Gods and Shadow Creatures - Shadow in the Rain
More playing around in my Gods and Shadow Creatures universe. The plot for this verse is still...flexible right now, so I'm not 100% sure where this fits in the continuity. Trigger warnings for [click to reveal]mentioned suicide and rape.
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Nico glanced up at the sky, his stomach sinking at the roiling storm clouds above. He and Breccan didn’t need rain -- not when Nico had been kicked out of Maris’ house and had to find a place to stay.
“The last three inns we tried were full,” Breccan murmured. “I think it’s because of the upcoming royal visit.”
They walked along the brick covered streets, aimless because neither knew where to find an inn with free space. Nico sighed -- he wished he hadn’t had to drag Breccan with him, but he had worried he couldn’t protect the man from Egan if they got too separated.
Squinting, Nico thought he spotted an inn in the distance. Before he could confirm this, the sky opened up. Without thinking, Nico created a shield to protect Breccan and himself from the falling rain. It flickered above them, an almost invisible dome. Nico watched water slide off it.
“Th-thank you,” Breccan murmured, looking at the shield with what sounded like a mixture of awe and wistfulness for the magic he had lost.
Wind started blowing, driving the rain sideways and leaving them soaked anyway. Nico chided himself for not making a wider shield.
“Help! Help!”
The cry pierced the air, causing Nico to drop the rain shield. Without thinking, he ran towards the source of the noise, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw why someone was calling for help.
A mostly-humanoid shadow creature, taller than any he had yet seen, held two people in the writhing tentacles it had in place of arms. Rain obscured his view, but he could see the panic on the victims’ faces, as well as the priestly robes they wore. The monster’s eyes glowed bright red, the malice in them enough to stop someone’s heart. Steam curled around those eyes, which blazed hot enough to evaporate the rain. Ordinary water couldn’t put out a fire like that.
“Behind me,” he muttered to Breccan.
His companion complied, and Nico could feel his fear. As for Nico, his heart hammered in his chest -- he thought could take the monster, but could he do it without revealing what he was?
A sword of burning golden flames four feet long flashed into being in Nico’s hands. He leaped at the shadow monster, swinging the sword at one of the writhing tentacles. The monster flung its other tentacle, still holding the priest inside it, at Nico.
It missed -- barely. Nico swung clear through the shadow creature’s writhing limb. The monster let out a bone-shaking shriek. Nico severed its limb, if only temporarily. It dropped the priestess it held. The severed part dissolved as the woman crashed to the ground. Nico landed on his feet.
The tentacle grew back and lashed out at Nico. He rolled away, gripping his sword so it wouldn’t dissolve. The other tentacle lashed at Nico, too -- while the monster still held the priest. He flattened himself against the ground. Nico lifted his sword above his head.
It hit the shadow creature’s inhuman limb as the monster tried to attack him. The priest dropped to the ground as the limb broke off with another horrible shriek. As before, the severed part of the shadow limb dissolved.
Relief didn’t come yet. The shadow monster reformed. It would get its victims back if Nico didn’t do something. But how could he kill it without revealing himself? Those red eyes blazed with unmistakable fury.
The eyes. Nico had to stab it in the eye to kill it.
He leaped to his feet again. Raising his golden sword above his head, he charge the monster. The tentacles attacked him, both at once. One stabbed him in his side, sharp as a knife. Pain overwhelmed him. His sword vanished when he was inches from the creature’s eye. The other tentacle wrapped around him.
Unthinking, Nico thrust two fingers into the creature’s glowing red eye before it could pull him away. It hissed as the evil energy burned him. He screamed in pain, but he didn’t withdraw his hand until the whole being began to dissolve into nothing. Nico fell to the ground.
“Well, it’s dead,” he muttered after he recovered enough to stand.
Only then did he notice just how intently the pair he had rescued were staring at him. His stomach sank at the looks of obvious reverence -- curse it all, he had dropped his human disguise when attacked. Again.
The priest and priestess seemed to recover some sense, for they dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the wet ground. Breccan stood beside them, eyes wide.
“There’s no need for that,” Nico muttered, feeling his face burn.
After many long moments, the priest and priestess rose to their feet, still with those looks of reverence on their faces. Many years ago, Nico wouldn’t have minded, but, now, he just wished they would stop that.
“You wouldn’t -- happen to know where we might find an inn with open rooms?” Breccan murmured, breaking the silence.
“I -- beg your pardon?” the priest asked, looking at him with confusion.
“We need somewhere to stay, and everywhere’s full that we checked,” he said, glancing at Nico.
The rain kept pouring, soaking everyone, as the priest and priestess shared a look between them, and they smiled.
“If it pleases you, oh Shining Lord, you may stay with us at our temple on the edge of the city,” the priest said. He bowed, but only slightly this time.
Nico didn’t want to stay with these two, not after they knew what he was, but one look at Breccan told him they didn’t have much of a choice -- his companion needed the shelter more than Nico needed to be comfortable. It would be illogical to refuse the offer, no matter how uncomfortable Aurelia and Julius made him feel.
“Please, there is no need to address me as such. Call me Nico,” he muttered, not yet explicitly accepting the offer.
The priestess bowed briefly. A look of surprise flickered across her face. “As you wish. And you may call me Aurelia,” she said. “And my twin brother is Julius.” She gestured to the priest.
Twins? Nico noticed they looked similar to each other, as siblings often did -- dark brown skin that appeared almost black, full lips that curved in a slight smile, and heart shaped faces. Even their priestly mage marks matched. Julius was maybe four inches taller than Aurelia and approximately Nico’s height in this form. His eyes were a deep brown, but hers appeared almost as black as the shadow Nio had fought -- far too much like Isabel’s eyes. Her nose was wider and flatter, too, so they weren’t that close to identical, especially since her hair was shoulder length and his was short. He reminded himself not all twins looked exactly like each other.
“And who is your...companion, if I may ask, oh Sh-- Nico?” Aurelia said, looking over at Breccan.
“I’m -- I’m Breccan,” he murmured. Even in the low light, Nico saw his freckled face flush.
“Do you...wish to stay with us?” Julius asked.
Nico nodded, as much as he didn’t want to.
* * *
They arrived at the temple, passing through a wooden gate at the edge of the street. The temple was behind a small park of sorts, somewhat reminiscent of Clara’s garden. The pouring rain made discerning details difficult, but Nico could see the garden was far more orderly than Clara’s. Like everything else in this city, the temple had been built out of bricks. Trees with wide, pointed green leaves hid the temple from view, though a sign at the gate indicated it was a holy place -- Nico recognized the symbol with its three loops.
He felt like he were trespassing, though, logically the building was dedicated to him.
“This is our home -- and yours,” Julius murmured, gesturing to their surroundings. “I hope it will be adequate for those such as yourselves.”
“It will keep us out of the rain -- that is more than enough,” Nico said, trying to smile.
“We are honored you would stay with us,” Aurelia said.
Nico didn’t reply to that -- he couldn’t even meet either of the twins’ eyes. Even now, the two of them looked at him with a sickening amount of reverence.
The actual house where they would be staying, located behind the temple, had a guest room -- thankfully, with two surprisingly wide beds. Nico knew it wasn’t uncommon for rooms at inns to have only one bed to share, and he was so relieved to avoid that, knowing how that would have made Breccan uncomfortable.
Several landscape paintings of snow-capped mountains decorated the walls, which surprised Nico -- he would have expected the paintings to be of religious scenes. An iron version of the same symbol at the gate did hang high on the wall in the space between the two beds, though. White cotton sheets covered those beds, which were of a simple construction and low to the floor. A matching wardrobe sat in the corner of the room, and each bed had a small night table beside it.
Aurelia and Julius helped them get settled into their new rooms, but Nico couldn’t settle -- he couldn’t sleep. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours, while Breccan drifted off almost as soon as he got into bed.
Sighing, Nico got up and changed from sleeping clothes into something more appropriate. His outfit looked human -- a simple tunic and trousers with embroidery on the edges like he had seen passerby on the street wearing. He made them in a gray color, while the embroidery was a blue to match his eyes in this form. The lace-up boots he wore matched, as well.
The twins hadn’t left him a candle. While they’d left one for Breccan, he assumed they thought he would conjure his own light if he needed it. He didn’t want to steal his companion’s only source of light, so he formed a ball of white light in his hand and headed to the kitchen. When he arrived, he stopped short -- Aurelia leaned against the counter, sipping a mug of coffee.
She startled when she saw him, almost dropping her coffee. “Shining Lord,” she breathed, bowing as much as she could with a drink in her hand.
“Please, call me Nico,” he said, avoiding her gaze. “Do you --- mind if I have some coffee?”
“You -- drink coffee?” she asked.
He nodded. “I do,” he said.
“Of course -- anything I can do for you,” she murmured. She prepared a mug of coffee for him and handed it over.
Nico took it, still avoiding Aurelia’s gaze. It burned him with its intensity and reverence.
“If I -- if I may ask, why...are you in human form? Surely, there is no need to hide yourself from us,” she murmured.
How did he explain to a priestess that he used a human form because he was ashamed of what he was?
“I prefer it,” he said and took a sip of his coffee.
“I’ve never met a god who preferred a mortal form. Then again, I suppose I might not notice if I had met such a one,” she said, smiling.
“And have you met others of our kind?” he asked, leaning against the counter.
“I have. My cousin -- he was claimed. I met the goddess who did it. My poor cousin was upset, strangely -- he already had a girlfriend he loved and suffered greatly when the claim caused her to break up with him. His distress made no sense to me -- who would prefer a mortal?” Aurelia said, shaking her head.
Nico thought about Breccan -- the redhead wanted a mortal partner, now that he had lost his powers. His stomach twisted as he listened to Aurelia. “Some people -- they do not admire my kind,” he muttered.
“My cousin never adjusted to being claimed. He drowned himself in a river rather than live without the woman he loved, even though he had the attentions of a goddess. The poor boy never appreciated the honor he was given -- hated all the gods by the end of his life,” she sighed. She took a sip of her coffee.
“I’m -- sorry for your loss,” he said, staring at the priestess. Her logic and attitude towards her deceased cousin disgusted him. Nico bit his lip and clenched the fist not holding the coffee mug -- he felt sick to his stomach.
He could, all too easily, imagine Breccan doing what Aurelia’s cousin had. The thought filled him with unimaginable distress, and the world around him swam out of focus. Nico had claimed Breccan because the alternative for the man -- letting Egan have his way with him -- was worse. Still, he saw the loneliness and pain always flickering in the depths of Breccan’s eyes and could do nothing to assuage it.
“It was a long time ago,” Aurelia murmured. “I only wish my cousin had seen reason.”
Nico narrowed his eyes. “People do not...always see reason,” he muttered, though he referred to Aurelia rather than her cousin.
If he looked inside himself, he knew he would see that he hadn’t always followed reason. His people didn’t believe in human reason. Or human morals.
“I -- hope I haven’t insulted you by sharing this story,” Aurelia said, bowing her head again.
“You -- haven’t,” he muttered, shaking his head. That was a lie, but he had no desire to cause excess tension when she and her brother were providing shelter.
They stood in silence for a long while, sipping their coffee. Nico tried not to think too much about Aurelia’s words and attitude.
Corruption and immorality defined this world -- and he was the biggest part of that.
---------
Nico glanced up at the sky, his stomach sinking at the roiling storm clouds above. He and Breccan didn’t need rain -- not when Nico had been kicked out of Maris’ house and had to find a place to stay.
“The last three inns we tried were full,” Breccan murmured. “I think it’s because of the upcoming royal visit.”
They walked along the brick covered streets, aimless because neither knew where to find an inn with free space. Nico sighed -- he wished he hadn’t had to drag Breccan with him, but he had worried he couldn’t protect the man from Egan if they got too separated.
Squinting, Nico thought he spotted an inn in the distance. Before he could confirm this, the sky opened up. Without thinking, Nico created a shield to protect Breccan and himself from the falling rain. It flickered above them, an almost invisible dome. Nico watched water slide off it.
“Th-thank you,” Breccan murmured, looking at the shield with what sounded like a mixture of awe and wistfulness for the magic he had lost.
Wind started blowing, driving the rain sideways and leaving them soaked anyway. Nico chided himself for not making a wider shield.
“Help! Help!”
The cry pierced the air, causing Nico to drop the rain shield. Without thinking, he ran towards the source of the noise, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw why someone was calling for help.
A mostly-humanoid shadow creature, taller than any he had yet seen, held two people in the writhing tentacles it had in place of arms. Rain obscured his view, but he could see the panic on the victims’ faces, as well as the priestly robes they wore. The monster’s eyes glowed bright red, the malice in them enough to stop someone’s heart. Steam curled around those eyes, which blazed hot enough to evaporate the rain. Ordinary water couldn’t put out a fire like that.
“Behind me,” he muttered to Breccan.
His companion complied, and Nico could feel his fear. As for Nico, his heart hammered in his chest -- he thought could take the monster, but could he do it without revealing what he was?
A sword of burning golden flames four feet long flashed into being in Nico’s hands. He leaped at the shadow monster, swinging the sword at one of the writhing tentacles. The monster flung its other tentacle, still holding the priest inside it, at Nico.
It missed -- barely. Nico swung clear through the shadow creature’s writhing limb. The monster let out a bone-shaking shriek. Nico severed its limb, if only temporarily. It dropped the priestess it held. The severed part dissolved as the woman crashed to the ground. Nico landed on his feet.
The tentacle grew back and lashed out at Nico. He rolled away, gripping his sword so it wouldn’t dissolve. The other tentacle lashed at Nico, too -- while the monster still held the priest. He flattened himself against the ground. Nico lifted his sword above his head.
It hit the shadow creature’s inhuman limb as the monster tried to attack him. The priest dropped to the ground as the limb broke off with another horrible shriek. As before, the severed part of the shadow limb dissolved.
Relief didn’t come yet. The shadow monster reformed. It would get its victims back if Nico didn’t do something. But how could he kill it without revealing himself? Those red eyes blazed with unmistakable fury.
The eyes. Nico had to stab it in the eye to kill it.
He leaped to his feet again. Raising his golden sword above his head, he charge the monster. The tentacles attacked him, both at once. One stabbed him in his side, sharp as a knife. Pain overwhelmed him. His sword vanished when he was inches from the creature’s eye. The other tentacle wrapped around him.
Unthinking, Nico thrust two fingers into the creature’s glowing red eye before it could pull him away. It hissed as the evil energy burned him. He screamed in pain, but he didn’t withdraw his hand until the whole being began to dissolve into nothing. Nico fell to the ground.
“Well, it’s dead,” he muttered after he recovered enough to stand.
Only then did he notice just how intently the pair he had rescued were staring at him. His stomach sank at the looks of obvious reverence -- curse it all, he had dropped his human disguise when attacked. Again.
The priest and priestess seemed to recover some sense, for they dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the wet ground. Breccan stood beside them, eyes wide.
“There’s no need for that,” Nico muttered, feeling his face burn.
After many long moments, the priest and priestess rose to their feet, still with those looks of reverence on their faces. Many years ago, Nico wouldn’t have minded, but, now, he just wished they would stop that.
“You wouldn’t -- happen to know where we might find an inn with open rooms?” Breccan murmured, breaking the silence.
“I -- beg your pardon?” the priest asked, looking at him with confusion.
“We need somewhere to stay, and everywhere’s full that we checked,” he said, glancing at Nico.
The rain kept pouring, soaking everyone, as the priest and priestess shared a look between them, and they smiled.
“If it pleases you, oh Shining Lord, you may stay with us at our temple on the edge of the city,” the priest said. He bowed, but only slightly this time.
Nico didn’t want to stay with these two, not after they knew what he was, but one look at Breccan told him they didn’t have much of a choice -- his companion needed the shelter more than Nico needed to be comfortable. It would be illogical to refuse the offer, no matter how uncomfortable Aurelia and Julius made him feel.
“Please, there is no need to address me as such. Call me Nico,” he muttered, not yet explicitly accepting the offer.
The priestess bowed briefly. A look of surprise flickered across her face. “As you wish. And you may call me Aurelia,” she said. “And my twin brother is Julius.” She gestured to the priest.
Twins? Nico noticed they looked similar to each other, as siblings often did -- dark brown skin that appeared almost black, full lips that curved in a slight smile, and heart shaped faces. Even their priestly mage marks matched. Julius was maybe four inches taller than Aurelia and approximately Nico’s height in this form. His eyes were a deep brown, but hers appeared almost as black as the shadow Nio had fought -- far too much like Isabel’s eyes. Her nose was wider and flatter, too, so they weren’t that close to identical, especially since her hair was shoulder length and his was short. He reminded himself not all twins looked exactly like each other.
“And who is your...companion, if I may ask, oh Sh-- Nico?” Aurelia said, looking over at Breccan.
“I’m -- I’m Breccan,” he murmured. Even in the low light, Nico saw his freckled face flush.
“Do you...wish to stay with us?” Julius asked.
Nico nodded, as much as he didn’t want to.
* * *
They arrived at the temple, passing through a wooden gate at the edge of the street. The temple was behind a small park of sorts, somewhat reminiscent of Clara’s garden. The pouring rain made discerning details difficult, but Nico could see the garden was far more orderly than Clara’s. Like everything else in this city, the temple had been built out of bricks. Trees with wide, pointed green leaves hid the temple from view, though a sign at the gate indicated it was a holy place -- Nico recognized the symbol with its three loops.
He felt like he were trespassing, though, logically the building was dedicated to him.
“This is our home -- and yours,” Julius murmured, gesturing to their surroundings. “I hope it will be adequate for those such as yourselves.”
“It will keep us out of the rain -- that is more than enough,” Nico said, trying to smile.
“We are honored you would stay with us,” Aurelia said.
Nico didn’t reply to that -- he couldn’t even meet either of the twins’ eyes. Even now, the two of them looked at him with a sickening amount of reverence.
The actual house where they would be staying, located behind the temple, had a guest room -- thankfully, with two surprisingly wide beds. Nico knew it wasn’t uncommon for rooms at inns to have only one bed to share, and he was so relieved to avoid that, knowing how that would have made Breccan uncomfortable.
Several landscape paintings of snow-capped mountains decorated the walls, which surprised Nico -- he would have expected the paintings to be of religious scenes. An iron version of the same symbol at the gate did hang high on the wall in the space between the two beds, though. White cotton sheets covered those beds, which were of a simple construction and low to the floor. A matching wardrobe sat in the corner of the room, and each bed had a small night table beside it.
Aurelia and Julius helped them get settled into their new rooms, but Nico couldn’t settle -- he couldn’t sleep. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours, while Breccan drifted off almost as soon as he got into bed.
Sighing, Nico got up and changed from sleeping clothes into something more appropriate. His outfit looked human -- a simple tunic and trousers with embroidery on the edges like he had seen passerby on the street wearing. He made them in a gray color, while the embroidery was a blue to match his eyes in this form. The lace-up boots he wore matched, as well.
The twins hadn’t left him a candle. While they’d left one for Breccan, he assumed they thought he would conjure his own light if he needed it. He didn’t want to steal his companion’s only source of light, so he formed a ball of white light in his hand and headed to the kitchen. When he arrived, he stopped short -- Aurelia leaned against the counter, sipping a mug of coffee.
She startled when she saw him, almost dropping her coffee. “Shining Lord,” she breathed, bowing as much as she could with a drink in her hand.
“Please, call me Nico,” he said, avoiding her gaze. “Do you --- mind if I have some coffee?”
“You -- drink coffee?” she asked.
He nodded. “I do,” he said.
“Of course -- anything I can do for you,” she murmured. She prepared a mug of coffee for him and handed it over.
Nico took it, still avoiding Aurelia’s gaze. It burned him with its intensity and reverence.
“If I -- if I may ask, why...are you in human form? Surely, there is no need to hide yourself from us,” she murmured.
How did he explain to a priestess that he used a human form because he was ashamed of what he was?
“I prefer it,” he said and took a sip of his coffee.
“I’ve never met a god who preferred a mortal form. Then again, I suppose I might not notice if I had met such a one,” she said, smiling.
“And have you met others of our kind?” he asked, leaning against the counter.
“I have. My cousin -- he was claimed. I met the goddess who did it. My poor cousin was upset, strangely -- he already had a girlfriend he loved and suffered greatly when the claim caused her to break up with him. His distress made no sense to me -- who would prefer a mortal?” Aurelia said, shaking her head.
Nico thought about Breccan -- the redhead wanted a mortal partner, now that he had lost his powers. His stomach twisted as he listened to Aurelia. “Some people -- they do not admire my kind,” he muttered.
“My cousin never adjusted to being claimed. He drowned himself in a river rather than live without the woman he loved, even though he had the attentions of a goddess. The poor boy never appreciated the honor he was given -- hated all the gods by the end of his life,” she sighed. She took a sip of her coffee.
“I’m -- sorry for your loss,” he said, staring at the priestess. Her logic and attitude towards her deceased cousin disgusted him. Nico bit his lip and clenched the fist not holding the coffee mug -- he felt sick to his stomach.
He could, all too easily, imagine Breccan doing what Aurelia’s cousin had. The thought filled him with unimaginable distress, and the world around him swam out of focus. Nico had claimed Breccan because the alternative for the man -- letting Egan have his way with him -- was worse. Still, he saw the loneliness and pain always flickering in the depths of Breccan’s eyes and could do nothing to assuage it.
“It was a long time ago,” Aurelia murmured. “I only wish my cousin had seen reason.”
Nico narrowed his eyes. “People do not...always see reason,” he muttered, though he referred to Aurelia rather than her cousin.
If he looked inside himself, he knew he would see that he hadn’t always followed reason. His people didn’t believe in human reason. Or human morals.
“I -- hope I haven’t insulted you by sharing this story,” Aurelia said, bowing her head again.
“You -- haven’t,” he muttered, shaking his head. That was a lie, but he had no desire to cause excess tension when she and her brother were providing shelter.
They stood in silence for a long while, sipping their coffee. Nico tried not to think too much about Aurelia’s words and attitude.
Corruption and immorality defined this world -- and he was the biggest part of that.