Neville and the Goddess of Life
Hermione had the worst luck out of all Harry's friends. The moment she had landed in the Cosmos Arcane, Hermione had discovered herself alone and with no means to defend herself from the local wildlife.
She had awoken in the shores of a marsh with a raging battle in a hill close by. The sound of clashing weapons and the battle cries in a language she hadn't heard before filled her ears.
When she went to look Hermione's mouth and eyes opened in shock. The place was filled with the petrified bones of enormous creatures whose skulls were the size of houses. The people wagging war here were not only human, but creatures and monsters attacked each other with all manner of weapons and spells.
A human mage dressed in sapphire clothes wielded a staff which he used to send a multi-coloured beam of light against a giant humanoid wielding a club made from a nearby tree. A woman wielding a sword swinged the weapon with purpose clashing with a rat the size of a child.
Hermione hid behind a rock and tried to calm her breath.
"Teraoa'sn ty! Baki'a bnui esol-tu aiub!" A man of short size with his red hair in a mohawk wielding an axe screamed to one of his companions while beheading a man in black armour.
"Uneoa boru Archaon! Tulb bow-'rl vbnba!" A woman wearing animal pelts and with her chest covered in black armour used a spear to skewer her opponent, an old balding man with his face covered in writings. The man's mouth was filled with his own blood as the weapon had pierced one of his lungs.
A round of gunshots filled the air and Hermione saw a frontline of men with rifles shooting at their enemies. Their armour and clothes looked similar to those used by conquistadors on Earth. The bullets hit the armour of a group or charging warriors in black armour filled with spikes.
The girl decided to get away from the conflict. The possibility of getting killed moving her forward.
Once far away, she entered a forest surrounded by thick fog. Releasing a sigh of relief, Hermione decided to search for her companions while avoiding the dangerous battle raging behind her.
Hermione drew her wand and tried like the rest of her friends to cast a location spell.
"Point Me Harry!".
Hermione frowned when the magic didn't manifest from the tip of the wooden object.
"Point Me Harry Potter! Point Me Alastor Moody! Point Me Sirius Black!".
Nothing happened. The girl began to form theories as to why it was. But seeing as no concrete answer entered her brain, she gave up. This was something to discuss with the rest once she found them. Now what she needed was to find them or signs of civilization other than the one she had witnessed before.
With newfound purpose, Hermione began exploring the forest.
XXX
Neville had been so lost in thought marvelling at the sight of this new environment that he hadn't noticed the presence of the woman until it was too late.
He had stopped in his tracks and looked in front of him when the sound of creaking trees and heavy footsteps filled his ears.
The horns of a giant beetle pointed at his head and a pair of insectoid eyes looked at him with untamed ferocity. It had a deep blue carapace and jaws made for eating meat. Its body had plants and flowers growing in its exoskeleton and marks from battles adorned the shell.
When he looked upwards, Neville found a tall blonde woman watching him. He noticed her pointed ears and vibrant green eyes analysing him with guarded caution. In her left hand, she held a three-pronged spear with its blade tinted a clear blue and its handle a pure white. Her body was covered almost completely wit a white dress that exposed her toned legs and a golden crown in the shape of a half-moon.
But what got his attention the most was a pair of wings made from long green leaves hanging from branches
"Uuuuh…" Neville wanted to slap himself at the sound he had made. First thing meeting someone here and he had used the first impression to look himself like an idiot.
"Torla nboa-dfhy? Erfjao ghoal'e´-s Sigmar tosp'a-s?" She asked him with a commanding voice. It reminded him of the sound the wind made when moving the branches from the trees of a forest, the buzzing of insect wings and the flowing nectar of flowers.
"I'm sorry ma'am. But I don't understand you…" He tried to explain.
The woman frowned and jumped down from the giant insect. She approached him and Neville noticed she was abnormally tall. More than two meters tall and with an imposing figure. The beauty she had was so great that for a moment he thought she was a relative to or had Veela's blood.
She grabbed him by the face and lifted him with extraordinary strength. She pointed her spear to his chest. He gulped and waited for her to strike.
After a couple of seconds, she let him go and Neville plummeted to the ground, landing on his butt.
"Ouffh!" He exclaimed. The beetle inclined itself to one side and the woman grabbed one of his horns. She lifter herself and went back to her position, situated atop the giant animal.
The insect turned one hundred and eighty and began walking. Neville waited for them to go away but it seemed the woman had other plans. Looking back towards him, she made a motion with her hand indicating she wanted him to follow her. He did.
XXX
"What a bunch of gold pricks they are. Bloody rude of them I tell you!" Ron complained to his friend inside the room they had been dragged to.
"I think they were justified. It was kind of rude to appear in their home without warning them first" Luna tried to placate the boy.
"If we could use our wands I'm sure they would not be a bunch of tossers!".
The guards had confiscated their wands and had snapped them in two. Ron had yelled that time in anger, but Luna had resigned herself to not having it anymore, the object had been her companions since she had eleven years old, and she felt a little sad but didn't dwell on it.
"The fact they had not killed us is a good thing" She tried to reason "We are here and not being tortured. They seem to be good people".
"Man. It's just my luck to end up being arrested the moment we enter the strange portal! I can't believe-!"
Ron was going to continue their discussion, but the door opened before he could.
Four soldiers entered the room and grabbed the two by their arms. They were dragged outside the room and after releasing them made Ron and Luna walk forwards.
The hallway of the building was decorated with a red carpet and paintings at the sides. They depicted heroes and monsters. A golden king surrounded by lightning, a woman with the bottom half of her body of a snake and wings, a skeleton surrounded by howling ghost, a dwarf with his hair in a mohawk draped in flames.
After a while, the two entered another room. Inside, a man of short stature that had helped Harry before stood before them. He looked at the two and approached them. He showed a needle in his right hand and pointed with his fingers at Luna's hand.
Luna tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders looking at Ron. She raised her hand, and the man took it. He pierced one of her fingers and took out a vial. He put the little flask below her wound and waited for her blood to spill.
Once done, he looked at Ron. The boy offered his hand reluctantly and the duardin repeated the process. Finishing his task, the man spoke to the guards.
"Grimnir sdob-ao vuj'wl vbhi'-ak" He said in a guttural voice. Without waiting for the men to give him permission, Borlir left the room.
XXX
The monarch that ruled Shyish had been waiting for news from his Mortarchs when he felt them.
Two more souls belonging to living beings had arrived suddenly to his Realm. He knew they weren't Stormcast due to the surge in Heavenly Magic they exuded every time they arrived in their bolts of lightning.
But it was a curious sensation. They had traces of magic similar to the ones the denizens of this Realm had.
"Fascinating… Each new development adds a new piece to this puzzle. I have to know if anyone else has arrived to the Cosmos Arcane and why".
In the centre of Shyish a being that could only be classified as a God plotted. His actions affecting the destiny of a girl that didn't know He existed. Yet.
XXX
Neville and the woman walked for a while in silence.
They had finally stopped the moment the two entered the city above a plateau. A bridge connected the city with the forest they had come from.
It had buildings filled with greenery and plants, some twisting and branching between the tiles on the ground. The walls rose to great heights and had thick vines hanging from them. Great and massive hollowed trees that raised to the heavens like claws were planted forming the buildings and bulwark of the city, the bedrock had running waterfalls eroding the stone constantly. A flowing river where all those converged had its current used by the place to supply clean water.
The woman descended from her mount and Neville watched it open its carapace to extend a giant pair of membranous wings. The monstruous insect took off from the ground and began following them.
The doors opened the moment they approached them, and the people looked at the woman with reverence. Neville saw all manner of men, women and animals living inside the city and gulped in apprehension.
The ample streets were filled with tents and shops from the marketplace situated at its entrance. Statues of armoured warriors and mythical beast decorated their surroundings.
When he looked at the ground, Neville found that everywhere the woman went flora and animals followed behind. Vines and new flowers sprouted in an instant, insects, arachnids and strange wingless gryphons followed her. The people had started chanting and offering things to the passing woman. Humanoid walking trees emerged from hidden caves and hollow crevasses in the trees. Pale creatures that sprouted from hollowed wood and with long claws looked at the boy with suspicion.
"Moari'an leot Alarielle!" One woman yelled in the crowd. This started a cacophony of praises and yells from the crowd.
"Moari'an leot Alarielle! Moari'an leot Alarielle!" They said with enthusiasm.
The woman raised a hand and waved towards them with a steeled expression on her face.
"Moari'an leot Alarielle! Moari'an leot Alarielle!".
More and more joined the chanting.
"Moari'an leot Alarielle! Moari'an leot Alarielle!".
The two had arrived at their destination. It was one of the giant fossilized trees in the centre of the city, with a set of doors with twisting vines and branches maintaining them sealed. It seemed like a sacred place made for worship.
"Moari'an leot Alarielle! Moari'an leot Alarielle!"
The monstruous living trees had begun cheering too with voices grave and deep made from the . The woman raised a hand and Neville observed how these moved out of the way to allow them to enter. The woman made a gesture at him, and he understood it as her allowing Neville to enter inside.
"Moari'an leot Alarielle! Moari'an leot Alarielle! Moari'an leot Alarielle! Moari'an leot Alarielle!" Was the last thing he heard before the doors closed.
XXX
Ron and Luna had obtained enchanted bracelets moments before Neville entered the Temple of Life and were now being brought to Sigmaron to meet with the God-King. To say Ron was happy to finally be able to complain to the guards and ask about Harry. But they had abstained from saying anything.
"Come with us. The Highness, the Great God-King Sigmar wants to talk to you "That was the last thing he had heard them say, allowing them to know what the reason was they had given them these objects.
When they entered the room Luna looked at the ceiling and found a map of the heavens with various new constellations and starts. A twin-tailed comet crossed the painting and a flaming planet flared with lightning bolts projecting to the outside. The man that greeted them had an imposing figure and eyes that pierced their souls judging their worth.
"Hello, children" He began after certifying they were human "I apologize on behalf of my men. Your appearance in Azyrheim so suddenly made them think we were being attacked. We're at war and the possibility of a breach in the defences in Azyr is no something to be taken lightly".
"It's alright…" Ron shrugged.
"We understand" Luna said next.
Sigmar nodded and continued talking.
"I think you have come here in search of Harry; I presume?".
At that, the two looked at him in surprise.
"You have seen Harry?" Ron asked" Where is she? Is she alright? Tell us!".
"You dare-!" One guard exclaimed in outrage.
"it's alright. Stand down" Sigmar ordered. The man sheathed his sword" Yes, Harry was here. After talking to her about her situation, the two of us agreed to send her elsewhere until we find a way to take her back to Earth".
"Thank you for helping her" Luna bowed to him.
"Please there's no need to bow. Harry's friends are welcomed here. I just want to ask you. Are you the only ones that had come to the Cosmos Arcane?".
"No, we came with other people too" Luna explained "We came to rescue her. One friend of us told us he could feel her still being alive and decided to come through the archway she had entered. We were eleven, some of us her friends of school, other adults' members of the forces of law in our world and finally Harry's guardians".
"Hmmm…Then, we will have to look for them. There are dangerous places where their lives could be in danger".
The two looked at each other in worry. Sigmar sat on his throne and began scouring the Realms through the enchanted mirror. Ron grew restless. After ten or twenty second of searching, the God stopped.
"Found one. A girl for the looks of it, with brown hair".
Ron moved to the side, while not getting closer to the stairs leading to the man, to see the scene better and he cracked a smile when he saw the girl.
"Hermione!" He exclaimed.
The man nodded and looked at the mirror in search of the place where she had landed on.
"Ghur. Close to an ongoing battle between Chaos Warriors of Archaon and members of the My People".
"Oh no! We need to go and rescue her!" The boy said with a tone of worry.
"Not alone" The God declared "I will send fort my Stormcast Eternals. Yndrasta is currently in that Realm. She will accompany you in your mission".
Sigmar got up from his throne and looked at one of his guards.
"Assembly a Stormhost Lucian, and take this children to Yndrasta, they will explain the situation. You will corroborate the information for her".
"Thank you!" Ron exclaimed.
"Thank you, Your Highness" Luna bowed with a smile of happiness.
The guard nodded and stood to attention.
"May you have the speed of a lightning bolt and the fury of the storm" Sigmar declared.
Ron and Luna followed the man outside the room and bowed once more to Sigmar in gratitude.
The doors of the chamber closed behind them, and the two children went to help Hermione.
XXX
The inside of the building was of supernatural beauty. In its centre, a natural fountain with water flowing from a crack on the rock, a spring with a shallow lake surrounded by plants and wildlife grew inside the giant tree.
Once inside, the woman turned around to look at him. He waited to see why she had brought him there. She extended her left hand and from the open palm a seed grew in an instant. She approached him and took his hand. The woman put the seed in his hand and made him clutch it. Once with a closed fist, she forced him to grip it so hard he felt his palm bleed.
Next, she made him crouch and guiding him, indicated Neville that he needed to plant it. He obeyed, digging with his hands, and putting the blood-stained seed inside.
With her spear, she touched the surface of the lake and went back to his position. Moving carefully and with purpose, the woman reached with the point of it and reached to the soil. A pearl of water dropped, and the woman nodded in satisfaction. Neville covered the seed with the soil and rose back up.
The two didn't have to wait long. Neville observed a sprout emerge from the ground and with what he could only describe as magic, it grew until it became a beautiful tree with a single piece of fruit hanging from its branches. It was of an intense red colour and had a layer of fuzz similar to a peach.
She swept her weapon with a quick movement and the fruit feel to the ground. She grabbed it and approached him. The woman tilted his head upwards and putting the object above him squeezed.
The fruit released its juice, and he drank it. It alleviated his parched throat. He gulped and gulped the substance until it stopped falling in his mouth.
Before he could wonder why she had done it, the woman spoke with a melodious voice in a language he could now understand.
"My apologies" She said" I have many questions to ask you but its better if we introduce ourselves first, don't you think?".
"Y-yes! I am Neville Longbottom, nice to meet you. Thank you for your help" He said sheepishly.
"Nice to meet you too, Neville Longbottom. My name is Alarielle, Goddess of Life" He looked surprised at her title and was about to beg forgiveness, but she interrupted him" Now Neville Longbottom. Tell me, why are you in my domain?".