Divinity

An old woman clutched her hands together whispering prayers into the sacred ash they held. Her breath leaked up to the ceiling of her ancient hut that not even the fire in front of her could shield from the fierce winter snows of Highland Dermera. The wind howled beyond the rickety walls but hardly fazed the woman who merely sunk in deeper to her thick silk robes. She let out a satisfied hum as she completed her enchant and nonchalantly tossed the ash into the blaze. She opened her lips and spoke in a harsh and raspy voice, "A humble servant awaits the gods' call..." Slowly but surely the fire responded, flickering and hissing like a serpent. Shadows were thrown across the seers unflinching face as a body materialized. It was a man draped in an elegant cloak that clinked and buckled under the weight of attached gold brooches and chains. His skin was rich and dark, emanating a warm light from somewhere deep within, his hair was smoothed down with his hanging dreadlocks drawn up into a golden hair tie to revealing his green and hazel eyes. He stepped out of the fire pit, his tall structure towering over the old woman before him. "Viviani-Ji, I see you're as beautiful as ever..." He greeted her with a deep yet unseen bow. Viviani shifted her head upwards smiling with her crooked teeth. Viviani nodded adjusting her blindfold across her sightless eyes, "I'm not a young girl anymore Azure, no need to flatter me. And silence the formalities, Ji or not we are both to old for them..." The woman waved him off, "Go on. Sit." The man obeyed folding his long legs underneath him to recline among the still roaring fire, the Ji c****d her head with concern, "You seem troubled. Is Yerba giving you trouble again?" Yerba was a small child who had the misfortune of being killed decades before. After wandering around the lower realms for a time, he had stumbled into the kindhearted Azure who adopted him. Ever since then the boy had proven himself to be quite the troublemaker in the highest realm. Much to his adopted father's chagrin. The man sighed shaking his head, "No, Yerba is fine, it took him awhile to get used our home, but he's getting along fine now." Viviani smiled at the thought of a calm Yerba, he kept Azure on his toes, "Well, spit it out then, what's got your coat in a twist?" The man looked around nervously and leaned out of the fire, "It's Tiris, he's escaped..." The Ji froze as her blood ran cold, "That's Impossible! I myself ensured his imprisonment with the Abyssal Goddesses! He should never have woken up, let alone escaped! Where were the guards? The angels?" Azure stilled with fear flooding his eyes,he paused before speaking in a bone chilling tone, "Every single one of them are dead." Viviani swallowed dryly, "Azure... Are you telling me that that man, that monster, is loose in the most high?" "No not yet," he started, "The Abyss is vast, it will take him years to find a way out. We neither know when or where, but it is certain he will." The god shifted again, taking a breath, "Viviani, are you in contact with Fate?" The woman straightened up cautiously, and hesitated before ordering her thoughts, "I haven't talked to my friend Fate in many decades." "A long time, yes, but the gods have not spoken with him in many more centuries than you have graced this earth." Viviani tilted her head suspiciously causing the shells and beads on her headdress to collide and tangle within her dreads. Anger spread across her age torn face, "For good reason! You may be gods but even gods must have your limits thier power!" "We well know that what we have asked of Fate is wrong! But this time is different, we need him!" "Do you think that you can use me to trick a god who knows all?!" The elder snapped. The man snapped and launched his fist at the ground, scarring the dirt floor with a crater. Viviani drew back in shock. Hesitantly Azure spoke with a mix of desperation and frustration, "Dammit Viviani! This is bigger than us all! When this man exits the abyss the world, no, the pantheon could fall!" "That is unfeasible. No matter how strong he has gotten, I will toss him back!" The god lowered his head shaking it side to side, "You still don't get it, with the abyssal guards and angels dead nothing is stopping him from what the abyss is said to protect. He's after the Phion relic. If Tiris acquired such power, I would fear that even the All Mother would struggle to recover order." His last sentence resonated in Viviani's mind, she could sense his panic from the moment he appeared. Yet, until this moment she did not see the magnitude of the oncoming disaster. She knew that Fate disliked the rest of the gods, but she had a feeling he would dislike the destruction of the universe slightly more. "I understand." She spoke hesitantly, "I will attempt contact Al'he." The god sighed in relief before standing and offering another unseen bow. "Thank you Viviani, Thank you." The woman nodded distractedly, "Give Yerba my regards, farewell Azure." "Farewell." The man faded back into the blaze leaving nothing but smoke in his wake. The woman whipped around stumbling to a nearby shelf nearly knocking it over in her hurry. She shoveled scrolls and papers out of her way, her sightless gaze searching furiously. Her hand hit the side of a thick leather book, running her fingers around the spine she snatched it and threw it down on the dirt floor. Viviani flipped it open carefully, mumbling prayers under her breath over the mysterious blank pages. Not taking her eyes off of the book her hand stuck into the fire grasping embers and ash before sprinkling them over it. Her chants grew louder, bouncing off of the shacks wooden walls. The dirt swirled beneath the script undulating and glowing in a fierce orange light. The Ji could feel Fate's essence crowd around her, choking out the fire behind her, and stealing the huts lingering warmth. The howling winds silenced and an eerie calm settled over the highland. Suddenly her head snapped backwards, breath caught in her throat. Her hand reached by itself for a quill and ink before filling in the pages below with words. The trance ended as abruptly as it began leaving the elder gasping for breath on the dirt next to the book. Her weakened hands pulling her back to her knees as if through molasses. The visions and text still fresh in her mind. She lifted her head towards the heavens, "Was this your plan from the beginning?" she paused and shook her head knowing an answer would never come, "Fate, you really are something."