God of Eyes

Raine could not have slept through the night if she had tried.

She sat bolt upright, turning to look at her god as strange lights came over him. She felt something changing, something... both good and bad, at once. She felt a spark of pain from him, pain that was not hers... and then it was over, and her god stood up from the chair where he had been sitting, examining his own hand in the darkness.

"Xethram..." she paused, not sure why she started offbeing so familiar, but shook it off quickly. "My lord, what is happening?"

Xethram did not look at her, and when he answered, she felt his words were... off, as though he were not really there, although Raine sensed no worry from Tammy's spirit, instead... perhaps excitement? "An enemy has come," he said, and turned to look at her... but his eyes seemed glassy, distant. "Your enemy. She will strike at Balant, tonight. I made a deal to help them escape."

Raine had never been one for duty, but this was exactly the kind of statement that inspired feelings of duty in her--as well as a hot spark of vengeance in her gut. She scrambled out of bed and to one knee before him. "I want to help," she said, insistently, urgently. How could the enemy have gotten to the city so quickly?

Xethram's eyes still did not focus on her, as though his true being was far away. He considered her for a long moment. "If you go, you will not be able to rest for many days," he said. "Are you sure you are strong enough?"

"If I must be, then I am," she said. In truth, she had resolved to say whatever she needed to, run away if she had to, to get to that fight.

Perhaps he knew, or perhaps he didn't. "Get your boots on," he said.

Of course she did, in no more than a handful of moments.

Xethram remained standing where he had been, staring at a wall. After a moment, when she straightened up, he glanced at her. He looked her over, and his eyes were intense, focused. "The first part... the women of the Temple can handle. Get something to eat, as quickly as you can."

Raine hesitated, but acquiesced. It was the middle of the night, but she had no idea what kind of day she would be having, and she was still hungry, underfed from her long escape. This late, she had no time to boil stew or cook meat, but... she had found enough in the way of forage while searching around in the day.

Fortunately, her god was one who made searching around at night as easy as it was in the day.

She noticed two things, as she scrambled to the top of the cliff. First, the wind had picked up, blowing hard towards the northeast, and clouds seemed to appear as she watched. She grimaced for a moment, but the wind on her exposed skin felt calming, not frightening. She considered that, but had little that she could do about it.

The second was a line of torches in the night, down below the cliff--torches cutting a path through the trees from the road. That also sent her into a moment of panic, and she started to retreat back down the cliff to go inside, before remembering that she could as easily speak to her god from anywhere.

Lord Xethram... someone is coming here, from the road.

His reply was distracted, but warm. Oh, good, they're early. I was told they would arrive before I had guests, but... only now do I understand exactly what that promise meant.

Raine considered that for a moment, then shook her head and went off into the forest.

Miana appeared in a dark cave, unfamiliar and with a strange rushing sound nearby, tears streaming down her face. She barely noted when the darkness was cleared away by a silvery light from the middle of the room; she didn't honestly care.

She had felt the souls of her people--the souls in her care--resolve themselves to die for her sake. The Records of the Fallen were not tombstones, but weapons; she had been told that once by a priestess--by the priestess, she realized: Bia'nella--but it had hardly seemed relevant at the time. She had never expected to see them used, and could not have imagined being the one to command them.

This man--the God of Eyes incarnate--had seen through the weapons in an instant, and truthfully, as soon as she had become Goddess of Blades, she had felt them, known them. She had felt her own ancestors in that place--few of them, but she felt her connection to them, and knew they felt the same.

And they would spend their own souls to fight for the city, for the people, for her.

Ryan's hand circled around her head and held her against his chest. She felt... a strange sense of power transferred from him to her, one she could not understand, could not relate to. It engaged a part of her mind that she was not familiar with, a part of her that was new, one that started processing information in ways she had not expected. That, more than the warmth or the strange situation, got her attention.

"What is happening to me?" she demanded. "How do I control this? How can I...?"

Ryan held a hand out to one side, and a tall figure that Miana was certain was also Ryan handed him a book from the table, which he presented to her. The book was familiar, as though it was hers... but she also sensed that Ryan had read it, felt his touch upon the pages. "What is..."

"The previous Goddess asked me to read it and suggest changes," he said, "but we never got to actually discussing it." He hesitated. "I wish that I could be here, Miana, to help you. And he," he gestured to his other self, "will be here. But I need to go back and help--"

"You'll die," snarled Miana. "Isn't that the point of not letting me be out there? That the enemy will kill me?"

Ryan hesitated. "I can't..." he paused, furrowed his brow, and looked at his other half, who returned the look. "...maybe you're right. I have other things I need to do here. My Vicar should be there, and that... should be enough."

"I hope you mean a real vicar and not a false body like yours," she snapped again. If this whole sequence of events had been set off by Murn being too free to use her body--one of her bodies--then she would tear this man apart if he suggested doing the same.

"I do. I brought Raine of Eyes back from the front. She is here... gathering some food before she must go." Ryan paused, and looked at Miana. "I... assume you aren't hungry."

Miana could not have stomached food if he had forced it on her. Her stomach was tied in knots, and her blood was surging with anger and grief. "No."

He nodded, then after a moment, placed his hands on her head, and she felt something in her eyes. "I know it seems like the wrong time," he said, "but you have to read. You should be able to do it very quickly, but... you may not process much the first time." He turned and looked towards the door, then back at her. "This other body... the real Xethram if you want to call him that, you can--"

"Talk to him like he is you. I sense it." Miana had already broken the book open, moving to sit cross-legged a meditation pad that was conspicuously placed on the floor, and was studying the first pages. Within moments, what she saw on the page become memory, and she knew she could move on, but she stopped and processed the first page.

This book is written on behalf of Ciel'ostra and contains the wisdom of Ciel'ostra. It is to be given to Ciel'ostra when she is Named, and no other shall lay hands upon it.

She who bears this book is the Lady of Blades in name and in fact, and bears upon her shoulders the weight of the nation of Belma. For Belma was the first nation to harbor the Lady of Blades, and so She protects it. For it is not the duty to protect Belma that is passed from one Lady to the next, but rather the title of Lady is passed to She who protects that which is, to the Lady, the most precious.

I beseech you, as one Lady to the next, to read this volume in its entirety, and understand it, for within is the knowledge and wisdom of the Goddess, Ciel'ostra. If this wisdom is not preserved, then Ciel'ostra herself loses it, and so do the people of the nation suffer. Beware, for as with all secrets, these must never fall into the hands of another. If they are stolen, let not one eye nor ear that has been touched by this wisdom survive...

Miana looked up at Ryan, her eyes full of mistrust, and he looked at her, surprise on his face, before seeming to understand. He knelt down before her, and as far as she could tell, lowered every defense he could.

"I know," he said. "Believe me, I felt more than a bit nervous reading that. But I was already a god, and the point of the warning is to keep mortals from knowing things they shouldn't. Otherwise..." he sighed. "...they could become something like the Necromancer, searching for ways to steal the power of the gods. It's better if such secrets are not shared."

Miana searched his eyes, but saw no signs of deceit. But for a god of eyes, could he fake such a thing? As she considered things, she glanced back down at the book. "Remove your enchantment. I want to see this book with eyes unclouded."

Ryan stiffened, but the godly power fell away. The words remained as they were, but could share dare trust her eyes? It remained the truth that he had been there when she was dying.

After a moment, Miana heard a slight noise of boots, and leaped to her feet, one hand on a sword at her waist, the matched pair sliding from its sheath, connected by a thread of force that Miana could now sense as clear as day. A door concealed in the wall opened, and another woman walked in, slightly damp; behind her, Miana could see a waterfall, understood that it was the source of the noise.

Ryan moved a hand towards Miana as though to warn her off, but Miana was already lowering the blade as the new woman dropped a pot and reached for her own sword at her waist--but stopped prior to drawing it.

The two women eyed each other, nervously.

Ryan cleared his throat. "Raine, this is Miana. She is... the new Goddess of Blades. Miana, this is my vicar, Raine."

Miana snarled. Over and over, this man was presuming to make decisions on her behalf, and she did not enjoy it. Why did this woman deserve to know the truth of who she was?

"So she's new at being a goddess, just like you?" Raine's words were guarded, cautious.

Miana squinted at her, then shifted her gaze to Ryan. He let out a sigh, and she saw that he had indeed been keeping more secrets while only playing at being open.

"Yes," he said, and then, defensively, to Miana, "...I was going to tell you, but as you know, we have little time. Believe me, I am on your side."

Miana, at this point, trusted the other woman more than Ryan, and shifted her gaze to measure Raine. "You believe him?"

Raine seemed taken aback by the question. "He is my god. He saved me, and..." she blinked. "Yes. I don't think he is lying to you... my Lady."

Miana felt uncomfortable with that, but slowly set the book down, letting her thoughts whirl. She had to figure these things out, and...

"Fine," she said. "Let me read faster, then. I will trust your power. But," she gave Ryan a glare that she hoped would cow him, "no secrets, no lies. There is too much at stake for you to be hiding things."

Ryan let out a slow sigh, but easily replied, "Agreed."