First chapter of the Deity Arc! Again, Nebriniel/Glowy and Blade belong to me. Star belongs to Lilespeon, and Silver to Silverpidgeot. They helped me develop this long ago. If you're reading this, thanks guys!

I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible. I also have illustrations of some of the characters (Glowy, Wraith, Blade, and Silver, as well as some others that will come in later.) If you want to see them, feel free to email me. Read, enjoy, review!

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Nebriniel woke up to a piercing headache and horrible, sore stiffness. Her bronze eyes opened slowly, world gradually falling into focus, and the first thing she saw was a Mew, a gold star on its head, its face so close to hers she could see each individual pink hair and the many different shades of its bright, expressive blue eyes. She gasped in surprise and instinctively flinched back, but stopped cold when she noticed the strain on her wings and legs and the pain on her back plates when they bumped into polished glass.

"Wha…?" was all she could manage to say, utterly confused.

The Mew smiled and flew back a little, the silk cape fastened around its neck with a gold collar billowing like the rolling seas Nebriniel was so familiar with. "Oh, good, you're awake," it said, its voice cheerful and childish, "I was wondering when you'd wake up, boy did you sleep!" The little creature giggled and sat down next to her. "Silver will be here any moment."

Nebriniel was still quite puzzled, but she felt at ease thanks to the presence of the carefree Mew. It sat there staring into space for a while, then added, "Oh, by the way, my name's Star. Nice to meetcha!"

Nebriniel blinked and began to respond, "Um…thanks…my name's--" But before she could speak out her name, the Mew rushed over and covered her mouth so all that come out was a muffled fragment.

"Sssh! Don't say your real name out in public like this!"

Nebriniel quickly pulled her jaw out of the Mew's paws, asking the obvious question—"Why?"

"Because great misfortune will befall you if it falls into the wrong hands," spoke a voice from further away, a voice far more masculine and strong. A light blue Articuno stepped out of the large, angular doorway, carrying a something wrapped in a banana leaf in his beak by a thin, woven string. Sapphires tipped each primary feather of his wings, around his neck was a silver choker with a Sapphire gem, his sparkling blue tail twisted and writhed behind him. Nebriniel had no trouble realizing this must be Silver. Behind him was a Skarmory, a walking arsenal of blades and knives, with a cold look in its yellow eyes. "I shall explain to you later," he said, and then changed the subject. "Can you stand?"

Nebriniel looked down. "I…think…" She placed her feet, previously stretched out behind her, on the white marble floor and tried to stand up, wings dangling at her side. A searing pain rushed up her legs and even her relaxed wings, her muscles quivered and her knees buckled. She winced.

"It's as I thought," Silver said to the Skarmory, who never took her eyes off the young Lugia, watching her like a huge metal hawk. "The restraints have specifically made to be too tight." He turned to Nebriniel. "They'll restrict your movement for a while, so try to keep still. Your flesh will contour to them in time." He put down the leaf-wrapped package, cleanly biting through the strings so the leaves fell open. Inside was a fish, baked and garnished with dates and spices. "Eat it. You need you strength."

Nebriniel wasn't really sure what to think. "Thanks…" she said, although the peculiar scent of smoke, pepper, and herbs emanating from the fish made her eyes water, she was used to eating it raw, after all. She stared at it for a moment, then took a cautious bite. There was an explosion of strange flavors in her mouth, the taste was far from bad, but it was overpoweringly intense, and she promptly forced herself to swallow it. Silver looked satisfied, and Star lay down against her side, where the tightness of her dry skin making contact with soft fur made Nebriniel shiver.

She figured she'd try to eat the rest of the food later, there were too many questions she had to pose right now, and she barely knew where to start. She tried to stand up again, Star toppling back as her support was suddenly gone, but she made no more progress than she did the first time. She lay down, curling her tail around her, frantically trying to sort out her thoughts. With desperate eyes she looked at Silver. "Who are you? Why am I here? What's been done to me?" she asked, trying to hold back a sob.

The Skarmory finally spoke. "I am the Deity of War. You may call me Blade, berserker and infiltrator of Earth's Hundred. That is all you need to know from me…" She ruffled her wings, the metal clanging together, and added, "Take my advice, young one. Stay close to Silver. Not even I can protect you as well as he can." After that, the Deity of War was silent once more.

Silver looked at Nebriniel with distant sympathy. "I am the Deity of Ice, Silver, your guardian, one of Water's Hundred. I am here for the same reason you are—to be a god. To be an idol of the gods, at least, to be worshipped, and to be punished. You have been broken, child, and your connection the gods has already been established in the humans' records."

"Broken?" Nebriniel asked silently.

Blade nodded. "Every one of us has been. We have been restrained to keep us from flight, and our bodies twisted for better channeling of the 'spiritual energies' of which the humans speak, and for further efficiency in battle. You've been taken, and you're not going to leave this place."

Star sighed and nodded in agreement. Nebriniel still couldn't make any sense of it, but the pain everywhere, the restriction, the word "god", she couldn't take it, and she couldn't stop the tears coming to her eyes. "Then…tell me…tell me what they'll do with my name…"

"As long as they do not find it, nothing. As soon as they discover your true name, they will use it to control you, manipulate you. Revealing your name is like giving your soul to them, you lose all reason for existence. Keep it secret. But never forget it." the Articuno's face was stern, and Nebriniel soon lost all hope that he was making this up, that he was playing a trick on her to drive her insane. "But that does not mean I will not give you a replacement name. State the meaning of your name. The humans cannot speak our native tongue, no matter how much they study it and try."

Nebriniel had to think for a moment, before stating, "My name means 'the ocean's light'…" She had always found it a fitting name, as she loved the sea, and watched the sun slowly slide down into the horizon every evening, when it colored the sky and waters splendid shades of pink and purple, like some genius abstraction.

"Glowy," Star stated plainly. "I say we call her Glowy."

Silver laughed at Star's determination, and agreed, saying there was no arguing with Star after she had decided something anyways. Blade, for the first time in a while, gave a small smile, an amused but confident one. Nebriniel—no, Glowy—didn't see why not, and trough her eyes stinging with tears, she couldn't help but smile along with them.