Cueraça's Relevation

Afoti was standing in front of a huge golden mirror in her flashy residence in the most rotten part of the underworld Neragua. She was untying her horrifying mask. Her lips formed a weak smile as the reflection of her outstandingly beautiful face emerged to stare back at her.

The beauty in the mirror showed a striking ressemblance with that new girl, Ameena, whom she'd seen maskless the second night she'd spied on her. Her young descandant had gone for a walk in her moonlit garden to look at the first nocturnal piñatas she'd attracted; a couple of Mothdrops and an elderly Pretztail.

Afoti chuckled when the tought of what she'd done with 'Poprock' came to her mind. The night after Ameena's nightly stroll, the Goddess had sneaked upto the unsuspecting Pretztail to break its brittle neck with her bare hands.

Its life candy had tasted sticky and tough, but the devastated look on Ameena's mask when she discovered one of her favorite piñata's remains had been a delicious treat. The girl still believed nowadays that a Sour or Ruffian had laid its claws on her little pet - ha! If she only knew how much more powerful the slaughterer of Poprock was... If she only knew how much that deity wanted to let her undergo the same fate...

Afoti smacked her full lips as a sign of displeasure. She couldn't kill Ameena, yet. She had to overtalk things with Cueraça first. Even though Cueraça was no member of the Abeçu family, he seemed to know more about Ameena's role in the Island's Universe than she did. Afoti had always wondered why Cueraça just seemed to know every single detail of importance, he wasn't even the first God created...

That had been Mze, the Sun God. According to the Neraguan laws, he was the most powerful God of the underworld, but ironically enough, Mze was just an idiot who sat in his golden palace in his golden city all day and never put his talents to practice.

Afoti heaved a disapproving sigh, she just didn't get that man.

With some reluctance, the woman took off her blood-stained robe. She would change it for a complicated, but utterly stunning dress Cueraça loved to see her in. He insisted on his fellow Gods to only enter his sanctuary in style. He was allergic to sloppiness, he acclaimed, plain garbs and masks made him feel sick.

The Goddess had to admit the dress was gorgeous herself, too. If it weren't as uncomfortable, she would wear it daily.

It was a short, gladiator-like two-piece, made out of nothing but the best gazelle leather, imported from the backwoods of an African mainland country she'd forgotten the name of. The top didn't have straps or sleeves, but was kept in place by long strings of cotton thread crossing on the exposed back, on which the teeth of ferocious predetors were laced as if they were beads.

The outfit had a matching mask. It looked simpler and less lugubrious than Afoti's putrefied Sarsgorilla mask at first glance, but if you had a closer look, you would notice that the black, coriaceous-y material the death mask was made of was actually dried skin.

Dried human skin, to be precise. Poached from the faces of innocent, terrified desert dwellers, caught and abducted by Cueraça's men while their spouses and progenies perished in the fires the demons had kindled to cause chaos.

Afoti sniggered while putting her heavy, terracotta earrings on. Cueraça treated the Islanders like garbage from time to time and he had some real issues with his ego, but he did care about his the wellbeing of his fellow Gods, that was clear.

When completely embellished, Afoti walked away from the enormous mirror to put on her favorite sandals. Unlike most Gods and Islanders, she preferred wearing shoes to walking around barefooted. The idea of being one with the earth's soul didn't appeal to her at all, she had always found that strange concept.

Without further hestitation, Afoti gathered all magic energy in the room together to create a window to the other side of the Neragua, where Cueraça lived. Walking all the way would take her ages - the underworld of Piñata Island was more extensive than the Atlantic Ocean.

VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP

''Afoti my best!''

The Dark Goddess had arrived in Cueraça's throne room. She bowed before her 'brother' to kiss his bony fingers.

''It is great to see you, as always,'' she mumbled dutifully. She hated these formal greetings, but they were part of an immemorial protocol.

''It is great to see you too. That dress looks beautiful on thou, did you know that, Goddess of Fire?'' Cueraça made a baby-Barkbark face, which looked ridiculous on his terrifying mask.

He liked messing with Afoti. A lot. The way she didn't react to his faux flirting attempts was just precious!

''That sure is flattering, but do not forget that I am the Goddess of Natural Disasters, Raça,'' she said firmly. There you go again, Cueraça thought amusedly. ''I need to talk to you.''

''Of course, of course!'' the God of Death cried out in his scary, high-pitched voice. ''What is it you want to speak me about, comrade? I am dying of curiosity.'' He giggled shortly at this bad pun. ''As you can see, I've sent my personnel away so that we can talk in silence.''

Afoti looked around the room. No demons were standing against the scarlet walls, nor were there any strolling about over the sandy floor.

''Have a seat,'' Cueraça jovially knocked on the - slightly smaller - throne next his. ''You cannot stand around like a servant when overtalking important matters.''

Obediently, Afoti perched at the seat next to Cueraça's. It was made out of platinum and had the ancient inscriptions for 'Neraguan Supremacy' carved on the sides.

''I am all ears, but then again, I am all that is anyway.'' Sinister laughter echoed through the empty space.

''Come on...'' Afoti frowned annoyed. That one-and-a-half-millenium old corpse was such a child from time to time!

''Please, Afoti, do not lose your forbearance with me today... We have important matters to discuss - I know you want to talk about Ameena with me, because I wanted to talk about her with you too.
She is an interesting little being, not?''

''Aye,'' the Goddess next to him sighed. ''Just tell me. Do you know who she is? What she is?''

''Maybe. But tell me what you know first,'' the God of Death teased his interlocutor.

''Alright,'' Afoti groaned, and to make an end to Cueraça's annoying games she said: ''She's a descendant of the Abeçu family who is very powerful for some reason and looks exactly like Jeimiña -''

''Who looks exactly like her ancestor Abdela, who looks exactly like her twin sister -'' Cueraça sing-songed triumphantly.

''Afoti, me, yes,'' the Goddess in question cut him off. ''If her skin tone would have been a little lighter, if her body would have been a little more slender and if her face would have been a little less wide - yes. She would have looked exactly like me.''

''Do not forget the eyes. The eyes are the windows to one's soul, not? Your eyes show coldness and determination, while I would describe hers as emitting kindness and ambition.''

''However. Her bloodline does not explain why she is so different. I have dozens of descendants milling about in the Human World! What is new about this Ameena, except for the fact she was raised on the mainland?''

Afoti was losing more and more of her remaining patience. Cueraça knew more about this girl than he gave away! He liked to keep his fellow Gods guessing when he was aware of something they weren't; he enjoyed the sense of power it gave him more than anything else.

''I do not know that,'' Cueraça said after what had seemed several minutes to Afoti, but had only been twelve seconds. ''That is something I can only ponder about. She could have inherited some of your and Abela's talents, just like that stupid Jeimiña back in the day. I suppose you understand what that means to us, the True Gods?''

''Not exactly,'' Afoti confessed. ''And I would like to know how you know... You seem to know everything about anything that happens around us, Mister Reaper. How do you face that out? Your little demon soldier again?''

''You are wondering if I use Ksi to gather information? Not at all, I am very fond of that Lizardi and he definately has some outstanding talents, but he is not exactly the brightest being in the Neragua! Besides, I do not need messagers! I study the patterns of the universe as if they were constellations in the sky, Afoti,'' Cueraça answered complaisantly. ''If you possessed more patience, you would be capable of doing the same. It takes time, dedication and practice!''

''I'd rather use you as a medium. What does this mortal mean to us?''

''Oh, but she is no ordinairy mortal, my best, she is far from that. I think that we could even put her in the half-God league. Do you remember that night not too long ago, when we unanimously decided that the Religious Rollback would take place, hm, that night we all sat around the dinner table together? Believe me when I say that Ameena will be the crucial factor to determine our victory or loss!''

''How then?'' Afoti cocked a brow - which had a perfect shape, even though it had never ever been plucked.

''I told you about how we are not the biggest forces in the Universe, not? How we are actually dependant on what is given to us, the so called cosmos?''

''I think you have. And that was a boring story,'' Afoti snorted.

''Boring, maybe,'' Cueraça gnashed, slightly irritated by Afoti's attitude ''but vital to what I am trying to explain you. This might seem paradoxical to you, Miss 'Boring', but as much as we rely on the cosmos, we influence it ourselves - the magically talented inhabitants of both Piñata Island and the Neragua.''

''Wait, hold up. I do not think I get that one.''

''Then let me finish,'' the Death grumbled. ''I was just having a breather!
The two worlds in the Bermuda Triangle are currently inhabited with both 'good' and 'bad' beings, if you would put it in those superficial words to avoid unnecessary complexity.
These 'good' and 'bad' beings all possess a certain amount of energy, which I will spare you the explanation of its essence of. The cosmos itself is a neutral force. It chooses to provide power to whatever which is in majority; 'dark' or 'light' energy.''

Cueraça coughed. His troat was always unbelievably dry - that one of the disadvantages of being a mummified corpse.

''After the Religious Revolution,'' he continued raucously ''the amount of 'dark' and 'light' energy on the Island was practically stable. There was a slight ascendancy of 'light' energy, but not enough to keep us down here for good. The era of the New Regime came, but that was just an era, as I recognized right from the start.
I knew it would not be long until the Scales of the Cosmos would be out of balance again.''

''It took several centuries,'' Afoti sniffed.

''What are centuries to eternity, may I ask you? Right. Trifling. As trifling as Suelos, Platia, Dastardos and all of their other little friends. But let us not discuss the value of time now, since we do not have that much of it for once.
A few months ago, only weeks before Ameena's arrival, a few powerful shamans died. They were offspring of the Priests that had worked together with the 'New...' - argh, I cannot bring myself to call them by there so-called self-acquired title, therefore I will not.
However, I am rambling. I know your attention span was not made for long lectures like these, Afoti, but hold on.
The death of these shamans influenced the cosmos in such a way that it completely neutralized. In a neutral situation like this, neither 'good' or 'bad' can take action for self-interest. The enemy is powerless at the time, but so are we...''

Cueraça smiled melancholically. ''That can change, though. There is one factor that can change that.''

''Let me guess. Our good friend Ameena?''

''Our good friend Ameena,'' Cueraça confirmed ''who might turn out to be our worst enemy if she makes the wrong decision... The cosmos will only release our chains if she decides to join us, the True Gods.''

''She will join her little buddies rather than a creepy skeleton and his army of freaks,'' Afoti flatly said, ''no doubt about that.''

''Now she fits in just fine with her silly piñata friends, the os-family and Bart and Gretchen - those stupid minions of Jeimiña - but she was not born and raised on the Island. Even though she thinks she has, she has not made a definitive choice yet. All she has seen is propaganda, the people she had met are living advertisements of what is supposed to await her at the 'good' side.
I am not saying that the publicity they carry out is false - I am just trying to stress that her heart still has not settled. We do not know if her heart is as dark as ours, there is a fair chance it is! We can still win her soul to use her power for our own interest.
She is powerful, Afoti. With her on our side, we will be unconquerable!''

The Goddess rolled her eyes skeptically. ''And if she chooses the side of those idiots, they will be unconquerable. You have taken that into consideration, right?''

''Of course I have.'' A malicious grin spreaded across Cueraça's mask. ''I do have a back-up plan, Afoti, I always do.
If it turns out we cannot convince Ameena to make the right decision, we will just assassinate her. With Ameena dead, the situation on the Island will turn back the way it was before her arrival. We will not have the opportunity to recapture our reign, but we will live with that.''

''Anything is better than Jeimiña and Dastardos all over again,'' Afoti agreed.

''My thoughts exactly. Hopefully killing her will not be necessary though - we have been having very little entertainment since our banishment.''

VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP

''I believe it is time now,'' Cueraça groaned as he laboriously rose up from his throne.

Two hours had passed since Afoti had left his recedency to go back to hers. Now it was time for the God of Death to leave the throne room too. He would open a portal to the Human World to finally seal the fate of his people, his minions, his reign and Piñata Island.