Chapter 6 - Immortals, Gods and a Journey

An hour and a life's worth of information later, the girl's view of the world was completely turned upside down.

Neiro and Rize explained many things to her, beginning with the most simplest of things. At the beginning and at the end of everything, stood Chaos. The primal disorder that created everything, both life and unliving and infinity and the world.

This world was called the Plane of Gods, one world apparently, of uncountable many there were, but the only of its kind.

There were the Planes of Mortals, infinitely many worlds and planets where mortals resided and then there was the Plane of Gods, home of Immortals.

She hadn't understood any of that at first, as she found it quite hard to imagine an entire world, much less infinitely many of them, but she figured she would have to adjust.

Apparently, mortals only lived for a definite lifespan, much like her companions had, and then were reborn into another world. Immortals however only had one, indefinitely long life.

"There are three ways to be born into this Plane of Gods, actually," Rize said, chuckling a little at the girl's astonished and starstruck eyes, "The first is for a mortal to be chosen by Chaos and be reincarnated as an Immortal. That's what makes up most of the people here, actually. Our souls are mortal but our bodies are forged from Chaos, that makes us Immortals. We also have the memories of our past, mortal life, so we never had problems like yours. On the other hand, like all Immortals, we also know we'll never be reincarnated again. Our souls will crumble to dust when we die here."

The girl grimaced at that, understanding quite quickly that she probably did not fall into that first category. She couldn't remember anything before waking up, especially not of some other life.

"The second possibility is for something that's not sentient to be born here. It's quite rare, but sometimes, Chaos takes inanimate or insentient things and forges souls out of them, on top of giving them a body. They are considered very special here, since Chaos-forged souls are naturally far stronger than mortal ones. On top of that, when a Chaos-forged Immortal dies, their soul returns to Chaos, instead of crumbling and scattering. So, it’s not the total end for them."

"We think that's what you are," Neiro butted in at that, "The fact that you have no memories and that you feel like having a star inside of you is evidence enough, I wager. It'll take someone trained in souls to determine, but we think that your soul was forged from a star. We call people like you Firakha, children of the great fires."

Firakha. The words swirled around in her head, wrapping around her tongue and fitting, surprisingly well. Firakha, child of the great fires.

Oh that she was. There was a fire burning inside of her, so much hotter and brighter than Neiro’s or Rize’s. There was a star in her chest and so she was a child of the stars that called to her from so far away.

But then again…

All of this, it meant that it wasn’t just that she couldn’t remember who she was. It was that she had never been anyone at all before she woke up in that cave. That she...was born in there.

The thought shook her profoundly.

She had always imagined she’d only forgotten, her name, her purpose, her true companions, her life before the cave but if what they were saying was true, then there had never been a life before the caves for her.

She was born there, born from Chaos, a concept that seemed as ingrained into her as the starfire inside of her. Chaos was everything and yet nothing, she recalled it faintly, a force of disorder and yet harmony shifting through her, engulfing her, creating her.

She remembered it, almost. The burning, the flickering and the nothing until there was everything. Nothing she could put into words, but raw feelings, filling her up to the brim before she awoke back then.

From that alone, she knew what they’d said was true.

“It’s something really special,” Rize said carefully after she’d noticed her downcast expression, “Having a soul forged by Chaos is already rare, but forged from a star...that’s, like, once in a million years that someone like that is born."

No doubt, the female wanted to cheer her up and the girl did her best to go along with it.

It was confusing to her and while she was not shocked to the point of feeling saddened, she was certainly overwhelmed. Learning about a world that enticed her was one thing, but finding out something like that about herself was a bit more to stomach.

“So you can’t...do this?” she asked, just to confirm and summoned fire to her palm, letting the crimson flames intertwine with her fingers. It felt so natural, but then again, if her soul had been forged from starfire, it was probably no surprise that controlling it came even easier to her than using her body.

“We’re not all little freaks like you,” Kassa snorted with bile in her voice and the girl looked at her, eyes narrowing. She could see the envy and anger that was deeply rooted in the female’s flame and knew that it was not particularly against her as a person, but more against the world in general.

Nonetheless, she found once again that she did not like this feeling of being talked down to, especially by someone who had no right to judge her when they didn’t know the last thing about her.

“Would you stop it, Kass? It’s not her fault you’re in a bad mood, again,” a new voice fell in and everyone turned to see that the two missing males had arrived, the boisterous and loud one up front and the grim-faced other behind him.

Kassa only snorted at his words and turned away, poking the fire with a stick again.

“It’s best to ignore her when she’s like this,” the lively one said and sauntered over to her, a grin on his face, “I’m Lyndon, by the way, but you can call me Lyn. And this next to me is Murron," he pats his grim-faced companion on the shoulder, "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss ...?”

He paused in the end, obviously wanting to say her name, but she couldn’t help him. She saw his name, etched deeply into his flame, but no matter how often she explored hers, she had never found one.

So she shook her head with a smile and resigned, “I’m glad as well.”

Knowing lit up in his eyes and he opened his mouth to say something, but a loud gasp from next to them interrupted him.

“Oh my!” Rize exclaimed, “We completely forgot to introduce ourselves, Nei.”

Her expression was so grave, the girl couldn’t help but chuckle and bite down the information that she very well knew their names.

“I’m Rize, but my clan name’s Rán Fenrir, I’m a Sovereign of Water. Kassa, our endearing scout, is an Empress of Archery, her clan name’s Ensa Fenrir. As you might’ve noticed most of us are members of the Fenrir clan.”

She spoke so naturally that the girl didn’t dare interrupt her, but frankly, she’d lost her at ‘clan name’. What was a clan? And why would they have different names than the ones in their flames?

Her confusion must’ve showed as Neiro heaved a sigh again.

“I’m really sorry, I understand this must be overwhelming,” he said to her and she smiled back at him, not offended but rather confused. Thankfully, Neiro offered an explanation without her having to prompt.

“Some of the more powerful Immortals found clans in order to gather followers and they train them and help them to become more powerful themselves. Most of us join one sooner or later, since they offer protection and help and a community. When we enter, we’re given a name different from our original one, a clan name. The only one who’s allowed to keep their true name is the clan leader.”

She snorted at that, finding it quite audacious to take names away when they couldn’t ever be erased. She didn’t even have one and they were forced to have two? How ridiculous.

“What’s a...Sovereign?” she was familiar with the word but not in the way Rize had used it, like a title she was proud of. Neiro nodded and scratched the stubble of hair on his cheeks while searching for an answer.

“In this Plane of Gods, we rank Immortals by their power. It’s stupid if you ask me, but power means a lot here, so your title defines a lot about your standing. Newborns, without any training or awakened powers, are called Saints, as their bodies are already strong enough to be regarded more than mortal. Then it goes up in various steps: Emperor, Sovereign and Ascendant. Most living here are like Kassa and Lyndon here, at Emperor rank. Rize and Murron are both Sovereigns, counted amongst the stronger ones while I’m an Ascendant, one on the rise to an even more powerful level.”

“An even more powerful level?” she echoed, frowning yet again. She could understand that they were ranked by strength but she hadn’t fully comprehended why. Was strength this important? Surely, one’s worth couldn’t just be defined by how well you could thrash others?

Then again, she could see Neiro’s power fluctuating inside his flame, overbearing and overwhelmingly powerful. Only few of her companions - well, former companions - could measure up to him, if then only Ichakh or Ecchaik.

Neiro nodded but it was Lyn who answered her question.

“There’s a reason this is called the Plane of Gods. In the end, we Immortals are only small fry compared to the Gods. Ascendants can become Lesser Gods, but it’s not easy, only a small percentage of all Ascendants manage it, because you actually need faith energy and not just pure strength. It’s not easy to get Mortals to worship you.”

Worship. Another strange idea. Why would someone want to be worshipped?

If it was her, she’d much rather have friends and companions than people looking up to her as if they were her lessers.

“There’s actually a legend, that you can do it not only through faith but also through fear,” Rize whispered, despite the fact that they were alone in the middle of a forest, “That if you have ten times as many people fear you as you’d need to have faith in you, you can also become a Lesser God. It’s impossible to become a High God through fear though - then again, it’s almost impossible to become a High God anyways.”

“High Gods are the strongest beings that exist,” Neiro supplied, “No one is actually sure how to ascend from Lesser to High God, since there are only very few High Gods and they like to keep secrets. It’s near impossible, to be honest.”

The girl listened to him with wide eyes, wondering where she was in this strength based system. Probably a Saint, since he’d said all Newborns like her were Saints, but then again if she looked into herself...the power that fluctuated around her flame had never lost out to Ichakh’s and it certainly didn’t lose to Neiro’s.

“Are all Newborns Saints?” she asked quietly, a little pleased that she’d managed to form complete sentences, even if her pronunciation was still lacking.

“Yeah, mostly. It’s really rare to be born with a natural understanding of something that would allow one to directly enter a higher rank.”

The girl nodded at Lyn’s answer and decided that she should probably keep her own power a secret, then. She didn’t want to stand out any more than she already did, with her horns and her lack of knowledge and memories.

After all, neither the animosity not the admiration she could get through showing prowess would be something that could help her.

So instead she kept her mouth shut and let her eyes wander over to the one person who hadn’t spoken yet. Lyn had called him Murron, but his flame said something quite different. It was a silent, suppressed flame, filled with somberness and a tinge of darkness that told her he’d stared into an abyss deeper than she ever had. Nonetheless, it wasn’t completely black, it still simmered and though its power seemed to be suppressed by the darkness, its quantity alone was far higher than Rize’s.

The name etched into his flame was Zenon and if she looked at the true power locked inside of him, it was higher than Neiro’s, and even a stretch more than her own.

She wondered why he would have to hide his truth, but having as much darkness inside as he did, she knew he kept his secrets with reason. After all, deep down she saw softness and gentleness, not completely obliterated in him.

When he noticed she was watching him, his gaze was icy, his flames more freezing than burning. She stared back at him, a strange feeling of not wanting to back down nestled into her heart.

He may be a little stronger than her, but the thought of backing down or looking away didn’t sit well with her at all. In fact, she somehow wanted to challenge him, to dare him to attack her and receive whatever he’d throw at her.

How weird.

She was surprised at herself, not quite understanding where those feelings came from. But when she remembered the times she ran through the woods, stalking prey, or the times she was locked in combat with those that threatened her life, she found herself longing for the thrill of her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

Her breathing accelerated as her legs tensed, ready to obey her instincts to fight if necessary, but the chance vanished when Zenon looked away. She saw the conflict in him and chided herself, reigning in the combative urges that overcame her.

“We should leave,” Neiro said after a while of silence, standing up and sheathing the silver object he’d polished. The others nodded and the girl stood up as well, watching as they gathered their backpacks and weapons.

“What is that?” she asked Neiro and pointed to the silver object he’d put on his back. It looked heavy but it also looked dangerous, especially coupled with the quantity of strength the man carried within him.

“Oh that’s my sword. It’s a heavy sword, and a Harvett, a special weapon for Ascendants.”

She eyes it with wide eyes. So it was a sword, a weapon, her instincts were clear on that, a tool for hurting others.

She was torn as she looked at it, both appalled and intrigued. The very thought of creating a tool for slaughtering didn’t feel right at all, but then again, she had used her flames time and time again to do just that. If she didn’t have death at her very fingertips, she would probably also resorted to substituting it with weapons as he did.

On top of that, her fingers itched just when she was looking at it…

“Can I hold it?” she asked before she could stop herself, a familiar curiosity coursing through her. By now the others were ready and they were slowly beginning their march through the woods, but that didn’t stop her from trailing alongside Neiro and eyeing his weapon with unveiled intrigue.

He looked at her and then laughed when he saw her pleading expression.

“It’s quite heavy…” he began but she snorted. She saw that it was heavy but she couldn’t believe she was weaker than this guy, whose flame couldn’t measure up to hers.

Sure, he was broader….and had more muscles...and seemed sturdier...but it couldn’t be that bad could it?

Neiro helplessly shrugged when he saw her stubborn face and soon drew the large sword. The silver glittered in the sun above and the girl was absolutely fascinated.

She didn’t quite understand what made her so curious about a weapon like this but when she looked at it, she couldn’t help but gloat.

It’s so pretty, she gushed to herself and wrapped her fingers around the hilt as Neiro offered it to her.

Unsurprisingly, it was heavy. Very much so.

Surprised by the sudden weight, her arm dipped downwards but she was able to catch it before the sword crashed into the floor.

She put her other hand on the hilt and pushed the blade up again, shuffling her feet until she could distribute the weight evenly onto her body. She could handle it, she found, but barely. And yet...

Amazing.

The feeling coursed through her, almost as great as the rush of a hunt as she began to swing the sword through the air. It felt amazing.

Like her arms had found an extension, a carrier to transmit her strength to the outside. As she held it, she knew this was more than just a tool for slaughtering, this was...art.

A form of beauty, no doubt unconventional, but she was immersed in it.

Stepping away from the group, she closed her eyes, surrounded in sunlight and cherished the feeling of the rough hilt in her hands and the strain it put on her arms. No doubt did she look clumsy and awkward as she began to swing it through the empty air again, but she felt so happy right then, that she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Caught in her trance, she almost didn’t notice that everyone had paused to stare at her until Lyndon let out a large whistle.

“Wow,” he commented with a both amused and incredulous expression.

She slowly opened her eyes and grinned at him, unable to contain the joy inside of her.

“This is so cool,” she whispered and turned to Neiro, whose mouth stood a little open, “Thank you so much.”

Almost naturally, she spun the blade around and offered him the hilt, but he just stared at her. Looking at his stunned expression, her grin slowly faded away.

Was he angry at her for swinging his blade? If so, he shouldn’t have given it to her in the first place!

She stared at him, then over to Rize, whose mouth was also open. Even Zenon looked a little stunned and only Kassa fell out of synch as she stared at her with uncovered hatred in her eyes.

“What did I do wrong?” she asked suspiciously and only at her words did Neiro get a grip on himself and took the sword once again from her hands.

“Nothing...it’s nothing,” he said almost breathlessly, earning himself a laugh from Lyndon.

“Nothing? She just swung around the Harvett you needed five months to even lift and you say it’s nothing? Stop lying, Nei.”

The girl’s eyes flickered between the two of them as she felt a little dejected. So she’d done something weird again. It seemed she was not meant to fit in with them.

Lyndon and Neiro continued to banter, none of them moving to explain just what it was that disturbed them so.

So as they walked on, the girl fell in line with Rize and Zenon, who had thankfully recovered from their stun.

“What did I do?” she asked them, trying to understand.

Rize smiled and ignored the audible scoff Kassa sent their way, “It’s nothing bad. It’s just...a Harvett is a weapon that’s forged in the core of a planet, a high grade weapon made for Ascendants. It’s extremely heavy and has a semblance of will, meaning it only accepts those it favors. It took Neiro five months until he was even allowed to lift it and another two years to make it accept him enough to swing it like a real weapon. And you just took two seconds to accomplish that, that’s why he’s a little...hurt.”

Zenon chuckled, the first time he made a different expression than a scowl.

“It’s just his pride that’s hurt, don’t worry,” he said with a voice deep enough to fit his dark exterior.

The girl nodded, feeling a little bad for showing off.

She remembered feeling in synch with the weapon, as if it resonated with the star within her. Maybe the fact that it was forged in a planet’s core and she was born from a star made them more in line than Neiro, with his ash and soil flame. Not that she would know though.

They trod on in silence from then on, with Lyndon still teasing Neiro about what had happened and Neiro himself quite detached, as if he couldn’t make up his mind whether to adore her or hate her.

The forest around them stayed thick and dark, only occasional rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves. It was spring and getting warmer with each day, but the girl was still glad for the furs she could wrap around her.

The others didn’t wear fur like she did, their clothes were made of far thinner and more elaborate cloth than the crude skin she used.

It was curious, how everything about them was so new to her.

Then again, she’d only been...born...one year ago.

How weird, she couldn’t help but think. She had no memories instead of vague feelings and it seemed natural to think she’d only forgotten them.

But...I’ve been...born there. In those caves, amidst amber veins and cold stone.

I was...born there.

The thoughts wouldn’t leave her. It made her a little sad, that all of the others here had memories, an identity to themselves, something to hold on to. She didn’t have that.

She didn’t even have a name.

A sigh escaped her but with the sigh, she strengthened her shoulders. It wouldn’t do to be depressed about things she couldn’t change. It was as it was and she was glad to live as she did.

In the end, did it matter how or when she was born?

I’m alive now, aren’t I?

She smiled and nodded to herself. She was alive now and she planned to stay that way.

“Rize, where did you get your name from?” she asked as they wound their way through the woods she knew by hand.

The woman’s head snapped to her, obviously surprised that she spoke up after quite a while. Then, her eyes softened.

“My parents gave it to me, I guess,” she said hesitantly, “Back when I was a mortal, born from mortals. It was quite normal for those who give birth to a child to give it a name.”

Rize shrugged and the girl nodded, feeling a little frustrated. She had no parents, though she understood the concept from her beastly companions.

She’d been born from Chaos, apparently, and she couldn’t very well ask it to give her a name.

But she’d like one.

She saw how it was etched into the flames of every being she’d met, and she couldn’t help but be jealous.

“How can I get one?” she asked with determination, deciding that if things hadn’t been given to her, she might as well fight to gain them.

“Why would you think you’d deserve one?” Kassa, who was walking a few steps behind her, snarled, venom seeping deep into her voice.

The girl paused her steps, irritation seeping into her. Deserve one? Everyone has one!

Indignation flared inside of her as she couldn’t understand just what she had done to this woman for her to snap at her at any possible opportunity.

“Kassa…” Rize said, trying to soothe situation, but Kassa’s flame soared with spite as the three of them stopped to glare at each other.

“No, don’t you see it, Rize? She waltzes in here, thinks she’s hot shit and behaves like she’s been one of us as if we haven’t been together for years! I can’t take it! Her stupid innocent act of being a ‘newborn’ just to get Neiro’s attention, damn it, how can you take it? Her attitude pisses me off!”

Kassa had raised her voice but by now, Zenon was the only one close enough to hear and he only paused to watch. Rize’s lips flattened into a tight frown but before she could say anything, the girl herself stepped in.

She’d been watching long enough and by now, she had enough.

Putting on an act?

How dare she talk about her without knowing a single thing?

“Oh so you have a problem with my attitude?” she said with as much venom in her voice as Kassa had. “Well I have a problem with yours. Imagine knowing nothing about this world, about yourself, about anything at all, well, I wonder how you would act! I’m trying my best to understand all of it and you have no right, at all, to write it off as an attempt to get anyone’s attention. Don’t push your insecurities on me.”

The words came out harsher than intended, but as she saw the unreasonable bile in Kassa’s flame, she couldn’t help but lash out as well. She may be young and inexperienced but the world she did get to know the past year wasn’t one that took insults with a smile. It taught her to fight back when someone struck her and she’d be damned if she stood and ignored it now.

Kassa was speechless at her outburst but the girl turned to Rize and the others, even Neiro and Lyndon had by now stopped to track back and stare at them.

“I am grateful for you to take me in, but if you all think I’m going to stand by and be insulted, you’re wrong.”

With that, she spun around and walked ahead, falling in line with Zenon, who only shot her an amused look. She raised an eyebrow at him, challenging.

She was ready for a fight and even though she knew the man was stronger than her, she was still prepared to give him one. He didn’t say anything though and instead walked besides her in silence, slowly gaining distance from the rest of the group.

Behind them, Neiro and Lyndon had joined Rize in glaring at Kassa, who still seemed quite ruffled by the words that had been flung at her.

“You went too far, Kassa,” Rize softly said after a while, only to earn herself another deathly stare.

“Oh of course, you would think that,” Kassa gave back, directing her anger at the next available person.

“Kassa!” Neiro butted in, his voice tinged with anger, “What did she do to you to make her antagonize her so? This is all new to her, it’s obvious she isn’t putting up an act! And we promised to help her, not make her a member of our team or anything.”

“So you defend her? Can’t you see how she’s been getting close to you, blinking her big golden eyes at you like the pretentious fool she is?”

“Now you’re just being an idiot, Kass,” Lyndon rolled his eyes, “Her, pretentious? This isn’t even about her anymore, is it? This is about you and your ridiculous hate for everything related to those that didn’t used to be mortals like us.”

“You have no idea, Lyndon,” she almost showed her teeth when the snarled at him.

“Oh I do,” he gave back, not missing a beat, “You can’t get over the fact that your lover left you for a Chaos-forged Immortal and now you act like all of them should pay for his idiocy.”

She pressed her lips together, but didn’t make a move to deny his statement.

Rize’s eyes softened as she looked at the woman who she had spent a lot of time with, but didn't really know anything about.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Kassa snapped at her, “I don’t need your pity.”

With that Kassa also stalked off, venturing right away from the path and into the woods. Neiro only shook his head and went after her, leaving Lyndon and Rize alone.

The two of them only looked at each other and then smiled in similar exasperation.

“Well, I didn’t think it would escalate that fast,” Lyndon said with a sigh and Rize shrugged, feeling both concerned and annoyed at Kassa’s behaviour.

“Neither did I.”

With that, they began to walk the trail again, hurrying to catch up with Murron and the girl, knowing that Neiro would manage to bring Kassa to a meeting point not too far ahead.