vig.”
Eleven looked back at her in mock shock, “Get behind me, you evil
temptress demon, oh daughter of the Evil One. They have surrender and
you know, I could not let you do that and maintain a clean soul and
they are mortals and you wouldn't do it anyway, you Wicked, Wicked
Girl.” He laughed at her answering grin and the inevitable,“Yes,
I am”.
As he said this he had been watching the prisoners and their look of
fear and then relief at his answer. He frowned at her and asked, “How
long have you been sending, letting them hear, little tricky one?”
“Just before I made the offer, I thought they should know.” Then
she winked at him and continued. “Now dear it was only halfway a
jest, over half of them have so little soul left that The Hunt could
classify them as malicious imagined and you know their fate.”
Eleven grinned back at her and said, “My you are wicked today, but
I'll keep that in mind.” Then he turned and looked at his cousin
and his sister.
Tiberius laughed and said, “You're the king Eleven, its your
problem, if maybe we were north of the Rubicon it might be mine but
not here.”
Livia gave him a quick hug and said, “Well brother, I may be your
heir but you aren't dead yet so its up to you.”
He turned to Ganius and Roxxanna and Ganius just shrugged and
Roxxanna had the gall to stick her tongue out at him and Rac and the
Totems just laughed. That left just Snake Woman and Remus, Snake
hugged him and patted him on the cheek and went to stand next to
Roxxanna.
Remus laughed and asked, “What is it descendent?”
“Any suggestions grandfather, my other relatives, living or died
won't help and the wicked one will only suggest things, I can't do
and her animal friends just laugh?”
“Well grandson many times removed, in the end the decision is
yours, I gave you the tools, which your grandfather and father almost
let rust away. Despite all of that, I was lucky, Witch had not
learned Brun's trick of projecting the fire of the gate. We got to
fight and kill our enemies, not like today when Twist laid them
screaming at your feet. Those that survived, I took their parole and
sent them to the Achenes in Portus with the warning, that I would
kill them the next time we faced them in battle. I knew that one day
I would be driving out the Achenes and that the parolees would cause
them problems. Now, I suggest we start with the less corrupt but
stupid the 5000. They are at least honorable, take their parole and
oaths and have Twist send them home, I think the shock of today and
when they see what they truly faced in her, they should be good for a
long time. After that, if we can get our little dream lover to stop
playing her wicked games and little tests, we can figure out what to
do with the culls.”
“Okay, I'll stop but Eleven and they needed an education. It was a
teaching moment.” said Twister.
Remus shook his head and addressed Raven who was now sitting on his
shoulder and chuckling softly.”Old bird I blame you, you've been
with her since the beginning.”
Raven laughed and replied, “Well I've taught her everything, I
think she needs to know and I keep reminding her that she's a wicked,
wicked child, but she's a mind of her own and you know there's always
multiple layers, we are not seeing.”
“Yes , I am and remember they are all listening, even the culls and
the ones they left home, dears. I do so love fads, especially, when
they turn one of my gifts, like traveler’s stones into prestige
items, They're almost all wearing them.” said Twister and then she
concentrated for a second and a flash of light burst from almost all
of the captives throats. “Just leave them on, if you try to remove
them I've just set them to come to me.” She concentrated again and
the 14 Senators that had been with the knights that day appeared
beside them without their armor in their silk under garments, even
the three that had died in the charge. Twister sent the died ones
away to one of her stones across the field. She grimaced and said,
“Sorry about, the detached parts of me are just a little to
literal, I told them to bring the Senators within five miles to me,
didn't tell the stones to leave the dead ones.” Twister turned to
the Senators and asked, “Now I must asked why, when you've heard
all of the rumors about me and the king, would you wear me around
your necks when you plot against him and attack him? No, don't answer
even though you have to use my other name every time you use them you
forget that they're my gifts and not just fancy symbols of status.”
The third and fourth ranks drew their swords and move quickly to
surround the Senators and put themselves between the captives and the
king, giving Twister dirty looks at the same time.
Tiberius looked at the nearly naked men and asked her. “Twist, why
if you could do that, did we have to kill so many of them today? Why
weren't they all standing naked in front of our lines this morning.”
Twister, looked at him sadly, the most serious he had ever seen her
and sent to all present. “I am sorry but my father and I have one
rule, we won't interfere with your free will, your agency, if you
decide you want to go to war, we won't interfere. We don't normally
kill mortals. We will protect you from other gods and the imagined
but not from each other on a mass scale. The cannibal chickens are
another thing, the murders and rapist are the prey of the Furies. It
is one of the things that gives me fits when does it go from mass
murder to war, when do I intervene and when do I let you mortal fools
kill each other. It's enough, that sometimes I wish I was what
Father's priest call me, the evil demon temptress that wants to rule
the world and bring it all under my control. That I should take my
pet Caesars and their invincible legions and all the gods that I have
corrupted and conquer the world. Eleven could be my Emperor and you
and Livia my generals and we would rule the world and I could relax,
go with the flow of the evil belief that's been crashing into me for
over 2000 years. Then Raven reminds me how wicked I am and I answer
back and I restrain myself and watch more of the ones, that I love,
destroy each other and remind myself that I am just a pure little
demon goddess of love, a shepherd and I can only protect the flock
from outside threats and not from itself. Remus please hug me, this
is getting to close to the awful truth.” Remus step forward and
hugged her tight to him.
Raven, who was sitting on Remus shoulder, laid his head his against
her cheek and said, “There there my dear wicked one, my pure little
demon child goddess of love, you are strong, my Nova of light and you
can endure.”
Rac, when he heard Raven use child in his joking call name for her,
knew and sent to Twist, “Mother, Brun, you're you aren't you,
Twist. Why so long?”
Twister pulled away from Remus and crossed over and hugged the giant
coon. “Sorry dear, it was a stupid bet, between Raven and I. He
said you would never figure it out, but I said you already knew in
your heart and it was only a mater of time that you figured it out in
your mind. And if it's any consolation to you, I always burn a little
for it when I start up the fires of the gate.”
Rac hugged her back, the little beautiful curvy goddess, shiny black
like polished obsidian, in the arms of a giant armored Raccoon, and
he sent.”It gives me no consolation at all, mother dear, I would
never wish you pain, but a lest I can stop feeling guilt for loving
you so much.”
Twister pulled back little and looked into his eyes with concern,
“Did you ever burn for the guilt.”
Rac looked back at her and grinned, “No, I guess you were right, at
least my heart knew.”
Twister gave him one last hug and pulled gently away and turned to
Remus XI and said, “ Now, that we've havet then all convinced just
how unbalanced and dangerous I am, maybe we can get back to sorting
our mess out. Oh, and by the way Mother and Son have sorted things
out and she wants to meet us at her temple in Portus in ten days.
They're talking in the hall of little Fury's judgment” She
explained.
“So you really are everywhere and we have an appointment over five
hundred miles away. At least you have them sufficiently frightened.”
said Eleven, pointing to the Senators huddle behind the legionaries,
trying to keep out of their sight.
“Eleven can we deal with them first, their gibbering fear is so
grating?” Asked Twister as she pointed to the Senators.
Eleven laughed and said, “Only if you willing to offer some useful
suggestions. I don't really want go down in history as Bloody Remus
XI. Now under the laws of most nations these men are traitors, they
have rebelled against their lawful King, the penalty for that is
usually death and forfeiture of their lands and authority. But if we
do that we will be rooting their supporters out for years and they
will learn, I'm afraid that we have fought our first and last open
battle. From now on it will be swords in the night, ambushes on the
road, and I can only keep the legions active for so long. They have
lives and farms and business to run. So we are going to have to come
to some sort of compromise.”
“So you don't want to kill them, but you still can't let them go
unpunished, because even if they didn't win today, they will continue
to plot and scheme if left in power. I am willing to leash them for
you, like I did Son, they already ready wear me around their necks.
Let's give them a more permanent necklaces, there's enough good steel
lying around and I'll explain explosive decompression. Come let's go
talk to these fools face to face.” Twister motioned the legionaries
to step back and they walked over to the 12 surviving Senators.
When they got close the Senators tried to shrink away but the
legion's short swords kept them in place, Rac stayed close to
Twister's side armed with his long claws, Remus stood beside Eleven
with an arrow on his bow.
Twister look down at them, then called a dead knights armor to her
using his traveler's stone but leaving the body behind. She looked
down and turned the armor into a metal mist which turned into metal
two headed snakes with the heads being on either end of their bodies.
The snakes then flew to the Senator's necks and wrapped around their
throats and took the Senator's traveler stone in their jaws, she
dissolved the original necklaces from which the hung and she closed
the loop so the two heads holding the stone were welded together.
The resulting steel loop was to small to get over their heads. Once
she was done with that she called one of the dead Senators bodies to
her and explained what she was going to do to the Senators. “Well
traitors, Remus XI is not prepared to execute you today as you
deserve, so I have put leashes on you and will now explain what will
happen to you if you break your parole. I will send you to Brun's
little moon, which is deep in space and has no air. But you won't die
from the lack of air you will die from explosive decompression. Let
me demonstrate this to you I will now send your unfortunate colleague
to Brun's Moon.” The Senator's body disappeared and after a long
fear filled minute she brought it back. Twister looked down at the
body and shook her head disappointed there was a minor amounted of
blood froth at the mouth and the skin was swollen to a point where it
looked painful but the skin hadn't burst, nothing dramatic. “Well
that was disappointing, but just as well that just means it will take
you a little longer to die.”
“Well that was underwhelming.” sent Eleven.
“It should have worked, Zakree's shark monsters
explode when Orca and I hunt them in the sea and I jump them to the
surface.” sent Twister back.
All of the gods and the Caesars could hear Raven's silent laughter,”
Well it's good to know that even you aren't all knowing, niece. Just
how many atmospheres of pressure do those sharks have on them before
you bring them to the surface.”
Twister did a quick calculation and sent to the rest, “Oh at least
nine.”
“So they experience at least an eight fold decrease in pressure, by
sending him to space he only experienced a one fold in decrease in
pressure.” explained Raven.
“Well, I'll remember that when I explain to the other Senators in
Portus, a pressurized melon should do the trick. I am demonstrating
explosive decompression.” Sent Twister with a smile. “ Now
Eleven, I guess we'll just have to show them Brun's moon in person.
Your legionaries are gong to be giving me dirty looks again.”
“Well I always wanted to see the view” sent Eleven, “and if The
Hunt and you aren't good enough bodyguards, then we are in real
trouble.” He then turned to the First Sword of his Twenty and said,
“Octavian, Twister and I are going on a little trip we will be back
in a few minutes.”
Octavian gave Twister a hard look and she laughed and said,
“Octavian, there is enough room, you can come too.”
Twister once more sent the dead Senator away and turned to the
Senator and explained. “Well since my little demonstration wasn't
so impressive, you will get to see what so few have ever seen the
world from outer space.” She concentrated and jumped herself and
The Hunt, Eleven, Tiberius, Livia, Octavian and the Senators to the
habitat, the observation platform that she had constructed over the
years in orbit near Brun's little moon. It was a large stone
bubble in space, black witch glass protecting the interior from the
light of the sun and the glare of Brun's moon. Facing the Earth were
large windows of thick clear quartz. Inside a cool breeze blew
through the cabin as air from the mountains transported by yet
another of Twister's blood tricks entered through grated vents on one
side and out the other, flowing from collectors on Twister's mountain
and out flowing from discharge vents 2000 feet higher up the
mountain. So even in that enclosed space, the air was fresh and
clean. Octavian looked out the great window as he floated there in
Twister great bubble and for the first time saw the shining blue
world below and the green of the Plow, the great mountains showing
the direction it moved around the world. Twister floated over to him
and slipped an arm around the massive First Sword. “Quite a sight
isn't Oct.? Something to tell your children or better yet ask one of
my lights and I'll bring you and them here.”
Octavian smiled and pulled a traveler's stone from a pocket and
Twister laughed and said,”Not you too.”
Octavian laughed and said, “No little trickster not for status but
as a tool and I do appreciate your little gift on a cold night on
the road.”
Twister gave him a squeeze and turned to the Senators and said, as
Octavian loomed behind her another heart she had won with love, “Well
this observation platform is in orbit along side of Brun's Moon. The
little moon is on the other side of us, you can see it out the
small window over there. She pointed to a small window that glowed
like a spot light. Now if you look out the main window you will see
the Plow below us and since we are orbiting at the same rate as the
earth below this is always the view.” She then pointed to where the
dead Senator floated in space. “Now sirs if I send you here again
it will be to join him out there. So now that you know where you will
end up if you misbehave I will let the king tell you the deal.”
Twister turned back to the window and joined Octavian to enjoy the
view.
The Senators sighed in relief to be no longer the center of the crazy
demon goddess's attention, but still stared in horrified fascination
at their colleague's body floating in the void oblivious to the
wonderful view.
Eleven had to clear his throat to get their attention when they
finally turned to him he explained. “Now Huntress, no lets call her
by her real name, Twister assures me that your families all can hear,
so I'll lay it out for you and them. Your lives are forfeit for your
failed rebellion, but in exchange for your heirs cooperation with my
reforms and promise of no further violence, I will forgo my rightful
justice and send you into exile instead. Twist will send you to
Achenus, Fathers Temple there has one of her lights over the alter.
Since most of you have funds there in their banks and have been on
their payroll for a long time it should be no great hardship.” He
looked at them for a moment and laughed, “Oh yes I am really being
merciful today, letting you live after not one but two treasons. Now
there are three stipulations: you can not remove your steel
necklaces, you can not return to the continent and you can not plot
against me and Remes. Now do any of these things and my mad little
demon goddess lover will know and she will send you here, but outside
on the backside so as not to spoil the view. Now, can I get your
oaths, to both the Mother and The Hunt that you will abide by this
and also bind your heirs to this.”
The Senators looked from him to his cousin and sister who had gone to
join Twister and Octavian at the window, Livia had slipped between
Twister and the scarred warrior and wrapped arms around both of them.
And at the other gods who were also looking out the great windows
enjoying the view no one was paying any attention to them. But even
though the little beautiful goddess was looking out the window
laughing about Livia's joke about how she wanted all of the good men,
they could still feel her presence at their throats watching and
judging all of their moves and motives and they knew what Remus XI
said was true, they now wore Evil Ones daughter around their throats,
and she was despite the deceptive packaging the most deadly thing in
the world and the king had called her lover. Therefore, they grabbed
at the kings offer and the swore to abide by the terms to Mother and
The Hunt. To swear by The Hunt is a serious thing, if you break an
oath to them, you are considered no more than a malicious imagined to
be hunted down and killed, so such an oath was a very dangerous
thing.
Once they had sworn, Twister turned from the window and said, “You
have been warned and you have sworn and now go give my love to the
Akron and Achenus and tell them to stop stirring up trouble in
Remes.” Before they could say anything the Senators found
themselves standing in Fathers temple in Achenus next to the alter
which stood under one of her great sun stones and the bodies of the
other three lay on the floor beside them and they could still feel
her presence at her throats and in their minds they heard her voice,
“I am going to place you in my subconscious with alarms if you
misbehave because your twisted fearful minds are annoying. Now go
make your host lives miserable.” and her presence faded almost
completely away but there was still enough that now they knew who
they wore around their necks and found it troubling.
Back on the platform Twister once more turned and looked out the
window and Tiberius and Livia both warped an arm around her and
Eleven came up behind her and warp his arms around her shoulders and
she stood there for a quite moment in the arms of her mortal loves
and she radiated her love to all of them her loves, her extended
family, the beings that made it all worth while. They all could feel
the love as it washed over them and expanded their souls, healed
their hearts and refreshed their bodies. They all stood quite for a
minute bathing in her love and theirs came flowing back to her and
she smiled softly and enjoyed the moment. The she shook herself there
was so much they had to do. She squeeze Tiberius and Livia and turned
in Elevens arms and hugged him and said. “I am sorry dear ones, I
wish we could stay and enjoy the view but there is still so much to
do and we have an appointment in Portus and its 500 miles away.”
She concentrated and they jumped back to the legions and only she
noticed as the Sun threw off an extra flare as it absorbed all of
their momentum.
Once they were back, she moved quickly. The king got the oaths from
the 5000 and she sent them all to their homes. Moved the 40,000 to
the road without armor or weapons. Her and The Hunt converted the
vegetation over the battlefield to food for their long tripe home
leaving only close cropped grass. Then she collected all of the
bodies and deposited them on top of the equipment that remained from
where the 40000 had stood. Then jumped the bodies away to one her
stones on the far side of the field, well away from anyone else. She
called the traveler's stones to her and they mounded in their
thousands about her feet, such was the power of a fad. She then
focused on the bodies and dissolved them away turning them into
mist. She let the minerals from the bones fall as a light ash to
fertilize the grass and the water that formed most of the bodies
weight rose to form a cloud over the far end of the field. This left
the organic mist the fats and proteins that make up the remaining
parts of the human body. They formed a dense fog that hung over her
stone. Now with the power she had available that day she could of
broken the organics down to their component atoms, but she had one
more demonstration for the 40,000. She sent to the legions. “Cover
your ears and open your mouths there's going to be a large boom. “
Twister concentrated on one small part of the dense fog of suspended
organics, a floating cloud of fuel and air, and it ignited, in less
than a second the whole cloud burned, exploded in a flash. The shock
wave rolled across the field rocked the legions back on their heals
and knocked down some of the unprepared knights. The she sent to the
40,000 the must corrupted of the knights. “Go! Make your way home.
Know you have lost the protection of the Furies, if your victims harm
you they will not be punished but you already stand condemned, there
will be no warning. Harm another and you will die in your dreams.
Take the food that we have made you and go.”
The knights gathered up the food that the gods had made them, it was
shaped in large rings so they could carry it over their shoulders.
And then scattered and fled happy to be dismissed. Glad to be running
away from the dangerous little goddess and her whims. Happy to be
moving out of the range of the Legions' deadly bows.
Twister looked down at all of the traveler's stones piled at her feet
and sent one to each of the legionaries, who she knew would actually
use them and appreciate them for the gift they were.
She looked at the piled armor and skipping from stone to stone also
sent all of the knights weapons to the pile.
In a flash she was standing beside Eleven and asked, “Which legion
can least afford to be away from Remus, who is the most damaged by
being on campaign.”
Eleven looked at her and she pointed to pile of
equipment on the field, the armor and weapons of 150,000 knights and
he understood, and thought for a minute and said, “It would be the
10th
it is made up of the small shop keepers and the cart venders from the
central market and I called and they all came, not just one
generation, some of the families brought three, grandmother,
grandfather, father, mother, daughter, and son, all ages from 20 to
60. So only the vary old and the very young are home to tend the
market stalls. Most of the other legions are farmers and we are in
campaign season, the crops are planted and harvest is a month away.
So the 10th
are taking the most damage being on campaign, but they are proud and
will make the sacrifice.”
“Good, then we can send them home with a duty of which they can be
proud and for which by their professions, they are most qualified.
What share of the loot do you want to keep for you and the kingdom
and how much for Tiberius.”
Eleven thought for a moment and thought of all the expense that he
and Tiberius would have to bare and said. “Two shares for the
kingdom, one for the Count of the North and 15 shares for the
legions, one for each legion.”
“Good now tell them, its their duty, that I am
sending them home home to the training ground with all of the loot
and their job will be to guard it and sort it and a 18th
of it is theirs.” Said Twister with a grin.
Eleven felt her power and belief flow into him and
he tapped into it and sent to the legions. “There is so much loot
here that we can not take it with us on campaign. It would be far to
much of a burden, Therefore, Twister is going to send it home and I
am requesting the 10th
to go with it as they are most qualified to do what needs to be
done. It will be their duty to guard it and fairly divide it into 18
shares one of which will go to each Legion.”
The legions greeted this with their approval and
the 10th
felt proud to be assigned such an important duty and happy to be
going home. The 10th
broke ranks and took up station amongst the piles of loot. Twister
smiled and called back power from Brun's Moon she sent the 10th
their baggage train and the loot home to the legions practice ground
in Remus.
The remaining 14 legions stood on the now clear battle field waiting
for the next thing to do, because even with everything that had
happened it was only 1 hour after noon.
Tiberius came over to where Twister and Eleven stood and said, “Twist
you know you may have been a little to quick to send the loot home,
we still haven't entered Xexes and taken their baggage train.”
Twister laughed and said, “And why didn't you say something sooner?
You know in reality I'm only a small unit commander, The Hunt does
not need a baggage train and if we get to far from base I supply them
with all the belief they need. You're the campaign general, you go
north almost every year.”
Tiberius laughed and said, “No I'm the most spoiled campaign
general ever, all I have in my baggage train are arrows and
chocolate. I always campaign with gods, who have been trained by you
or Brun. When I go north Ganius, Roxxane, Rac, Wolf and Panther go
with me and while your not there, the legions love and believe in
them and they share their power too. It's not your overwhelming tidal
wave of belief, but its enough that the troops only have to carry
their lunch, because every night before we make camp, the gods and
the legions make Brun's food and the Panther farmers are happy
because we strip the weeds and insect pest from their fields. So I
even I forget just how much food a marching army has to carry. Its
one of the reasons the legions can move so fast. And when I campaign
with you even in new territory there's a new camp every night and
fresh water and I don't even need the chocolate because the witches
aren't burning themselves up. So forgive me if I forget about baggage
trains.” He looked at Eleven and asked. “You know with all these
advantages do you think we should take her up on her offer and help
her conquer the world.”
Eleven shook his head and said, “No cousin, I'm not mad, Remes is
bad enough and if she really wanted to rule the world, since she came
up with Hungry all she would have to to do is tell us and The Hunt
and it wold be a done deal, we would only have to conquer the
Achenes.”
“Twister looked at the cousins and said. “And they say I'm the
temptress, get behind me mortal Caesars.” They all laughed at that
and while they were laughing Raven landed on her shoulder. He had
been up spying on Xexes and the baggage train.
“Well, the Senator's baggage train is gone. The surfs must have
been watching the battle. There were only a few guards left in town
and even they are running since the explosion. The common folk have
loaded the wagons and scattered taking any road out of town that
doesn't lead to Remus or Portus.” He laughed I don't think any of
it is getting home to the Senators plantations.
Eleven looked south and said, “Let them go, they might was well get
something of their own back. Come on Ti lets get this show on the
road, our little heartless goddess has made us an appointment for us
ten days from now in Portus and it is 500 miles away.”
“Twister shrugged and said, “Yes there is
still some day left. Come on Hunt we got work to do.” and she
jumped them back to the original camp, dissolved it and she and the
gods made their way down the road repairing and replacing it as
always.
The legions moved out the 11th
in the lead the others falling in behind as it pasted and the horse
archers swept forward to scout before the gods. Once more the Legions
of Remes were on the road with their little demon goddess of love in
the lead.
----------------
Mother was sitting in the Hall of Judgment in the temple that Brun
had created for her in the City of Brun's Gift. It was called the
Hall of Judgment because of the three murals done in black ink on a
backing of flawless white quartz with a thin coating of diamond to
protect the ink. Drawn in the greatest detail using the tinniest dots
of ink, the littlest Fury, the female, was shown holding the scales
of judgment with a soul on one side and a feather on on the other.
This was repeated on each mural with the only difference between them
being the angle of the scales. In front of the wall of murals were
three statues, each in front of its own mural. Mother's statue stood
in the center facing out into the room. On her right was Father and
on her left was Son. Her priest always told people that the murals
and statues meant, that the Furies stood behind the Three and judged
humanity for them. Mother knew otherwise, she knew who was really
being judged and it was the Three. She was quite happy to see that
her' scale had almost reached equilibrium that her soul was no
heavier than the feather. Father's soul was far heavier, its pan was
perilously close to the tipping point, that point where the the pans
could no longer balance. But Father was on the other side of the gate
and his scales had not changed in years.
Her son's scale on the other hand worried her greatly because just
minutes ago it had plunged until the cross beam stood vertical, soul
pan at the bottom, weighed down with some great sin. She had
thought,”Son what have you done? Have you used those horrors of
your father's, the arrows of the sun?”
Then the scales had swung back to just before the tipping point and
little Fury's finger was on the feather's pan forcing it to balance
and Fury was grinning and winking at her. Mother looked at the mural
behind Son and knew that Twister knew she was sitting in her throne
by the alter in the center of the room. The throne that swiveled, so
you could oversee the alter or turn and look at the murals. It was
all part of the gift left to her by the pure little demon child
goddess of love, Brun also know as, Twister, Fury and she had her
suspicions Witch. So Mother was sitting worrying about Son when he
appeared, naked, in front of his statue and he just appeared, he did
not step through the Veil. He had been jumped in and that was not a
good sign. Only two beings could jump or make something jump from one
place to another, Protector or his daughter. She looked at him and
his body was new and made from belief not from the Gate. Belief that
had been taken in and purified, all of the negative emotions removed,
until only love and comfort remained. That pure loving belief also
only had two sources. It was the belief that had once sustained her
on the moon.
Mother looked at Son and asked him, what to him was a strange
question. “What face did she wear?”
Son looked at her for a moment trying to understand what she was
asking, then without knowing just what she meant, answered. “It was
Twister. She..”
His mother interrupted. “Let me guess put and arrow in your eye and
watched you burn in the gate . But why then, why clad you in her
belief? Why not let you form your own from the gate?
Son moved closure to her to stand beside her, no longer with the
murals behind him and she got the same feeling of being watch from
him, that she got from the murals. “Oh Son she's inside you.”
Mother exclaimed.
“Yes mother she's inside of me. She calls it my leash. You might
also call it my mussel , the only reason she would let a biting dog
like me out into public.”
“Did she tell you that ?” asked Mother.
“No but it was strongly implied.” answered Son. “Mother she
showed me something, something she'd use if I try to break my leash.
She showed me an arrow and it was alive and I could fell its hunger
for my soul. In fact she's named it Hungry. You know just how wicked
she can get. He looked at the murals and the statues and the
unbalanced scales. “It was in full force today.”
“And what did you do to bring that on, she's only Raven's wicked,
wicked child when she's righting one of our wrongs and rubbing our
noses in it.” Mother motioned to the alter with its stone bowel and
exactly 100 sun stones in it. They weren't stolen like the ones that
once set on her alter in Vig; they were a gift from Brun and they
only gave light. If you let them shine on a flat surface a shadow of
Brun or was it Twister would appear and it would make rude gestures.
Many of her priest had disapproved and tried to take them away, but a
few paces from the alter they would jump back to the bowl. If you
tried to smash them or dissolve them with magic they would jump away
and appear back in the bowl after you left. So you could not hide
them and you could not destroy them. If you tried to cover them, you
would awaken the next morning to find the covering gone and a new
layer of dust on the statues of the Three. Yes, Twister had a wicked
sense of humor, but it usually had a very good reason. Those 100
stones represented 100 of her father priest that Son and his priest
had killed.
She looked at Son and saw that he was still naked, so she said. “Have
a little respect I'm your mother you know.” Then she realized he
had no belief, no power in his soul, the only reason he could even
stay was the slow trickle of energy coming from the stone disk inside
of him.
“Sorry son, I didn't realize. So she drained you dry, gave you a
new body and sent you here.” She said as she made him a simple
tunic out of belief she drew from the ruby amulet the she wore on a
chain around her neck. She gave him the tunic, which he quickly put
on. The day had been bad enough without talking to his mother as
naked as the day he was born. “ So tell me dear, what happened
today ? Why did your pan drop clear to the bottom.? Why is Little
Fury now balancing it up and grinning and winking at me? My priest
are going to have a hard time explaining that to the people in the
morning. She dropped her head in mock despair as the other two furies
grinned and winked at her.” And of coarse she is listening and we
can't get away from her because she is inside of you, son please
explain what did you do.”
“Well mother, I decide to support the Senators because my High
Priest...”Started Son but Mother stopped him right there.
She looked at him with disappointed eyes and said.”Spare me you
rationalizations, it was an evil thing to decide, even you must know
that the Senators are corrupt, petty, evil men, who lie, cheat and
steal and use their position to do it and the only reason she has not
taken them in their sleep is because she limits herself to the
killers, rapest and child abusers. Even with that, a number of
Senators and Knights have died when they gotten to close to the line.
Are you trying to alienate the common people even more? You know that
they all pray to her every night, asking for her and The Hunt to
protect them, but mostly to her because they know she is kind. They
know that if they pray for something unselfish, she will grant it.
Here in the north they use her name Twister. In the south where your
and Father's priest still have power, they use that new name of hers,
Huntress, but what ever name they use, it is still her and the belief
flows to her. She doesn't even need to be in the spirit lands to
collect the belief, she is everywhere. She lights and heats their
homes and their water. The storytellers make sure everyone knows
what her little kindness cost her. The pain, the sacrifice, so they
can have a little light and warmth in their lives. Therefore, despite
what our priest have preached for over a thousand years, the people
love their pure little demon goddess of love, whether they call her,
Brun, Huntress or Twister. You know what I heard sitting invisible on
my throne in my now former temple in Remus? I heard them talk, after
hearing from your priest, how Twister had tempted and corrupted the
King. They said that Remus XI must be a good and great king,
because Twister stays away from the bad kings. So in your brilliance,
you side with the hated Senators against a loved King and against the
entire Hunt every god but three. Yes I count Orca and Catfish because
as part of The Hunt the only reason they weren't there was because
there was no river or ocean near by. The only three not there were
Odin, Lion and Kraken: Odin because he won't cross the Great River
because of you, Lion because your father has gotten into his head
some how and he is estranged from the rest, and Kraken because of his
hatred for Remus and the lack of an ocean. Now tell me what happened
this morning why does Little Fury hold up your scales.
Son looked at his mother and cringed at the scorn he saw in her face.
The same scorn he had seen in the faces of the gods this morning, but
he did not at least see the contempt.
Well mother,” He said starting in. “Father told me before he
left, to keep pushing, to keep the pressure on Evil One and Twister,
especially Twister. He felt she was becoming to popular and because
of how much the Caesars mean to her, to work with the Senators to
opposes them. Something about he wants them in conflict, that he
needs her to train them for war.
Mother shook her head. That was Father's justification for everything
they had done to Protector and Twister. They needed souls trained for
war, trained to the hunt. They needed the best and to create the best
they needed conflict, a test and a way to cull the ones who would be
dangerous if they had the power of a god. Therefore, there had to be
opposition, an Evil One. Father believed that Protector had been
keeping the people to safe, there was to much peace and happiness. It
made the people to gentle, to much like household pets and he needed
them feral and mean. So he had changed Temptress, who at the time
was something else. Temptress was supposed to be a doll for her and
her last soul egg. In the war of extermination as she now called the
war between hers and Protectors people, she had managed to recover an
egg from a void demon and even after the crash it was still viable so
she had built Temptress's body using reality. Since she had
Protectors gift it was easy, because she could use the power of the
Gate in reality. She formed the tinny nanoites that form Protector’s
and Twister's bodies and blood, those tinny little entities that make
them, them and the nanites were almost perfect but for one little
thing, if they were not in physical contact with each other, they
were no longer one. The nannites that left the protection of
Temptress's skin died like regular blood. Where her blood was she was
not. But the egg was viable and Temptress would provide the womb and
Mother the soul and she could give Protector a child of his own,
especially because she had taken his family away. First his original
family in the final battle. Then his adopted family, the ascended
gods, The Friends, Storyteller, and the original Raven and so many of
the smaller gods he had loved and protected like grandchildren. She
had come to them when he was away, usually when he was away
protecting the world from something to dangerous to risk them; so she
would creep in and tell them the complete truth of the millions maybe
billions that were in trouble, of the malicious imagined run amok .
The endangered mortals that needed their protection, that she and
Father needed their skills. The skills that they had learned from
Protector and now learned from Twister. Since Protector or Twister
always chose the best, to cultivate, to grow, to make gods, they
almost always went, only Snake Woman had refused. The rest went
because the shepherds had trained them so well, they could not leave
the flock unprotected. In their hearts the gods knew that Protector
or Twister could protect the world better alone. In truth they let
the other gods ride the hunt for company. That if they didn't have to
protect the other gods, while on the hunt, they could do it much more
efficiently.
Once the gods agreed, she made sure to suggest that it would not be
good to tell Protector or Twister the whole truth because it would
break their hearts to be unable to help and since it was what she
truly believed and she held the power of the gate in her hand, the
gods believed and that was why she had come to fear the gate. So
because of the guilt she had wanted to give Protector a gift, a child
that because of its unique nature , she or Father could not take
away. Deep in her heart she knew she loved Protector. She treasured
their long talks on the moon, the world turning below then, his
loving belief letting her stay in reality. So she had made the body,
her doll, a living womb for the still viable egg and the remaining
precious part of her soul for her mate had no more parts to give, and
she loved Protector and wanted his child.
Then Father came home early and found her working with the doll,
perfecting it, getting ready to present her greatest gift to
Protector a child and herself.
When he arrived, Father was already angry. He had come home early
because Storyteller had told him to go. Told him, he was welcome to
scout worlds, but he was no longer welcome to command. Father had
lost to many souls, his carelessness had gotten the Friends and all
of Mothers original children destroyed. Storyteller had shown him
Hungry's cousin and when Father had refused to go had used it on him
and then waited days before he had thrown the arrow into the gate.
Father had burned for his arrogance and pride and when he reemerged,
he found the entire host of heaven waiting for him armed with
Storyteller's soul eating arrows. When he turned his power of control
on Storyteller, Teller just laughed because he had performed the
great works with Protector all that loving power had expanded his
soul and Protector after the loss of the Friends had took no chances,
he had taught Teller the secretes of the gate.
So, Storyteller was Father's equal in power and more, and also the
host of heaven stood with him, at this gate one million souls, and
they believed in Storyteller and rejected Father. Storyteller told
him to go and he went, he had no choice, he could not resist the
power of Storyteller's compulsion. He fled through the gate and
because of his shame, he burned again and then he had made the long
journey through paradise to the home gate. It was a painful journey,
for he was angry and brooded on how he was wronged, but deep in his
soul he knew, that Storyteller was right, that he was being unjust so
every time he brooded, he burned, not much but enough. So after a
journey of fifty years, he arrived home angry and frustrated. He
arrived at the gate and pasted through and went to their home beside
the gate. He burst through the door and when he found her, he was
ranting about a rebellion in heaven, that Storyteller and the host
had betrayed him. She dared, ask him what he had done and that just
made him rant more. Finally , he calmed down enough to tell her what
Storyteller had said and done. She told him, that Storyteller was
right and even he could hear the truth and grief for her children in
her voice. So at last, he let the anger go, but he was a determined
being, who still believe that to command was his right and he told
her he need to raise of army of souls to take back command. She
asked,”and from who, the Saurons on Far because he certainly
couldn't on Plow, not from their great-grandchildren. Storyteller
was still to loved, for 4000 years he had walked the Continent with
Protector, had helped make the roads, the bridges, the aqueducts, the
cities. He had told stories and had had stories told about him, and
he was still loved almost as much as Protector, that Father was just
that Father and he was an absentee one at that. That Protector and
Storyteller were the loving uncles that stepped up when the uncaring
father was never home.” Then she said those unfortunate words, “You
would have to break the world to get humanity to stop loving them.”
Father sized on the idea and ran into her lab to see if she had
something he could use to break the world. There, lying on the table,
he found the doll, the artificial void demon, her gift to Protector.
One look and he knew what it was and the emotions rage through him.
Jealousy, that she would love Protector so much that she would want
to give him such a gift. Anger, that she, his possession, would give
herself to another. Happiness, that his two great loves could have a
child, that the two eggs were not going to be wasted. Grief, that he
could not father another child with her himself. He had never felt so
mixed up and confused in his long life, he was used to thinking in
terms of millennia not the instant and this all hit him in a rush,
then it hit him with this he could break the world.
He turned his will on it and it changed, it no longer was just a
doll, a empty shell waiting for a soul, it was Temptress, a soul
devouring embodiment of every males dreams, and because Mother had
already spent so much time in it, she was imprinted on the dolls
mind, therefore Temptress already loved Protector and would be
subtlety enough like Mother to help Protector love her.
She had looked on what he had done with horror and tried to protest,
but he threatened the doll and the egg it bore with destruction and
that he would go hunt Protector with the fires of the sun, and this
was the only way. That he had to break the world and not because he
wanted his power back, that in the end he realized that it was best
that Storyteller remained in command . But Protector had made the
world to safe, he was turning humanity into docile sheep. And she
acquiesced, now thinking about it after all theses centuries, she
realized that he had turned his follow me ability on her and in the
wild emotions present at the time, she had not noticed. As she set
there listening to her son she wished that she had had the presence
of mind to flee with the doll and enter it and step through the void
gate. She knew about and could have made one of Storyteller's hungry
arrows, and Protector could always defeat Father if not taken by
surprise. But she had not and they laid the trap and put Temptress in
his path, then engineered her escape and let her eat a doll and
Mother had entered into Temptress and they had made a child. And she
had slipped away for an instant and told him to kill Temptress and
when he refused broke the Pack giving Fathers priest the excuse to
break the world. Then she slipped back into Temptress and spent those
thirty joyful years with him as Twister matured in her womb. But at
last Twister was born and as part of the plan she fled away. And now
she found it hard to face him or the daughter she had abandoned.
She looked at Son and thought to herself at least I can be proud of
one of my children today. Then said to son, “Yes dear that’s what
he always says, but why in the world did you bring your sun arrows.
We told you after Vig, we needed her alive, that her and her father
were much to important to destroy.”
He didn't answer, he didn't have an answer because he didn't know why
he had brought the arrows. He hadn't found The Hunt in the Spirit
Lands then he heard the knights scream 50,000 souls praying for
relief, ”Son make it stop.” So he reacted, he had step through
the Veil and he told his Mother all this and at least some of the
disappointment left her face. And he continued. ”And mother it was
a trap Twister and the legions and even the Senator's army were
inside a sphere of her belief and it was stronger than the fires of
the gate and I screamed. As I screamed, she as her arrow pierced my
eye and entered my brain. Then she was standing beside my dying body
and she, Snake Woman, Raven and Rac where making jokes. Then she saw
my soul and trapped me and took us all back to the legions lines
where the rest of the gods stood. I was stupid and arrogant and
asked her, if she knew who I was and who does she think she is? She
went into what she called her villain’s monolog and she told me the
brutal truth. That I was a malicious god, the rightful prey of The
Hunt.” He looked at the mural behind his statue.”Mama, she's been
holding that finger on the scales since Vig. The Hunt wanted to come
after me, when she came to lead them, but she gave me another chance,
blamed herself for provoking, for destroying our great shame, her
fathers shrine stones on your alter. Today was to be my last test.
The people of Remus told her, what my priest were preaching, ranting
against the king, how I was supporting the Senators. She and The Hunt
guessed what I would do. And still she gave me every chance. They
didn't hunt me down. Didn't wait
in ambush in the Spirit Lands. I could sense Rac, but not see
him when I arrived. I failed the test, I stepped through the veil
with a sun arrow knocked on my bow.
She showed me an arrow, and it was like Storyteller's arrows but more
deadly with her in the point to guide it and instead of trapping me
and sending me away to some place only she can go. She put her little
disk, her leash into a new body that she made for me. And even after
all that I tired to run but she's in me and called me back and
dismissed me, sent me to talk to you. Mama, she has figured out that
we're fighting something horrible beyond the gate but I didn't tell.
But mama I wanted to, everything thing we've done has been a horrible
mistake, today even after all that I've, no, we've done to her and
her father, she was kind in her wicked, wicked way. Mom, why have we
done this.
Mother stood and took her now crying son in her arms thinking, I can
be proud of both of my children today and tried to answer, “Son, in
part it was because of your father's jealousy of Protector. Jealousy
of my and humanities love for him, but mostly it was desperation and
fear. You've been beyond the gate, you've seen belief run
uncontrolled, of souls turned to evil and they become even more so as
the belief takes hold of them twisting them into true evil ones. And
mortals need something to blame their cruelties on. They can not
accept them as their own. They need an outside source, a reason for
their sin; therefore, they create devils and in worlds without
Shepherds, the belief grows, often attaching itself to souls already
gone to corruption, and they become malicious powerful gods in every
way because there is belief in fear. Now your father was determined,
to break the world, he needed more conflict less peace. He wanted
souls ready for war, but he was afraid of what might happen, afraid
that he might create a true Evil One; so, he attached the title to
the one being he knew could withstand the waves of corrupting belief
and then little Twister was born and there were two such beings, Evil
One and his soul tempting daughter Twister of Souls and a least that
worked. We turned the soul twisting, corrupting belief of most of
humanity on them and what have we got for it, a god who spends most
of his time masquerading as Odin and son you deserved that arrow in
the eye and a loving little demon goddess, who protects the world,
and truly the worse thing you can say about her is that she has a
wicked sense of humor and she comes by that naturally. Now you and I
are not so strong, if that type of evil belief caught us we would be
changed in less than a year. It has been beating on them like a
smith's hammer for 2500 years and they haven't changed. You are lucky
she stopped you this morning and with so little fuss, its bad enough
that your priest burn in the firers of the gate every time she shows
up. Its hard for my priestess to explain when your and your father's
priest are writhing on the ground when the belief that burns
corruption from the soul passes over them. Not even my priest
complained when she turned our Temple back into a cross roads and a
market after seeing that.”
Son pulled back far enough so he could look at her face and asked.
“Mother, what should I do? How can I make it right?
She pulled him back into her and said, “Just by asking that you've
made a start.” She hugged him tighter still and looked at his
little Fury and Fury was no longer winking and grinning but her
finger was still weighing down the pan in his favor and continued.
“But you better get your priests out of Portus, you know she is
going there next and after that you better do something about them. I
don't know how we are going to fix them, but priest more corrupt than
the Evil Ones followers are an dangerous embarrassment. In the long
run, I am working on something that will rehabilitate you and her in
the eyes of the people. Until then clean up your priesthood and stop
having them preaching hate.
Them she released him and walked over to her Fury and she addressed
it directly, “Okay pure little demon goddess of love I'll meet you
at the great cross roads and market in Portus and I'll help you tear
the temple of arrogance down and help you build a temple to me and
the Hunt on some land I control on the outskirts of the city even
with a shrine to Huntress, and we will figure out a comprise so you
don't have to hunt the Senators and their supporters in every city in
Remes. We don't need a long civil war. Fury smiled and mouthed, come.
Mother shook her head and said “You are a Wicked, Wicked Girl.”
The mural laughed and Mother heard in her mind, “Yes, I am”.
With that Mother turned to Son and said, “I have an appointment
with our wicked girl in Portus.” and stepped throw the Veil and was
gone.
Son watch her go and thought, “Now what?” for he was powerless he
could not even step through the Veil only Twisters small trickle of
belief allowed him to stay in reality and he did not want to pass
through the Veil by fading away, it was painful and undignified and
she was feeding him enough belief that he wouldn't fade. He could
walk out of his mother's Temple, but it was in Brun's gift all he
would find here was fear and hate even from his mothers priest. His
priest couldn't even enter the city because when Brun had made the
city it was within a days walk of the then corrupt Vig and she placed
the Furies as guardians at the gate and the fires of the gate flowed
between them. So after what he had done at Vig all he could get here
was the belief of fear and fear left a taint and he wasn't Twister
he couldn't turn it into love and he was tired of fearing the gate.
He heard Twister laugh in his mind and he was standing in his temple
in Portus in front of the mural of him defeating Twister at Vig and
it was illuminated by sun stones set in the ceiling above it and the
pulpit, where his priest preached against her and her father, was
spotlighted by one of her large stones. She had not needed the people
to tell her what his priest had said, they had shouted it in her ear.
His priest saw him and rushed to great him, and their belief and
respect rushed into him, and it filled him with despair. He had felt
the belief that flowed into Twister and The Hunt from the Legions
and its primary ingredient had been love. The belief he was getting
from his priest was at best worship, respect but mostly it was greed,
joy of what being his priest did for them. Compared to the clean
spring water of purified love that trickled from her stone it was
like drinking from a stagnant scummy pond. Then he made the mistake
of looking at their souls, dark and corrupt little things and he
shuddered inside to look at them and felt ashamed. He thought to
himself, “I should hide them away and let them burn maybe that
would save them.” but he smiled at them and said, “Come away,
Twister comes and she brings the cleansing fire of the gate and I
have wronged you, you would all fall to the ground screaming as your
souls burned away because you've listened to me. So follow me, we
must leave the city and hopefully we can teach each other repentance
and the golden rule maybe we will find redemption and through acts of
kindness not have to burn for our sin.” With that he turned and
walked out the great door of his temple and his priest all followed
after him. Mother smiled from the top step of her temple as she
watched him go. As he pasted down the stairway and lead his priest
onto the road to the west, the trickle of loving belief that flowed
from her stone turned to a great stream and it washed his priest's
tainted belief out of him and it flowed back through his connections
to them and washed into them and they were refreshed and healed, but
it was kind and did not burn their souls. Son heard Twister laughing
in his mind, “Dear one, my finger is no longer on the scale, with
this your soul needs not help staying in place. My, you have grown
today. I truly hope you are on to something with repentance and
redemption. Maybe, they will no longer have to burn in the gate or
come to me begging to be eaten. The belief is yours as a gift, Brun's
moon is bright enough, use it, don't waste it, little miracles,
little kindness would be quite appropriate.” Then because she was
Twister and this was getting to serious and kind added, “Hungry is
going to be disappointed, he's going to be hungry a long time.”
To this last jab he replied, “Wicked, wicked girl.”
She laughed and as always replied,” Yes, I am.” then added, “but
your are old enough to use child.”
He laughed and said, “No I'm not for I've been reborn to day.”
Her laughter flowed through him, her joy warming his soul and she
said, “Happy rebirth day, and since you have come so far, I am
going to put you into the back of my mind, if you need me think my
name urgently and I'll pay attention other than that I'll leave you
alone.” with that he could feel her presence fading from the stone.
Just before she was all the way gone he sent, “Twist.”
“What is it Love?”
“I just wanted to say thank you for today”
“Your welcome dear.” A final burst of love came down the link and
except for the stream of belief she was gone.
He almost called her back, that little wicked spark of love in his
mind, then he looked at his wrenched priests, his greatest sin as
Odin had told him so long ago, and he decide that this was his
journey and he would take it alone but he was comforted as he lead
the priest out of the city and west into the countryside, that he
only had to call and she would be there. Therefore, Son took his
Priest into the wilderness and taught them many things: love,
kindness, repentance, redemption, and other things. But that is
another tale.
Remus watched Twister walking down the center of the road cut
dissolving the broken road before her turning the stone and dirt to
mist creating the smooth road bed on which the other gods were laying
the new witch glass road. He looked at her and the thought struck
him, the same thought that had struck others watching her cut the
road, she looked so lonely, so forlorn. There were more gods than
were needed to form the road so he gave his stone to Roxxanna and ran
forward and jumped down into the cut and jogged up to where she
walked in the center of the road the little demon goddess glowing
softly 100 feet in front of the others.
He came up to her and if he still had a heart it would of broken
because there were diamonds, her tears in her eyes. He looked at her
and asked. “Twist what is wrong, what can I do, why are you crying.
She wiped the diamond tears from her face and eyes and handed them to
him. “Nothing is wrong, love.
They're tears of joy, dear.” She looked up at him and her smile of
delight struck him as a bolt of joy. “Our mercy this morning has
already been repaid. Let my tell you about repentance and
redemption.”
He listened as she explained the concepts and when she was done he
said. “My dear little one, it may be less painful that walking
unclean into the gate, but in may not be more kind. To make it work,
they will have to to practice it for a life time and endure until the
end. Many will prefer to face the gate.”
She nodded in agreement then said, “In reality, in some ways, its
already that way, most people try to live by the golden rule and are
kind. Repentance only gives them a way to reclaim and purify their
soul. So yes, it will be hard, but mostly because they have to
realize that they have been unkind in the first place. And if we all
work on it maybe the world will be a better place. Now if we can just
stop those who would break it on purpose.” Then she grinned and it
shown like the sun. “At least we stopped and changed one today. But
I'm afraid poor Hungry is going to starve. Oh well he does have
another chance, Father is still out there.”
“Well my wicked little demon goddess, we can only hope, that we
have made a start at fixing the world. And now I going to say it
because you mentioned Hungry and this has gotten much to serious for
such as you and I, you my dear are a wicked, wicked girl.”
“Yes, I am” she replied as always.
And Remus added one more line to the routine. “Yes, you are and
that's why I love you.”
“I love you too.” She said looking up at him and he reached out
and collected the new diamonds from her eyes.
He held them out along with the ones she had given him before and
said, “Well it worked, I've collected my prize.” and they both
knew it was a joke that the other thing was true. But it broke the
tension and they both laughed and started back down the road. She
preparing the road and he collecting the little specks of gold and
silver from the mist. He wanted to make something from her tears. In
a world were witches created diamonds there were only a few that were
of any great worth and the most prized were Twisters tears, and they
were never sold only given as gifts. And it might be silly to give
them back to her, the source, but they were tears of happiness and
looking up at Brun's moon he had an idea. Brun's moon never set it
always shone in the middle of the sky and traced a path from north to
south then south to north through the day. Raven had tired to
explain, the little stone circled the earth at the same rate as the
earth turned but because it circled at an angle it seemed to draw a
north south line in the sky. Now by this time Brun's moon glowed
almost all the time. Even without a multitude, Twister normally
received enough belief to need to burn it away. So the moon looked
like a little star, it changed color and intensity with Twisters mood
and power needs. So he planned to recreate the moons path with the
colored diamonds.
So they walked down the road cut and he soon collected enough gold
and sliver to make his gift. He formed an oval amulet of silver and
on it he embossed a golden T with a w superimpose on it the central
peak of the w coming half way up the T, the sign Twister puts on all
her art. On the center line of the T he affixed the six diamonds that
had fallen as her tears that day. Remus presented it to her and was
able to collect some more diamonds to use for some other, sweet
thing, as crying and grinning she placed it on the chain on which
she carried Rac's first bogyman's tooth, one of her father's god's
eyes and one of Brun's travelers stones and added Remus gift to the
the favorite mementos of her life. Then she hugged him tight and
promised him pleasant dreams that night. Twister shunted a little
less power to the little moon and glowed in happiness as bright as
the full moon and turned and continued their work on the road. She
turning the broken road into stone mist and he collecting the gold.
He wanted to make another gift for his great grandchild many times
removed Livia, he had more diamonds, now all he needed was the gold.
Rac looked forward from where he was taking the mist that flowed from
one of Twister's sling stones and used it to form a lane of the road,
and saw the bright little demon goddess walking beside the tall god
and was glad for she was Brun and it reminded him of the early days
because after Lars, when there were enough gods Odin would often walk
forward and keep Brun company as Remus was doing with Twist. He
thought to himself, “I've found my mother.”
It was getting late so Twister sent back, “It's time to make camp.
She continued down road providing the stone for the camp walls and
the gods formed the walls and shelters for the Legions camp. Then
Twister came back and sent one of her stones to bore a pipe through
the earth to find fresh water higher than the camp and Raven and Rac
formed a fountain for the water to flow into as they had so many
times in the past.
The legions marched for nine days meeting no resistance, moving so
fast that they out paced the news of their coming.
On the morning of the tenth day Twister dissolved the camp and the
gods put it in the road and they started out again. Twister and Remus
in the lead and the legions marched, the gods remaking the road
before them. Once they reached the unbroken road just outside of
Portus, The Hunt, Remus XI and Tiberius came up and joined Twister
and Remus and Livia's Legion, the 11th came forward to
form an honor guard, the north's most skilled and deadly veterans.
Twister stopped for a moment, stood as if listing to something and
said to Tiberius, “Your cousin Bridget just made the list, and
thank you Mother. Then because Twister remembered the degeneracy of
Vig and with Hungry and his sister in her quiver no longer had to
forbear and Portus was the heart of the Senators and Father's power,
she brought her full healing power to Portus. Bruns moon stop
shining, Twister burst with light everyone had to look away from her
and the sphere of belief burst out of her to its full extent. It
reached its full extent 20 miles at the speed of thought. Today, she
was not genital, she gave no warning, one moment the people were
standing, going about their business and the next they were standing
within her sphere of belief and the sphere did two things it healed
the body and burned clean the soul.
Mother stood on the northern steps of her temple waiting for Twister,
she and her priest had worked for nine days removing the treasures
from her temple and now she was ready to remove this monument to
arrogance from the center of the city and she laughed to herself at
least there were no shrine stones in a bowl on her alter. With her
stood the remaining Senators of Portus, those that had not gone forth
with their army and the city officials, that were their toadies and
also the High Priests of Father, luckily Son had taken his away. They
had gathered there to meet Remus XI to try to make the best of what
they could, hoping to preserve their power. Mother had took one look
at them and laughed and told them. “Go, Twister comes with the King
and she is in a mood. She has had enough of corruption, enough of
cruel and petty men like you with blackened souls. I've looked at
your souls and you will all fall down screaming when she enters the
city, if not before.
And they had laughed, and said, “Twister of Souls is evil and
corrupt, a little temptress demon, why and how can she hurt us.”
Mother then realized that the legion had out marched the news and the
corrupt men didn't know that Twister was Brun, so even if they had
heard about Brun's journey to the west and the burning sphere of
belief, they would not expect it from Twister and Brun had forbore
she had never extended the burning sphere over 100 yards from her.
But Mother held the sun stone that had illuminated her alter and
through it she could feel Twisters mood, there would be no restraint
today, no mercy, today Twister would be a Wicked, Wicked Goddess, she
would forbear no more.
Mother tired once more to get them to leave, to run away. She told
them again. “You don't under stand that is Father's lie, she is the
purest of us all. You know who, Huntress the leader of The Hunt, the
protector of humanity from malicious gods and monstrous imagined, is
don't you?” They nodded their heads yes, most of them said her
prayer of protection every night. Mother shook her head and said “No
you do not know, I guess we've kept our secretes to well.” She look
over at her priest and recognized one, Bridget, a priestess from
her temple in Brun's Gift. “Bridget, tell these ignorant fools, who
Huntress is.”
Bridget laughed, she had been listening to Mother and the men's
argument and she was a rare thing for one of mother's priest, Bridget
was a witch, one of Roxxanna's line. She had marched in the multitude
when Twister and The Hunt had cleaned out a nest of bandits and their
malicious little god and the bandits had broken a bridge on a
mountain road for an ambush spot. She had felt the fires of belief
pass over her. Bridget had looked at these men's souls and was
eagerly awaiting Twister's fire burning them clean. She was making
bets with herself about how many would die from the shock of it. Then
she grinned again, as she realized Twister would also send physical
healing with it, there would be no escape today. Because she wanted
to see them burn, she almost kept quite, then she realized just how
arrogant they were, they wouldn't believe it could happen to them.
“Mother can I borrow the alter light, it will be better to show
them, maybe they will under stand.”
Mother handed Bridget the large sun stone stone and advised her, “You
know it's a travelers stone not just a light stone like the ones over
Son and Fathers alters.
Bridget laughed, now realizing why that arrogant Father's Priest had
gotten third degree burns when preaching against Twister at Mothers
alter because the crowds were larger. For some reason, the stone must
have ignored the will in Twister will burn in the fire of the gate.
She looked at Mother and said, “Good to know, they will burn enough
today.” Then she turned to the men, especially the priests of
Father. “This is Mother's alter light, like all sun stones you have
to say the goddess name to activate, Now we are in the south where
Son's and Father's Priest still dare to preach against Twister, so
the name we use is Huntress. “ She held the stone up right be for
her and said, “Huntress bright.” The stone flared to life and a
bright beam of light leaped into the sky. Then she said, “Now I am
from Brun's Gift and Twisters wicked sense of humor is notorious and
I can't believe she would let the opportunity pass, to not hide, who
really sacrificed her pain and blood for this stone. “Twister
off.” The stone stopped shining.” Bridget laughed and said,
“Shall we see how wicked she truly is.” she held the stone before
them and spoke the command, Twister's special little joke for the
family she loved, “Twist dance” the stone began to vibrate
thumping out a jig rhythm and the light flashed in rhythm. “Huntress
off” she said after it had played for a little while.
She held the stone before them and explained. “Now as I've shown
you Twister and Huntress are one and the same. There is a saying in
the north that you need to know, to realize just how much trouble you
are in, it goes, where her blood is so is she. Now, I know my cousins
always ship theses stones with a card that explains that these stones
are a gift from her, that she has to wound herself and through her
pain give us her blood to power the stone, and that is why we have to
use her name to command it so we will remember her sacrifice and
love. Now, I bet, like most, you've thrown your cards away and only
think of the name use as a safety measure. But what's important is,
where her blood is so is she. Now Twister normally doesn't listen in
on her stones. But you are her enemies, its no secrete what and who
these stones are, now if you are stupid enough to plot next to one or
preach against her while standing in her light, she knows what you
say. Now you plotted and preached against Eleven and as you say, she
has temped and perverted him. Now from what I've seen, he is one of
the great Caesars, the first that the southern branch has had in a
few generations, so yes, she has approached him and loves him, she
loves us all but some get more attention. So you have set in her
light and plotted against him. I'm surprised she let it get this far
but you're mortals and she does not like to interfere, but Rexus XI
did call the legions and drive out your Senators before they were
ready to move and Tiberius started south that very day with all five
of his legions and she lead them. Great Grand Mother Roxxanna has
said that sometimes its better to let the boil come to a head before
lancing it. So if you think you are going to stand on this stair and
make a good deal with Eleven, you are fools. I've heard what you've
preached under the light, how he is corrupt and the only cure was his
death and the death of his kin. So Twister, Huntress, comes with the
Hunt, and the king and his cousin and his sister and their legions,
who have fought in the north against the tribes, who know how to
fight witches and legions made up people that you have been cheating
and trying to enslave for decades and you dare stand here. You have
threatened those that she loves and you are corrupt. If you were
gods or the imagined you would already be dead and eaten. Now today
is your lucky day, from what I feel from the stone, shes only going
burn the corruption from your souls, and despite your lies she can
only devour a corrupt soul. Mother tell them just how bad it is for
them why aren't Son's Priest here today.”
Mother laughed and asked, “Bridget, why are you one of my Priest, I
am one of the Three, to you I must be one of the enemy.”
Bridget laughed and said, “Twister has respect and love for you,
and I visited the temple in Brun's Gift as a child and I saw the
pans. And Twister has no priesthood, she lends her power to any who
are kind and pray unselfishly for help and Grandmother Roxxanna,
makes all of her female descendents priest. As your priest I am
something special and I will probably burn a little today for my
pride but that's a price I'll pay.”
Mother laughed and said, “If I have my way today Huntress and the
Hunt will have a shrine and they will needed a high priestess, I
think I can get her to accept at least one priest.”
The she turned to the corrupt men and said. “Bridget asked why my
son's priest weren't here. Well he came and took them away 10 days
ago. He had an eventful day. He stepped into her fire. She put an
arrow in his eye. Captured his soul. Leashed him. Gave him a new body
and sent him to me. He came to a realization. She brought him here
and he took his priest out of here as fast as he could. At the same
time the legions slaughtered your army with out loosing a man and
they are on their way here.”
“Mother” said Bridget, handing her the stone. “We've talked to
them to long. They should of ran when you first told them to go, but
I think it was already to late. The stories say that Brun's healing
sphere covered a radius of 20 miles and she's sending through the
stones announcing it to the world shes not going to forbear to day.”
Mother looked down at the stone and up at Brun's star which burned
brightly with Twister's power and asked, “What is it you made a
point of telling them? Oh yes, where her blood is so is she.” then
she showed them the alter stone again, and she laughed. “Poor
things. it's just as well you didn't run, there is at least a small
one of these in every home in the city.” and she looked at them
closely,” Oh, I see, most of you in your pride, wear her around
your necks.” A travelers' stone was a status symbol in Portus so
most of the men wore one. “Bridget, she wants it to end, she going
to do it in one fell stroke and she's everywhere. Mother looked up at
Brun's Moon and said “Oh dear” as it went out. And Twister's
fire reached them in an instant and Mother, Bridget and Mother's
priest flinched from a short burst of pain as it swept over them. The
Senators , the city officials and Father's priest all fell to the
ground screaming. They were still writhing when Twister jumped in
with The Hunt and Remus XI, Tiberius and their Twenties, their body
guards.
Twister looked down at the suffering men as they gave a last twitch
and stopped burning. “Oops, might of gotten a bit carried away.”
She grinned at Mother and Bridget then flinched as the enormity of
the suffering she had just caused hit her and her blazing belief
burned away the guilt in her soul. “Enough of that.”she said, and
the burning belief stopped, leaving only the healing loving belief
flowing from her and her stones. “ I don't think we need to be
talking to each other in the fires of the gate. There are just to
many secretes and guilts between us to make that a comfortable
experience.”
Mother said,”Thank you dear, your right, a trip through the gate
once today was quite enough. Just how carried away did you get?”
Twister grinned at her and said, “I had originally planned to do
the 20 mile max radius centered on me. Then I heard you two talking
and the moment you said she's everywhere I realized, yes, I am. I let
go from every knight's and senator’s traveler's stone I could sense
and from the stones in their homes and I hit Fathers and Your Temples
lights, I left Son's alone, we need to test his new way, so I left
his priest alone. So I hit everywhere in Remes south of the Rubicon.
Yes, you might say I got a little carried away and it was thanks to
you. It was so fitting that you realized what my sun stone in your
hand meant, I often forget myself, that where my blood is so am I. I
usual tamp it down and let my subconscious take care of it with set
flags, for most things, the sun stones and other of my gifts, they
are just aware enough that my consciousness never has to get involved
unless I want to change what they are programed to do. She looked at
Bridget and beckoned her to come near. “Bridget, love, come here
let me see your traveler's stone.
Bridget approached her with some trepidation but she handed the
little goddess her traveler's stone. Twister just looked at it for a
moment then handed back to her. Bridget looked at her questioningly
and Twister laughed and said, “My consciousness was just involved,
dear.” as if that told her everything. Bridget still looked
puzzled, so Twister relented, she was being just a little to fey
today. “Now most Caesars, when they make the list, get my amulet
and my portrait, you'll get the portrait later when I get time to
make one, as for the amulet you will have to make due with your
traveler's stone. I know it is not obvious looking at it but it has
changed. I just gave you the same gift I gave Son last night, and
sorry dear, Fury just gave you your first warning because of it's
power you will only get two, don't abuse it. Now love, as your
goddess Huntress to her High Priestess, I command you to think Twist
love at your stone.
Bridget held the stone on its chain before her and thought and said,
“Twist love” and she felt the pure sweet power, Twist's love flow
into her and she felt it connect to her magic, she wouldn't have to
burn herself up any more, she would have all the power she needed for
what ever she had to do.
“Yes, dear enough for what ever you want to do, but remember
because of just how powerful it is, you will only get two warnings.
So uses it wisely and kindly but remember my other rule, those that
have power must do their all to protect and that means protect even
you.”
Twister looked down at the priest of Father were they lay on the
ground awake and afraid and decided to nip any thoughts of revenge on
her new priestess in the bud. So she handed Bridget a copper penny,
she kept a few in her purse for just such things as she was about to
do. Bridget looked at her puzzled again. “Well dear, Twist is about
to teach you a trick, a trick that without the stone you wouldn't do
because it would consume you like a burnt match.”
Twister turned to the abased priest and said, “know this, Bridget
is under my protection and if you endanger her I will come, but I
really won't need to, we're going to show you what she can now do.”
She turned back to Bridget and the other gods drew closure to watch
is was always good to observe Twister teach a new trick. “Now move
back a little guys and don't get between us and that statue of Father
over there. She pointed to a medium sized statue bordering the
stairway and waved everyone out of the way. With the target
designated she turned back to Bridget and said, “Do you know how to
break metal bonds and form a metal mist.”
Bridget laughed and said, “I'm from Brun's Gift, I know how to
break the carbon bonds in a diamond, metal is easy.”
Twister laughed two, “Yes, Brun did teach the witches that. Now
dear I want you turn the penny into a ball of mist about the size of
my head. “
Bridget looked at the penny and it turned into a ball of mist.
“Now draw enough air into the ball to form an air ball about as
hard as you would use against your younger cousins in an air ball
fight.” said Twister with a grin.
“I can hold more pressure than that” said Bridget as she pumped
air into the ball of copper mist.
“I hope so because the pressure will go up as you heat the air and
copper and I want you to heat the mixture to the point that you rip
the negative particles from the atoms you are going for plasma.”
Explained Twister.
Bridget looked at Twister as if she was insane, she knew enough about
the relationship between temperature and the expansion of gas to have
an idea of the pressures involved in heating the ball air and metal
mist that much.
“No dear, this exercise is to scare them and to teach you just how
much power you hold in your hand, it draws power from the flow to
Brun's Moon, the excess power I waste everyday. So try and if the
pressure gets to high let it explode in the direction of the statue
and we'll show them something else.” The grinning Twister
explained.
Bridget concentrated on the ball of metal mist and air, the
temperature and the resulting pressure quickly increased and the ball
flared green as the copper and oxygen burned. She kept pushing in the
power heating it more and more; the pressure getting higher and
higher, the copper and oxygen broke back apart and the negative
particles broke away from the atoms. A floating ball of glowing
plasma floated before her.
“Well fling it at the statue like you would an air ball and
release the pressure just as it hits.” said Twister. Tiberius who
had been hit by one of Bridget's air balls in the past winced. The
ball of hot glowing plasma flashed across the stairway, struck the
statue and exploded in a fire ball, the pressure wave of the
explosion made their ears ring. Twister gave Bridget another penny
and said, “Now that you know how, do it again as fast as you feel
safe.”
Bridget took the new penny and went from coin to explosion in about 5
seconds. She looked to Twister for approval.
“Quite good, get a bag of pennies and go practice somewhere safe
until it becomes automatic, and you can get it under a second. But in
reality its just a bit of flash, give me a good arrow in the eye any
time. Dear give me your belt knife.” Twister held out her hand and
Bridget handed her the knife, that she, like most Panthers carried on
their belts. It had a sharp 6 inch single sided steel blade that came
to a sharp point. Not really a weapon but a tool but still deadly
especial under the control of a full blood witch. Twister took the
sharp blade and cut the palm of her hand, leaving a streak of her
blood on the blade and handed back to Bridget, with a warning. “
Now love be careful of the thing, I'd get a new one for your food.
It's dangerous, wound someone with it and they will die, the only
ones it won't kill are The Hunt and you, sorry Mother you aren't on
the list, you've betrayed father to many times in the past. Now dear
I will know instantly when you use it, so use your best judgment, it
is very dangerous and will kill a god.”
Bridget put the knife back into its sheath and asked herself, “Just
what did I get my self into.”
Twister laughed and stepped closer and hugged her and said, “A
godhood, if I have my way dear.”
The Hunt and XI and Tiberius, who had grown used to Twisters habit of
answering unasked mussing just laughed, the others looked on
questioningly at the seemingly erratic behavior.
Twister turned to Raven who was setting on Remus's shoulder that day
and said, “ Well old bird I know you want to say it after all I've
done today.”
Raven cawed out his laugh and replied, “ It's only right and most
certainly time, you my dear are a wicked, wicked goddess.
Twister looked at him sharply because of the change but it was
appropriate after such a display so she answered anyway. “Yes, I
am”.
Mother and Bridget visibly relaxed at this exchange but still
regarded her with some trepidation. They both felt they were standing
in front of the most dangerous thing in the world. That they where
only safe because she restrained herself and Mother felt as though
she had been poking the bear with a stick for thousands of years.
Twister looked at her, winked and grinned. Then Twister explained.
“This is for you who don't know me personally, the three things you
must know if your around me.
One, and this is for you priest quivering in fear on the ground. I
can not eat a soul that is less than two thirds corrupt. Therefore, I
am eating no souls today, you've been burned clean.
For the next two you have to know I am rude and by my nature not by
intention.
Two, I can not, not see your souls, I am a void demon, we see souls
in bodies or out, that is our nature.
Three, I can not, not hear your surface thoughts. If you don't want
me to know something don't think about it. And while I am here
dealing with you, other parts of me are dealing with thousands of
things everywhere in the world and I sometimes forget that I hear
things that the rest of you can't and I respond to what I hear, oops,
so that makes me seem rather strange and erratic.
Actually, there are four things, as the oldest bird tells me so
often, I am a wicked, wicked child. I have a wicked sense of humor
and it gets worse when I am dealing with the self important and
cruel.
Mother relaxed a little more, she knew these things but she had never
encountered Twister at her most unrestrained. Twister had found a
solution to her and her father's age long dilemma. How to deal with
malicious dangerous gods who wouldn't stay dead and were willing to
kill the flock carelessly.
Twister looked down at the men now laying on their bellies, their
faces turned away so they could not see her. She addressed them.”Stop
gibbering in fear, I can't eat you and your mortals so I won't kill
you. You are not my problem. Your the kings problem. I will review my
stored memories and tell him who plotted with whom, but for now the
king, Mother and I have things to discuss and your gibbering bothers
me. Go stand over there. Twister pointed to a point near the bottom
of the stair, well away from her and Mother. Tiberius motioned to his
twenty to go take charge of them.
The men slowly stood and shuffled down the stairs. Twister watched
them go and one in particular caught her eye, Father's High Priest.
“High Priest stop.” She called after him. The priest stopped and
turned to face her fear in his eyes. She looked at him deeply as he
trembled waiting for the stroke; he had preached the loudest against
her and the king. Twister move around to the side of of Mother's line
of sight to the the High priest and said. “Mother look at this poor
thing your husbands High Priest, look at his soul.”
Mother thought. “Why would she want me to waste time looking at
this man's soul.”
To which she got the silent answer. “ Just look dear, I'm making a
point, mostly to them, whom Father has almost destroyed.”
Mother looked at the priest with the ability to see souls and had to
look again. How could a man live without a soul.
Twister laughed, staying out of Mother's line of sight. “Look
closure Mother and you too Bridget. Look closely and tell me what you
see.” Mother and Bridget moved closure to the priest and Twister
moved around until she was behind them. They turned on their power to
see souls and used their bodies to shield the priest from Twister's
glow. Looking closely, they finally found his soul.
“My goodness, it is no bigger than a grain of sand, so much of it
has burned away.” Said Mother and she started to turn to face
Twister.
Bridget reached out a hand and stopped her and said. “Don't look at
her, not today of all days.”
“Thank you Bridget.” Said Mother, who had turned far enough to
catch Twister out of the corner of her eye and was still dealing with
the after flash. She turned off the ability to see souls and turned
to face the still glowing Twister. “Is this what you wanted me see,
that my husband has basically destroyed these men, well you have made
your point.”
Twister smiled softly at her and said. “ The point wasn't for you
dear. You've known this since Brun came to Vig and Father's High
Priest died in her healing fire, the point was for them.” Twister
turned to the priests and added. “You have heard it from Mother's
lips you have nearly been destroyed. I have looked at your souls and
they are so ragged and small, that if they were rags, you would throw
them away.” She turned to the High Priest and addresses him
directly. “You, poor thing, have so little soul left that it is no
bigger than a grain of sand. Be careful, a sin stains the same amount
of soul not a percentage of what is left and you're down to the point
that one unkind word would let me eat you. Now go stand with the
other pitiful men.
Twister then called Remus XI and Tiberius over to where she stood
with Mother. “Mother this is Remus XI, the king, he prefers Eleven
and Tiberius, his brother-in-law and cousin, the count of Tall Rock.
Tiberius' wife and Eleven's heir, Livia will be here soon, she is
leading the legions. Eleven, Tiberius, this is Mother, the great
grandmother many times removed of your souls, the reasonable one of
The Three.
Then Twister looked at Bridget and added.” Eleven, this is Bridget,
she is your distant cousin, but she is far enough removed and she is
now on my list. It is about time that Livia is no longer your heir.”
Then she turned to Bridget and continued. “Bridget this is Eleven,
the most eligible bachelor in Remes.”
Bridget turned bright red, she nearly matched her hair.
Eleven shook his head and took and held Twister's hand and said.
“Twist, love, you have other things to do now than breed us, your
pet Caesars and anyway Bridget is new, does she even know about the
other thing?”
Bridget blushed even brighter.
Eleven grinned and said to Bridget. “Well I guess you do. We might
as well give up now. If Twist gets her mind set it is all over but
the vows, just ask Tiberius and Livia.”
Bridget looked over at Tiberius, who pointed at her them Eleven and
hooked the index figures of his hands together and whispered. “You
don't stand a chance.”
Twister released Eleven’s hand and jumped forward to hug Bridget.
“Well dear it's been quite a day for you. You became my High
Priestess and the future Queen of Remes all in one day and I know
you've prayed for the other thing.
Eleven looked at Twister, verging on exasperation. When Tiberius sent
to him. “Don't worry she's in complete control. It's one of her
oldest tricks the ditzy aunt when times get tense. Look at Mother and
her priests or even those poor wretches down the stair.”
Eleven looked around and everyone was watching bemused at was going
on then he heard in his mind. “Now Ti not in front of Mother.”
Twister released her hug, then she pulled Bridget over and deposited
Bridget’s hand into Elevens and Bridget did not pull away but stood
beside him holding his hand facing Mother.
Mother looked at Bridget then Twister, sighed and said. “Nicely
done Twist, take the only one of any worth and drag her into your
camp.
Twister laughed and said. “ I see, I can't pull anything over on
you, but then again, she was never yours anyway. Roxxanna and I just
loaned her to you.”
Roxxanna walked up and wrapped her arms around Bridget from behind
and said. “Welcome home child.”
Bridget smiled and said. “Thank you Grandmother.”
Mother indicated her other priests and asked. “Do you want
anymore.”
Twister looked at them and shrugged. “ No, we got the only one with
any spunk.”
Mother looked at Twister and sent. “I know and it makes me sad.
That is why I brought Bridget here in the first place, she was
supposed to be my next High Priestess, then she started explaining
things to those men and I knew she would rather be yours. But your
shrine will be next to mine so we both know who will be running
things between her and mine.”
I guess I'll have to make two shrines one here in Portus and one in
Remus. Some of the Caesar cousins own a hill just out of Remus and
you need an new temple anyway want to share.” Twister sent back.
“Yes, I'll share, but none of your art in my Temples. One temple
where I'm being judged is quite enough.” Mother sent.
Then Twister said aloud. “Now that that has been decided, let's get
down to the other business. Remus the Eleventh, King of Remes,
Commander of the Legions, Master of the Covens and Chief Judge of the
Land what are your terms, Mother and The Hunt are here to witness
this bargain and before we are done all will swear to Mother and The
Hunt to abide by what is decided here and any who breaks their oath
will be treated as malicious imagined and hunted down and killed by
The Hunt. What are your conditions, all of the Senators, heirs and
surviving knights can hear.”
Remus XI stood a moment in thought and then he began. He, Tiberius,
Livia, and The Hunt had discussed what to do the night before.
Twister had pulled them all into the same dream, so she could
accelerate the mortals and not burn their lives away, two days of
planning and discussion in an hour long dream. “For the first none
of the Senators who were conspirators in the rebellion will retain
their seats and they will be exiled to Achenus and can not come back
to the continent under pain of... What was that phrase Twist?
Twister grinned and called a melon that she had prepared just for
this demonstration to her. “The phrase you are looking for is
explosive decompression. It's what happens when you are exposed to
the vacuum of space, like this poor melon here after I jump it out to
Brun's Moon. She concentrated and jumped the melon away. She walked
down stair to where the Senators and the others stood and said. “Now
let's see what happened after a short time at Brun's moon. She held
out her hand and called the melon back. It arrived an exploded
shattered mess that splashed all over her and the stairs. “Well
look at that, what a mess, now imagine that is you.” She
concentrated and turned the melon to to a fine mist and let it blow
away. She called a steal bar to her and said. You wonder how we are
going to enforce this judgment. Well you all have traveler's stones
and if you don't I brought a few with me that I recovered a few days
ago. Just stand there I will take care of it.” Twister seemed to
disappear, all they could see was a blur, that moved quickly from
Senator to Senator. In moments each Senator had a steal necklace
around their necks, each of which contained a traveler's stone.
Twister jumped back to where Eleven stood and jumped the five
Senators to her. “Now you can see I can call you to me.” She
jumped them back down the stairs and continued. “Or send you away.
Eleven grinned and said. “Thank you Twist for your kind
demonstration.. Now gentile men you will not remove your necklaces
for any reason, or plot to kill me and my family, or usurp our rule
or come back to Plow. If you do Twister will know and by my
judgment on you, she will send you to Brun's moon where you will
experience explosive decompression.”
The Senators looked at Eleven and Twister with terrified eyes.
“Now if you obey the rules you will be okay, Twist isn't quite as
out of control as she seems.” reassured Eleven. “Now for you
going peacefully into exile, your heirs will be allowed to assume
your titles. The Counts of Remus and Portus are the exception to this
because they along with Son's High Priest of Remus plotted my
mother's, Livia's and my murders and hired assassins. Luckily, they
were discovered by Little Fury before they could strike. Because of
their high treason, their counties revert to direct crown
rule. Their heirs can keep their properties, subject to judicial
review of how they were acquired.” Eleven stopped for a moment to
let it sink in, then he continued. “ Speaking of judicial review,
we have found that you have corrupted the local courts and have be
using them to facilitate your criminal enterprises. The crown will
now supple local courts acting under my authority as chief judge in
the land. The judges will be witches with the truth tell ability. To
enforce their rulings and offset your corruption of the sheriffs, I
am calling up three permanent legions. They will primarily be road
wardens and protect travelers and maintain commerce between the
cities. They will also enforce the rulings of the courts. Their first
duty will be to seize all public records, particularly of land
transfers. From now on these records will be maintained by the Truth
Tell Courts and the courts will record all further transactions.
The recorders will also be truth tell witches, to guard against
intimidation.”
“The road wardens will be commanded by the Inspector General, who
will have the power to to investigate any criminal activity
especially governmental corruption. He will also be able to form
investigation teams.”
“Taxation will once more be the prerogative of the crown and will
be collected by royal tax collectors. Anyone else trying to collect
taxes without a royal warrant will be considered bandits and the road
wardens will hunt them down.”
He then turned to Twister and said.” Twist could you please send
the Senators and Father's High Priest, his secretory and assistant to
Achenus. They are banished and stand condemned if they return to the
continent.
Twister grinned and said. “It will be my pleasure your majesty.”
She concentrated and the senators and priest disappeared.
Eleven the turned to the remaining men. “ I hope , that having been
burned clean by the fires of the gate, that you will cease your
corrupt ways. You city officials are suspended from duty pending
review by the crown administrator and investigation by the Inspector
General. Now go before I change my mind and have Twister send you to
Achenus also.
The men scattered getting away from the King, legion and the gods,
especially Twister as fast as they could.
Remus XI watched them go with a grim smile. “I hope that is the end
of it, that we don't have to kill a lot more of them.
Twister smiled back at him, reached over squeezed his hand and said.
“Good luck with that, your new courts and Inspector General will be
busy for a long time and I hope
they have strong stomachs because they will be digging around some
nasty minds.
Eleven looked at her and started to ask for more even more help, then
he realized that it was getting to close to close to free will and
her unwillingness to interfere. She was the shepherd not the mother
of three year olds.
Twister smiled at him, reached over, squeezed his hand and said,
“Thank you love.”
There was a commotion on the street below the stairs as the legions
began to arrive. Livia climbed the stairs to the group that stood by
the King.
Eleven watched her come with a bemused smile and said when she
arrived, “Liv, dear sister as my heir I have a gift for you.” He
waved his hand in front of him in a broad arc presenting the city.
“This fine city we've taken back the Princeship, you are now the
Princess of Portus.
Livia glared at him and said, “No dear brother, I have had enough
of the south, I live with Tiberius at Tall Rock.”
Twister laughed and said, “If you're worried about that, I'll build
you a gate between Portus and Tall Rock and anyway you know I can
also merge dreams dear.”
Eleven looked at her pleadingly and Livia finally agree, “Okay,
I'll do it, but only if Twist keeps her word on both promises. I will
need some help, someone that knows the the local factions.”
Twister pulled Bridget forward and said, “Livia meet Bridget, she
is my or I should say Huntress's High Priestess. She has been
Mother's Priestess for a while, but she is a Caesar cousin from The
Gift and your further sister-in-law she is one of mine and on the
list.”
Livia grinned at Bridget and held out her hand. Bridget grabbed it
and looked at her almost pleadingly. Livia shook her head and
laughed. “Dear cousin and I might as well start calling you it now,
sister. Twist has made up her mind. You will find that we are her
family but she breeds us like pets always looking for the best
combination. The only good thing about it is she always picks the
best and has a good feel for who will love each other.
Bridget looked at Livia in resignation, then looked at Eleven
appraisingly, then shrugged in acceptance. “Okay, I give up, I'll
give it a try, but if I am going to be Huntress's High Priestess both
here and in Remus, Twister is going to have to make me a gate too.”
Twister looked from one to the other of the young women and said, ”I
do not breed you like pets. I look at your souls and find you your
soul-mates and great souls require great souls so it only looks like
I'm breeding for the best. Bridget, I will also build you a gate. I
will throw in two more at the shrine, one to the observatory on the
moon and one to the platform at Brun's little moon. You can use them
as a public attraction and charge a fee and a prayer to me. It would
be a good place for the four of you to get together and talk where no
one could over here.
Livia pulled Bridget close and wrapped an arm around her and leaned
her dark haired head close to Bridget's copper red and said in a
conspiratorial whisper, “See I told you she breeds us like pets.”
then louder she continued. “Yes where no one can hear, right, in
one of your habitats in space, where you supple the light, the heat,
the water and the air. Yes, no one can hear, but you, oh little demon
goddess, where your blood is so are you.”
Twister laughed. “Glad to see you know, but as far as keeping
secretes from me none of you stand a chance anyway. You wear me
around your necks, carry me on your sides and if you take me oft I
will come looking for you worried that something was wrong and on top
of it all off I haunt your dreams.”
“Well,” said Livia, “ See it's just like I said you don't stand
a chance. “ Then she looked at Tiberius standing by Eleven and
laughed. “and neither did I.”
Twister laughed and slipped between them and warped her arms around
them with her in the middle and lead them back to were Mother stood
at the top of the stairs. There she introduced Livia to mother,
“Mother this is Livia, Elevens sister and heir and Tiberius's wife.
Livia this is Mother, the grandmother of all souls. I like her and
for a creator, she is quite pleasant, but one day after you have
become a god, this goes for you too Bridget. She will come around,
when I'm not there and ask to talk to you somewhere I can't hear,
with dad's friends it was the bath, and she will tell you something
about what's happening beyond the gate , something so bad that you
will think it's you duty to go and through some sort of compulsion,
she will convince you not to tell me. I ask you, on that day, be
ready, put your defenses up, withstand the compulsion and tell me
what is going on.
Then Twister turned to Mother and continued. “I bet your glad I
turned off the fires of the gate.”
Mother looked a Twister with eyes that welled with tears, “Twist
dear, it's better this way.”
“So just how horrible is it that you think it is better to let
father and I wonder and worry, than tell us? Is it because we would
lose our special powers if we go through the gate? The souls inside
me survived the fires of the gate and in less pain than father's
priest.” Asked Twister stepping away from the young women.
Mother on impulse step forward and warped Twister in a hug and said
to the stiff goddess in her arms. “Dear one, you guess to well, and
I wont tell you just how bad it is, but I will tell you and you can
tell your father that Storyteller is in command and your gods are his
lieutenants and because he does not have access to your blood he has
made his own Hungrys. He even used one on Father before he threw it
in the gate and let him go.
Hearing the part of Storyteller being in command and him figuring out
how to arm the souls with power draining weapons, Twister let herself
relax and hugged mother back. Her and her Father's greatest fear was
for those who had passed because they knew Son's and Father's
tactical abilities, none, and the only weapon that they had come up
was the fires of the sun. Twister smiled up at Mother and said, “Okay
I wont press further, but if you would of told us about Storyteller
earlier dad and I would have been much happier.”
Mather laughed. “Well it's a sore point with my mate. Ten days in
an arrow and fifty years brooding in the fires of paradise. It's one
of the reasons you were a trap and not a gift.” She squeezed
Twister tighter to her; it was the first time she gotten to hug her
daughter and how she kept that out of her mind, she didn't know.
“Trap instead of a gift? Father and I had figured that Temptress
was your work being an imagined made from reality, but me a gift ? I
was a trap because Father wanted to break the world.” said Twister
pulling away.
“Yes you were supposed to be a gift. I made Temptress as a doll.
You know what a doll is don't you Witch. But Father came home 100
years early, Storyteller had told him he could no longer lead, and I
made the mistake of saying he'd have to break the world to get
humanity to stop loving Protector and Storyteller. Therefore, he
decided he had to break the world. He found Temptress in my lab and
saw that she had a void demon's egg and he know what I was trying to
do for with the egg there also had to be a soul. So he turned
Temptress from a doll into what she is and I believed he turned his
compulsion on me. So, we set Temptress out as a trap and because I
was already imprinted on her and your father already loved me after
65 million years, he fell for Temptress. Father had had also worked
his magic on her, she was the most alluring thing in the word to any
male. Then Father engineered her escape and I let her eat me in a
witch doll and I temped your father and we had you, the physical
daughter of an unfortunate void demon and your father and the soul
daughter of him and I.”
“Well father always said that Temptress was the most pleasant while
she was carrying me. So why so long mother, why tell me now after
2200 years?' Asked Twister glaring at Mother.
Mother thought about for a minute and said. “For two reasons,
Father threatened to destroy you and your father with the fires of
the sun if I did and now you have the cure for that. But even more
importantly your healing belief cured his compulsion. I knew from the
first that I should have stolen the doll and told Protector about
Father's plan and Storyteller's arrow, but somehow I couldn't. Just
the other day when I was talking to Son after you sent him to me, I
thought I should go tell your father, but I came here instead. What
was in your wave of belief that could wash such a powerful
compulsion away?”
Twister laughed, it made a sort of twisted sense, because of her
truth tell was running full bore, but again she was a void demon and
that was a fifth thing she needed to say when she gave her warning.
“It's actually part of the sphere of healing and it has been since
I first encountered Father's and Son's priests at Vig. Part of it
comes from Odin's question to son, where in Protector's safe world
did Son find 200,000 people so full of hate, that when they lost his
protection 160,000 were corrupt enough to be taken by the Furies. At
Vig Brun looked at Son's and Father's priest and their minds and
brains were scared, someone had laid deep conditioning on them.
Therefore, my healing now contains healing for the brain and mind, so
you can say I washed the compulsion away. Now I am not normally as
rude as I could be but some part of me part of me remembers
everything I see, should I go back to where we communicated in your
temple and compare that you to you now.
Mother looked at her pleadingly. “Please do.”
Twister shifted through her memories, she shifted part of herself to
Brun's Gift and went through the murals memories stored there. Brun's
gift and the Temple were an important node, Twister had left almost
twenty pounds of herself there when she built the temple. She quickly
found what she wanted, Mother standing directly in front of and
talking to the mural. Now that she knew what to look for she turned
on her witch sense and did a brain scan and captured a picture of
Mother's brain and mind and there were subtle scars, if she hadn't
been looking for it she would not have noticed. The physical changes
were most noticeable neural pathways scarred and rerouted changing
Mother's empathy and guilt. The changes to her mind were harder to
see buried under layers of rationalizations, truths so twisted that
they became lies. For both the physical and mental changes there was
evidence that that it wasn't just one event, but it had been going on
for millions of years. Twister drew herself back into her body and
since Mother was also a full bloodied witch sent her the image the
mural had recorded. Twister stepped backed to mother and hugged her
fiercely. “So sorry mom, He's been doing it to you since before the
first war.”
Mother looked at the image in her minds eye and she was an expert in
biology and the mind,. She was the Creators biological scientist.
Mother quickly recognized the changes, the damage done, the subtle
warping of brain and mind. “Dear, please show me how I am now after
your healing.”
Twister looked at her and concentrated and sent Mother what she was
seeing in that instant. To the witch senses, Mother was much improved
in brain and mind. The brain was completely healed, as was the mind
to the extent it could be, but there was some gapes where memories
should be.
Mother looked at it and wondered what she had lost.
“Probably things so horrible he didn't want you to remember.
“Twister did a quick review of the placement of the memory losses
and one was ancient, 65 million years old. “Mother do you remember
making soul destroying creatures from reality, creatures that could
entire the void and survive.”
Mother's eyes opened wide in horror at the idea. “No, I never
would, they're abominations, your and Storyteller's arrows are bad
enough but at least they can't move on their own.”
Twister looked at her in pity and said. “You did, you and your mate
used them in the last battle. You used them to destroy the void
guides. My father's mate died fighting them; dad barely defeated
them. Why did you think he called you soul destroyers that first time
after killing Tsaurus?”
Mother burst into tears and clung to Twister. “Dear I don't
remember any of that. Twist pressed herself against her mother and
tried to give her comfort and even more love and comfort radiated
from her and even the corrupt men stopped running and were comforted.
The two goddesses stood holding each other and wept and Twister's
diamond tears were blue for the grief of what might have been, if
Mother had been able to give her as a gift instead of turning her
into a trap. Then Twister laughed and said to mother. “But in the
end you did give my father his greatest gift, you gave him me and
thirty years of good memories.”
Mother could smile at that through her tears and replied. “Yes
dear, I gave him and the world you. You have already done so much to
repair what the Three have broken.” Then Mother pulled gently away
and stood for a moment to regain her composure. “Well dear
speaking of repairing damage, let's remove the abomination of a
temple and rebuild a new one.” She pointed to a craggy hill that
stood at the edge of the city. “That hill over there is the one I
own.”
Twister looked at it and said. “Looks like it has a good view. Then
she took one of her sling stones and threw it toward the hill and
accelerated it away. Once it had landed she said to Mother. “Shall
we go take a look.” She jumped them to the top of the hill. It
overlooked Portus and the bay.
Mother looked out at the view and asked. “What side do you want?”
Twister laughed. “I'll take the north, it's only appropriate and it
will leave you with the view.
With that they began, Twister shifted Mother back down to the old
temple and Mother dissolved the old temple and using one of Twisters
stones sent the stone mist back to Twister and the other gods , who
used it to build a new temple on top of the hill. The temple they
constructed consisted of two domes connected by a north south arched
hall wall, intersected by a short arch hall that contained the
entrance.
The northern dome contained the alters to The Hunt and Huntress. In
the center of the dome was a small white quartz four side inclosure
with murals of the hunt on the out side and a door facing the hall
entrance to the dome. On the inside walls were three gates: one to
Remus, one to the moon and one to Brun's little moon.
Remus as the patron god of Remes got the blind arch across from the
main entrance where it's arch intersected the connecting hallway.
The southern dome was Mothers to do with as she wished.
After the temple was done, they carved residence for the priest and
and other temple workers.
The hill was large enough that there was room for enough for a new
royal villa and a fortress camp for the new road warden's barracks.
Twister excavated a series of tunnels and large halls inside of the
hill to get enough stone for all of the construction.
Finally, they were done and Twister showed mother her new dome and
said. “I left the alter placement and the decoration to to you. I
will make you some large alter lights if you can get past what they
mean.”
Mother laghed and said, “Yes I'll take them and yes I know that
your eyes and ears will be in the ceiling and I've given you the keys
for you and your power to enter when ever you like.”
Twister smiled back at Mother and presented her with an amulet on a
chain and explained. “I have made this this for you. It records
what is going on around you and your emotional responses to it. Not
exactly your memories, but close enough that you can fill in the gaps
if Father does it again. There are no flags on it and my
consciousness is not involved. It will go directly to storage at
the collectors orbiting the sun. It does two other things. I've
taken the liberty of changing all of my lights in your temples to
belief receivers to capture the belief of your worshipers and send it
directly to this stone.” Mother took the amulet and she could feel
her believer's belief pouring from into her. No longer would she
have to go into the spirit lands to collect her belief. She hugged
Twister to her. “It's marvelous dear.”
Twister laughed and said from between Mother's breast. “Mother,
that's not all. It's also a traveler’s stone and if the need is
great enough you can tap into the power that flows to Brun's moon.
Say Twist love.”
Mother thought Twist love at the stone and it was like there were
two Twisters there. The one she held in her arms and the one in her
hand and the pure loving belief flowed from both so she thought Twist
off and there was only the source in her arms again. Mother said.
“Well that was strange two Twisters at once is a bit overwhelming.”
“Well I guess it will remind you how much I love you when I'm not
around.” Laughed Twister as she finally backed away.
They spent a few more days in Portus getting things organized. Livia
recruited the southern legion of the road wardens from the legions
present. Such was the northern legions love for her, that the
overwhelm number of volunteers were from them, starting the tradition
of the road wardens being mainly from the north.
Marcellus, the commander of the 12th and Tiberius first
and Elevens third cousin was appointed Inspector General and took his
general staff, a coven of witches and most of the northern carvery
and rode north to Xexes to establish a major base . By the time it
was done, Tiberius was complaining that the Kingdom was decimating
his legions taking the best from the north.
Twister spent this time getting to know her mother better. They went
to the gate and set Hungry and his sister to wait for Father. They
went to see Twister's father, Protector and Twister showed him the
scan of the unhealed Mother. Protector was angry at Father for what
he had done and was happy to have Mother back in his life. Twister
left her parents talking and sharing the past with Protector filling
in the gaps in Mother's memory.
Twister came back to Portus and The Hunt and the legions and they
marched home by the coast road.
After passing through Remus, stopping long enough to build a new
temple on a hill just outside of the city, the northern legions and
The Hunt marched back north having saved the kingdom.
This a true tale, that should be told often. As you can see from what
we have found here, the truth is much different from what is commonly
believed. Twister has always been the pure little goddess of love and
converted Son and did not need to be converted by him.
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