A Journey to Redamancy || Ch. 1
So here’s the first installment of my Gods AU. I hope you enjoy!
@itshaejinju @xnoctits @sonsoflucis @noxfreyas @paopuicecream @ultimoogle (uhhhh...idk who else to tag so if you wanna be tagged in the future let me know!)
Redamancy (n.): a love returned in full; the act of loving the one who loves you
All gods knew each other.
Or, all gods knew of each other would be a better way to put it.
There was the god of death, known to most as Noctis. There was the god of mercy, often referred to by his friends as Prompto. There was the god of sacrifice that went by the name Ignis. There was the goddess of war known to all as Aranea, a name that struck fear into the hearts of mortals and gods alike. There was the goddess of family, Iris. And of course there was the King of the Gods who ruled them all, keeping the thousands of immortal beings from wreaking havoc among the pantheon.
This myth, however, belongs to the Goddess of the Night and the God of Love.
Lysandra was the product of the joining of Earth and Sky. The two deities -- two lovers -- created by Time, were instructed to keep the land above from meeting with the land below. Both were warned that should either land ever meet, the universe would cease to exist. For many thousands of years Earth and Sky did as instructed for the creation of a universe had never before occurred. If they were to be the ones to be the cause of destruction to such a new and beautiful thing their names would be shamed. Thus they watched both from above and below as Time created new immortal beings; some of which were sculpted from the clay found within Earth, others created from the mist that drifted across Sky’s body.
The longing Earth and Sky felt for one another never faded; each hoped for the day that they would be reunited. Even if it were to be only for mere moments they could touch, each deity would cherish the time together.
That moment came two millennia after Time had created the universe, and two millennia after giving the order that Earth and Sky were never to touch.
“You both have done as asked without question and without fail,” Time whispered across the universe. “As thanks, I shall permit you to join once more.” Time presented Earth with a flower, petals made of gold and silver. “There are twenty-four petals. You have until the last petal falls before you each must return to your domains.”
On the first night Earth and Sky were reunited they took a silver petal of the flower and created Night, naming her Lysandra. Her hair shined silver and her eyes were the color of stardust. On their last night, Earth and Sky took the last petal, golden in color, and created Day, naming him Keron. His hair glittered gold and his eyes were the color of sunlight.
“Our children,” Sky said. “You are the product of Earth and Sky. As such you shall each be gifted a domain to rule.”
“Lysandra, you shall rule darkness.” As Earth spoke he presented his daughter with a flower similar to the one gifted to Earth and Sky by Time. You have until each silver petal falls from this flower to fashion the universe as you like.”
“Keron, you shall rule light,” Sky said. “You have until each golden petal falls to fashion the universe as you like.”
Thus Day and Night were brought into the universe. Each night, Lysandra would gift her mother with small, silver beads of light. Each day, Keron would gift his father with golden rays of warmth. And while there has yet to be another day in which Time grants Earth and Sky to reunite once more, their children work as messengers between the two lovers, exchanging notes one parent has for the other.
Gladiolus was the product of a fight between Loneliness and Serenity.
Many eons after the creation of Night and Day, a war broke out among the gods. There were those that believed the creation of humans was something to celebrate, and there were those that believed humans should be wiped away before they too drastically changed the universe. There had been no rules against creating new creatures -- many other gods had already done so, introducing numerous animals and plants into the world -- so one day he used stardust borrowed from Night and clay borrowed from Earth to make the first humans. Too often Loneliness felt alienated from the other gods, too often he felt as though he wandered the universe alone, and this was how he believed his problem could be fixed.
“You will bring destruction to the universe by keeping these creatures here,” Serenity had accused. “They are spreading across Earth much too fast.”
“Please leave them be,” Loneliness pleaded. “They mean no harm, and many other gods see the potential that they have.”
“And many others also see them as they should be seen: a plague to our gifted universe.”
“They are no plague,” Loneliness stated, voice entering a dangerous timbre. “I shall not allow you to harm them.”
“I give you three days to rid Earth of these beings. If they are not gone by that time I will be at your door with an army.”
So three days passed, and Loneliness stood by his statement. He did not squash the life of the mortals that wandered the land below. Instead he banded together his own army, those that believed what he did: that humans were a gift and their lives were not to be taken away in such a manner. It was on that third night the war broke out among the opposing sides.
On the third night of the thirtieth year, Loneliness and Serenity faced each other once again. Both were heavily wounded, but neither would waver in their conviction. Swords raised, the two gods lunged at one another, and just as their weapons clashed a blinding white overtook the universe. As the light cleared, each god watched as a man knelt before them, hair the color of obsidian and eyes that glowed amber. He was built as a warrior, body corded with muscle, yet when he introduced himself to the baffled gods on either side of him he said, “I am Gladiolus, God of Love.” His voice was deep enough to throw tremors across the land above, and there was a savageness in him that kept Loneliness and Serenity from attempting to attack him. “End this war,” he said. “The gods will do more destruction to the universe than the humans will should it continue.”
It was on that night that the war came to an end, though the gods remained divided on the topic for many more years to come.
It was while Gladiolus had been walking among the mortals in the Land Below that he first came across Lysandra.
Ultimately it was the mystery that surrounded the goddess that intrigued Gladiolus. Though he had been presented to the universe at night, he had never met the goddess. He had heard of the Goddess of Night on multiple occasions though. Some of the tales told of her held threads of fear and animosity. Other tales were woven with admiration and reverence. The one thing each tale had in common, however, was that it was unusual for Lysandra to be seen often and by many. Older gods, those that had known her when she was still new to the world, would often recount how truly bright her personality was. Her friendliness could have easily rivaled Keron’s. It wasn’t until rather recently -- perhaps the last couple millennia -- that Lysandra became more a figure of legend even among the younger gods than a true being.
Appropriately it had been during a clear night that Gladiolus first met Lysandra. He had just gotten away from a fight in one of the many bars in the Land Above. It had been a while since he’d last fought like that with another deity, and perhaps it was his own fault for picking a fight with the Goddess of War. Gladiolus could still feel the golden ichor -- the blood of the gods -- dripping down his face. He wondered idly if he would have a new scar on his immortal body. It was only by the hand of another god that a deity could be truly injured.
As Gladiolus wandered the ever lush, green fields of the Land Above a soft glimmer of silver caught his eyes. Just ahead, standing at the edge of a darkened pond was a woman. Her hair flowed like a river of moonlight, ending just before her waist. Her wrists were decorated with silver circlets that matched the rings that adorned her fingers. The black dress she wore spilled gracefully over her frame, the silken material reflecting the light of the moon. She seemed at peace as she studied the reflective surface of the pond.
Gladiolus debated whether he should approach or not, but without realizing his feet had already begun to bring him over to the woman. When he was close enough to be heard without having to shout, he said, “Beautiful night tonight.”
The woman before him didn’t jump at his sudden words, instead she simply nodded her head. “Thank you.” It took Gladiolus a few moments to understand why that had been her answer.
“You’re Lysa- uh, Lady Night.”
“Lysandra is fine,” she said with a wave of her hand. She finally turned her eyes away from the pond, and Gladiolus was struck by her silver eyes. There was something vaguely disconcerting about them, like they could see completely through him, down to the very essence of his being. Her brows rose as she noticed the ichor. “You’re bleeding.”
“Ah, yeah, that’s what I get for picking a fight with the war goddess,” Gladiolus chuckled, bringing his hand up to wipe away the last few droplets of golden blood.
“You picked a fight with Aranea? Are you mentally unstable?” She turned back to the pond and bent down to wet a small cloth. Lysandra walked over to where Gladiolus was standing and handed it over. “Wash the dried ichor off, you look like a brute.”
“No sugar coating from you, huh?” Gladiolus said as he did as instructed. He winced slightly as the cloth came into contact with the wound.
“A man that willingly enters a fight with Aranea is unlikely to be hurt by such words.” Lysandra took back the cloth and rinsed it in the pond before studying Gladiolus. “So why exactly did the God of Love pick a fight with the one person he shouldn’t have?”
“You know who I am?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You knew who I was.”
For whatever reason it had never quite occurred to Gladiolus that while there were stories of Lysandra, there were likely also stories about himself. “Just itching for a fight I guess.” That certainly hadn’t been the reason that he’d gone to the bar that night, nor was it the reason he’d chosen to fight the one person that could have easily ended him, but telling someone he’d just met about his reasons wasn’t exactly high on the list of things he planned to do tonight.
The way those eyes were studying him once again sent something of a chill up Gladiolus’s spine, and a part of him was left to wonder if she could tell he was lying through his teeth. All she said though was, “Well that’s an utterly stupid reason to pick a fight with anyone.”
The two of them lapsed into a bout of silence, the air between them filled with the animals that lived on the Land Above. Gladiolus studied her as she turned to survey the tranquil scene before her. With all the stories and gossip that Gladiolus had heard about Lysandra, he hadn’t really expected her to be...this. She was much more subdued than he thought she would be; the nights that Gladiolus was familiar with were filled with strong emotions and violent passion. To see that the personification of the night was so completely opposite left Gladiolus feeling as though he were staring into one of the fun house mirrors the mortals used. As a deer came to stop at the pond, Gladiolus began to think that perhaps it made sense that Lysandra was a near embodiment of peace, Gladiolus thought as he took in the quiet night scene presented to him.
Slowly Gladiolus could feel that intrigue pulse through his body. The desire to understand Night in a deeper way bubbling underneath his skin. “You-” Gladiolus cut himself off as he turned his gaze back to where Lysandra had been standing moments before. He frowned as he realized that she had melted into the shadows, perhaps literally, between the time he’d looked away from her and now. Gladiolus cursed. The fact he had come to meet her here was complete chance, and considering it had taken so long for such a chance encounter to happen he was left with the sinking feeling that he may not see her again for another handful of years.
It wasn’t that he was drawn to her in any sort of romantic way. Gladiolus was very familiar with what love and attraction were like, and this was certainly not it. No, the pull that he felt towards Lysandra was a mix between the desire to understand and something else that he couldn’t quite place. It was something that left him feeling as though he had just come across someone who could quite possibly understand himself more than anyone else he’d known.
After all, there were many misconceptions about both Love and Night.
