Part One
PRESENT—AFTER THE BATTLE OF VESPERA
Chapter One
Fate
Meru’s agitation was palpable today.
Magic roiled and writhed, stretching to impossible lengths in a bid to free its confines. Tendrils snaked down to the surface, only to be pulled back into place with a resoundingsnapthat echoed through the empty landscape. The ground, just as cracked and barren as ever, heaved and buckled as if the physical manifestation of our godly home was rebelling against its own slow death.
It was apparent that not even my cosmic immortality could sustain Meru much longer.
Eventually, it would die, taking me, my children, and magic with it.
There were other temporary fixes, certainly, but nothing substantial. Anything but repairing Meru completely would be like trying to bind an eviscerated stomach with a small piece of gauze—ineffective and stupid.
My head pounded to the cadence of a drum, nausea constant as Meru greedily bled my life force dry. The remainder of my immortality pumped sluggishly through my veins, thumping slower as the days dragged on without end or respite. I sagged lower in my seat, barely able to keep upright.
The sight would almost be comical if the situation weren’t so dire.
I need a solution.
Meru’s slow decline started centuries ago when Solace and Kaos stole magic from their siblings, binding it to their immortal souls rather than letting it return to the ether.
Selfish, arrogant,megalomaniacs.
Meru keenly felt the loss of the Original Magics, immediately seeking to balance the scales once more. The ability to use and store magic separated, with humans no longer able to wield both and forced to rely on another being. When my children, in their foolish arrogance, ignored the first sign, Meru’s insistence only increased—Vessels became scarce, Forced Bonds felt unnatural, and Mage Sickness plagued Elyria. Meru even began communicating to some of the more powerful Mages when they pulled deeply on their magic, encouraging them to draw further and fade into the ether; anything for a bit of magic to return to its natural place.
Still, the gods refused to relinquish their stolen powers.
So, when one of mychosenchildren appeared, wielding a power so great, I could practically feel Meru vibrate in palpable excitement. The release of the godling’s Destruction Magic on this place was a double-edged sword, allowing Meru to briefly draw from the roiling power before it began to consume this hallowed plane and released Solace and Kaos.
Force her to create. Heal the earth. Bring the rain.
The simplicity of the solution was brilliant yet laughable. How could I force either godling to bend to my whims when I couldn’t even leave this fucking chair?
Without warning, Meru quaked, the earth shuddering on a sigh as I felt a strong innervation come from Elyria. Magic reunited with its maker, and Meru’s grasp on my life force eased a fraction, enough that I could draw gasping breaths and push myself further upright.
Meru pulsed with a new energy, and the sudden switch had me reeling, my hands immediately darting for the Strings of Fate that were connected to my chosen children.
No, no, no, I chanted as my fingers shakily conjured those six golden threads. Only one as powerful as them would be able to feed Meru in such a way, which meant that one—or more— had died.
Those six golden strands shimmered into existence as I rapidly panted through my nose before freezing completely; my heart rate dropped, and my blood ran cold as I scanned them a second and third time.
It cannot be.
Not one of the Strings was thick and healthy; none shone with an unearthly glimmer. Each was thinner and grayer than the last, the edges fraying and warping. While each of the Strings felt sick, the middle two drew my attention the longest. One was fully black, pieces of it turning to ash and dust that disappeared into the ether as I watched. Its twin fared little better; only a singular golden thread remained intact, interwoven with threads of the deepest grey that matched the hue of its partner.
Not even Meru’s complete collapse could have pulled my eyes from the sight of that last golden thread slowly disintegrating.
That can’t be. Itcan’t.
I flicked my shaking hand, banishing the Strings of Fate back into the ether.
For what felt like eons and yet seconds, I stared into the emptiness of the stone room. My thoughts alternated between a jumbled cacophony of questions and complete stillness.
Where had I gone wrong? What had happened to cause such death?
