What song is that, anyway?

Mortigan stretches, yawns, and takes a deep breath. She then proceeds to clap her hands; an unnecessary act to alter the images before us once more. Now the figure of Ihsrom, Ariel, and six others I don't know come into view.

"Alright" She says. "Time for round two."

She paces over to a her first subject, presumably going in the same loop as the Perpetual Chain, standing next to a female figure. "Ready?"

I nod, ready to finish up this lesson on gods.

"This is Maiyo, Goddess of love, life, sea, and sex. She was, as all gods were, a mortal. She was the child of a ocean spirit who had mated with some sailor boy; hence her odd apperance; and eventual claim to the sea. One that a certain bloodthirsty pirate is currently contesting in a 'holy' war, might I add. The feat that saw her rise to god status? The writing of a now ancient pact between spirits and the Light, which has seen them act as allies to the forces of Light for over a thousand years. I do belive that Ariel offered a spiritual body to you, correct? It is because of Maiyo; that he could even offer such a thing."

The Patron of the one I search for stands before me. Her beauty is magnificence itself, but she is clearly not fully human. At her back are two sets of wings; which seem to be a sort of mix of a birds wing, and a fishes fin. As well, rather than legs, her bottom half is more like that of a snakes tail, with large fin at the end of her tail. Multicolor prismatic scales grace both her animalistic features, as well as growing from her human flesh, adorning her body like jewels. Her head has these scales in a similar fashion to my own, rising up the neck, and crowning at the jaw. Her skin is a vibrant, yet pale pinkish color, and her hair is a bright, firey orange. The color of eyes... it seems so familiar... blue as the sea.

"They're the same as Tomoko's..." I mutter aloud.

"Indeed." Says Mortigan. "An effect of being a Chosen; the adoption of traits of your Patron. This becomes even more... prominent, lets say, during heated times of emotion, battle, or passion. Back when he was mortal, that little Ariel used to grow cute little sheep horns when he was truly mad at something... ah..."

The daughter of **** now seems lost in her own little world; ah, the image is changing...

"GAH!" She yelps, covering the image of a shirtless, horned Ariel slowly removing his shorts... "You saw NOTHING!"

"Saw what?" I say, coyly. "You were going to the next god in the order, that's all."

Clearing her throat, she says. "Ah, yes. Uh, Ardor! Yes! Him!"

A large tree appears... no wait, it's a man... a man tree?

Continuing, Mortigan, covering her clear blush, says. "Ardor, God of nature, animals, harmony, and harvest. He was a treeant in his mortal life; but was far from his kin. He, unlike the others of his kind, did not worship the God of Nature at the time, Nopp. Instead, he waged his own personal battles of philosophy and logistical know-how against those that would harm nature. His actions led to far more sustainable hunting and lumber gathering practices across the whole of Ruyanei. It may not be as grand as the other gods origins, but if it weren't for him, lumber shortages and over hunting may have well led to the hordes of the Dark overruning the Light; as it once did for the homeland of the Dwarves, Grimhold."

Dwarfing all gods before him, the Tree God Ardor stood a whopping twenty feet tall, making his face quite hard to see. From what I could tell, all forms of life shared his body with him, animals living within nests atop branches or within holes in his form, fungi growing on his bark, and vines wrapping themselves around his legs. The only aspect of his face I could see was a large, bushy (in a literal sense) beard.

"So, his chosen betrayed the Light, correct? Became a follower of Carnachias?" I ask.

The God Hunter sighs. "Yes. Damn that old bastard Maxwell. I do believe that even most of the Dark half of the Pantheon despise him; something about having no control over his kin."

"Do you know what he looks like?" I ask.

She nods, shifting the image.

A massive beast appears before me, with silvery blonde fur, a mess of wild hair with matching beard. His clothes, if you could even call them that at this point, were tattered to the point of being rags that simply happen to cover his crotch, back, and rear. His face was a snarling, disgusting parody of a mortal man, with fur coated pointed ears, and wild emerald eyes... but something about him was familiar...

"Is this what he always looked like?" I wonder aloud.

"No, this is due to the Curse of the Worgenfaust. The one, and only, malevolent act of Ardor. A punishment for his betrayal. I shall show you his old self."

The beasts bones and flesh ripple and crack; compacting down into the form of an man with pointed ears. His emerald eyes seems as though they wish to discern each detail, and his silvery blonde hair pokes out from a brown cloak which covers most of his body.

He looks almost exactly like Cilla.

While I am left speechless before the sight of my cloaked companion's father, Mortigan sheepishly says. "Ah, I see... let us move forward. No need to think of this 'man' anymore."

The image shifts once more, while I quickly pocket this discovery for later. No wonder she hid away at the man's name being mentioned...

Thank the soon to be discussed gods that Mortigan said something which drew my attention away from these revelations. "This is Pyurus, Goddess of purity, fire, the hearth, and innocence."

The image of a pale very little girl appeared before me, her hair curly and bright blonde, with endearing, innocent brown eyes. She was small and frail looking, as if a strong wind would blow her away. She wore what appeared to be pink pajamas, and held close a stuffed toy dog.

This was the one sending Sarmenti after me?

Seeing my confusion, the Demigod says, her voice slightly choked. "The reason for this little one's ascension was due to... an amazing feat. One my father felt should be rewarded with a long, painless life. She was sick. Dying. Most grown men with the illness she had would die in days, a cruel, agonizing ****; but she, a gnome at the age of six, held out. She grasped onto life, and refused to leave; fearing that her family would miss her too much. The God of Innocence at the time, Beatrix, agreed with my father; and ended her own divine life... and so, we have Pyurus. The Eternal Child. Mortals wonder why she was denied a chosen; it was due to her inexperience with war, conflict, and the such. When she was permmited to chose now, she ressurected Sarmenti Hoffman as her Chosen, and simply ordered him to, and I quote, 'Fight the bad-monster-man who hurt you, and make him apologize!'"

There is a pause in her words, followed by. "I do think Hoffman aims to do as his Lady told him, but only after bringing you to the brink of my father's domain, and leaving you to enter it."

"You know... I think I'm tired of surprises." Is all I can say, croaking a last word. "Next"

A figure appears, a middle aged man with dorkish glasses and pointed ears wearing simple, drab, and somewhat scholarly-looking clothing. His face, including his large, crooked nose was currently deep in a book. His eyes are once more familiar; being the same color of the Chosen known as Citrinas, sapphire blue, with hints of purple at the outer edges.

"Once the greatest mage to walk to earth, now the God of magic, lore, invention, sanity, and dreams. This is Machae, brother of Khalthosh. His acts worthy of godhood are innumerable, but my father chose a very particular one. Machae's only greater love than books, was sharing the knowledge of those books. It is because of this, that he created a pocket dimension known as The Index, which houses the knowledge of all of his endless tomes, scrolls, notes, even his shopping lists; as so they may be shared with all. He wrote one hell of a cooking book, by the way. It's recipe for chocolate pudding is divine."

"and his chosen?" I ask. "Do you know why he picked her?"

"I'm afraid not, only He and my father know such things. You would have to ask them. Should we continue?"

I nod.

A new figure appears. A woman with dark, tanned skin, a shaved head, and rustic, crude yellow robes sits cross legged, meditating. Her face, with her eyes closed, is stern, focused, yet peaceful; while the scars and calluses on her knuckles speak of great ****. Around her neck are a string of beads, each made of different small keepsakes. The porcelain eye of a doll, a tooth, and a colorful scale, just to name a few.

"Illustu, Goddess of light, enlightenment, beauty, art, and song. Once, she was a human monk, who roamed from place to place, bringing an end to evil wherever it may be. She was the closest thing to a Chosen before their creation; as her conviction was so endless, for though the gods had never received her faith, they instead put their faith in her. Once, she channeled the divine energies of not just the Light, but the Dark as well, in an attempt to understand both, and achieve enlightenment... and so she did, and was welcomed as a diety." Mortigan finishes by snapping her fingers.

The eyes of Illustu open, revealing the same coloration as the Chosen, Elmeria Levantine.

The thought brings something to my mind, another question. "I heard from Ariel that the chosen are each given a guardian spirit, created by their Patron... what are they."

Rubbing her forhead, Mortigan whines out. "We're one away from finishing our lesson and you ask that? We don't have all night, you know. Ask Ariel, next you can. He actually had one, and knew the others. He would know almost as much as my father on the subject. Now, onto the last one..."

Dramatically clapping her hands, another goddess appears. Ariel comes after Illustu, and we're skipping him, so this must be...

"Tailum, Goddess of war, glory, honor, and redemption."

A very short, stout woman, presumably a dwarf, with war paint glazing each of the few parts of body not covered in armor. Her face was without marks nor scars, presumably due the full face covering, horned helmet held in her left hand, and held within the other was a warhammer, whose head was the size of a human torso. Lastly, her eyes, they were the same blood red as the last remaining Chosen, Alkadabuki, the Amazon Queen.

Mortigan gleefully tells the story of this War Goddess. "You know how I spoke of the homeland of the Dwarves being overrun due to shortages of meat and lumber? Well, one woman, near single handedly, retook the land. Tailum of the Bloodbeard Clan strode into the ruins, inhabited by demons aplenty, and slew each and every one. Where most would tire, she only grew stronger as she rip and tore them all apart. Who was she within her clan? A warrior queen? An avenging wife, whose husband had died in the fall? No. She was but a farmhand. When the Dark overtook the lands, her favorite bull, Tungstun, was slain... On that day, the farmhand had died, and the Goddess of War was born..."

I stood their, trying to hold in laughter... come on... hold it...

"Well, I supposed this is it for our lesson, Monster." Says Mortigan, who too seems to be holding back giggles at the story of the War Goddess. "I hope to see you again. Mostly because Ariel will be nearby, but... you're not bad."

You're not bad.

"You're not bad." She said, as we sit up on that hill, when I talked about my time on the stage just an hour ago; I was sloppy, distracted... by Her.

The dream seems to crack, break, and then shatter.

I feel myself waking.

I hear a scream, the crunching of metal, the shattering of glass. The scream stops suddenly...

I'm crawling away from the now burning wreckage with my left hand; while my right... I can't feel it... I feel the warm, wet mix of gasoline and Her blood over the right side of my face. The fire spreads from the wreckage, covering the ground, covering me!

It burns! Oh god it burns!

"I'm on stage, my fingers glide across the keys, I'm playing for that cute girl in the audience, the one I met at the bar..."

"I'm at the bar, drinking away thoughts of the one who hurt me, the one who would **** me. A girl sits next to me..."

My eyes open, with myself in the guest room I had lain in last night.

My head is full. Full of answers. Full of questions.

Full of demons.