{You know, Violette called me aside and asked if I was okay sharing a room with you.}
In as much as Crow or Aian had taken up a female body, Howard still viewed her as an asexual deity. He didn't find it strange sharing a room with her. After all, they already shared a blood bond.
He also knew if he tried any hanky-panky, there was a zero chance of him succeeding. Most importantly though, his heart yearned for Lynx.
{Don't worry, she is alive.}
Aian still preferred to communicate directly with Howard. Howard still couldn't reply nonverbally so the conversation was usually one-sided as long as the rest were present such as now.
They were having the lunch that Violette had prepared. A purple drink filled all their goblets. Howard on being offered on the first day was wary. After all, he associated purple with Violette and her PSI. The others had laughed at his refusal and even Aian had chuckled.
"That is Peru's national drink. It's called chicha morada. Try it, the only spell is that it is very delicious." Frank told him.
Howard took a sip tentatively. The explosion of sweet and sour as well as the purple corn and green apple flavours delighted him and he downed a whole glass.
The drink had then become a staple in the household. Every three days, Violette made the syrup from scratch and stored it away. Howard suspected that Violette may have been a chef before she became a hunter.
"Now that we've rested enough and recovered from your injuries, it's time to get on to the next step," Aian spoke up swallowing the last of her drink. She too loved the drink as it slightly reminded her of ambrosia.
She unrolled a large piece of paper on the floor. The paper had a diagram of pieces of armour. Beside each piece of armour, was what looked like a scripture from a religious book. When Howard saw Ephesians he knew it was the Bible.
"Uhm I know we hunt artefacts and all, but we hunt real artefacts, not some made-up figurative armour from ages ago. I'd rather we go look for the Excalibur," Violette said.
"That's a good idea, Excalibur is easily procurable. Thanks for that idea," Aian said ignoring the sarcasm. "However I can assure you that the set of armour isn't a myth."
Howard went to a nearby bookshelf and pulled out a black, bound Bible from the shelf. He flipped to the Ephesians book and read out loudly the verses:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and shaving put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
"Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Shield of Faith, Spirit Sword, Helmet of Salvation, Boots of Readiness." Aian summed them up, "However, there is only one Spirit Sword in existence and the person who owns it... let me just say it wouldn't be wise for any of us to go for it."
"By any chance are the swift boots the same one depicted being owned by Hermes?" Howard asked a thought crossing his mind.
Aian nodded, "The Abrahamic faith borrowed a lot from other cultures. But what I can assure you, the master forger is the one who made these sets excluding the Spirit Sword."
"How and where do we find the items?" Frank asked.
"I resonate with many artefacts but more so Greek items," Aian answered, "That means I'll be accompanying you on missions."
Everyone except Howard looked at her in shock.
"Is there a problem?" she asked narrowing her eyes.
"Sorry, it is just that you seem very out of place in the field. You look like one who should be behind a screen," Violette answered.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be with Howard as a team, which means Juma you'll have to start tapping into your PSI more often."
Juma looked at her his face betraying no emotion. From her statement, she knew what his PSI was but no one had told her. He just nodded.
"What is the effect of the complete suit?" Nike asked.
Aian went on to explain that the complete armour granted the wearer total protection from any sort of attacks be it physical, spiritual or mental. When used along the Spirit Sword, the user had complete control in both offense and defense. Unfortunately, the set was very picky as to who could equip it.
After Hephaestus had completed the set it was supposed to be handed to Zeus who in turn was to present it as a gift to Allfather. Unfortunately, a demigod who was visiting at that time had been entranced by it and stolen it.
The suit had consumed it and in the process, the Eldgjá eruption happened in the year 937 BCE. After the eruption, the armour vanished.
The spirit sword though was a different weapon that had been owned by a powerful and high-ranking Abrahamic angel. He was better known as Lucifer. When the revolt in the heavens had taken place he had the sword but it was lost on the forceful descent.
"How do you know all this," Kuronike asked.
"I have all the time in the world to know such things," Aian answered a little haughtily.
"But that does mean that all the Pantheons of gods and goddesses are real?" Winjoy asked seriously.
"Yes and no, some are there. Others have been incorporated, others died out, while others are lying on the proverbial shelves picking up dust, you have to realise that gods and goddesses need their worshippers and believers."
"Well I doubt any of us believe in gods," Howard interjected looking at Aian.
{And yet you are bloodbound to one.}
"Back to the armour, you mentioned the Spirit Sword, without it is the offense defense capability of the set affected much?" Nike asked.
"Yes, as I mentioned, it wasn't part of the set but I have another alternative, you mentioned it," Aian replied looking at Violette.
"Depending on the location of the Excalibur, it's either stuck in stone or in the middle of a lake," Howard quipped as he recalled his Arthurian legends.
"There are also other powerful swords out there," Nike said, "Masamune's and Muramasa's swords being one of the two I know of. I'd say they are the most powerful sword, putting aside that Spirit Sword."
"Okay, where do we start," Howard asked dreading the answer.
As if sensing his fear and dread Aian looked at him, a smile almost forming on her face, "We shall take them in one fell swoop."
Winjoy who was quick to the uptake reacted, "You don't mean just as they disappear."
Aian nodded, "That way we kill all birds with one stone."
Frank looked at the rest and then said, "You do realise we are talking about the first millennium. How are we going to get there, time travel isn't real."
"For someone who uses PSI as well as artefacts, I'm disappointed in your little faith." Aian said shaking her head, "My PSI—"
Howard marched over to Aian and dragged her away to the master bedroom where he locked it up and then turned to face an amused Aian.
"Shouldn't we discuss this first the two of us before telling the others?" He asked.
Aian raised an eyebrow at him, "I didn't know I had to get approval from you, a human. But I shall humour you."
Aian went on to explain how they'd travel back in time using her powers to the first millennium. Howard wanted an explanation to give the team on how they managed to do that.
"We could send them after items that will presumably enable us time travel," Aian suggested, crossing her legs on the bed. "I'll create some mid-level artefacts though it will take some hours and spread them around, you can then hint at these items and send them off on a kind of a wild goose chase."
Howard nodded at that plan. The less people knew about Aian and her powers the better it was for them all. Not that she couldn't take care of herself but he wanted to avoid a run-in with Nyota Kusni. The last time they fought, he had help from Aian but the odds were in his favour as it was Aian's domain.
He subconsciously looked at his hand where the sphere had burned him as he protected Winjoy and Aian. He didn't mention it at that time but the pain he felt he wished he could chop off his hand.
"By the way crow, who is that demigod? Who are his parents?"
Aian shook her head for she didn't know his parentage. She could try to find out but that meant that she risked the chance of exposure. She however told him, that demigods naturally had one non-deity parent.
Howard rolled his eyes, "Obviously, a cross between a human and a god."
Again Aian shook her head and smacked his head with her open palm, "Don't show your ignorance human. I said non-deity. One parent has to be a god but the other doesn't necessarily have to be a human. It could be an inanimate object too."
"Something like you when you were the crow?"
He received a slap on his head, "That was a form I chose and that was me. I guess it is time for me to teach you a few things. Firstly there's a hierarchy in all systems. I am a Titan being the deity of Time and representing it in all its forms.
That's making me technically stronger than the Olympians. Now there are artefacts, items and relics that have been imbibed by supernatural powers ranging from simple human blessings to full-blown God items like the Spirit Sword. Usually, such items don't have a soul or consciousness of themselves.
If it does it's no longer a relic but a divine being. In my case I chose the form of a watch as it was an apt reminder being the deity of time. The bracelet you have is a divine level artefact as well as the suit of armour. Other items below it are Mythical and legendary items such as Masamune's and Muramasa's swords, Han Feizi, they were made by humans so the highest level achievable is legendary status. Epic, Rare and common finish off the list.
The ratings isn't just based on the availability in terms of number of items but functionality matters too."
Howard nodded as he slowly understands the idea. "I have understood but I have another question, if say we meet or bump into Odin or any other deity from another set of mythology, how fucked up are we?"
Aian readied her hand about to strike but paused, "Some of our domains overlap so the risk is there. However we also have truces, to answer your question our Nordic cousins are allies. Which is why when we go to retrieve the set we have to do it discreetly."
The two then headed back to the sitting room and Howard told them of the plan to look for the items. He never told them what they were for exactly but he managed to give the urgency needed.
Since they all knew that Aian had the capability of teleporting them anywhere in the world, when they were given the list of items they didn't bat an eyelid.
Aian then went to her room and crafted the seven items. She made them with just enough power to pique the Hunters' interest but not enough to cause any damage should they be discovered by any other party.
The only piece was the gold and silver framed mirror that paid meticulous attention to as she crafted it. After she had crafted it she placed it in front of her and shut her eyes as she meditated. Her hands glowed a warm sunset orange, pointing it to the mirror. The mirror resonated swallowing the orange light.
After three minutes she stopped, opening her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. She then sliced the air and it teared up like a fabric exposing a silver light from the rip. She placed the mirror in the rip and it disappeared. The rip also vanished, she did the same for the other pieces.
Hours later, Howard knocked on the door before stepping in. He had felt the bracelet resonate as Aian crafted the items. She looked up at him and nodded explaining the items had been randomly placed in different areas.
She procured a paper from thin air along with a quill and wrote down the list of seven items that the team needed to hunt for.
"I take it the mirror of time is the most important or else you wouldn't have named it as such, compared to the other items."
Aian nodded and followed him back into the sitting room. He read out the list to the team and Aian designated each team two items. Violette and Kuronike were paired together as were Winjoy and Frank. Juma requested to go alone so Aian gave him the three easily accessible items and he left right away.
The other two teams decided to wait and make some preparations before heading out.
That night, Howard sat in bed, sleep evading him. He couldn't explain why but he felt a disturbance around him. He looked at the sleeping goddess besides him. Even in her sleep she was all civil and demure. He now wondered whether the Olympians really were as humans depicted them.
He also had come a long way, from not believing in deities to living with one. He put that down to his young teenage mind.
Aian had assured him that there would be no harm as she created all those items. But still he felt unease. He debated whether to wake her up but decided against it. He decided to follow the team and provide backup from the shadows just in case anything happened