Touch of Fate

Chapter 24: By Gods' Decree

Barth walked placidly through the long, empty corridor leading up to the meeting room. He paused to brush an imaginary speck of dust from his immaculate black suit, before entering the chamber.

For all the grand vastness of the circular chamber, that seemed to stretch endlessly towards a non-existent ceiling, it was a simple affair. Bare expanses of marble floors and columns were only broken by a simple, round, wooden table situated at its very center. Five high backed chairs were placed equidistant from each other around its circumference.

The lack of furnishings would bother most butlers, but Barth was unconcerned. He knew that the divine beings who visited this location cared little for ceremony. Nonetheless, he felt duty bound to provide some refreshments, no matter how unneeded they were, before the meeting that was scheduled to occur.

With an effort of will, delicate crystal wine glasses appeared before four of the five chairs, and filled themselves with a dark, rich wine. Trays of assorted pastries, fruits, and cheeses emerged from the bare surface of the table.

Barth had wielded divine levels of control over this place ever since he had assumed his duties as Custodian of the House of Convergence, the neutral ground between the realms of the five creator deities. He had been chosen for this dubious honor by virtue of being the only Ascended Mortal to have achieved his status through a non-combat skill.

In his mortal life, he had risen from humble origins to become the head butler of an ancient king. Despite the envy and scorn of his more nobly born peers, Barth devoted himself to the art of service, becoming a consummate professional of world-wide renown. His efforts were rewarded when he reached Tier 5 in his Service skill, and Ascended.

After several lifetimes of serving in houses of the powerful, Barth was offered a position in the most powerful of all, the house of the creator gods themselves. He took up the mantle of godhood along with the godly aspects of Loyal Service, Professionalism, and Order, and was placed in charge of the House of Convergence. A decision he ultimately came to regret.

The realm itself was not large, and maintaining it was not difficult, but no one had explained that once he became the Custodian he was trapped there, doomed to spend eternity wandering its empty halls.

Most other men would have long ago broken down under the strain, but it would go against Barth's nature to be anything less than a true professional. And so he whiled away millennia, doing his best to maintain the realm for the rare occasions in which the gods met.

A subtle change in the air shook Barth from his reverie, and he chided himself for letting old memories get the best of him. With his masters soon arriving, he still had a few tasks left to accomplish. Fortunately, since today's meeting was only between the five creator gods, there was no need for the elaborate preparations.

He had just finished eradicating the last speck of cosmic dust from the furnishings when the first guest arrived.

She entered the room boldly, trailing wisps of silky material from her long and elaborate white dress. An aura of piercing white light, capable of blindly mortal eyes with a glance, surrounded the goddess, making it difficult for even a fellow god like Barth to look directly at her. Despite that, he had taken pains to make sure to memorize her features, as is only appropriate for a servant.

If he was forced to describe her, Barth could only bring to mind an exquisitely carved statue of the purest marble. Everything about her was white, from pearlescent skin to her long, silky hair, to her glowing, pure white eyes. She held herself with a regal elegance as she glided into the room.

"Announcing Aminatrea, Goddess of the Sun, Creator of Ea, Member of the Council of the Five, Mother of Light, Mistress of the Skies, Sovereign of Fire."

"Barth, we've talked about this. There is no need to announce me to the room if no one else is present."

"As you say, Your Radiance, but it would be improper to say nothing at all upon your entrance. Besides, I have already abbreviated your titles extensively. I would be remiss in my duties if I treated you with any less respect."

The goddess sighed while taking a seat at the table, "Very well, if you must." She took a sip from the glass before sighing again, this time in contentment. "Ah, you always prepare the best vintages here. I've had my servants back in Sol try to replicate it, but they've had little luck."

A cheerful voice cut in, "That, dear Amina, is because your angels don't understand taste like a mortal, or at least former mortal, does."

Taking his cue Barth stated, "Announcing Mone and Mona, God and Goddess of the Moons, Creators of Ea, Members of the Council of Five, Twin Masters of Night, Weavers of Mystery, Reflections of Stilled Waters."

An effeminate youth dressed in muted blues and greys could be seen sitting in the chair next to the goddess, with no indication of when or how he arrived. His pale skin shined in contrast with his deep black, shortly cut hair as he nodded his thanks to Barth. He snatched up a cream puff from one of the trays and took a bite before smiling mischievously at Aminatrea. "So tell us the truth. We're here because your plans for that little hero boy of yours went awry, right?"

The goddess of the sun gave her counterpart a scathing glare, which actually caused line of laser-like light to bore through the back of the chair Mone had been sitting in moments before.

"Now now dear brother, that's no way to treat a friend. Its been so long since our last meeting, it would be a shame to end it prematurely." A slightly higher pitched voice answered as the goddess of the moon strode around a nearby column before resuming the seat her twin had occupied, and that Barth had already repaired with a short mental command. She was licking the last bit of cream from her fingers.

There was no obvious difference in appearance between the twins who were said to share the same corporeal form, but a subtle hint of femininity let onlookers know that there had been a change.

"Once everyone else has arrived I will announce the reason for my visit, and not a second sooner."

"Well then I guess its a good thing most of us are here." A deep, gravelly, female voice broke in.

"Announcing Teun, Goddess of Ea, Creator of Ea, Member of the Council of Five, Mistress of the Earthen Realm, Ruler of All That Grows, Giver of Life."

After a short pause Barth continued. "Announcing Lysande, God of the Stars, Creator of Ea, Member of the Council of Five, Lord of Magic, Master of the Unseen Library, Ruler of the Five Winds."

The announced pair took their seats at the table. The first was a tall, curvaceous and muscular woman with skin the color of wet earth and hair like tangled strands of grass. She was clothed in a riotous blend of flowers, vines, and leaves which formed a chaotic sort of dress. One that left little to the imagination. Her every movement oozed with vitality and sensuality.

The second of the pair was a slender-looking older man, dressed in blueish-grey robes. A pair of spectacles rested on his prominent nose above a well-trimmed grey beard. Once he had reached his chosen seat, he pulled a book from the sleeve of his robe and started perusing its contents. A casual observer would think he wasn't paying attention, but those around the table knew he would see and hear everything that occurred without issue.

"I suppose that just leaves Yilon. I wonder where...."

The sun goddess was cut off by a sudden chill that permeated the room. Barth found himself shivering and had to exercise his immense willpower to hold still. Even after millennia of service, he had trouble controlling himself around this god.

"Announcing Yilon, God of the Void, Creator of Ea, Member of the Council of Five, Master of Entropy, Manifestation of Oblivion, The Veil of Hidden Truths."

A sphere of perfect black, about a meter in diameter, appeared in the last remaining chair. A raspy monotone voice issued from it, "This one has been here since the beginning. This one simply chose to remain silent until you finish your pleasantries."

Mone, now in place of his sister, laughed. "Come on Yilly, you know we love your company. We don't even mind the depressing atmosphere and your tendency to disintegrate things that come in contact with you."

"Please remember, this one's designation is Yilon. Additionally, what is the purpose of this meeting?"

Aminatrea stood and faced the group. She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I'm afraid that I have to announce that the Hero's Destiny I had assigned to a mortal has been usurped by another."

There was a brief moment of stunned silence, before Teun stood, planted her hands on the table and leaned forward in an aggressive manner. "How is that possible?! Did you screw up the bestowal process? Do you have any idea what an unvetted hero could do? The kind of damage they could cause? Especially now! Do you even know who took it?!" By this point she was shaking her fist at the subdued sun goddess.

"I am aware of the dangers. But despite my best efforts I haven't been able to locate the cause. The mantle was originally intended for a young, spirit-touched boy from a small village in central Almir. I had hoped he would have proven a powerful unifying force in the upcoming time of troubles. However, someone or something inherited the mantle before his destiny could fully mature."

"Have you not tried to track the culprit?! Nothing on Ea should be able to escape your eyes during the day."

Aminatrea frowned at this intimation. "Is your opinion of me so low? Of course I attempted it, but I failed in every attempt. The whole sequence of events leading up to the disappearance of the Hero's Destiny is largely unreadable. I have sent my servants to investigate, but so far no information has been forthcoming."

Teun returned to her seat and crossed her arm, still quite furious. "I can't believe we trusted you to do this. I should have known better than to let a jumped up...."

"A jumped up what?!" The sun goddess yelled while rising to her feat. Her aura increasing in intensity as heat flooded the room.

With a snap, Lysande closed his book. "Come now, Teun, Aminatrea. That's enough. There is a probable explanation for this event, after all."

"Ah!" Mona exclaimed. "Your talking about that event about a month ago. The one where the Ancient One interfered in our world."

"Indeed." The old man continued. "It is beyond me to question the actions of an Ancient One, but by analyzing the course of events following its intervention I can guess at the origin of our present woes."

"Well, don't keep us waiting." Teun replied hotly.

He paused briefly, seemingly for dramatic effect. "I believe the Ancient One has introduced a Fate-Touched individual into our world."

Aminatrea sat down and raised a hand to her chin in contemplation, "Of course! That would explain the disrupted destinies I had been seeing. I had thought they were merely a side effect of the intervention itself."

She looked up, suddenly concerned. "But this means that we have a potentially powerful individual who is largely immune to all but the most direct of our actions. One who now has access to the Hero's Destiny."

"Obviously we need to track down this person, and crush them." Mone said with a vicious smile while taking a large bite out of an apple. "No being should be allowed to usurp the power of the gods."

"This one feels that the proper course is observation. This one believes that interfering in the plans of an Ancient One is problematic. This one proposes that we locate and analyze the being first and reconvene to decide on an appropriate course of action." The dark orb seemed to hum in slight agitation at the prospect.

"You make an excellent point." Mona replied, nodding sagely before looking around the table.

"Please forgive my brother's bloodthirst, it is most unseemly. You must understand that we haven't truly fed in quite some time, and it makes us quite irritable." She set the apple back on the table, but a look of ravenous hunger could be seen briefly on her features.

Barth felt himself shudder. Of all the gods, the twins terrified him the most. Their cults on Ea tended to be highly secretive, but that hadn't stopped rumors of human sacrifice and dark, horrible rituals emerging from time to time.

"I also agree with Yilon," Lysande cut in. "We would do best to try and track this Fate-Touched mortal and limit the damage caused by his presence."

Aminatrea simply said. "Agreed."

Teun sighed. "Fine, but if he or she or it destroys something I care about, I am going to hold you personally accountable, you overgrown fireball."

The sun goddess frowned, but continued. "Then we are in agreement. We shall find this Fate-Touched individual and meet again to decide what to do at that time."

With that each of the deities left the room in turn. Yilon was the last to leave, simply fading from existence without a sound, leaving Barth alone in the chamber.

The old butler couldn't help but smile while walking out and closing the door behind him. He wasn't sure what the contents of the meeting foretold, but an instinct he had honed since his mortal life, one that had made him such an accomplished butler, told him that things were changing. He sensed that the stale state of affairs that had continued unabated for tens of thousands of years was about to end.

An end that couldn't come soon enough.

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