16-2
Vantaiga stepped among the rocks of the rough stone trail that traversed up the great mountain to Hydar’s paradise. Mist and drizzle from the cloud perched at its peak kept the trail wet, slick, and difficult to travel. With each stumble of her heeled, ebony boots, she cursed herself again for making her own paradise so approachable.
To keep the water from her and repel the cold, she wore a reed cloak, burying herself in its hood. Beneath the cloak, she was clad in a dress of vines with jagged leaves that concealed bristling red thorns. She was in no mood to welcome Hydar’s touch with this visit.
After a final stumble, Vantaiga stopped to rest. Walking the slick and arduous mountain path was the only way to enter Hydar’s paradise in the clouds. But after her ordeal in the desert, she had no patience for such trials. In frustration, she cast a wave of moss and lichens to soften the way before her. There was certainly no lack of water for her to wield her power here.
The path led up a mountain that disappeared into a thick, white veil. Stepping into the fog, Vantaiga found her soft carpet of moss tapered away, and her footfalls no longer made a sound. Vantaiga was disappointed the hard heels of her boots would not announce her approach.
Once fully immersed in the cloud, forms and features became lost in a haze of grey. If she was on a path, she could not tell, as her feet were obscured in thick white mist. The moist air penetrated her cloak; water dripped from her face and dress. Normally, she would have enjoyed the drenching, but with no warmth or even sun to bask in, she found it stifling her energy. She could also feel her contact with the forest slipping away. She was being engulfed by Hydar’s realm.
Vantaiga wandered the haze only momentarily before what little remained of her patience ran out. She realised she was in a featureless maze of grey and Hydar could let her wander forever if he so chose. He could also free her whenever he wished. Vantaiga saw no need to blunder around for his amusement.
She shouted out a demand into the nothingness. “Enough of this, Hydar. Release me!”
With the sound of rushing wind, the haze whipped around her and formed into billowing white trees, rocks, and statues, along with plush chairs and benches. Vantaiga thought it was a very nice effect, but she was not here to be impressed. Her scowl held fast as Hydar’s form coalesced out of the lifting gloom and growing sunlight.
“Welcome to my paradise, Vantaiga. I’m glad you could finally make your way up here to see me.”
Vantaiga tried to stomp forward as much as she could with silent footfalls. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to be.”
Hydar looked legitimately hurt by the comment. “Ouch. Is my home so unpleasant? I made it nice for you.”
Vantaiga took in a breath to calm herself. The walk up the rough and dismal mountainside left her more irritated than she wanted to be. Now that Hydar allowed the sun through, the warmth made the dampness of her cloak and skin feel refreshing. It also helped her to know that, in his own way, Hydar was trying to help. “Your home is nice, Hydar, but I have a lot to do after being lost in the desert for so long.”
“Ah, yes, your visit to Festor. How is he?”
Vantaiga groaned. “He’s good. Still mad. Still repulsive. Oh yes, and apparently a GOD OF THE FORESTS!” Heat filled her body as just the thought of Festor and his tormented trees made her seethe with rage.
Hydar stepped back in shock, shortly followed by his own anger. He was not used to being yelled at. “O a God of the Forests. I told you, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“I’m finding it hard to believe a lot of things these days. Why did you attack his forests?”
Hydar tightened his lips and offered Vantaiga a seat, but she did not take it. He resigned himself to sit on his own. “It wasn’t our fault. We were forced to attack his forest. We live in a harsh world. We don’t make it that way because we want to. We do it because we have to. Festor’s people were becoming too proud, too defiant of us. I’m sure Festor didn’t tell you that even he couldn’t control his people.”
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“You didn’t have to destroy them.”
Hydar nodded. “You’re right, we didn’t. There were only two people we had to destroy.”
A chill shudder ran down Vantaiga’s back. “Hubris and Avarice?”
Hydar gestured again. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit?”
Vantaiga’s anger tempered with dread and confusion. She decided to sit after all and slouched heavily into a chair, the images of her desert ordeal and Hydar’s words weighing on her. “What do Hubris and Avarice have to do with Festor’s forest?”
Once she was settled, Hydar prompted her, “What do the mortals say about Hubris and Avarice these days?”
Vantaiga shifted in annoyance. He was supposed to answer her questions. “Hubris and Avarice became too bold and powerful and wanted to take control of the world from the gods. The gods fought back and eventually defeated the two, but it almost destroyed the world, we’re told… The scholars tell that Festor arose out of that destruction.” She fixed the rain god with a stern look. “Nowhere is it mentioned that you were the ones who attacked them.”
“Nowhere is it mentioned that Hubris and Avarice were the high priests of the forest… or that they were Festor’s sons.”
Vantaiga started. “Gods are spirits! They can’t have children!”
“Gods have children,” Hydar corrected. “Festor was not just the god of forests, but also of life. He could create any life he wanted, and eventually he wanted children. However in creating Hubris and Avarice he created very powerful and very arrogant mortals. He also became more attached to mortals than he should be.”
“So why did you attack Festor and his people, then?”
Hydar’s face saddened. “We didn’t—at first. We told him to deal with his children. He made the problem; he had to fix it. But he was too kind and protective of them to do what was necessary.”
“So, he destroyed the world and merged with anyone he could get his hands on?”
“No. He turned on us. Festor’s people were getting too powerful and defiant. They were setting the world out of balance. They turned rivers from their courses and changed fertile valleys into deserts. They culled swaths of grazing herds and turned plains of crops into weeds and briars. They even started using their magic to take control of my rain and Coronus’s light.
“We stepped in to stop Hubris and Avarice, but Festor defended them. Even though he knew how dangerous they were becoming, he couldn’t allow his own children to be destroyed. He was a strong god but not powerful enough to fight against us, so he started merging with his clerics.” Hydar fixed Vantaiga with a serious stare. “And he had very powerful clerics.”
Vantaiga shuddered at the thought of just up and taking one of her own clerics as an offering. The minds that had created her had been sought out by the wisest of her people, then trained and groomed from childhood to be compatible for becoming the Goddess. Even then, the ten who had offered themselves were only a select few of the hundreds of children raised in her mountain keep for the ascension.
A strange, twisted memory came upon Vantaiga. She remembered both being the high priestess leaning down to catch a child running for a hug and of being a child running to hug the high priestess. She pushed aside the thought and returned her attention to Hydar.
Hydar was continuing his speech, unaware his audience had drifted away. “—he ran out of clerics, so he absorbed his disciples. When those were gone, he absorbed his followers. With all the different and uncooperative minds within him, he lost control of himself. Not all at once, but as the minds he absorbed were less and less compatible with him and with each other, he lost more and more of his reason. The only thing that stayed consistent was his need for more power to save his sons and forest.”
Hydar looked down at his hands and his voice weakened. “Then he started absorbing everyone, not just his people, but our people as well. He grew stronger and stronger, and we grew weaker and weaker. As more and more of the world slipped out of our hands, Hubris and Avarice blamed us. They blamed us for Festor turning mad. They were afraid we would also go mad. They took hold of our time of weakness and decided they should take over the heavens and restore the world themselves.” Hydar laughed bitterly. “As if they could summon the rains on their own.”
“So, if you didn’t defeat Hubris and Avarice, who did?”
“In the end, Festor defeated them. With all the minds fighting for control, he acted erratically. He struck out at allies, and he struck out at enemies. He crushed cities. He razed his own forests. And every time he destroyed something, he wanted more power, thinking he could bring it back. He destroyed so much, eventually the only things left of any power were his two sons. So, in his madness he absorbed them too.”
Hydar paused, lost in memories. “He was a good and loved god once; we were all proud of him.” He struggled with his words before continuing. “He was a close friend. The rain and the forest have always been close.
“After that, something broke in Festor. He stopped attacking; he stopped fighting. He just darted about randomly and became the mess he is today. Some think it’s Hubris and Avarice fighting for his mind. Only Festor knows the truth, and even then, I doubt he could make sense of it.”
