God of Life and Death AU
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Hyacinth
Hyacinth was the goddess of Life.
Flowers grew where she trod and the forest she lived in was evergreen.
It was a lovely point in Creation, because humans had yet to exist and all she knew were her attendants, the nymphs, and the other gods. They were clean and primal, coming into being due to ideas rather than faith and prayers.
Hyacinth was powerful, but she was lonely. Her wisest friend, the nymph Hermione of the Wisteria tree, said, "Why don't you create a companion?"
And she created him, the first man and found companionship.
But she had forgotten the laws laid down into the very being of the Old gods. That they could never own what they created. All beings created would inevitably rebel against their creator.
The first man gave her a child and left, seeking other companions. Her child became the first god without a domain to guide and her eyes opened, already aware despite being a day old.
"I will grant you dominion over the mountains," she whispered to the baby. "And you shall be the goddess of mountain ranges and the high places. The immovable, the impassable and the hard unbreakable passes."
The child god, which had been silent and near transparent, started to cry, much to her relief.
Hyacinth did not name her, because the child would name herself, once she could get over herself.
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Reborn
Reborn was the god of Death.
He came into being beside the goddess of life, and from where they touched came the first light.
He knew that, because he woke first and remembered first. He opened his eyes and saw the great chasms and the darkness that roamed the planet that he knew was their home.
It was his duty, he knew, so he gathered the darkness into the chasm, took those who felt like his and plunged them into a realm that was meant for the dead. Because the upper-world was meant for life, his world was meant for death only.
He created caverns of resting for the dead, a place of joyous paradise for the glorious and a place of immeasurable agony for the wretched.
It was a lonely existence, and he could not create life like the goddess of life. His wraiths, his skeletons and the angry craven creatures that existed in the under-world were quiet companions.
So he often came into the upper-world to watch the living.
He watched the other gods come into existence, primal and nearly ungoverned save for the laws laid into their very bones.
He watched the first man lay with a nymph and start all of human kind, spreading them far and starting his first guests in his under-world.
Mostly, he watched the goddess of Life create life without trouble, unhindered, untroubled and happy.
She was the most captivating thing he had ever seen and he burned with envy. He wanted to have her laugh for him, to smile at him. But he knew that it would be folly to force the goddess of Life. She would go where she wished.
So he watched, and looked at where all flowers grew and plucked them. It took effort not to have it wither in his hands, but he held life and smiled.
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Hyacinth
She was bored.
Life was meant to be breathtaking, different and she did her best to create little wonders. From the icy caverns in the north where she knew man would not find in a couple of centuries, to the underwater caves that caused hot geysers to erupt in sequence. She made secret places and beautiful places, all for mankind to find. She made gloriously magical animals to the small, unnoticed creatures.
She met new gods who bowed to her and old gods who withered away from the lack of belief. She bore two more children, each of whom she gave guardianship to places where humans would not likely exist yet to make their own gods.
Her firstborn child named herself Maria and had hard eyes the color of the stone in her mountains.
"Mother," Maria said. "You can close your eyes and rest, if you are tired. It is not a hardship, there are various gods to care for your creation."
Her child was only worried, yet Hyacinth did not like the idea of closing her eyes to hibernate. What would happen to the world, if Life slept?
She wandered out of the Ancient Forest that was her home, disguising herself as a peasant human and burying her power deep into her very being.
Hyacinth became just Hyacinth, not a goddess of Life, but a woman with eyes like the evergreen forest.
It was the first time she had ever interacted with humans, being that she was one of the Primordial Gods, born more out of thought and the forces of the Universe than any human faith and belief.
"Did you come here for the festival of the goddess of the Ancient Forest, my dear?" an old woman asked her as she passed by the colorful stalls.
"The goddess of the Ancient Forest?" Hyacinth queried, because she was fairly certain she was the only goddess of the Ancient Forest.
"She that made all life," the old woman answered with a smile on her face. "We daren't name her, but we give thanks to her in the spring."
Hyacinth nodded and felt a little touched. She had never felt the need to show herself to the humans but they worshipped her anyway.
But since the old woman was sharing…"The god of Death. Do you know him?" Hyacinth asked.
The old woman – and here a distant knowledge told her that her name was Saralyn – frowned. "He comes in Autumn. Because there is no life in the under-world. So he visits the upper-world. And because of him, the leaves fall, and colder still, when he lingers."
Hyacinth thanked her with a small smile and went to sit on the temple steps.
She had known of the god of Death distantly. She knew of him and his deeds, of keeping the darkness at bay and the other creatures that did not belong with the living. Because those creatures needed to exist to keep a balance in the world.
She had never seen him though.
She had seen his footsteps, the blackened earth where he trod a glaring sign for its lack of life. She had seen the marigolds that sprung when he left, the flowers of the dead.
But she had never seen him. Why was that?
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Reborn
As the goddess of Life made more and more creatures to fill the earth, made more marvels that he could distantly feel, he felt it echo in his domain.
He saw the dark caverns holding a bit of light from the crystals that glowed in the dark like distant stars. Reborn held his breath as the dark creatures procreated and evolved, becoming more, reflecting the different creatures she created in the upper-world.
Reborn influenced these changes, welcoming them and molding them as to how it would go. His under-world was getting plenty of traffic and he wondered why. The humans were getting plentier and plentier, with the occasional demi-god thrown into the mix. (Nymphs were different. They became plants at their death.)
He had an assistant, a man who died with a soul so kind and righteous that even in the dark, he glowed like the sun. Reborn had chosen Tsunayoshi among a thousand souls because he reacted so hilariously every time he saw a hellhound or a wraith. A lifetime of prejudice against dark creatures did not react well when those dark creatures just wanted a cuddle.
He smiled as he saw short dark flowers that glowed in the darkness, golden muted light that lightened the grim atmosphere. It was the first time he had seen them though, and he asked them, like he asked every change in his domain, of what it echoed from in the upper-world.
"Why are you here?" he asked the flowers, touching their soft petals. He did not even need to hold back his powers; they were made from his domain and were grown from the darkness. It did not thrive in sunlight, but in the absence of it.
The flowers answered him. The goddess of Life was thinking about him.
Reborn inhaled sharply.
"Why?" he blurted out, before chastising himself. It did not matter. He had already resigned himself to watching from a distance, someone as beautiful and vibrant as the goddess of Life did not need the god of Death.
Tsunayoshi smiled behind him. "Maybe because she has never met you?" he pointed out. "She has seen your effects on the living; she would not be a goddess if she cannot notice that. But she has never seen you, because you hide from her. Like one of your wraiths. Why do you hide from her? If I remember, you were born together, though you woke first."
Reborn pursed his lips, remembering the light born from where their skin touched.
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Hyacinth
There were paths to the under-world, if you knew where to look.
Places where light doesn't touch and life doesn't grow. Small, unnoticeable places for the hellhounds to wander and play.
There, Hyacinth waited for the god of Death while dressed like a mortal woman. She sat on the stone by the entrance. Being that it was nearing the end of summer, she knows it was almost time for the god's yearly circuit of the planet.
When he emerged though, he immediately knew who she was.
"Goddess of Life," he greeted.
She stood up and shed her mortal garb, smiling at him. "God of Death. Call me Hyacinth."
He did not step back but he clearly wanted to. Hyacinth impishly smiled, holding out her hand. "Come with me, I want to show you something."
The god of Death hesitated, but obliged, their hands glowing as it touched. Hyacinth was momentarily stalled by the sight, remembering something from a distant dream, but she shook it off.
"Let's go!" she said, pulling him along to the northern ice caps, where no human had yet settled and there was no one to see them.
Hyacinth took him to her favorite creation, the hidden caverns under the ice, where light reflected and turned into a thousand different colors.
"It's beautiful," he breathed.
"Isn't it?" she agreed. "I love this place the most, where no man has touched and no creature will ever live."
He looked at her then, surprised. "You created humans. You created all creatures."
Hyacinth looked down at her feet, bare and uncovered but not touching the floor. She did not want any flowers to bloom here where they would just die in her absence.
"I create," she sighed. "I create. And they do not stay."
The ancient laws pressed deep into their bones. Nothing one created would ever be owned by their creator, so long as they have sentience.
What then, for someone who was born to create?
This is why Hyacinth loved the flowers, mainly because they would never leave her.
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Reborn
His hand touched hers and for the first time, Reborn felt the stirrings of hope. Because her face echoed the loneliness in him.
Maybe Tsunayoshi had a point. Perhaps there was a reason they were born side by side.
"Did you know," he said, just to break the heartbreaking silence. "That the light that shows when we touch is the light that created all gods."
Her eyes light up with her smile. "Created all gods?" she asked.
Reborn nodded. "When we touch, there is a new being born, something borne out of the light, but not borne from you. That being…will not be your creation."
She was elated. She touched his sleeve, careful now that she understood what the light was. "Let us come into my forest. We must speak on this further."
Reborn felt that she hadn't exactly thought that through.
"Wait, Hyacinth," he called and maybe he hadn't thought that through either. The sound of her name around his lips made both of them shiver. Distantly, he realized he'd never told her his name either, the one he chose for himself.
"Yes?" she asked hesitantly.
"Are you sure you want the god of Death in the center of Creation of Life?" he asked, pointing out the obvious.
She smiled at him then, one that softened her face and made her look less like a goddess. "I trust you. You can control yourself. And my children are not there, so no one should mind."
Trust should not be so intoxicating. He knew that if anyone were ever to enter into his domain, he would not be quite as nonchalant.
"Of course," he managed.
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Hyacinth
She does not know how long they spend in her domain, but when her daughter came stomping through irritably, embodying the very mountain passes that had been in her essence, Hyacinth knew she'd forgotten something.
"Mother, I was approached by the Steward of Death asking about where his master was – "she cut off, catching sight of Reborn (he had given his name after some hesitation, making sure they were completely alone before telling her.) "I guess I know where the god of Death is."
"Maria, how are your mountains?" Hyacinth asked just to diffuse the tension.
Maria still stared at the god of Death in all his glory by her side, both of them sharing a basket of fruits.
"My mountains are fine, mother. Why is he here?" she asked.
Hyacinth sat up. "Because I asked him to."
Maria stared some more, and then left without a word.
"I suppose that was my clue to leave," Reborn murmured. "And I must attend to the under-world. It must be pretty chaotic without me."
Hyacinth knew that was true, but still she didn't want him to leave. He was her equal.
"How long have you spent in my Forest?" she asked slowly, getting an idea.
"Six months, give or take," he answered. He brushed the grass from his knees, none of them dying because he was always so careful around her home.
She blinked at him. "We are the balance, and that is why we cannot stay in the upper-world together too long. But it stands to reason that we cannot stay in the under-world together too long as well."
Reborn went so still. His fingers twitched and his eyes watched her face.
"Alright," he said eventually, slowly. "I'll send you a message after I've managed my affairs."
Hyacinth tried not to worry.
Hermione pointed out what she was missing. "You do realize that the rest of the gods think you have imprisoned Death in here?"
Hyacinth rose up in a flurry and hurriedly sent a message to Reborn.
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Reborn
He grabbed her when she walked the fields unattended by her nymphs, a black chariot speeding by, pulled by hellhounds with fiery eyes.
It was properly dramatic, exploding from the very earth and creating a chasm that would likely have consequences later. Hyacinth even managed a scream.
"This is not a message!" she whispered to him, on the verge of giggling.
He smirked. "Well, I wanted to, but I changed my mind. Surprising you is the proper way to go about things. You certainly imprisoned me in your forest and let my creatures worry."
Hyacinth started to laugh, ignoring the image she was supposed to portray.
"My daughters will hurt you," she said. "And my only son will probably cause earthquakes."
He laughed, a properly evil cackle that she was sure he had practice on, simply because it unnerved her. "My domain is untouched by any other god. Let them try!"
"Properly evil," she murmured with a smile.
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The seasons were already vaguely in effect because of Reborn's journey's to the upper-world. But the seasons cemented with the ritual Life and Death created. Every six months, Death would climb up from the under-world. And every six months, Life would descend into the under-world.
Lost steam for this though.
Please Review!
~Hallen
