Divine Assistance

by L. G. Estrella

  “Maybe he wandered off,” Wrath murmured. “I should speak to some of the other gods about him.” He nodded slowly. “Yes. If he has wandered off, someone must have seen him by now. I am going to speak to some of the other gods nearby. In the meantime, I want all of you to mount a search for him in case he’s hiding somewhere around the estate. Inform me immediately if you find him.”

  The first god Wrath visited was his neighbour, the god of the west wind. Zephyros was fairly rough around the edges, but he enjoyed fishing and fighting. He could also appreciate a fine, powerful animal, whether it was a horse or a dragon. As a result, he and Wrath got along just fine. Wrath was disappointed to find that his friend was not currently at home. He most likely had duties to see to in the mortal world. He could have located Zephyros using his divine powers, but it was generally considered more polite to ask first. He didn’t always bother with politeness, but he was always courteous to his friends.

  “Do you know when he will be back?” Wrath asked, ignoring the breeze that stirred the air courtesy of the other god’s attendants. They looked like people made of clouds, mist, and frost.

  “Not until tomorrow, Lord Wrath. However, his daughter, Zephyra, is here. She may be able to assist you. Do you wish to speak to her?”

  Wrath nodded. He hadn’t spent a lot of time around the young goddess. She was normally out when he visited. Like most young gods, she was restless, and the mortal world was full of interesting things. It might be good to get to know her better. He wouldn’t want to accidentally smite her or anything like that. “Yes. I would like to speak to her.”

  Zephyra looked very different from her father. Zephyros looked like a giant of a man, all broad and bulky. Zephyra, however, looked like a slender, mortal teenager. She also looked quite worried about his presence. He chuckled. Ah, what a marvellously fearsome reputation he’d managed to cultivate. True, he occasionally let his temper get the better of him, but his friends and allies had nothing to worry about. His ire was reserved for his enemies and evildoers.

  “I need your help,” he began. “I’m looking for my pet. His name is Cuddles. I’ve already asked your attendants, but none of them have seen him. Have you seen him?”

  “Your pet?” Much of the wariness faded from her expression. Without doubt, she was at least somewhat sympathetic. He was hardly the first god whose pet had gone missing, and he wasn’t going to be the last. Annihilation had once lost his favourite pet dragon, and the creature had devastated several kingdoms before the Greater God had found him and brought him back to the divine realm. “What does he look like?”

  “Hmm…” Wrath wasn’t good at describing things. He wished Torment were there. His younger brother was so much better at using words than him, and he was a gifted artist too, if his paintings of the various punishments he’d devised over the years were anything to go by. “He’s quite cuddly,” Wrath said at last. “Which is why I named him Cuddles. He’s always looking for a cuddle, actually. He’s sort of a brown colour, kind of like the colour of a pine tree, but he’s a bit mottled. If he sees you, he’ll definitely try to hug you.”

  “I can’t say that I’ve run into anything like that recently.” The young goddess shrugged. “Could he have gone somewhere else? What about the other gods?”

  “I decided to try here first, but I’m going to speak to them as well. Let me know if you see him, okay? I’m worried something might happen to him.”

  His next stop was Justice’s estate. He doubted that Cuddles would go there. His beloved pet preferred to be near water, and Justice didn’t have a lot of water around her home in the divine realm. Still, it was worth a try. And the goddess was exactly the sort of person who might take someone as adorable as Cuddles. She might wear a blindfold everywhere, but he’d seen her eyeing his hamsters before, and Cuddles was even cuter than them.

  Justice’s home was a gleaming edifice of white marble and granite. As was her custom, the goddess wore a blindfold over her eyes although everyone already knew that she didn’t need her eyes to see. No, Justice didn’t need eyes to see any more than Death needed his scythe to claim souls. Her blindfold was simply a visual reminder that she didn’t care about the status or appearance of those she judged. She cared only about the merits of each case and the worthiness of each soul.

  The goddess herself was clothed in shimmering white fabric. Her skin was gleaming silver, and her hair was molten gold. Wrath found it a bit hard to look at her during the day since she reflected quite a lot of light. In other words, she was extremely shiny. Sometimes, he wondered if anyone had ever told her that the reason a lot of people were afraid to look at her wasn’t because they were in awe of her but because she was so shiny. Probably not – she could be pretty scary when she put her mind to it.

  In any case, he was careful to mind his manners as her attendants led him through the lush gardens that Justice preferred to spend her time in when she was contemplating matters of a less serious nature. Justice might not be as powerful as a Greater God like Death, but she was no slouch in a fight. He’d once seen her garrotte one of the Void Born with her blindfold before picking up the dead creature and using it as a club against its fellows.

  Justice was in the middle of enjoying a trashy romantic saga that had been written by a mortal poet when Wrath arrived. She was giggling like a little girl, but she quickly cleared her throat and adopted a more ominous and contemplative air as Wrath approached. He decided that it would probably be for the best to ignore her lapse in demeanour. Then again, it wasn’t like he wanted to mention the saga. She might ask him how he knew about it. His mortal lover liked it a lot, and the aggravatingly loveable woman had somehow convinced him to read some of it with her. Mortals – they could be so fiendishly clever sometimes.

  “I understand that you are looking for your pet.”

  “I am.” Wrath’s eye twitched. Tendrils of flame and ash swirled around him. Justice hadn’t put the saga away. Did she really have to keep reading that monstrosity? He was right there – and he’d come about a very important matter. “His name is Cuddles. He likes to hug people, and he has two big eyes and a beak.”

  “Two big eyes and a beak?” Justice tapped her lips with one finger. Ribbons of light drifted through the air around her to form spider webs of radiance that vanished on the breeze. “I haven’t seen anything like that today. Unless… Cuddles isn’t a phoenix, is he? I did see one of those earlier this morning.”

  “No, he’s not a phoenix.” Wrath sighed. “I’ll take my leave then. Thank you. Enjoy your… reading material.” He sighed again. Where could Cuddles have gone? He’d have to try some other gods. If something had happened to his pet…

  He tried several other gods, but none of them had seen anything matching his pet’s description. Finally, unsure if he would ever see Cuddles again, he decided to ask Life. As the creator of the species his pet belonged to, Life could find him much more easily than Wrath could. Indeed, it was said that no living thing could hide from Life’s eyes, and she was generally more approachable than Death who had a similar gift. Other than Death and Life, he could also have asked Wisdom and Knowledge, but he’d never been too comfortable around them. Regardless of what Mayhem, Mischief, and Rabble said, those two were crazy.

  “I see.” Life was in the middle of tending to some kind of rose. It must have been a new species because Wrath had never seen a rose with teeth before. “You want me to find your pet. I can help you, but what kind of animal is he?”

  “I…” Wrath paused. He’d never bothered to learn the proper name for the species Cuddles belonged to. He’d simply stumbled upon Cuddles one day and taken him in. The poor thing had lost his parents in one of the violent struggles that were common amongst mortal creatures. Wrath had thought he looked rather adorable, so he’d decided to raise him as his own. Exactly what species Cuddles was hadn’t mattered to him, and his pet had never shown any signs of missing his own kind. If anything, he delighted in Wrath’s company and got along wonderfully
with most of his other pets. “Well… he has two big eyes, a beak, and he enjoys hugs. He’s kind of brown, he likes water, and he enjoys hiding in his cave, playing in his rock garden, and swimming.”

  Life blinked. “That… is a very odd description. Can you picture him in your mind, so I can take a look? I should be able to find him then.”

  Wrath did as she asked and felt the whisper of Life’s mind brushing against his. Had she wanted, she could have crushed him with her power, so great was the difference in strength between them. However, her touch was as gentle and kind as a spring breeze. She had always regarded Wrath kindly, most likely because of how gentle he was with his pets, all of which were creations of hers. A moment later, she burst out laughing.

  “Really?”

  Wrath stiffened. Was she mocking him? “What?”

  “Your pet… Cuddles is a tropical kraken. Your description was terrible.”

  “I thought I described him well.”

  “No, you did a terrible job of describing him. Still, it’s no wonder he’s wandering around. The lake you have on your estate might have been okay for him when you first got him, but he must be close to outgrowing it.” The divine realm did not conform to the laws of physics in quite the same way as the mortal world. It was a manifestation of divine power and hence was beyond such things. “If you want to keep him here, you’ll have to make something bigger for him. Even so, someone should have noticed an animal as big as Cuddles wandering around. Perhaps he found his way to the mortal world. Gods sometimes forget to close their portals behind them since travel between here and there is usually only guarded one way. If he was transported, he must be feeling confused. The mortal world is quite different from the divine realm.” Life’s brows furrowed, and her powers stirred. “Ah, yes. I’ve found him. He’s in the harbour of a city called Tercond.”

  “Tercond?” Wrath frowned. “Why would he be there? Oh!” He gasped. “Thank you. I have to go now.”

  “You’re welcome.” Life smiled. “But you should hurry. Tropical krakens don’t handle change well. I know he’s still little more than a baby for his species, but mortals are rather squishy, all things considered. If they’re foolish enough to attack him, Death is going to be very busy.”

  * * *

  Tercond was a mighty coastal city and one of the foremost trading hubs in the world. Ships would arrive from near and far to sell their wares and take on goods, and the docks were always buzzing with activity. Today, however, there wasn’t much work being done. Instead, there was a great deal of terrified screaming and running around taking place. Some hapless fools were even waving their hands around in the air, which only made running harder, to say nothing of the wisdom – or lack thereof – of wasting air on screaming instead of running. The cause of the ruckus was the kraken that had appeared seemingly out of thin air. The beast, which measured two hundred yards across, had set up camp in the middle of the harbour. It had yet to attack anything or anyone, but it was a kraken. Smashing harbours and sinking ships was what krakens did. And then there was all the devouring they typically indulged in. Whether it was hapless sailors, unfortunate whales, or princesses, krakens were always eating somebody.

  However, the authorities were caught in something of a conundrum. They could try to drive the beast off, but it hadn’t done anything yet, and attacking it might be the impetus the beast needed to begin its rampage. Sure, it wasn’t large for a kraken – behemoths measuring miles across had been seen before. Indeed, two such beasts had perished in battle against a truly colossal leviathan not long ago in a struggle that had completely devastated a nearby archipelago. Still, at two hundred yards across, the kraken was no small creature. It dwarfed any weapon the city had at its disposal. In the end, hotter heads won out. Ballistae and catapults were brought forward to barrage the creature. If they couldn’t kill it, perhaps they could drive it away.

  With a roar of anger, the kraken drew itself up. Its tentacles rose out of the water, ready to pluck a ship out of the water and hurl it at the shore, when there was a blinding flash of light. Smoke and flame billowed outward to reveal Wrath. The citizens of Tercond gave a mighty cheer. Wrath had taken one of the city’s princesses as a lover, so he was morally obligated to save them, wasn’t he? It wasn’t like he could stand by and watch them all get massacred, not if he wanted the princess to actually like him. However, although Wrath did indeed look quite angry, that anger wasn’t directed at the kraken – it was directed at them.

  “What do you think you’re doing to Cuddles?” the god bellowed. His power stirred, and he obliterated the next wave of projectiles with a casual wave of his hand. The kraken gave a plaintive cry and reached up toward the god with one tentacle. Wrath rubbed the tentacle soothingly, and the air around him bent and warped, distorted by his power.

  “Uh… Cuddles?” The princess who was Wrath’s lover hastened to the shore. Everyone knew how devastating Wrath’s anger could be, and she had no desire to see it directed against her people and their city. “What do you mean, my love?”

  Wrath’s temper cooled at the sight of her. “Do you remember my favourite pet, the one I got recently, the one named Cuddles?” He pointed at the kraken. “This is Cuddles.”

  “Oh.” The princess was speechless. Based on his description, she’d assumed that Cuddles was some kind of affectionate, fluffy water bird. Behind her, the soldiers were all nodding in understanding. Of course – it made perfect sense for a god as fearsome and mighty as Wrath to have such a formidable pet. Who else but a god of his power and standing would have the courage to name something as deadly as a kraken Cuddles? He’d most likely tamed the beast by allowing it to witness the splendour of his divine might in battle. “I thought he would be… uh… smaller.”

  “I thought I described him very well.” Wrath shrugged. “Although Life disagreed, and she’s usually right when it comes to things like that. Maybe my description truly was lacking.” He gestured at Cuddles. “He was a lot smaller when I found him. He must have been newly hatched.” He grinned as the kraken waved his tentacles in the air happily. “But he’s grown a bit since then.”

  “I should say so!” the princess exclaimed. Cuddles was two hundred yards across. He might not be large for a kraken, but he was enormous compared to almost anything else. “But, my love, why is he here?”

  “He’s not here to smite you if that’s what you’re worried about. If I wanted to destroy this city I’d either do it myself or borrow one of Annihilation’s bigger krakens.” Wrath patted one of the kraken’s tentacles. Cuddles crooned and snapped his beak. “I talk to Cuddles a lot, and I’ve mentioned you and this city several times. He must have snuck out to meet you.”

  “I… I see.” The princess waved weakly at the kraken. Since becoming Wrath’s lover, she’d gotten used to a certain level of strangeness.

  The kraken responded by lifting her up into the air with one enormous tentacle. She blinked, and then she screamed. She hadn’t even seen it move.

  “Relax.” Wrath floated in the air beside her. “He just wants to give you a ride around the harbour. You’ll be fine.”

  The princess only screamed louder before using some language that, quite frankly, impressed Wrath in its profanity. However, he was the only one who heard her. For everyone else, her screaming and cursing was drowned out by the low, happy sound Cuddles made as he began to swim around the harbour with the princess held gently but firmly in one tentacle.

  Wrath smiled. “How wonderful. You two are getting along already.”

  * * *

  In the years to come, Cuddles became a frequent visitor to Tercond, especially after Wrath and the princess had two children. When he wasn’t out smiting the wicked with his master, he served as the city’s personal protector and unofficial mascot. Tercond could honestly say that it was the only city in the mortal world where no one found it the least bit odd to have a kraken cruising around the harbour while carrying groups of laughing children.

  Creation
>
  Oceanos was the Lord of Waters, the god of all oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. He could create a tsunami capable of obliterating a city with little more than a thought. A single sweep of his arm could call forth countless creatures from the depths of the ocean to assail his foes. In battle against the Void Born, he carried a great spear that had been forged out of the primordial waters of the world that had existed before the Supreme Mother and Supreme Father had given the world its present form. It was called the Spear of the Ocean or the Thorn of the Deep, and it had the power to command the waves or to summon phantasms of water to fight on his behalf. It was said to be amongst the mightiest of all divine weapons, and he had spent much of his life keeping it out of the curious clutches of Wisdom and Knowledge who wanted nothing more than to take it apart to study its inner workings. Upon his brow, Oceanos wore a crown wrought of the bones of the Void Born who had once infested the waters of the mortal world. He had led the campaign to destroy them, and the jewels set in his crown were made from their opalescent eyes, a warning to all that he was no weakling god, no petty deity to be trifled with.

  As one of the mightier gods, Oceanos was a being of unfathomable might and power. Yet there was something he truly desired but did not yet possess, nor was it something he could create himself. Annihilation, the Greater God who presided over the gods of war and ruination, had dragons to serve as his mascot. They were fearsome creatures, vast, winged reptiles that spewed fire from their mouths and bathed in molten lava. There was not a mortal alive who did not fear dragons, and there were dragons strong enough to give even a god pause, albeit not a god as mighty as Oceanos. The gods of the sky had noble griffins as their mascot, beasts of unmatched speed, grace, and agility in the air that were renowned for their keen judgement and honour. As for the gods of the mountains – the ones who dealt in rock and stone – hah! They had hydras for their mascot, deadly beasts that spewed vile acid and whose very blood was amongst the deadliest of poisons in the mortal world.