The Great Arising
Chapter 14
She had been a beautiful woman, once. Indeed, among the Rapa Nui people, Te'ree had been considered a great beauty. Now she was barely recognizable, a vaguely humanoid mass of flesh and tentacles. A carbon-copy of The Bloated Woman. Torren-Wraeth could not remember what she had looked like before, before his father had changed her. She was now one of Great Cthulhu's many concubines, her humanity long lost beneath the influence of the Outer Gods .
Te'ree and Torren-Wraeth sat silently amongst the Moai that had stared out over the ocean for centuries, and now stared impassively at the walls of R'Lyeh. Few people lived on Rapa Nui now, most had been evacuated, now the island was home only to mad and twisted cultists, exulting in the glory of their god. Perhaps that was why he had not been to his birthplace in so long...
"It's been too long, child..."
Torren-Wraeth had no suitable answer for his mother, he had indeed not seen her in years...
"I know... I've been... Distracted."
"You are still in mourning?"
Torren-Wraeth shook his head, "I will always remember him, but I've realized that the time for mourning has passed. I need to start to live again."
A slender tentacle wrapped around the young man's shoulders, "That's good. Those like us, we must learn to cope with mortality. We are immortals with mortal blood... We feel in ways your father and his kin cannot. I too, have lost much..." She paused, closed her eyes for a moment, "You and I are all that is left of our people, the only ones who still know our language, our customs..."
To be brutally honest, Torren-Wraeth knew little of the Rapa Nui, only secondhand information from his mother and books he had read. He was far more familiar with Japan and it's people, and Japan was gone.
"Japan had a beautiful culture, in some ways," Te'ree said, softly, she was obviously aware of her son's thoughts, "But it also had a dark side, things so terrible that they drove your friend to his death..."
Torren-Wraeth sighed heavily, "All cultures are thus. There are no 'perfect' societies. Had father not come to earth, mankind would probably have destroyed itself. They need no help in learning to kill each other." He stood up and motioned his arms to indicate the island, "This island was once a paradise. Men killed it centuries before R'Lyeh lifted it from the sea. And once they'd killed the island, they slaughtered each other, until other men, stronger men, came and wiped them out."
Te'ree was silent for a moment, a tentacle clutched Torren-Wraeth's arm firmly. "As I said, we have both lost much."
"I'm sorry, mother," Torren-Wraeth's yellow eyes shimmered slightly, "I didn't mean to hurt you..."
"You spoke the truth..." She gave the equivalent of a smile, "I came to terms with our people's fate long ago. My heart still aches, true, but, as you said, we cannot mourn forever, we have to learn to live again..."
Torren-Wraeth leaned against the nearest Moai, green skin clashing with gray stone. He crossed his arms and took a deep breath, "Mother, why? Why did you... Father, he is...?"
"He is a god." Te'ree said wearily, she had knew this day would come, eventually, "Can you imagine the honor, a mortal mating with a god? And, he gave me you..."
"Did he...Force you...?" There was chill in the boy's voice, the tendrils on his cheeks quivered.
"Gods no! He did not force me into anything." She shook her head, "It's sad, that that is the only way you know of ... Relations. What happened to your friend... That was not the way most intelligent beings behave towards one another." She looked at him, sadness in her eyes, "It is a tragedy that your first knowledge of these things should come from such pain."
Torren-Wraeth lowered himself onto the grass, and there was silence for some moments.
"Do you love him, mother?"
"Yes."
"Does he love you?"
And then there was only the sound of the wind...
To be continued...
Notes:
Te'ree
Race: Human, Rapa Nui, Altered
Birthplace- Rapa Nui
Class- Divine Consort
Alignment- Neutral
Eyes- Black
Hair- Black
Height- Originally 5'2", now Variable
Weight- ?
The mother of Torren-Wraeth, she was originally a priestess of Cthulhu, but mated with one of his avatars and became one of his concubines. She was altered and became immortal, but lost her humanity.
Earlier I stated that Torren-Wraeth visited Rapa Nui often, but 'often' is a relative term for an immortal. Te'ree and Torren-Wraeth are likely not the last to bear Rapa Nui blood, but by this time the culture itself has vanished.