#had a sort of... corrupting effect? their power has rubbed off on him and altered him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writinanon · 5 years

Text

Gods and Monsters 2

So this story is just deciding not to work with a linear narrative so it’s probably going to jump around a lot I’m sorry. This is set a few years after everything that went down in the first ‘chapter’. The Seeds have been consolidating their powers, isolating themselves from the other Gods and only talking to a select few, learning about Mercy and Ben and the history of Hope leading to them discovering the Witch. I couldn’t find Wheaty’s mother’s name anywhere or if there was a consensus for what it would be so I picked one at random from a list of my favorite characters. Sorry, I’ll happily change it if there is a better name.

The Witch had been revived. That much was clear from the sickly-sweet smell coming off the water of the River.

“I don’t get it.” Wheaty murmured looking at the life-blood of the county, the Henbane. “I keep trying but nothing works.” He looked up with large eyes. Mercy recalled those same eyes, his mother’s eyes. She had been the one who held dominion over the River before her son. She had been a strong woman. Mercy was saddened by her passing. But the poison had left a mark on her. It had been eating her away slowly, surely, until she was no more. This was the worst kind of Vanir Magic. Mercy would not let another die simply because she was blind to the sins of one from her Home.

“Come. Eli you stay. The Witch’s fields aren’t far. We will clear the poison before it spreads.” Mercy promised, unwilling to let the son of her dear friend suffer. “Stay out of the water until then.” The Young God blinked and nodded, warily looking at the green tinted water.

“Yeah. Good plan.” He nodded. The four of them set out towards the fields.

“You seem to know what’s causing the river to smell so different.” August said, voice questioning and defensive.

“A long time ago, before you’d even come to visit here, there was a Vanir Witch who had followed us.” Ben informed with a shrug. His spear and shield were upon his back and he continued forward. “She was a dangerous woman, she believed herself a medicine woman but only ever destroyed people. Her potions and remedies would corrode the mind, until all you were was a puppet for her desires. She had begun poisoning the River then too…” He trailed off looking at Mercy’s back. She could feel his eyes.

“I did not want to think one of ours would have done such a thing. I was stubborn and prideful. I would not listen to Nisha. In the end I was wrong and it cost Nisha her life. If I had acted sooner, if I had just stopped the Witch, Nisha would be alive and Wheaty would have his mother still.”

“You didn’t want to think badly, she was from your Home, right?” Dakota chimed in.

“Yes. She is crafty. Be on guard. Though we might have an easier time of this. It took Nisha and Ben flooding her fields for me to be able to land a blow last time. This time the Wind is fully on our side.” Mercy glanced with a small smile at August. She shrugged and rubbed at her arms. She had a dagger on her hip only because Mercy refused to let her be weaponless if she meant to join them.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t try talking to her.”

“Because there is no talking to her.” Mercy murmured harshly. “Believe me I tried.”

“Did you? Or did you just bark at her and demand she stop. When she thought she was helping?” August asked back and Mercy paused. Dakota looked between the two and then to Ben.

“Augustine, I understand how you might feel I have betrayed you by not telling you of my True Nature. But I assure you there has never been a lie in my affection. I am not just a mindless Warmonger like other Gods of my Throne. Unlike their Pantheons mine saw fit not to divide the Warrior and the Strategist. I do not want this War. I came here for peace. If there was another way…”

“You haven’t even tried any other ways.”

“Nor have they.”

“Joseph’s tried talking to me, to Ben on several occasions. But you never want to listen either.” Ben and Mercy glanced at each other and Ben sighed.

“Being twins we can tap into each other’s powers.” He said and Mercy started forward again while the other two lingered to listen. “When someone intends to do me or mine harm, I am aware of it. Joseph has never approached me without intention of doing something that will hurt me. Whether he sees his actions as passive or not, the effect will be that I am put into danger, my life is threatened.” The pair of young women stared at him in shock for a moment before looking to Mercy’s back. The blonde had summoned her Lead Cougar and was pointing to something. The big cat brushed against her before darting off.

“What is it?” Dakota called.

“I’m having her scout ahead. We need a rest.” She motioned around them. “We’ll see if there’s a clearing and have a quick meal before we finish our journey.” She said and looked out at the trees.

August felt no small trace of guilt. If they could just talk to this woman, if Mercy would let her reason with her, then they would see that violence isn’t the answer at all time. The Wind God didn’t buy that Mercy knew when someone was threatening her, even if they weren’t directly doing it. That sort of Foresight was impossible. But Mercy was set in her ways.

“We’ve arrived. August if you could keep us up wind so that none of the pollen or her powders blow to us, please?” Mercy didn’t even look at her. And it didn’t sound like she was really asking.

“Yeah sure.” She shifted the wind slightly and Mercy glanced to her and nodded before they moved forward. This still didn’t sit right with her.

“Mercy and I have some immunity as we have faced her before and she’s Vanir, like us. You two should hang back.” Ben said softly as he moved to stand beside Mercy. Dakota nodded and hung back but August was going to try and prove that they could talk to her.

“Hail Lord of War!” A voice called out from all around them before a soft green mist began to seethe around them.

“August the wind.” She moved the mist away from them and looked around for the source. A woman stepped out of a deeper bank of the haze. She was wearing a white lace dress and her long hair fell around her in bronze tendrils. Her eyes were an eerie bright blue. She smiled and held open her arms. “I have awaited your return.”

“You should have stayed dead.” Mercy hissed, hand going to her axe.

“Wait!” August called and the pair looked to her. “Please we don’t want to fight you! We just want to talk.” Mercy looked at her as thought she was insane but she ignored it. The other woman gave her a speculative look.

“Talk? Of what? I’m purifying the river I always have been. And I’ve always helped others see the True Path.”

“You’re poisoning people and turning them into shells!”

“Mercy! Please. Miss…”

“Faith. That is what my Brother calls me.”

“Please, Faith, the pollen from your flowers is hurting others. And it’s making them sick…”

“It’s purging them of their corruption.” She informed simply and shook her head. “But a Childe will never know unless shown. I have made something just for you Bóthildr. Won’t you walk with me?” And then she blew a powder, a deep almost emerald powder, at Mercy.

“August!” But the Wind God wasn’t fast enough and she inhaled the powder. Soon a cloud of it surrounded them all…

Everything was happening so fast. The images all jumbled together. There was a massive Wolf, a large almost Serpent like creature, a Woman tall with her white hair pulled back and a pure black eye, a Man with red gold hair and bright blue eyes a hammer in his grasp, a Man with darker red hair and green eyes tattoos covering his chest as he smiled cruelly, and then suddenly it seems to focus.

An older man, hair mostly white with silver glittering among the strands but the dark rusty red still clinging in some places. His lone eye was a glimmering silver color, shifting and turning. The patch that covered his other eye was a brushed black leather. Perched upon his shoulders were a pair of dark birds, ravens that gave sharp caws. His armor was shining and bright, looking like gold, and his leathers and tunic were made of fine materials as well. A crown sat upon his head.

“So, you think to restart a War, Childe?” He laughed, a booming sound that trailed off at the edges as the world blurred slightly.

“I will stop the Ragnarök by any means necessary.” Voice strong and sure, hand grasping the handle of the Axe. A crackle of lightning, the growls of many large cats joining. He looked shocked but then he snarled and hurled a spear. It was easily cut in half.

Things faded, time moved, swirling and twisting. A Woman, tall and slender with a regal air around her, surrounded by fields of flowers and glimmering pools of magic. Her hands are warm, her nails are sharp. The eyes change, altered eternally.

Everything stops. A field, a Woman of beauty and youth, but broad and muscular, build for fighting. Her dress is deep purple, soft gold stitching lining it intricately. There is a warm smile on her gentle heart shaped face. But her eyes hold sorrow and pain. She does not wish to be here, she does not wish for this to happen. A sharp pain in the chest. This shouldn’t be happening, she shouldn’t be here. Why is she here?

“The Norns have told you, haven’t they? That the Ragnarök will be far worse than previously thought. That it would only be Us wiped away. That the Yggdrasil would survive. That it would recover, but not anymore. Odin’s meddling has caused everything to become so much worse.”

“You’re not one of Them. Come home. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“I am not Them. But I am tied to Them now. My fate it sealed. I would rather it be you.” Hands, once small and held dearly, lift and remove a golden necklace. “You’ll need this.” Clasped around, the weight is heavy, too heavy. Eyes burn and trails of ice fall down cheeks.

“Baby sister no. Please. No.” Arms wrap around each other. It happens fast. A blade in the hand, those once small hands above scarred, worn ones. Plunge in, smooth motion.

“I love you, big sister.” Gently, so gentle lowered to the ground. Agony, rage, sorrow, pain, fear, anguish, fury, tribulation, wrath. The ghost of a wolf stands at the edge of the mourning circle. Slowly it shifts, alters into that of a mountain lion. A Wolf no more, now honor unto the lost a Cat forever more.

They were yanked from the visions by the scent of smoke and the feeling of heat. Dakota stood not to far from them, having pulled them to safety, with the Bow in her hands. The field was burning and for a moment her eyes were a warm green. She was panting and looked at them.

“Mercy!” She rushed over and hesitated before touching her arm. “Are you okay? What happened? August, I thought you were going to keep the wind blowing hard enough so that this didn’t happen?” She couldn’t stop her voice from raising. Mercy’s hand shot up, wrapping around Dakota’s forearm and she looked at her.

“You used the bow.” She murmured, still shaking off the fog.

“Uh yeah. I… I guess I didn’t get hit as heavy because I listened to Ben and hung back.” Another pointed look at August. “And I managed to pull myself out of the vision. What was that by the way?”

“Memories. Memories of what happened before.” Ben said softly and looked concerned for Mercy. But she was focused completely on Dakota.

“You used the bow.”

“Was… Should I not have?”

“No. It’s a special bow. Keep it. We should go. The Witch is long gone. We’ll need rest to shake off the effects of her poison.”

“Are you sure? Maybe we could just sit here for a bit?”

“No. We should go. We need… fresh air.” Mercy gave a light squeeze to Dakota’s forearm before releasing her and looking over the other two. “Are you well enough to walk?”

“Yes.” Ben nodded and gave a small smile. “Thank you, Dakota; you saved us.” She gave a small bashful smile and shrugged.

“It’s what you would have done. If you could.” They started and Mercy continued to look at August. She looked shaken. She looked horrified. She had felt everything, seen her own hands doing the tasks.

“You…”

“Come we’ll walk.” Mercy motioned to follow her brother and the young goddess. “Are you happier now?”

“What?”

“Are you happier now that you know fully what my True Nature is?”

“Mercy this isn’t about that I was just too slow to…”

“You should have been fully able to keep that powder away from me if you had done like I asked. You don’t trust me because you believe I lied to you.”

“You did lie! A lie through omission is still a lie Mercy?! How can I know you weren’t faking everything huh? You omit that you don’t like cooking but still do it. You omit that you want my company? What else have you not told me huh?”

“I didn’t tell you my past because it was not prudent to my present. It had no effect on how I saw you or how I cared for you. There has never been a lie in my personality, I find it too tedious to do things like that.” Mercy looked over at the younger woman. “The Witch murdered many people. She cannot be reasoned with, cannot be bargained with. She no long feels any sort of pain. She believed she’s helping by destroying. She killed the previous River God.”

“But you didn’t even try…”

“I did long ago. I tried and I tried and I tried because a Vanir couldn’t be doing the things she had done. In the end… In the end not believing my instincts, refusing to see the evidence in front of me cost Nisha her life. I am just as responsible for her death as the Witch. But while I mourn, grieve, and atone for that. The Witch sees herself as purifying the people. She seeks to remake the world as she wants it. Hollow and lifeless.” The blonde woman looked ahead at the back of her brother and her other friend.

“But still… Everything that’s happening… I mean I understand Jacob but Joseph and John haven’t done anything. I’m sorry but the kind of foresight Ben claims the two of you have just isn’t a thing.” August shook her head and the wind wrapped around her in a comforting embrace. A bitter chuckle rumbled out of Mercy’s throat and she reached up, tracing below her eye.

“Is it not strange that Ben and I are twins and yet we don’t share brown eyes?” She asked softly and August blinked. She then moved her hand down and plucked at the chain hanging around her neck before she paused and August stopped next to her. “This belonged to my baby sister. It’s a necklace of many talents. Chief among them being able to tell whom you can and cannot trust. It was given to her by her Aesir husband so it’s of Aesir magic, no Vanir. I have no control over it, nor its opinion of me.” She unlatched it and placed it in August’s palm.

“Mercy you don’t have to…”

“You want to know who to trust. You’re young. You’ll forever be aware of the Monster in your midst now. Even if you don’t know how bloody my hands are, how thick it coats, you know its there. You know I killed all the Old Gods, all the Aesir, the Vanir, the Giants; anyone who stood in my way, I killed until none remained. It’s up to you if you want to wear it.” She turned and walked away, Ben and Dakota now looking back at them. August looked down at the necklace in her hand. Dakota had walked on with Mercy but when August looked up Ben’s deep brown eyes were looking at her. He turned away and followed the other two and she raced to catch up.

Mercy vanished with Jess and Eli for a short period of time. Ben had been reluctant to see her go but hadn’t wanted to leave the others alone. Dakota used the down time to practice with her new weapon. It was of a Yew tree according to Ben, an old and strong one. It was slightly curved, making it a little different from the traditional long bow that Dakota knew about. She could feel the tension and strength in the string. She was able to fire fast and with great force. She wasn’t the best shot but Grace helped to become better. She remarked that it should really be Jess helping her because the other Goddess enjoyed bow hunting. Dakota still couldn’t get it to do what it had done that day at the field. The string was always warm, the bow itself was always warm even when she hadn’t touched it for hours, but it never sparked red like it had that day.

“Has it been mean to you?” Mercy’s voice jerked her from her thoughts and she looked over. Her tunics looked a little dirty and there was blood on her Axe. She had a satchel with her and set it down as she sat at the bench.

“I can’t get it to do the thing.” Dakota waved her hands over the bow and looked at her friend. You know like when we were fighting the Witch.” Mercy hummed softly and pulled a cleaning cloth from the satchel and started to clean her weapon.

“That is a special Bow. When the Vanir and the Aesir agreed to cease all Wars with an exchange of hostages, in a show of good faith we poured all our hatred and fury, rage, and anger towards the Aesir into that Bow.” She explained and Dakota looked at it, almost not wanting to pick it up.

“So, it’s like a sacred relic? Are you even allowed to give those away?”

“Rest assured it’s not sacred in any way. It burns with the deep hate and rage that flowed through our veins. It smolders with the fury and lividity from being muzzled and forced into a pact. Only a few special people can wield that Bow, it would consume someone… lesser.” The brunette felt like the blonde had chosen that word specifically. It confused her, she’d seen Mercy use the Bow so that meant it had to be wielded by a God, Dakota was just a lesser goddess. But she could use it. Maybe it meant someone of divinity period? But no, Jess and Grace looked at the Bow with awe and trepidation. As though it would devour them, but it would be wonderous. “Don’t be afraid of it. Only someone who is capable of feeling that same rage within themselves, of wielding that emotion, but someone who won’t get lost in it, can wield it.”

“But I’m not angry.”

“No, you’re not.” Mercy chuckled softly. “But if push came to shove, if something happened to me, to Ben, to the Ryes, what would you do?” Dakota looked down at the Bow. She didn’t need to answer that. She had already proven that she would burn an entire field for them. Mercy set her now cleaned Axe aside and picked up the Bow. The string shimmered, shifting colors like the dying of coals. She ran her finger up it before pulling it back. Energy crackled through the Bow. An arrow, almost intangible, appeared nocked and ready to be fired. Dakota looked from the arrow to Mercy’s eyes as she focused on the target. Her eyes had been swallowed in red again. It should have scared her but it didn’t. Mercy had never scared her, would never scare her. She released the arrow and it flew straight to the target. It burned but didn’t burn the target down.

“Whoa.”

“Keep practicing. You’ll need to focus your fire.” She explained and held out the Bow. Dakota took it with a grin and set back to practice.

#God of War AU #Far Cry 5 AU #Deputy Mercy #Deputy Ben #Deputy Dakota #Deputy August #Sorry guys this one is gonna jump #please let me know what you think though

4 notes · View notes