"Goddess of Life and Death." I breathed in wonder.
Jacqui's POV
I nodded in affirmation and was not surprised when he fell to his knees breathing heavily. Most mortals who see me perish. Their bodies withered as their soul joins their already dead comrades. However, this mortal man withstood my beckoning and on his own forced his spirit to stay within him. Is he even mortal? He must be! I knelt beside him and gently guided his head to look at me. I expected fear to reign his features, but I found wonderment instead. That would count as the third time he has astonished me this day.
"What?" I quietly asked as he simply gazed at me.
"Blessed am I to have seen the face that gives life to all creatures on this world." I felt a warmth creep up my body and my ears burned. I knew that I was blushing, but I couldn't look away. "Blessed am I to have received your countenance before---"
"You are not going to die!" I quickly stopped his prayer. He was silent for a moment. Realizing that I was staring at him, I quickly looked away and stood up. Clearing my head, I turned to Jasper.
"I'm going to call the others. I have a..." I glanced at the man still at my feet, "proposition." Jasper looked from me to the man and back again.
"I'm supposed to keep him here?" He asked incredulously.
"Please brother?"
"What do you want to do with him?" He asked and then a devilish light glinted his eyes, "Ooh ho ho, little sister!" Jasper nudged me and raised his eyebrows, "I see. But you know this will cost you big time." My face on fire I waved him off.
"It is not anything like that!!"
"Oh?"
"Yes!"
"It will still cost you."
"Fine!" I huffed then left for Nexus, City of Gods. Mortals called this heaven, but I called it home. This is where I was born, given my duties, and this is where we first came together to create the mortal realm, Comwen. A beautiful responsibility.
I have learned much from watching the lives of mortals. I find them all quite interesting. And although I longed for mortal interaction, my father forbade it. As he is the God of All Matter and gave me life, I cannot defy him. Looking up, I found myself standing before the deity himself. I remembered the young captain Jasper is looking after. At least, I can't defy him outright. Although, once everything is explained I'm sure he will see the wisdom behind my actions and forgive this transgression.
"Father, please call Nikolai, Nyle, and Josephine. I must speak with all of you. It is urgent!" Surprised, my father did as he was asked and with a snap of his fingers my siblings were joining us. They acknowledged my presence and sat in their respective seats giving me their full attention.
"Do you remember the beginning of Comwen?" I asked rhetorically.
"Mortals were warring with each other. Humans pitted against humans. Elves against Draconi- their darker skinned counterparts. Nymphs against their sea sisters, mermaids. Dragons against griffins, Minotaurs against orcs, trolls against gremlins, dwarves against dwarves, and the fairies causing chaos through it all. Uncertain of how to stop this madness, we Immortals came down to Comwen to establish peace, but we weren't listened to. Only a select few followed our counsel. Humans and Elves, mostly, a few Dwarves, a couple of Minotaurs, some Draconi. We sat with them and listened to their disputes. After several days, we knew that each race needed its own land. They were not willing to share resources and the hard headed humans and dwarves needed even more separation from each other than that. And so, we divided the land and gave each race what they needed. Food, water, and room to grow.
Believing that was all that was needed to end their disputes, we left for home once more. After a few years of peace, however, war broke out among the races yet again. Feeling that the mortals needed a sterner hand, we decided that the best way to keep peace was to provide direct leadership from us. We went and called upon the God's Council once again. They were extremely fearful of our plan. Not wanting them to fear us, we came up with another plan.
To cause a mortal to be blessed by all of us that may lead the races into an era of peace. Quite literally, King or Queen by divine choice known as Demigod. The Council agreed with the idea but debated on who would be chosen. Josephine gave herself the responsibility of choosing a mortal. She is the Goddess of Love and Power after all and can see the desires of mortals. We wanted one who desired peace above all else."
I paused and looked at my family. They were being incredibly attentive. Maybe it was because I had never called a family meeting myself before. It didn't matter why they were listening. The fact was: they were listening. I breathed deeply to continue but my sister Josephine interrupted me.
"Why is this history lesson necessary, sister? What is going on?" Her long red locks were brushed into a high ponytail. Her tanned skin glistened with holy power as she sat on her silver throne. Her almond shaped eyes scanned me from above.
"I'm sure she'll get to the point soon, Josie." My brother, Nikolai spoke up for me. He was the eldest and the most wise. I hoped that he would understand my reasoning for what I was about to propose. "Let her continue." I glanced at him gratefully as he smiled kindly down at me. I began again.
"And so Josephine found her'Hero.' A beautiful young woman with chocolate brown hair and big brown eyes. Ambrianna was kind and believed that all races could get along if they simply tried. Under our tutelage, she grew confident and became determined and strong. She became a Queen worthy of ruling Comwen. Finally, the time came to create a Demigod. Each of us blessed Amber with great gifts. With her new power she was able to rally the mortal races of Comwen and create a peaceful world."
"Yes, and?" Josephine pressed as I paused.
"The world is in great turmoil. Now the Demon Horde is being used to kill and terrorize the populace of Comwen. Both Jasper and I have no power to stop it and that is the most worrisome part. Someone out there is able to wield Jasper's creation and my own and they are destroying Comwen. When the Timeless War began fifty years ago, people and fairy folk alike prayed to us for guidance and help. We certainly tried to help. Josephine and Nikolai attempted to sway the hearts of men to wisdom and not war at all. Jasper and I focused our efforts on killing the hordes of demons overrunning Comwen. Unfortunately, they were brought back to life and created as quickly as destroyed them. We are not able to help Comwen and the mortals apostatized. Destroying our temples, our shrines, and turning away from us. For forty-five years they have warred with demons and other dark creatures and have slowly dwindled in number and allies. I and my siblings had lost hope of our world surviving without us and we barely completed our responsibilities.
But a man entered my Temple today. A man with hope. Meeting that man has revitalized my own hope and there is something we deities can still do!" I paused for dramatic effect.
"Create another Demigod."