The Daring Little Goddess

The crowd in the stadium was roaring loud enough that the dirt floor of the practice chambers underground rumbled.

Valeria had had enough of the show and tell. She absolutely hated it. And she had let Stavros, king of the gods, know exactly how she felt. That was how she ended up here... Wrapping her knuckles in cloth and spitting blood, from a split lip, on the dusty ground. In the dim torchlight the blood looked black as pitch.

She yanked one last time on the cloth, winced, and then faced the rune covered doors that would bring her up into the stadium. Valeria had wanted this life as a goddess since she was a child, but now that she's experienced it firsthand... she's started to regret it. Sure immortality sounded cool at first, but an eternity being the ancient beings' new toy was getting exhausting.

In one fluid motion Valeria tied her waist-length brown curls into a braid. She jumped up and down a few times to warm up, and adjusted the lightweight leather armor she wore. Then, to make sure she wasn’t too sore… she flexed her black feathered wings.

The wings were a gift from the almighty King Stavros.

"More like a curse," Valeria muttered under her breath. The feathered things had hurt like hell when they sprouted from her back. They'd torn through her skin to make room for the extra muscles and bones. Her wound had been tender for weeks afterward. And she definitely hadn’t forgotten that King Stavros had refused her the right to have a skilled physician numb her or heal her.

"Of course, what would I be without my wings?" She scoffed, mocking the implied importance of them. "I'd be a flightless goddess. That's what I'd be."

...Which didn't seem all that bad to Valeria at the moment.

A bell rang out signaling that Valeria's pain was far from over. The runes in the stone doors before her shone a bright gold and slowly split to reveal the blinding double suns high in the deep blue of Adama's sky. All around her minor gods and goddesses cheered, booed, and placed their bets on who they thought would win this next battle.

"My stars, they're like barbarians." Valeria muttered. She kicked at the sandy ground and only started walking when a minor god, who was acting as a referee, gave her a stern shove towards the center of the stadium. She kept her head high as she strode to meet Raziel, son of King Stavros, who stood absentmindedly weaving his throwing blades around his fingers as he awaited his new opponent.

In the short time Valeria had known the god he had proven to be exactly what she had expected from the being known as the God of Misfortune. He had jet black hair and eyes like pitch, which matched his brooding personality, and Raziel was the type of male that could set a village on fire and smile at the screams and chaos as he watched it take place. Valeria’s blood boiled. She had to fight him.

Again.

"You finally decided to show?" Raziel's dark-as-death voice rang out the second Valeria placed her foot inside the chalk circle marking the out-of-bounds line.

"Not like I had much of a choice." She snapped, but before the words were even fully out of her mouth an object zipped through the air, just grazing her face. A thin line of blood dribbled down her cheek.

"What no reflexes? I had expected much more from someone who is known as The Heir of Darkness and Flames."

Valeria wanted nothing more to strangle the god for mocking the nickname her parents gave her, but she silenced the urge. If she let her anger control her and she became lost in the feeling of battle lust, she wouldn’t be able to remember what it felt like to wipe that smug look off Raziel’s face. So instead she forced a cocksure smile and said, "I had expected something a little more... impressive than a knife from the... I'm sorry, what was it again? The god of...?"

"Misfortune." Raziel snarled. If there was one thing that Valeria learned from her short time as a goddess, it was that the gods were very prideful. And that it was very easy to tick them off.

Raziel finally drew up to his full height, and towered over Valeria. His wingspan was almost double that of Valeria's and she had no doubt he could crush her with just one of them. But the way he was making himself appear bigger reminded Valeria of a scared animal's way of pretending to be stronger. Valeria chuckled at the thought.

"Raziel... you never change do you?" She sighed and lowered into an attack position.

Raziel had made the first move with that knife, so by law it was her move. So she summoned a wave of violet flames and sent them shooting towards the god's wings... The most vulnerable part of an immortal being’s body. He sidestepped the flames easily, but that was the plan. The flames were just a diversion so Valeria could slip inside the god's guard and land a clean blow to the middle of his chest.

The god of misfortune didn’t budge an inch.

“You’ll have to do better than that, Darling.” He smirked. With the swipe of his leg he knocked Valeria on her back. She gasped for air but none filled her lungs. One thing that did get air was the little spark of anger she had tried to push down and away… It was now a little flame. Still controlled, but getting stronger.

She jumped off the ground and cracked her neck. “I am not your ‘darling’.”

This time, right as Raziel was about to come back with yet another snarky remark, Valeria kicked upward and her foot connected with his jaw. She smiled at the clack of Raziel’s teeth hitting each other. Hard.

Blood splattered on the sand beside him. The gods in the stands roared.

“So there is some fire behind those violet eyes of yours,” He began circling the chalk ring. “Color me impressed.”

“I’m guessing you’ve already forgotten the last time we sparred?” Valeria followed the god’s moves closely. If she was correct then his next attack would be of the magical variety.

“What? That I broke you?”

He did indeed. Both arms. But that wasn’t what Valeria meant.

“No. That I, a mere mortal at the time, didn’t end up dead.”

Raziel went still. So still that Valeria was convinced even his blood had stopped in his veins.

“Oops, did I hit a nerve?” She laughed.

The dark haired god disappeared and materialized just inches from her. His face contorted in fury. Valeria ducked and let the bull of a man charge by. He roared and threw out his arms, summoning blades of air.

That was his power… those nearly invisible, lethal blades. But Valeria was prepared for this. She was the one who had provoked him after all.

She swiped her foot and sent a thick wave of sand to obscure his vision.

“You think you’ll survive with party tricks?! HA!” Raziel shrieked.

Valeria silenced her mind. She was the Heir of Darkness and Flames… Nothing could phase her.

When she opened her eyes they were glowing purple. She threw her arm out and raging violet flames melted the suspended sand. When the dust cleared Raziel stood several feet from Valeria, a confused expression plastered across that stupid face of his.

She had avoided every last one of his magic blades. But how?

It became clear when she smiled, reached out, and tapped on an almost invisible glass shield.

“I think I just did survive with a party trick.”

The God of Misfortune roared with rage, more animalistic than sentient being, and charged Valeria.

Good, she thought, now that he’s lost his sanity… I can finish this quickly.

Valeria side stepped him, and landed a few blows. One to the back of his head (if only to make him more furious), and several more to his stomach and back. She slammed her right foot into his shin for good measure. She was pleased when she heard the telltale crack of bone.

Then, Valeria looked out into the crowd in search of a pair of eyes she knew she’d find… He wouldn’t miss the opportunity to watch his ‘little rebellious goddess’ fail.

When her gaze landed on the sea blue of King Stavros’ eyes Valeria smiled and bowed.

“This next part is just for you, my king.” She muttered sarcastically. She had no doubt that the king of gods would love to see his son kneeling before the one goddess that will not conform to his laws.

Valeria turned back to Raziel who was now sporting not one, but several new bruises and cuts while leaning his weight heavily on his uninjured leg. She Smiled.

Flapping her great feathered wings once, she took to the air, and turned to the audience to reveal a secret that her ancestors had taken to their grave so that possibly one day in the future the land of Adamas could heal.

“Millenia ago King Stavros dethroned the last king by mass genocide. He destroyed an entire people and killed the Emperor last. That emperor was His Majesty Lex. The creator of Adamas.”

She kept her eyes fixated on the gods and goddesses while she summoned her violet flames once more. This time in the form of a crown that shone brightly above her head. Gasps echoed through the stadium.

“His Majesty Lex had a second name… one everyone knew him by. Can anyone tell me that name?”

Smiling, she snapped her fingers and ropes made of fire wound around Raziel’s arms and legs bringing him to his knees.

“No? Then let me tell you.”

The crowd was silent. Valeria knew they remembered, but she so loved the crowd’s anticipation of her confirmation.

“His name was The Lord of Shadows.”

Valeria lowered herself to the ground to stand behind Raziel. She smiled and brought her boot down on his shoulder, pushing hard. The son of King Stavros grunted as he crumpled to the ground under the weight of her foot.

“And I am the last surviving ancestor of The Lord of Shadows.”