A Salamander, but Mighty

POV: Velen

The guardian spirit was along the river that was her home and all the world she knew; she still remembered perfectly the moment when that stream began to form and she emerged from the bubbling waters... Velen was not a deity, but in every respect, she far surpassed any mortal creature that was not at least an ascended monster.

And that meant her memory was nothing short of exceptional.

She could remember every moment perfectly down to the second, if she wanted, she could go back a few centuries and start counting the rate at which the leaves fell from a tree that if she had looked back at it at that moment she would have found nothing but a trunk torn up and consumed by fungi, mosses and insects.

Seasons passed, years became centuries, people were born, grew up, died... one of the things that concerned mortals that she had the most difficulty with was war and gratuitous violence. Why did they kill each other? Why did they waste time hating each other? Considering how little time mortals had from her virtually unlimited point of view, if they really couldn't get along, they would be better off ignoring each other...

All this brought Velen back to the focal point of her current thoughts: Tamara.

“I wonder if she's still alive,” she wondered softly, “she must still be alive, I'm sure she is… if Lyndvrath had chosen her soul as a champion, it means she has qualities beyond numbers.”

The truth in that regard was that Velen didn't know if she was stating facts or if she was just trying to comfort herself... her friend was somewhere, maybe in danger, maybe dead, and she was metaphorically sitting on the bank of the river that had given birth to her, to torture herself and brood like a helpless little girl.

“What's the point of all this? What's the point of having phenomenal powers when ninety-eight times out of ten my hands are tied behind my back?” If she had a body, Velen would now be shaking her fist at the sky, “why do I exist?? Just to be your errand girl?? Huh?!?”

It was at that moment that Velen felt a solid and firm grip tighten around her metaphorical body. It wasn't the first time the guardian spirit had felt that sensation, and knowing what it meant, she began to thrash and scream at the same time that force began to drag her towards Stanbroodge.

"No! Get off of me! Let me go!!" She tried to use all the power of her mind to anchor herself to the ground, but not even a guardian spirit could oppose the will of a god, “you can't treat me like this!!”

By the time she finished the sentence, her metaphorical face crashed onto the floor of a specific room that each temple had, it was a sort of world apart in which only the divinity to which the temple was dedicated could enter, them and the mortal or divine creatures of Tala that they decided to invite inside. In other words, it was a room completely separate from those of the Divine Court, one in which the deity could speak privately without the other deities being able to eavesdrop.

“I hate you,” Velen muttered, turning her mind's eye to the master of the room: it was a man, the most handsome a mortal could ever see. He was tall, his muscles were beautifully defined and visible from the waist up, his face with its subtle gaze and thick golden hair was turned towards her, he was smiling at her radiantly, so much so that it almost seemed to bring sunlight into the room, “Gornowayl, it wasn't funny the first time you did it and it's not funny now.”

“Front double biceps!” The god exclaimed, raising his arms and flexing his muscles. The cloak he had tied around his neck slipped from his shoulders, “Velen! Velen Velen Velen…” Gornowayl lowered his arms and shook his head a few times, there was disapproval in the expression of his handsome face.

Wait a minute... what if he knows??? She asked herself mentally, luckily for her that her nature did not grant her a body with which to make her agitation evident, the gods cannot kill guardian spirits, it would be a violation of divine law... this does not mean that they were unable to make their lives very miserable indeed.

“What are you up to, Velen?” Gornowayl asked, “you were careful in using your powers, but you did it too close to my temple for me to notice.”

“W-well…” Velen stammered.

“I didn't tell the rest of the Divine Court that you did something to a mortal, I want to know what you were doing first,” he said with a deep nasal sigh before assuming a new plastic pose, “most muscular!!”

That was one good thing about Gornowayl: he was in that circle of deities who while not per se understanding the difference between good and evil, had an agenda that most closely aligned with what could be considered good from the perspective of mortals. This obviously didn't mean it was safe to tell him about what she had done behind the back of the gods from when she had saved Tamara's soul up to that moment.

“I thought I'd throw some encouragement at him, you know leporan adventurers are rare,” she said trying to sound casual in her tone, “he had just been seriously injured in the dungeon and I don't want him to give up on his dreams.”

“And you noticed it because…”

"What do you mean?" Velen asked vaguely, “Stanbroodge is in the Velenaria area, I can see everything that happens along its banks.”

Gornowayl stared at her intently for a few moments.

“Cross armbreaker!”

Velen found herself on the ground grabbed by a metaphorical arm by Gornowayl, he had crossed his legs pressing the inside of his knee on the metaphorical throat of the guardian spirit. Now, normally guardian spirits weren't able to sense pain, but these were different conditions, it was a god who was torturing her, and that meant she could feel pain.

"Stop! You fucking mountain of muscles! Stop!" Velen screamed, not at all willing to give in despite the pain spreading throughout her mind, it was absurd how she could feel pain even though she didn't really have a body, for a moment she felt as if her very spirit was about to break.

Gornowayl persisted for a few more seconds, until he loosened his grip and left her alone, “what are the chances that you were focusing your attention on that very mortal at the moment he needed encouragement? And how come you stopped using your powers right near my temple if you weren't hiding anything?”

“I already t-told you! I…”

At that moment, Gornowayl's expression changed: he no longer had the playful and jovial expression of moments before, he had a cold expression that Velen had rarely seen in the millennium that she had dealt with him since the temple of Stanbroodge was built. It was something as old as time itself, a look that made him seem capable of killing her with a single thought if he wanted to.

Velen didn't tremble just because she couldn't, a human would probably have collapsed in terror and madness as the figure of the god of heroes grew bigger, darker, hinting at the truth behind his golden appearance.

Even she remained petrified for those long seconds that passed before Gornowayl returned to being... normal, as normal as an entity that goes far beyond any mortal conception can be defined. Gornowayl sighed and shrugged his stony shoulders.

“Nah, I'm not going to force you any longer,” he snorted, “you can go.”

The guardian spirit remained silent for a few more moments, in reality the only way she could have kept him away from Tamara now that he suspected her was by distancing herself from Tamara, since she had no way of knowing when a deity was spying on her or not… her options were limited, and if she couldn't imagine what Gornowayl would do when she found out about Tamara, she could try it in a controlled environment, where she might be able to explain herself without the godly impulsiveness taking over and start the bureaucratic procedures to kill her.

“If I tell you everything, will you promise me you won't tell the rest of the Divine Court?”

“M-mh” Gornowayl nodded with a serious expression on his face.

“God's promise?”

“God's promise.”

Velen took – figuratively – a deep breath, “do you know the soul of that girl that Lyndvrath wanted to illicitly make her champion? I… uh, saved her.”

Twenty minutes of explanations later, Gornowayl finally spoke: he looked at Velen with cold seriousness... at least until his lips opened into a radiant smile and the cheerfulness of the god of heroes once again dominated the atmosphere.

“This is great news!” He nodded vigorously, metaphorically patting Velen's shoulders, "I really needed an undercover agent..."

“Huh?” Said Velen in a questioning voice, “okay, anyway, she's still inside Sleepy Swamp and the last thing I know is that when Luchael was taken out of the dungeon, she was still on the ground.” There was an implicit question in her voice: she couldn't confirm if her friend was still alive, however...

Gornowayl closed his eyes for a few moments longer than usual, “she is alive, wounded, but she is alive.”

If Velen could have beamed in relief, she would have.

“Now that that's out of the way, I want you two to do something for me,” the god spoke again, “I believe there is another deity who is trying to evade the laws of the Divine Court,” he wrinkled his nose, “ I believe he is fomenting the rebirth of the Heliolite Empire, the reason is unknown to me.”

"What happened? And how could Tamara and I ever be of any use to you?”

“He is a rather annoying god who thinks he is smarter and sneakier than everyone,” replied Gornowayl, “I want Tamara to oppose his plans. As you know, choosing a champion is no easy task, and while your friend has been denied the privileges of a divine champion, the potential that attracted Lyndvrath is still there.”

“But I don't think Tamara really wants to fight,” Velen muttered with a hint of apprehension, “I don't even think she's managed to make peace with the fact that she's a monster now.”

“Unfortunately for her, I think she won't have a choice.”

“What… what do you mean??” Velen slowly floated back, as if wanting to get away from the god of heroes, “do you want to get her in trouble??”

Gornowayl shook his head, “they are coming to her. The next queen of the kingdom of Heliolite has launched a hunt against the Nightmare Tyrant, as if he ever existed.” the deity snorted, “it is evident that sooner or later word will spread of a salmadrer with an unusual behavior in the area.”

"I understand…"

“When you will get her out of Sleepy Swamp, make this offer to her. If she agrees to fight instead of just defending herself and running, I will defend you in front of the Divine Court when it is discovered that you saved her and that her consciousness was not destroyed.” Gornowayl put one leg forward and brought his arms together behind his back, putting more emphasis on his pectoral and abdominal muscles, “side triceps!”

“Mh… okay, I will,” Velen paused for a second, “thank you, Gornowayl.”

"No biggie! Now go, the mortal accompanying your friend has woken up and will soon be preparing to re-enter the dungeon! Maybe you could offer him a little help while I make the Divine Court look the other way..." he said with a wink.

Velen's voice filled with enthusiasm, “thank you! I promise I will do my best to convince Tamara to stand up to Heliolite!”

A final nod from the god of heroes and the guardian spirit was free to leave the temple, her attention focused on Luchael, waiting for the right moment to lure... CALL him to a quiet place where she could communicate with him in a discreet manner.