Divine Judgement
A well endowed woman with honey blonde hair reached for an inkwell as her quill dried up, and pulled down from her stack of unfinished paperwork yet another sheet of papyrus, a suppressed sigh wobbling behind her lips as she fought off the urge to yawn. While she drew some measure of comfort from the crackling fire in her fireplace, the window showed the light fading fast in the city outside. And it could not be later than 4pm at the moment.
As the main Familia in Orario in charge of ration distribution during the cold seasons, Demeter's cold gloomy days were filled with nothing but signing off payments from different district councils for a measure of grain from her grain stores. With thanks to her innovations as the particular goddess residing over that field of expertise (no pun intended), there were some forms of produce that could be grown in large quantities such as garlic, turnips and broccoli. But grain was a whole different matter.
As soon as the damp and cold fell upon the world, a bag of wheat was almost worth it's weight in gold.
And usually she would be much happier about the situation, if not for the fact that she and her Familia were constantly being impeded by the organisation known as Evilus. It had to be them, for who else could be depraved and evil enough to directly attacking the city's source of sustenance in harsh winter? Usually Demeter would have no hope in resolving this issue because of how illusive that cabal of bloodthirsty criminals were. But even if she could track them down, she had no idea exactly what faction of Evilus they could be from, for their slithery fingers wormed their ways into every part of the underworld. There was no telling which Familia in particular was stealing from her grain stores and her farm stocks.
Until now that was. Because before, there was no person or Familia for that matter that was particularly dedicated to stamping out Evilus's influence. Now, Orario had a protector against the dark organisation, one whose reputation was at an all time high and low at the same time, a head-scratching contradiction some would say.
The person in particular would say that it was 'the purest form of Chaos', whatever that meant.
He was both loved and hated, admired and feared. It all really depended on who you asked and who held what opinion. Demeter herself held a little comfort and faith in her own well-being since she herself had never really had a falling out with the Reaper. There was also the added bonus of him being amongst her own 'kin' so to speak. A fellow member of her own pantheon really and truly. It was a miracle among miracles in this age...though it was truly a shame that she could not claim him as an Olympian. But still, the alternative that was settled upon by unanimous vote amongst the gods in the Denatus was far better than some of the more forceful and violent solutions offered up as suggestions at that particularly memorable meeting...
---
"He should be manacled with his own chains!" One god furiously cried out as he banged his fist on his table, yelling out into the gathering of gods. "Are we seriously going to let this threat stand? This aberration to the order we've established?"
"You speak out of turn you cur!" A minor Olympian god stood up and glowered from across the room at the offender. "I'd advise you think twice before even trying to collar one of our kin."
"Of course you would pipe up on his behalf." Another god scoffed as she picked her nails. "Like he isn't destined to join you on your thrones in Olympus. But since you're so eager to hurry things along, why don't we just banish him there, huh? Let him figure out his godhood there."
A surprising murmur of agreement travelled around the chamber, opinions all over the place, no group of people really in unanimous thought. Fear clouded some minds, while greed and opportunity festered in the hearts of others. Some wanted the prospective Olympian god gone, preferably dead since no one was really willing to allow another to add to the ranks of the Olympians who were already plenty arrogant enough.
"HEY!" Loki yelled as she stood out of her seat and planted one boot on her desk. "Try even thinking about touching my little Lyzie, and I'll tear you to shreds!"
"Easy for you to make the threats when it's you who has the godling in their Familia!" Someone shouted out.
"I find it convenient you'd want to anyway." A god with long blonde hair said calmly, though his quiet voice still carried weight over in the large chamber. "Surely you must understand that as an Yggdrasil goddess, it is improper that you are holding an Olympian godling hostage basically."
"Now now Dionysus." Hermes tried to placate the growing tension between the wine god and the goddess of mischief whose face was slowly turning as red as her hair with how much negative attention was being directed towards Lyze who was still in a comatose state since the battle with the Great Desecration. "There is no need to be creating those kind of hostilities here. We're all friends now."
"I find it shocking you don't press more on the subject yourself Hermes." Dionysus said as he turned his eyes on the messenger god. "One of our own is marked with the blood of an Aesir Goddess. Surely you would agree that it is more appropriate he be placed with one of our own. I call for a vote, that the boy be delivered into the custody of a trustworthy Olympian god's Familia where his talents will be further nurtured."
"So you arrogant mountain gods can one us up in heaven again?" Goibniu scoffed. "Bad enough he's managed to create two divine weapons down here on Earth while subverting the Pact. Might I remind you that Hephaestus is notably hoarding said weapons and not turning them over into the authorities?" The smithing god raised a brow at his rival who merely gave him a deadpan in return. "You'll forgive me if I'm not all too trusting of Olympians right now. Especially when we know that a portion of the Sacred Flame resides in those blades. I think the kid should be stripped of his Falna, all abilities he has now removed and reverted back to his mortal state. I believe we've had enough of potential dangers for now, and if we can work to prevent yet another taking the place of the last, then we should do it."
"And might I remind you, you old goat..." Hephaestus's visible eye glinted in hidden rage. "...that it was that very kid who saved the mortal realm from whatever that thing the Dungeon created was. It could have ended a lot worse but he put a stop to it before it could go on a rampage. I'm pretty sure we can all agree that Typhon was more of a threat to us than the Dragon is given what we know about its abilities. As for the blades, only I am the other Olympian that can handle them besides Lyzof Keele...or rather Kratos as we all now know him to be."
"Kratos." One god scoffed. "How much more of a lame name can you get? Surely if you're going for something Olympian, you'd want to do a bit better."
"It is Olympian as it gets." Loki admitted before she held a hand to her chest. "But he's MINE! I swear, if any of you come near him, I will show you losers exactly what my Familia is capable of!"
"Come now Loki." Vidar said with a chastising look. "Be reasonable. Your Familia is in no shape currently to be used as a threat against the rest of us. They barely escaped their encounter with their lives and they're visibly shaken up. They're in no position to fight."
"Not like it would be much of a use to even storm her residence and yank the little bastard out of bed and into a cell." A woman with purple haired glared at a silver haired goddess. "Apparently her own rival is now in cahoots with her, sheltering the boy in her personal penthouse at the top of Babel. I cannot help but wonder why."
"Wonder all you want Ishtar." Freya said, her voice surprisingly stony which was a first for many. "I have my own reasons for what I do...but I will tell you that my Familia is in perfect shape to do what I want them to do. And right now they're tasked with guarding Lyze-...no sorry, Kratos, diligently. Make any threats towards Loki and her charges and I assure you, MY Familia will dish out retribution."
The threat lingered in the air as the chamber quietened down a bit after hearing her. Regardless of the heat of the current topic, Freya's words held much weight over the council thanks to the strength of her children amongst the admiration many of the other gods had for her. Just her whispers were treated like religious revelation, so an open threat addressed to all members of that gathering was certainly not something to take lightly.
"Perhaps we should just let Ouranos decide on this matter." Hermes offered up. "This goes a little beyond just the adventurer's circle."
"Correct." Ishtar yelled down to him. "We're talking about a mortal with the power and ability to ascend to OUR station...and normally that little card of yours would work Hermes if we had forgotten that Ouranos also happens to be an Olympian." Ishtar leant backwards in her seat and looked around the council. "I propose the removal of his Falna and his powers and banishment from Orario."
"Why are we so adamant on him not getting his powers?" One god asked. "I mean...we've all been in this game long enough so that something miraculous like this happens right? Why not just let him ascend, and then after that push him into Heaven where he can come down again and join the game like the rest of us?"
"That would be an option." A goddess said as she flipped her hair. "But we all saw Hermes's broadcast. We all know what that giant sword was and what it did to him. There's no way he's ever ascending without it, so letting him become a god is not an option."
"And neither is sending him away!" Hephaestus raised her voice. "We're living in bad times as it is. Evilus muddies every path ahead of us and the Dungeon is sinking its teeth deeper and deeper into us now that Zeus and Hera are gone. We need powerful adventurers right here in the city to protect it against all threats both internal and external. Not to mention Ares's usual crusade will soon be upon us. Kratos's slaying of that foul beast that broke free from the Dungeon is all too clear as evidence that he stands on our side."
"And evidence of what he entices from the Dungeon." Someone yelled. "Let's face it. The Dungeon created that thing because it knew what he was, and it came after him. If he stays, who knows what else will come crawling out?"
"I doubt we'll really be facing any troubles from the Dungeon, at least not yet." Hermes said. "My scouts have reported the Dungeon showing evidence of trying to regenerate and patch up the hole created in it. As such, monster activity has significantly decreased in all levels. But we're all reasonable people here." Hermes spread his arms as he looked up at the audience. "Our old rivalries aside, you cannot deny that this is the age we have been waiting for! Just look how miraculous it is! We finally have a new Hero in our age, something we've all been pining for. And if his destiny is to join our ranks, why should we deny him? He'll be one of the gods at the end of the day and he has most certainly not shown any inclination or indication to align himself with any cause close to or even similar as Evilus. The Lastborne is undoubtedly a force for good in this world, and I fear that trying to suppress him and punish him for his great destiny is a far more evil thing to do than to risk his existence on the small chance that he may turn out bad. Our fear is what is talking for us since we now know the Dungeon can create monsters which steal divine power. Let's deliberate on it...let him remain in the city. If you will not connect to the situation emotionally, then think like this...when the Dragon comes back, and it inevitably will, do you want him here? Or do you want him on some other part of the globe harbouring grudges?"
The mention of the Dragon hushed them again and the gods began speaking amongst themselves in whispers as they weighed their options. Once some discussion had passed, the time for a vote had come through.
"All in favour of allowing Lyzof Keele, also known to Divine gathering as Kratos, remain in the city?" Hermes raised his hand, prompting many figures to put their hands up as well. Amongst them were prominent ones like Freya who was the first to do so, as well as Hephaestus, Loki obviously and many other mainstream Familia with wealth and resources who wanted to remain on good standing with the previous three goddesses.
The vote was then cast the other way, that in favour of banishment. To many a person's relief, not least of all Loki, the hands that went up on this decision was only just a bit less than those who wanted Lyze to stay.
"It seems settled then." Hermes said. "All that remains is to hand the boy over to Ouranos then, who will determine the conditions of the boy's stay here in Orario given his newfound status."
"Still one issue left." Dionysus raised his hand.
"What is it Dio?"
"The fact remains that to become an Olympian, he must ascend under one. Who will be the one to take him in?"
"That cannot be done!" Demeter herself called out. "By Law, Familia transfers cannot be performed until a a year of that adventurer's service has passed. Olympian I may be, but even I see the unethical conduct regarding just ripping the boy out of Loki's Familia just to place him with an Olympian. I motion that we let the year pass and then revisit this topic in order to determine which Olympian will take him in."
"How about this?" Miach quietly put up his hand, allowing them to pause and look at him. "Why do we not let him decide then who he wants to join. If the Olympians truly want him, they'll have to demonstrate and ingratiate themselves with him. If this is how it goes, then make it a for contest, right?"
"That still leaves him with an ambiguous standing though with regards to his placement in Loki's Familia." Freya said as she thumbed her chin, her mind racing through all the loopholes that could be easily exploited through the law with how many knots were being left untied. Then a bright idea came to her mind as she snapped her fingers, instantly drawing all attention to her. "That's it!"
"What is?" Loki asked, feeling suspicious even though she knew the silver haired goddess of Love was on her side. "What have you got cooked up?"
"This." Freya smiled. "Ever heard of a ward?"
---
A rap on her desk snapped Demeter out of her dreaming to find the boy in question staring down at her from beneath the hood. Well...boy would not really be so appropriate a word now given how much of a man he'd become in just the duration of that fight with Typhon. He was completely different now for reasons still unknown to the public.
"Slacking off again Demi?" Kratos asked her with a quirked brow. She watched as the light snowy layer on his fur shoulder rest began to melt in the warmth of her office.
"Hello Kratos." She said half-meekly. "How did you get in?"
"The door?" Kratos offered, pointing a thumb behind him towards her office door. "Persephone showed me in."
"Oh right." Demeter said as she straightened up. "So...find anything?"
"Better." Kratos said as he pulled out a bunch of folded documents and placed them on her desk. "I found, pursued and exterminated the Evilus scum that were stealing your fertiliser. It was being used to harvest the hallucinogenic drug known as Nightmare. It seems Morpheus did not know the art of avoiding irony."
Demeter sighed.
"I should have guessed." She said before smiling. "I thank you Kratos, truly, for investigating."
"It's my job now." He replied as he brushed the new talisman hanging around his waist. If Demeter had to guess, it was one that most likely contained the essence of a particularly powerful member of Morpheus's children. Kratos's newfound abilities were making waves in the city, his ability to rip out souls gaining him the moniker of the 'The Reaper', and being able to trap them to recall them to his service at any will in time was enough to scare most adversaries away.
There was a sentiment going around the adventurers now...if Kratos Lastborne wanted your soul, he would take it. The amount of small time upstart Familia that had already been dissolved due to challenging that fact served as an example and were now hanging around his waist, their last expressions of fear and trepidation a statement to that undeniable fact now.
"When can I retrieve my fertiliser then?" Demeter asked.
"Guild authority has seized control of the storehouse and they're trying to track down where exactly the stuff is being grown. Once they find that, they'll find what remains of your fertiliser and I'm sure they will then reach out to you. I've notified them."
"Once again thank you Kratos." Demeter offered as she reached for her cup and teapot. "Care for a hot drink? It's been a cold day."
"I know what you're doing." Kratos smirked before turning away. "You'll have to try harder than that."
"Every little bit counts." She said teasingly as her eyes fell upon the blades sheathed on his back. The sight of them sent a shiver down her spine and her Olympian blood reacted to the Primordial Flame inside them.
"I'll see you around Demeter." Kratos said before his form shimmered and he phased out of view, leaving the fertility goddess to her thoughts.
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