Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (13 page)

“And if he fails?” Lasidious queried.

“We’ll find another mortal. You’ve said it yourself. He’s replaceable.” The goddess changed the subject. “For now, I have news, my pet.” Celestria walked around the table and pulled her lover close. She traced the edge of his lips with her tongue. “I’ve found a family, and they believe a world under our rule will allow them to seek what they’re after.”

“But, of course,” Lasidious responded. “Exactly what are they after?”

“Lands ... titles,” the goddess trivialized. “The usual luxuries simple minds request.”

After a quick grin, the goddess continued. “I shall leave our baby with this family of witches. They are known by the surname Rolfe, from the Clan of Ashdown. The majority of their family is located in the mountain passes of Vesper, near the village of Floren on Luvelles. They were easily influenced, and a deal was struck. But they did have one unusual condition.”

“And this condition was?”

“It was to name the baby, and have him carry their surname until we retrieved the child to bring him to Ancients Sovereign.”

“Did you agree?”

“I did. I agreed only because it shut them up. Besides, if I know you, they won’t be caring for the baby long.” Celestria ran her fingers through Lasidious’ hair. “Do you not approve, my pet?”

“Mortal labels are of little importance,” the Mischievous One responded. He took a moment to taste Celestria’s lips. “Your family of witches will do fine. I could not have done better myself. Luvelles is a wonderful world. It is the best of our creations. I love it.”

Fellow soul ... as your spirited storyteller, I feel I need to tell you a few things. After Lasidious and Celestria created their home beneath The Peaks of Angels, they combined their power to form a shield that keeps the other gods from entering. This barrier of privacy quickly became a source of contention amongst the Collective.

When the Book of Immortality was approached about the matter, it responded by saying, “They have a right to privacy, as long as the Laws of the Gods aren’t broken.” The Book determined the laws had been obeyed, and it felt no wrongdoing. There was no law that stated two gods could not separate themselves from the rest of the Collective.

In response, the others told the Book that they feared Lasidious and Celestria were up to no good, and allowing them to spend their moments alone without governance was a platform for destruction.

The Book, somewhat annoyed, responded by saying, “The consequences of breaking laws should be enough to restrict their actions.” The Book, however, did give a warning, advising Lasidious and Celestria that the privilege of having a barrier around their home would not be allowed to continue if it felt a law break. The Book further threatened, “I’ll send you to join the mortals, and you’ll suffer an expeditious death while your seasons consume you.”

Lasidious and Celestria felt they had covered their tracks well enough to avoid getting caught—or at least they hoped they had. They brushed the threat off and did not let the warning stop their plotting. They knew their plans would take many seasons to develop, and when the moment arrived, everything would be in place. It would be too late for the Book to do anything. The tome would be forced to serve them.

After the Book made its ruling, Lasidious and Celestria watched some of the others pair off and implement the same practice within their own homes, but these couples never lasted. The Book’s ruling took the Collective’s eyes off Lasidious and Celestria, and it turned their attention toward more important matters.

It was in this newly created home where Lasidious and Celestria began plotting more than 11,000 seasons ago. The barrier allowed for their child to be conceived without the Book feeling that a law had been broken. Part of the plan was to keep the fetus from developing inside Celestria’s womb until the moment was right. But this was not Lasidious and Celestria’s only child. They considered every being they created to be their children, and some of them were nearly 10,000 seasons old.

Fellow soul ... I feel I must make one last point—though it will not make sense at this moment. The Book of Immortality was bound by one rule that superseded all others. The tome had to maintain a godly hierarchy above all else, but it had to do it without stripping the free will of the members of the Collective.

Enough of my rambling. Back to the story.

“Luvelles is a wonderful hiding place for our baby,” Lasidious said, gazing longingly at Celestria. “After all, this is where the others agreed to place the Source. I have no doubt we can use this to our advantage.”

Lasidious turned toward a large, cube-shaped cut in the wall that served as a fireplace. Green flames burned inside it as he stared at their wild movement before he turned his attention back to his goddess. “The decision you made to put our son in Floren is perfect. That village is full of magic. The air smells of it. Your decision offers me comfort.”

The Mischievous One rubbed his hands together. “Wonderful devastations happen in Floren often, and the moments filling its days are riddled with magical disasters. It’ll be difficult for the Collective to sense our son’s presence in such a place.”

Lasidious thought a moment longer about the Book of Immortality. “The more I think about it, the witches are acceptable ... for now. But we should keep our options open.” Facing his goddess, the Mischievous One added, “I’m so glad you were of elven descent before you ascended, or our son would not have the features necessary to live on Luvelles.”

Fellow soul ... Luvelles was a world where only elves, halflings, and spirits were allowed to reside according to the Agreement of the Gods. Any other race, if not one of these three, had to have special permission from the Head Master of Luvelles, Brayson Id, to study the arts on this world. Yes, there were beasts, giants, demons, and other beings living there, but these races were not listed on the agreement. The gods had separated and applied rules as to where each of the following races lived: elves, humans, barbarians, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, trolls, spirits, and finally, the dragons. There was also another name for the dragons that I shall describe in further detail later, but this is not the proper series of moments for this revelation.

Only four of the five planets created were allowed to contain more than one of these designated races. Every other creature could quite possibly be found on them all—though the highest concentration of demons was found on Dragonia, and many of them were good and honest beings.

“Your elven parents blessed us with the ability to make the perfect, little halfling,” Lasidious boasted.

Celestria and Lasidious laughed together for a moment before Celestria’s thoughts changed course. “Where’s George? He should’ve been here by now.”

Lasidious grinned and waved his hand across the wall opposite the fireplace. The rock turned transparent, revealing George on the other side. It looked as if the human was falling, tumbling without an end to his suffering. His hair moved as if a great wind was passing through it, and his expressions were wonderfully miserable.

“He can’t see us,” Lasidious chuckled. “I should’ve told you he was here. I wanted him to experience the sense of falling for a bit longer. He deserved the experience of an awful fright.”

Lasidious mocked the look on George’s face and then turned back to his lover. “As soon as you leave, I’ll implement the next part of my plan. I’m going to tell George about a map that was lost by the Serpent King, Sotter.”

“Oh my,” Celestria responded. “Sotter was a favorite of mine.” The goddess turned and waved her hand across the room. Flowers filling the vases vanished and were replaced with fresh flora. Satisfied, she continued. “I helped Sotter realize the opportunity to go after the throne of the Serpent King. His heart was almost as dark as your own.

“When Sotter took the throne, I knew he would make me proud. When he died, his death bothered me. That poor snake lost all his memories before he passed. That wonderful mind went to waste.”

Lasidious circled behind Celestria and kissed the nape of her neck. “It’s always hard to lose the children who make us most proud. I’m sorry for the pain Sotter’s death caused you.”

Celestria turned to look at her heart’s desire. Her sorrow for Sotter vanished as quickly as it appeared. “I know of this map. Wasn’t the reward it promised created for the dwarves on Trollcom? Wasn’t it Lictina who created these items over 4,000 seasons ago? I was told the map was supposed to lead a group of dwarves to a staff. Lictina must have been exceedingly bored if she expected to be entertained by such a meaningless journey.”

Lasidious’ excitement grew. “Sotter killed the dwarves and took the map … but the snake lost it.”

Celestria’s brows furrowed, “Really? That doesn’t make sense. Why would Sotter want a map that led to a staff? It’s not like he could hold it and speak the commands to control whatever power it possessed.”

The goddess giggled. “Can you imagine, my pet? To watch a Serpent King mumble the words with the staff tucked behind his fangs? How ridiculous.”

Lasidious drummed his hands along the table. “I was the one who told Sotter about the map. Don’t you see? Who do you think gave Sotter the idea that the map’s treasure would grant him power? I never told him it was a staff he couldn’t use. If I had, he would not have gone for it. It was greed, and his desire to force all serpents into his service that made him go. All I did was suggest he go alone ... especially since his advisors often conspired to take his throne from him. I told him he deserved power without competition.

“Celestria, you of all the gods should know everything about Sotter. What was the main weakness of the Serpent Lord? I know you remember. What was the one truth his bloodline kept from the rest of the Serpent Kingdom … the one thing that had to be kept secret to prevent an uprising? You mentioned it a moment ago.”

Celestria thought a bit. “Ahhhh ... his memory failed him, and he forgot all things short-term when he slept. I think I understand what you did, my sweet.” She grinned, closed the gap between them and then pinched his cheek. As the goddess continued to speak, her hands wandered. “You counted on that fact, didn’t you? You knew his short-term memory would cause him to hide the map and forget what he did with it. That was clever, my love. So where’s the map?” She pinched the Mischievous One’s behind. “Your devious mind is so conniving.”