[Authoress's Notes: Vilariat! I conquered this chapter, which has been plaguing me for weeks! And it's not half bad, if I do say so myself.
[A few random things… I earlier stated that Nature has a Scottish accent. (Fremothan, really, but it comes across as Scottish). I also stated that I'm bad at it. I think I keep getting worse. But I do my best. Also regarding the way the Goddesses speak… in the actual document (and I credit this to Christine Persephone, from whom I stole the technique), Life talks in silver and italicized lettering, Death in black and bold, Chaos in crimson red, both italicized and emboldened, and Nature in simple green. However, colors do not show up on ffn. Italics and bold do, but for some reason they never seem to upload consistently. So I've just left them out, rather than having them there half the time and not there inexplicably the other half of the time.
[Read on, intrepid explorer!]
Chapter Three
"'Tis safer to be that which we destroy
than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy."
-- Lady M, III.ii, Macbeth
Life paced back and forth on her marble floor, fretting terribly. "What can I do, what can I do, what can I do?" she whispered to herself. Chaos was always making threats against the Light powers, Auraeria in particular. No one knew why she harbored a particular animosity for the bipedal felines. No one had ever tried to figure it out. It was simply one of those Ultimate Truths of the universe; Chaos disliked Auraerians.
Life had been keeping a closer eye over her mortal plane ever since Chaos had started making threats. For all the good it will do me, she thought. When Chaos set her mind to something, there was usually little any of the other Goddesses could do but wait it out and deal with the aftermath. Life did not particularly like this set-up. Particularly when she feared that her precious Auraerians might be in danger.
Life was still pacing when one of her angels burst into the room. "Forgive me, My Lady, but – oh! I had to tell you as soon as possible!"
Life bit her lower lip. "What is it?"
"Auraeria, Daea! The Raeglythans have launched an attack on the border!"
Life's hands were shaking, but other than that her appearance was forcibly composed. "What is the outcome?"
"Devastation. I… I'm sorry, My Lady, I do not know how it happened… the Raeglythans have never attacked with such a quick fury before… the villages had fallen before anyone knew what had happened…" The poor angel looked to be on the verge of tears, her golden curls of hair in wild disarray. "I'm sorry, My Lady…" she stammered. "So sorry…"
"It isn't your fault," Life said. "I blame only my Sister… but I should like to see what's happened for myself…"
~~*~~
It had been some hours since the battle ended, but the stench of blood still hung in the air. The odor was enhanced by the fact that the Raeglythans had gone hunting in the evening hours, and were even now roasting the creatures they'd caught in the Auraerian forests over crackling fires. The stink of decay mixed with the fumes given off by the burning animal flesh, spreading the smell of death and destruction far and wide. Fires blazed everywhere, from the smoldering remnants of cottages to the cooking pits to the celebratory bonfires which the Raeglythan troops were lighting all over the terrain. War whoops and howls pierced the air, sending chills of terror into the hearts of those few Auraerians who had escaped and were even now huddled in fright in whatever hiding places they could create for themselves.
Meanwhile, Chaos was cackling. Incessantly. As well as hopping about the campfire clapping her hands. Some days she preferred to direct the battles from afar, but this time she preferred to be down on the field of glory with her troops. Chaos was a warrioress at heart, and one of her greatest thrills in existence was the sharing the joy of triumph with the army, even if most of them were utter idiots. She also thrilled to see the remains of the Auraerian town burning to cinders in the background. She hopped up and down again.
"You're exceeding… bouncy… today, My Lady," Cassandra remarked as she picked the meat off of the ribs she'd just removed from the spit.
"I'm just so pleased!" the Fire Goddess exclaimed. "So very, very pleased!" Cassandra blinked. "With you, of course!"
"Ah."
"You've turned out even better than I'd hoped. I shall have to remember the recipe… or see if I can… hmm. Imagine! An army like you!"
Cassandra pouted. "Am I not to be unique, then?"
"Oh, I'm sure you will be… I doubt I could remember what I used in you, anyway… but if I could! Kaza kres! I'd have all of the mortal planes under my control in no time at all!"
Cassandra resumed eating. Chaos sat on a rock, grinning wildly. "We'll set out northward in the morning. I'd love to get all of the coastal regions under control. We can work on moving inland later."
"As you wish it, Lady."
"Superb! Honestly! Do you realize how great you performed?" Cassandra just smiled to herself. "I've never seen anything like it!"
Karya, one of the Raeglythan commanders sitting near them, muttered his assent. "Gotta hand it to th' girl… she dispatched th' Auraerian forces pretty neatly." He paused to pick a bit of meat out of his teeth with a sliver of bone.
His sister, Kava, a lither and mane-less version of himself, grinned, baring teeth which glistened, made shiny by the fat of the creature she had just devoured. "Neatly? Weren't nothin' neat about it."
"Oh, I dunno… did it quickly. Relatively quietly."
"Only 'cause they didn't have time to scream." Kava laughed maliciously. Cassandra just kept eating, not letting their praise go to her head. "Honestly! Ya didn't even flinch!"
"And why should I have? I had my orders from My Lady."
"Yeah, but…" The tawny Raeglythan snickered. "Well, Karya hesitated with those little kits. You didn't even blink!"
"Of course she didn't!" Chaos snapped, tiring quickly of hearing Kava's voice. "She's been well-trained. You'd do well to follow her example." A vicious gleam entered her eyes. "Indeed… if you were all as well-behaved as Cassandra, we'd never have any troubles! Instead, I'm forced to put up with the idiocy of my commanding officers!"
Karya and Kava were both cringing by now. "We're… we're sorry, M'Lady…" Karya whimpered.
"It's only that… well… she's Goddess-born," Kava said, thinking fast. "We can't… can't be expected to live up to her. She's perfect."
Chaos saw right through the flattery, but let it calm her anyway. "You're smarter than your brother," she commented, snatching a hunk of meat from the spit with her bare hand. "You'll go farther than he will." Kava gave Karya a triumphant look and let the discussion stand at that.
~~*~~
By the time Nature reached her, Life had already gone through various stages of distress. Her initial reaction had been one of denial and shock. She had stood quite still for several moments, before succumbing to the hysterics that claimed her for the better part of the time that passed until Nature arrived. When the Mistress of the Earth came upon the Lady of Light, the latter was weeping softly.
"I'm sorry, m'dear," Nature said softly, taking one of Life's hands in her own.
"The whole village…" Life sobbed. "Even the little kits! Just knee-high!"
"Th' Raeglythans 're ruthless. We know tha'."
"Yes, but…" Life sniffled. "It wasn't just them… the girl… Her Daughter…"
Nature's hands dropped to her sides in shock. "Cassandra?"
Life nodded. "And her Creator as well. They were both there…"
Life was still sniffling. Nature, however, had crossed her arms and looked as though She had quite made up her mind about something. When Life wiped her eyes and managed to look up at Her Sister, She recognized the look. "What is it?"
"Somethin' has t' be done about tha'… tha' thing she's created." For some reason, it felt odd to Nature to refer to something as beautifully terrible as the Daughter of Flame with the same touch of disgust she used to refer to gnolls and bugbears, but the creation was so horrifying she could speak of it in no other way.
"But we knew that. What can we do? She is Chaos's own Daughter. Surely She will be protective. What can we do?" Life's illustrious voice carried a heartbreaking sorrow to it now; She was frightened for her realm and her people, whom She loved.
"O' course She is protective… now. But how long b'fore another tangent captures 'er mind? She's bound t' leave th' girl unprotected at some point."
"And then what? I imagine my angels would have quite a time trying to keep that one captive – oh, they could do it, I'm sure, but…" Life's voice trailed off as she noticed the small smile gracing Nature's features.
"I'm in charge o' recyclin' souls, aren't I?"
Life took a moment to comprehend that, then her eyes widened considerably. "You can't mean… to… to put her in…"
Nature nodded slowly. "I think I c'n do it. I've never tried t' take a semi-mortal soul an' put it in mortal form… I dinnae really know how it'll turn out… but I think it'll work."
"To get her out of Chaos's grasp for the time being, at least."
"Th' trouble is… wi' this war on, Chaos isn't likely t' forget her for a while, at least. She's concentratin'… an' she's dangerous when She concentrates."
"Oh, I know. But perhaps…" She looked up, her ivory cheek still marked with tear stains though her cries had since abated. "Perhaps we can distract our dear Sister."
~~*~~
"My Lady!"
Chaos looked up from her cot. She hadn't been sleeping, of course – the Mistress of Mayhem hardly ever slept – but She had been pretending to. She had just been about to enjoy it when her solitude was interrupted by the tall Raeglythan. "What the hell d'you want?" she snapped. "If you wake Cassandra, there'll be bloody hell to pay." Cassandra, semi-mortal and somewhat needing of rest, had been in repose on the cot on the other side of the tent for several hours now. Chaos could hardly be called a loving mother, but She felt a certain degree of protectiveness and even affection for this, Her Daughter. And, like any even remotely good mother, She did not want Her Daughter's sleep disturbed.
"I'm sorry, M'Lady…" the intruder stammered. Chaos rolled her eyes. It was Karya again. "But… well… we've got a very odd report from the east… it seems… err…"
"Out with it!" Chaos hissed.
"It seems the Auraerians have launched a counter-attack."
Chaos blinked red eyes a few times. "You're joking."
"Uhm…."
"Auraerians? Counter-attack? I don't think they know what the word means!"
"Perhaps they bought a dictionary," a voice from behind Karya tittered.
"Kava, I'm going to skin you alive and use your fur to make a parka."
"M'Lady…" Karya was frantically trying to keep his own fur firmly in place, to say nothing of his head. "I think… er, that is, all of the commanders think… that you ought to go see what it's about. If they're fighting back, we're going to need to devise a new strategy."
Chaos groaned and leapt off of the cot. "This'd better be as important as you're making it seem… otherwise I'll use your fur to make a hat, mittens, and boot linings." She glanced over her shoulder at Cassandra, decided she was best where she was, and strode out the tent and past the Raeglythan siblings.
"At least I'll be made into something big," Kava was saying. Chaos sighed. The biggest problem with never following through on some threats was that entities like Kava eventually figured out when She was joking and when She was serious. But as big an idiot as Karya was, Chaos actually liked Kava for her spirit.
Hiding in the shadows were two beings not at all used to skulking around in the dark. "Is she really gone?" one whispered.
"I b'lieve so…"
"Let's go, then… we haven't much time…"
~~*~~
The next morning, Chaos quite literally thundered into Nature's living room, where She and Life were seated, placidly sipping herbal tea. "What have you done with her?!"
Nature blinked calmly in Chaos's direction. Life kept her attention focused on her tea cup. "Whatever are ye talkin' about, dear Sister?"
"You know what! Cassandra! My Daughter! What have you done with her?" The Fire Goddess's hair was flaming wildly, and Nature glanced at it, hoping her curtains wouldn't go up in a blaze. "Whatever you've done with her, I want her back! NOW!" Life cringed. Chaos's temper was legendary, and She had been on the receiving end of one of the tempestuous rants before and was not particularly looking forward to repeating the event.
Whereas Life was staying composed only by averting her eyes from Chaos entirely, Nature set down her tea cup, stood, and walked right over to the enraged Goddess. "Sister, we haven' th' slightest clue what y're talkin' about. If you've misplaced yer Cassandra, that is nae our problem."
"I didn't misplace her, you simple-minded twit! She's my Daughter! The two of you 've done something with her, and I want her back this instant! And I mean it!" She stamped her booted foot, setting the china in the nearby cabinet to rattling.
Nature blinked. "Why, Chaos, I dinnae know ye had a bit o' maternal instinct in ye. I must admit, I'm stunned."
"NOW!"
Life flinched at the roaring. Chaos noticed and realized she'd been neglecting the White Goddess during the tirade. "I'll bet this was your doing, wasn't it? You and your stupid morals and sense of justice! You just don't have the stomach for war!"
"C'n ye blame her?"
"I wasn't talking to you! I want to
know why the little brat decided She needed to intervene in my business!"
Nature was about to chastise Chaos for calling Life a brat, but Life spoke up for Herself first. "When she starts attacking my people, it becomes my business," Life said gently.
"What have you done with her? I want her back!!"
"I'm afraid that isn't possible." Life sipped her tea.
"WHAT?!"
"She said it is nae possible," Nature supplied. "We've done what we needed t' in order t' keep our peoples safe."
"Where is she?" Chaos demanded in a ferocious roar.
"We cannae tell ye."
"If you've gone and tried to instill her with your bloody sweetness and light –"
"Actually, dear Sister, that's exactly what we've done," Life said, still staring down at her tea. "We have made her good. Or, at least, we've tried. Only time will tell if we've succeeded."
Chaos screeched indignantly. Life looked at her out of the corner of her eye and realized that each hand was clenched in a fist which was surrounded by a steadily growing ball of fire.
"Now ye'd do best just t' go back home an' focus on yer own realm. Leave ours alone."
"No! Not until you've given me Cassandra back!"
"We just can't do that."
"You are going to regret this!!" Chaos howled. "Mark me well, Light Sisters! You will pay for this, and dearly!" She then screamed in rage, and this time both Her Sisters did cover their ears. The sound was splitting, piercing, horrible, like a hundred thousand nails being slowly raked down a particularly squeaky chalkboard. She then released the fireballs, one at each Goddess. They were easily deflected, but Chaos hadn't stuck around to see the results. She had stormed off with a crack of thunder and a flash of lightening, leaving the smell of smoke and pumice ash in the air.
"Well… tha' could've gone worse."
[A/N: ::grin:: So… what exactly did Life and Nature do with Cassandra? And how did they do it? (If you figure it out, let me know. That's one of those great mysteries I just don't even try to understand). Tune in next time… for the first mortal life of the Daughter of Flame!
[And review!!!]
