Carlsen’s POV

I had been born in a small hut on the outskirts of Ignero. My birth had been a secret to most, my parents feared I would be targeted and murdered if anyone came to know of my existence - because my father had been a druid.

It was prohibited for druids to show themselves to the humans, much less procreate with them. The Gods had strict rules on who could follow in their footsteps and who was allowed to have holy blood. Half-bloods were usually killed the second they were born, for fear of the Gods’ retaliation upon whoever broke the rules.

We had lived far from prying eyes and my mother only went to the village to purchase fresh meat and cloth for clothing. Although we were poor and didn’t have a lot, I had fond memories of my childhood. My father came frequently to visit us and help provide by replenishing our small garden. At the time I didn’t understand that we were different than most families - much less that being different was a bad thing.

The story of how my parents fell in love was a simple one. One day when my mother had been a young woman, she went out into the faraway fields of the village to forage for berries but she was stalked and attacked by a ravenous cougar. Unable to defend herself from the beast, she began to scream for help; hoping that someone from the village would hear her and save her.

The cougar circled her, playing with his new prey but before he had a chance to lunge and rip out her throat, a bright flash blinded my mother. When she opened her eyes, the cougar was nowhere to be seen and in the animal's place was a young man. He had bright orange hair and the purest yellow eyes, my mother was transfixed on this foreign man's appearance.

My father had worked for Yin’s older Sister, Layil, so he frequented the territory around Ignero and was lucky enough to be travelling through that particular field when he heard my mother’s cries for help.

Over the next few years, my father visited my mother at every possible moment and before they knew it, they were pregnant with me.

Having broken an Imperial rule, my father felt devastated but he cared so much for my mother that he couldn’t leave her to raise the child all on her own. My father confessed his sin to Layil and she took pity on him, Layil swore to take my father’s secret to the grave - on one condition.

That condition had been that Layil would protect the child born of human and druid blood from the other Gods - as long as the child was raised to protect Layil’s newest younger Sister who was to be born within the next six years. Nobody would dare to question a druid who was assigned to serve a God, this was Layil’s way of insuring my protection.

The second I was old enough to walk, my father trained me in the ancient druid arts. I learned their language, I studied their books, their spells and incantations - everything that it meant to be a druid. I learned of the existence of the Gods and of my duty to protect the newest God who was to be born that coming winter. My father told me stories of travelling all over the continent, he had been Layil’s right-hand man and was entrusted with much knowledge and power. I spent every moment with my father soaking up his immense wisdom, desperately wishing that I was grown enough to go travelling with him and Layil.

Shortly after my sixth birthday, Yin had been born. My father came down from the Heavens and told the story of how all the Gods positioned themselves around the edge of the Lake with the druids standing in formation behind them, eagerly anticipating the birth of a new God. The Holy Lake bubbled viciously, the water churned and swirled as a light glowed just under the surface; everyone waited with bated breath as a singular, enormous toad crawled out of the cerulean waters.

Crawling to the edge of the Lake the toad stood tall and proud, surveying all the Imperial creatures that it had single-handedly created. The Gods did not know the origin of this creature or from where it came from, but the druids regarded the toad as their begetter whereas the Gods were more arrogant and thought of the toad as simply a lowly vessel that transported the Gods from their birthplace to the Holy Garden.

“Infinite Spirits, those who rule over the Earth and all of its mortal beings. I bestow upon you the newest Ruler. An Earthmover whose power will cause all those who oppose her to tremble at her feet, weeping for mercy.” The toad croaked, its thunderous voice shook them to their very core.

“Her Imperial Name, a Name that must only be uttered by the Gods for fear of retribution, is Yin.”

The Water God turned around and snickered to the Fire God, “a Name meaning Earth, how fitting for an Earth God.”

Layil whipped around and smacked the Water God on the back of his head, “be quiet, Elem!”

Scowling, the Water God turned back around and rubbed his sore head. The toad ignored the comments and stared through the Gods with pensive, watery eyes.

Without another word the toad opened his colossal mouth and unfurled his tongue revealing a small child laying perfectly still, she had light blonde hair and olive green eyes. Everyone held their breath as the oldest Sister glided over to the toad and gently picked the baby God up off its tongue; turning around to face the Gods and druids she held Yin high in the air as the Gods raised their palms towards her. They bowed their heads and chanted together “everything comes from Earth and everything ends in Earth.”

The druids that stood behind the Gods shivered as the air became electrified with the Gods combined immense powers.

My father watched in amazement as the Gods used their united powers to bless the new child and bequeath her with Holy endowments necessary to rule over the Earth and all of its creatures. The new God shuddered and started to cry as unimaginable power flooded into her. The oldest Sister, Ivy, gently set the child on the ground and bending down she pressed a single finger into the new God's forehead. Almost instantly the youngster’s eyes rolled back into her head as a blinding green light was emitted from Ivys finger. The immature God shook and convulsed disturbingly as the old God infused a small portion of her limitless power into Yin.

Removing her finger from Yin’s forehead, she cupped her face in her hands and looked deeply into the child's naive eyes.

“Remember, my child, to touch the Earth is to have harmony with nature. We are the keepers of Earth and we must do everything in our power to protect Her.”

Ivy picked the child up off the ground and stood her on her own two feet, turning the younging towards the endearing crowd.

“Welcome to your new home, you are truly blessed to join the Gods,” her voice rang true as she swept her arm out towards the other Gods. The young God looked up with hesitant eyes, she was too young to fully understand her duties and the rigorous training that was to follow; but today was a day for relaxation and celebration.

The ancient toad slithered back down into the depths of the Holy Lake, not to be seen again till the next birth whether it be a God or druid.

As a child, I loved that story and begged my father to repeat it to me every chance I got. I would go to sleep at night, imagining how one day I would be big and strong like my father and get to travel the world with Yin. To me there was no better feeling than following in my father’s footsteps, I trained with vigour every day eagerly anticipating the moment when I could meet her.

If only life ever went the way we intended.