Expatrianas Histories - What the Gods Fear

“The southern Gods live in their great temple in Tenochtitlan. Ehecat is the wind God form of the great Quetzlacoatl. He is equivalent to Zeus among the southern Gods.” It was rare for Elyria to speak to Baj almost as an equal without her normal condescending tone and attitude, but whenever she did, he listened most intently. These were the few times she said things which made sense and were genuinely important, and sometimes even wise. This discussion about the southern Gods was one such occasion and so he made careful note of everything Elyria said. He remained respectfully silent as she continued. "I once heard Zeus say. A God whose name I cannot pronounce, is a God with whom I will have no quarrel. He is a silly old fool, but he is wise in some ways, and in this he is very wise. I will never understand these southern Gods human and you should avoid them at all costs too, if you value your life that is. They are barbarians forever demanding human sacrifice. And the more terrible the death the happier they are." That had sent a shiver down Baj’s spine. To think there existed beings with which even the great Zeus was afraid to quarrel, made Baj realize just how little he knew about the powers of his universe, and just how weak mortals like himself were in comparison to the Gods. He could not help but speak up at that moment. “Do you think they will join us when Diskord comes? Will the southern Gods fight alongside us against Chaos?” Baj asked with an air of resignation which suggested he felt sure the answer would be no. “Yes human, they will join us.” Elyria answered without hesitation. “How can you be certain?” he quickly shot back. The Goddess gazed at Baj and sighed, irritated by his inability to see the answer which was so clearly right in front of his face. “Because my slow brained one, if they do not there will be no humans left for their sacrifices.” Baj had long since armored himself against any hurt that might be caused by Elyria’s many harsh and unfair criticisms of himself and humanity. In the early years of his enslavement, he would have responded in kind, but he had come to accept them as a necessary if very unfortunate aspect of the Goddess’ personality. The attack on his intelligence was mild by her standards and he did not react though he was depressed greatly as he considered the weakness of mortals when viewed against the might of the Gods. Elyria immediately sensed the change in mood through her bond with him, and enquired gently, “Why does your mood suddenly darken human?” Baj answered meekly with an air of resignation “Is there no role for us to play then? In the fight against Chaos I mean. We are so weak. If even the Gods fear DisKord what can we possibly do?” The Goddess looked at him and, in her eyes, he saw something he rarely did. He only ever saw it when she was at the peak of one of her “sermons” pontificating on the power of hope and love, the corny philosophy she espoused, the principles around which a church had been built, and to which her temple’s across Nortenous were dedicated. It was hope that he saw there, true hope, the kind only a God could reveal, and in that moment, it gave him strength and renewed his flagging spirits. He was no acolyte of her church and had been tricked into servitude. He did not believe in that “hippie dippy bullshit” as he referred to her philosophy and church, but even he could not deny the power of her message. However, never in a million years would he say that to the Goddess. Her ego needed no additional stroking given its current and seemingly ever-expanding size.

“I am going to tell you a secret human. And, if you ever reveal to anyone, mortal or God, that I told you this I will personally escort you to Hades and feed you to Cerberus.” The look she gave him then told him that was no idle threat. “I swear it Goddess, I shall not.” She knew he was not lying because of her bond with him, but even without that bond, he knew him to be a man of his word. He had a code, and he lived by that code, and one of its core tenets was to be true to your word. She admired that about him as it separated him from every other mortal she had ever known. “Humanity will have a great role to play. In fact, the fate of us all may very well rest on the shoulders of your people Baj.” Baj looked at her, stunned into silence. “Clan Expatrianas from the land of Cleves, the dreariest and most dismal of lands, with naught but cold rain and a river of fire to boast of, will decide the future of all existence. It is indeed impossible to believe, and yet it is true. I know it as surely as I have ever known anything. How I know it is as much a mystery to me as to you and that worries me, but that is a problem for another day.” She paused only briefly as she gathered her thoughts before continuing. “And this also you must know. The Gods fear you. We fear all mortals. And we are jealous of you as well.” What she had said about the role of his clan in the upcoming fight with Chaos was astonishing enough, but at that last statement his jaw dropped, and his mind reeled. “But how Goddess, why? What could the Gods possibly fear from man, or envy? We are nothing compared to you, so weak, our lives so short and our abilities so limited. That makes no sense.” The Goddess laughed softly as she replied. “Yes, all those things are true, and the fact that you cannot see the answer is testament to the lack of ability in your minds, and yet, what I have said is also true. You see, it is exactly because of your limitations and weaknesses that we fear and envy you. The shortness of your lives gives each human a burning passion for life and the motivation to make the most of the little time they do have, and to accomplish as much as they can in that short time. This gives you a spark and a drive, that the immortal Gods lack. When one day is as long and short as 500 years, what motivation is there to change, or to grow, or to improve. When a human is thirsty you must dig a well to find water. From this basic need eventually was sprung science and technology, two things the Gods lack. What need is there for science, or technology, or a well when you can create water to drink from nothing with a thought. Even that much effort is not required, however, since we do not need water or food or any sustenance at all to survive. Moreover, you humans reproduce like rabbits. No God has been born on Olympus since the beginning of all, and even Zeus does not believe there will ever be another. Though we are immortal, we do die. I know you know this, though you try to shield this knowledge from me. We fight and sometimes kill each other, or we die from accidents of a cosmic variety. Those things your astronomists call “black holes” are the tombstones of dead Gods. Places where a God died accidentally or in battle with another. Each time a God dies, that is one less in the universe, and it will never be replaced. Eventually we will all be gone. It is only a matter of time. The future will be one of mortals, not of Gods. If there is a future that is. Unless we can manage to find a way to defeat DisKord, there will be no future for God or man. We must find a way Baj-a-Califo of clan Expatrianas from the land of Cleves. We must.”