Peeping Gods

“So what’s a pretty goddess like you doing in this side of the convergence?” Asked a short athletic woman. Her hair was neck length, dark and curly. Her skin was olive. Her eyes were hard to describe, they reflected light much as a cat’s eyes do. She wore a stola cut off above the knee in a somewhat scandalous way. She wore a comfortable pair of leather sandals that looped securely up her legs. Around her waist, she strapped a belt decorated with bronze plates, evenly spread so as not to clink together and make noise. A quiver hung from the belt and rested comfortably on her hip. Over her shoulder was a composite bow constructed with bone and sinew from various hunts.

On a marble balcony overlooking the clouds stood a woman in tall riding boots, and gray breeches. She wore a frilly cream white shirt with a half-buttoned leather vest over it. Her rich dark hair was woven into a french braid. Her eyes were concealed behind a black cloth mask that covered the top of her head and tied behind it. However, her ruby red lips were perfectly visible. They curled into a welcoming smile at her unannounced guest.

“Why Diana... it almost sounds like you’re flirting with me. How positively scandalous,” said the masked woman. “Do you know, you’re the first deity from this realm to even speak to me?”

“What can I say... I drew the short straw,” Diana teased and leaned against the balcony. “I don’t suppose you’d just tell me who exactly you are... I’d be well within my right to demand an answer since your champion is... dangerously close to mine.”

“Ahhh... the Darkmoon. That makes sense then. You lot must be using the spillover from the convergence to, now please don’t be offended, make your aspects relevant again.”

“Oh, very clever I see. No. I’m not offended. Yet,” Diana flashed a mischievous grin. “So what about a game then?”

The masked woman pursed her lips, “well... I am fond of games. But something tells you’re not suggesting the same sort I’m thinking of. But I’m intrigued. Tell me more.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I could play a lot of games with a goddess like you,” Diana’s voice was tempered with ambiguity. The masked woman wasn’t quite sure if that was a flirt or a threat. The huntress cleared her throat, “but what I suggest, is if I can tell you something you don’t already know, you answer a question for me, truthfully.”

“Hrmm... while that sounds fun, what do I get out of it? If you tell me something I already knew, I mean.”

Diana had not thought that far ahead... games were not her domain. But she figured this woman wouldn’t prefer a hunt. “I... uh. Have to do something for you? Two rules though.”

“I see, what are your conditions?” she turned and gave a brief sidelong look at Diana, beckoning her over to some weathered stone seating. The masked woman sat upon one that might’ve been a throne at one point. She crossed her legs, accentuating her curves. Diana attempted to do the same but her stola was so short, she unknowingly created a lewd display.

Shifting in her seat, “One, I will not cause harm to another being, be it divine or mortal for you. Two, I will not directly interfere in the affairs of mortal... for you. Maybe if I decide to do it myself... that’s different. A goddess’ prerogative, you understand,” she grinned.

The masked woman pretended to think about it for a moment, as though weighing her words, “your terms are acceptable.” she folded her gloved hands and rested them in her lap.

“Alright... while you already figured out I am at least partially responsible for the Darkmoon Knights on this side of the convergence, did you know two other goddesses are running other chapters, who aid and benefit?”

The other woman smiled, “while that is not entirely surprising. No. I did not know that. I believe you get a question and answer then.

Diana smiled, it was a small victory, but she had to start somewhere. “Who are you?”

The woman quirked one corner of her mouth up in a smug smile. “Well now. That is a loaded question. Did you want my name, or to know my domains? Hmm... perhaps I’ll just give you my most common epithet, though it is slightly inaccurate.” She rose from her seat and gave a formal bow, “Diana the Chaste... Goddess of the Hunt, Warden of the Wilderness, Protector of young women and children, I humbly introduce myself... I am Velka, Goddess of Sin.”

Diana quirked an eyebrow at that, “I’m not sure if your flattering me, mocking me, or just showing off... However, I’m pleased to meet your acquaintance.”

Velka returned to her seat with a grin, “why not all three? I will frequently flatter an attractive woman, I do enjoy showing off, perhaps more than I should, and I will rarely miss an opportunity for a good-natured jest.”

Diana already had her next question in mind however, she noticed Velka gave her a tip, that she already knew her domains and therefore likely others.

“This is a mortal affair... however it affects our followers. Including the one your would-be champion presently courting,” she watched Velka carefully. It was hard to read her face with half of it covered. “Did you know the papacy recently withdrew their financial support to the Darkmoon order? I’ll tell you why, because that wouldn’t be a fair follow-up question if you didn’t know it. The current papacy is convinced that our world becoming part of the convergent world you fled from would bring about their end of days prophecy, Revelations. True believers, that current lot. But they aren’t actively working to bring it to fruition, as far as we know.”

“Well now, that was very informative... I believe I do owe you an answer. Maybe a tiny bit more,” she smiled warmly and reached behind her head, undoing the cloth mask covering her eyes. Her pupils were milky white. “Do with this information what you will...perhaps you’ll choose to take advantage of this poor blind woman,” she teased in a voice that oozed debauchery.

Diana’s olive cheeks turned a shade darker, “do you enjoy making a goddess blush?”

“Oh, I enjoy making anyone blush... But a goddess? Especially so. You see, since coming here I’ve leaned into the whole ‘Goddess of Sin’ thing pretty heavily.” she tilted her head and smiled coyly. “You know if I was feeling particularly mean, I could count that as your question.” She leaned forward in her seat, curiously awaiting an answer.

“W- oh, hades. I didn’t even realize... uh... can I ask my actual question?” Diana reached up and brushed some of her curls behind an ear.

Having flustered the Goddess of the Hunt so much, Velka very much was enjoying this little game. She showed no outward pleasure in Diana’s current conundrum. It was obvious, despite having far more years in this world than she that this huntress had never been put on the spot like this. “Of course. But may I let you in on a little secret?”

Diana perked up at that, “what is it?”

“You’re really cute when you blush.”

Diana sputtered, “how do you even do that?! You have no sight!”

“Come now, you’re a hunter. You know how important keen hearing is. I can hear the blood of your body rushing to your cheeks. Or maybe I have sight beyond sight? Or... perhaps another trick,” she nodded over to the balcony where a large crow sat, staring at the huntress. “That’s Tickle-Me... a right handful at times but very loyal.”

Velka leaned back in her seat, “so, was that your question? Not sure if I should let that one slide if it wasn’t” she grinned.

The huntress was dumbfounded. By all rights, she should be furious with this upstart goddess, but she had some way of getting under her skin. She began to wonder if they were even playing the same game anymore. She’d gotten more answers out of Velka but not to the questions she intended. It felt like Velka was winning. “It... wasn’t the question I was going to ask. But I have no good excuse for falling into that a second time,” she admitted.

“Honesty! You know, for a goddess of sin, I appreciate honestly a lot. It does beg certain questions though. But yes, I’m afraid you’ll have to try again with some new information this time.”

Diana pondered, “there are two humans... that are not, gods. But not mortals either. They are something more. One you’ve probably already observed she lives free on the surface. Did you know about the second one is imprisoned in the dungeon of the mortals who call themselves the Watch?”

Velka’s mood seemed to sour... there was a brief tint of anger in her dead eyes. She looked quite distant suddenly. “Ask...”

The huntress seemed relieved she wasn’t distracted into asking another stupid question. She wanted to ask about those women now, but she wanted to know more about Velka first. “Why are you called the Goddess of Sin? You do not strike me as that... maybe lecherous yes. But that’s hardly enough for that title, else it would belong Venus,” she smirked as she took a light jab at one of her fellows.

“Oh ho! My favorite subject. Myself! Is that pride? That’s another sin according to that one religion right? Maybe I ought to get a little punch card... ahem,” she relaxed slightly. “The simple answer? I’m a goddess that time forgot. I was the goddess who punished sinners. In particular, those who preyed on the weak, those who defiled holy places, and those who so royally fucked with the natural order of the world that they started this whole mess. In what you called the convergence, it was I who started the group now known as the Darkmoon Knights... sure they changed their name over the ages. In time though, even they forgot about me.

Velka sighed and leaned forward. “We have mutual interests,” she let a coy smile come across her face, “you could also say we’re mutually interesting. But that is neither here nor there.” She was quiet now. “Would you like to know...the first sin? Let me clarify. The first sin of those who thought themselves to be gods.”

Diana was legitimately curious. This didn’t seem like another one of Velka’s jests. She seemed deadly serious, and honestly were she not a goddess herself would be intimidated. “I am listening.”

“Our world was to have a natural cycle, ages of Light and Dark. Don’t confuse that for an analogy of good and evil. There is as much evil to be found in the Light, as there is good in the Dark. However, the lords who thought themselves gods were afraid of what the dark would bring...for as much as this may or may not surprise, humans were born of the Dark. So fearful of that, the first lord, whose name I will not even dignify, sacrificed himself to keep the flame of Light lit.

This brought with it a terrible cost. The dead could not die... humans would become cursed with a mark that could not be removed. Once they died they returned to life. In theory that’s immortality. What many have sought to achieve through far more complex ways. But like one of your mortals once said ‘even the gods are appalled by man’s inhumanity to man.’ What you might expect to happen did. It was treated as a plague by the confused and frightened. Those who bore the mark were rounded up and exiled. Usually to prisons or asylums built for such things, but a rare few manage to escape their unmarked brethren and band together to form little communities. The most crushing aspect curse was that it would feast upon hope. By the time one of the cursed humans lost all hope, they had deteriorated to the point where their skin was leathery and hung off the bone... they looked emaciated and finally, it would happen.” she sighed.

“The humans called it ‘going hollow’. Those who went hollow became mindless roving husks, prone to bouts of **** or self-destruction. Often trying to do something they recalled either from life or at least before going hollow, more as a reflex than a conscious decision.”

She paused to see if the huntress were still following her, satisfied, she continued. “When the first lord sacrificed himself to relight the flame, he left instructions for his remaining family to try and sort through the undead, tossing them into suicidal battle after battle, until only one would remain... and by then they’d be so convinced by their righteous cause, they sacrifice themself too... again extending the age. It would get worse, cities, towns, whole kingdoms would fall. Then there was the convergence. There was something about the world that fundamentally didn’t like what was happening. The lands themselves churned and smashed together, whole landmasses would disappear overnight only to have moved across entire nations. They all seemed to be converging on the first flame. Reigniting it would slow things for a time... But they always needed more next time. Until eventually they were sacrificing multiple lords at once to extend the fire.”

She eyed Diana who seemed to be taking it all in. “So it seems your world has humans, that have just as much of the Dark in them as ours did. I have no idea how as honestly the Dark Soul that formed them came from our world. It’s possible some found a way through at some point, but the more pressing concern is that convergent lands seem to want Earth to join the club. The convergence is so strong here, I’ve seen men and beast alike that I’ve never thought possible. The underground of this little town of Emberburgh has become something of a trade and travel hub because of this. The transient lands of the convergence do not exactly respect the laws of time and space as your mortals think they know them.”

Diana was used to prey you could hunt and kill. A foe to be overcome. Her pride as a goddess wouldn’t let her admit she had no idea what to do now. Frankly, for a goddess, this Velka showed a lot of humility. She wonder perhaps if there was something to learn there for her family and peers. “Can this be stopped?”

Velka turned to face her. Those milky white pupils looking right at her. “I have been around for eons and have been trying. To my shame, I even aided some of the cursed whom I thought saw through the lies, only for them to make the ‘noble sacrifice’ which only made it worse. Honestly, I fear some of the same forces that seek to keep it ignited may have wormed way into this world. There is something of a cult now as well, dedicated to a third option, rather than letting it simply fade or, reigniting it. They seek to steal it. I don’t know if that’s possible but I do suspect nothing good will come of it as is typical when mortals lust for power. But it might be an option.”

A cloud floated near the balcony, and light seemed to bend around it until it displayed Jayne laying in bed with Maria, “Ah look. Our little champions are starting to stir.”

Diana was genuinely impressed with this method of looking in on a champion but did her best not to show it.

Velka shot a wicked grin to Diana, “wanna make a bet?”

“I’m not sure, when playing against you, winning still feels somehow like losing... But I’m interested.”

“Terms are this... if by the end of the day my champion pops your girls cherry, you will present me with three options, and I may pick one to give to my champion. I’m flexible, but I’m thinking you find a nymph, a dryad, or a spear blessed by the goddess of the hunt herself. If at the end of the day, your girl’ is still chaste, I will present to you three options, an enchanted rondel dagger, an enchanted shield, or a whistle that summons a planar warhorse. You may pick one to give to your champion. I fully expect the dryad and nymph to be volunteers, if none agree I’ll leave it to you to find something of equal value to offer.”

Diana scowled for a moment, “that is absolutely a reprehensible perversion, gambling on the chastity of one of my knights, Velka you are a lecherous deity... I agree.”

“I’m sure I am... but hey. You knew Bacchus. In my defense when you’ve been around as long as I have you start to get bored.”

“Hmph. Just because... maybe you have a point. It still doesn’t lessen your own perversions.”

Velka smiled, “it sure doesn’t. You know we’re totally going to watch them do it, right?”