The World Eater

In the distance one could see the huge spires of buildings cascading ever higher. So much so that the clouds shrouded the beautiful ornaments at the top. The buildings sparkled in the sunlight, made of things foreign to man. The city of the sky; the crown city, a place of dreams.

The people below were happy. Cartáëloa, The City of Ore, thrived due to the royal family that ensured their land was prosperous and ruled proudly. Yet all of this was little to the mind of a child. The feeling of the wind in her hair, and the way her wings caught the drafts around the city. She was able to cut tight turns to avoid colliding with the jutting buildings. The people were all about appearances, and their homes were not an exception.

Even though the buildings were jutting from the harsh cliffs of the Ancient Volcano Ayneailsa, they were crafted from the most durable and beautiful stone. With pristine engravings and several ornaments, there was no finer city. Cartáëloa was one of the largest cities with its mining operation in the heart of Ayneailsa and its superior craftsmanship making it one of the most prosperous cities.

The joy of flight never ceased to fail Avianna, all the negativity that threatened to crush her was lost in the wind once she took flight. The thought of leaving the sky’s embrace almost brought her to tears each day.

Gazing down at the city, seeing the faces looking up in awe and respect of the wings graciously given to her as she soared high above the city. The home she vowed to serve and protect from the many daemons that constantly poured through rifts across the land.

The city was built into the crumbling center of an ancient volcano. The side of its large expanse had crumbled away leaving a side exposed to the world, perfect to build a city within the safety. The gorgeous city was able to captivate anyone, and awe those who dared to enter.

And then, just like the last light of the day, the darkness set in. The wind on her wings, the rush in her blood, the happiness in her very bones; shattered. The buildings toppled and on fire. Daemon spawn wreaking havoc upon its people, perishing into nothingness. Gone.

It was enough to make her slip up, the winds did not shield her from the blow, and she was falling.

Spiraling down into the depth where they would swallow her up for all eternity.

That was millennia ago.

Sweat rippled off her brow as she braced her power. She placed her hand on the outer shell of the temple, which was meant for the worship of the goddess, Sceal. The Teller. The Goddess who was the pillar of knowledge, of knowing. She knew all, what was, what used to be and what would become. Avianna closed her eyes in a small, silent prayer.

The temple itself had been neglected for those many years. With Aviannas home world coming closer and closer to its end, the temple was one of the places still standing when the daemons first attacked. Millenia had passed now and there were no longer daemons. However, very few of her people and any other inhabitants of this world had been left any longer. Pillars of crumbling stone stood as she walked along the tattered path.

She stood at the entrance, where a long since toppled statue of the once believed benevolent goddess stood. Avianna scoffed as she looked upon it. The temple was no longer standing at this point, only debris of a once great haven. Her power wrung grooves in her soul as the heard the stone split, the tapestry of ancient seals unwinding as she unbound this goddess thread by thread. This unbinding would bring her to this world, where Sceal would be vulnerable.

When the daemon army invaded Bailé, the three sister gods did nothing to stop them. Several years into the wars that plagued the land, Avianna was still a child but fought to protect her home. Upon her failure, a Priest of the sister gods took away Aviannas wings and told her she would no longer serve the purpose of the chosen protector. Cast out then, and captured by the Daemon army, Avianna lay in wait for the moment she could enact her revenge. After her wings had been taken, her body took time to recover, even now her physical health waned at the loss. It took so much time, but now was the time to act.

Avianna snapped her eyes open, a small smirk bloomed as she gazed upon the broken temple, split in half; completely desecrated. A dishonor to the gods, and she knew she would be forced to encumber the wrath of Sceal. The ground beneath her trembled slightly; the air convulsed and became taut. Avianna took a deep breath channeling all that she was as she held her ground.

Scael came from the depths of the world between what was here, and what was beyond, a rift called Cagair. She looked upon the beautiful creature before her. The bird was engulfed in a mass of limelight, clouds of endless ink blotches around her. Sceal’s beast form towered several feet taller than Avianna, her avian features resembled nothing on Bailé. Charcoal feathers that were opalescent and shimmered in the light of the two suns that hung in the sky. The goddess’s eyes filled with rage as she beheld the woman in front of the temple. Avianna grinned in delight.

Sceal spoke an ancient language, long forgotten by all in this world, but Avianna, once a chosen of the gods, could understand.

“You, The accursed,” She hissed. “You were destined to die long before now, and yet here you are.”

Avianna boldly held up her chin, not wavering. “Your pest wasn’t strong enough to kill me. But he brought you a trophy, they belong to me.” her voice became placid with rage. “You insipid holy beings have the audacity to steal from people, to take whatever you please.”

The ground around Avianna began to churn as she was powering up the strength in her veins, the chaotic power that would destroy everything in her path. “You stole from me. I’m here to steal something from you.”

“Fool.” The goddess spat.

Avianna put her hands together, her pointer fingers touching as her knuckles were braced together, making a small triangle. She felt her hair rise off her shoulder as she snarled. “You will pay.”

The avian goddess swooped down upon her, “Cartáë Filth!” Avianna charged A chaotic energy ray emitting from her raised hand slicing the goddess’ stomach as it passed over her.

“You think magic tricks are enough to kill me? A goddess? I’m immortal.”

“No.” Avianna whispered as the goddess raised its hackles landing in front of her. The beast bird towered over her, taller than her now destroyed home even. Avianna snarled baring her teeth, “You are no more than a mortal, you are greedy, and you kill and steal everything that is good away from the world.” She shouted out as the giant birds’ feathers ruffled in sheer rage at the woman’s words. Sceal flapped her wings hard, a terrestrial wave of air swept over Avianna as she gritted her teeth against the strong wind. The tempest forming, threatening to take her away. Sceal raked forward, her wrath imminent. “You are filthy. The defiled…” she whispered as she braced herself for the impact. “You are no God.”

Sceal came down upon Avianna with the impact of the worlds, with wind reinforced the goddess as she grabbed Avianna in her talons, only to cry out. Black inky blood spewed from the goddess’s beak, from the gaps tearing in her feathers. Avianna let out a scream of agony as she wrung her hands, using her magic to grip all it could inside the goddess and rip her apart.

“You are foolish, Woman!” The goddess spat out the inky blood as it began to crush Avianna. Avianna transferred energy into the goddess, it rippled into the veins of the stoic bird-beast.

The impact of the energy, the wrongness of Aviana's makeshift powers began to break and tear inside of the goddess. Before all this, the only thing Avianna had to contrast everyone else were her wings. Cherished and beloved she was due to those great white wings. Until they were cut from her back as a child by a priest. In Aviannas madness, she was able to coax out the magic that developed deep in her tattered soul. She vowed to then take on the gods who stole her wings. Her magic manifested as a ball of energy, whispering softly. The burgundy flecks made their way to the intended source, right into the goddess’ chest.

The goddess felt herself begin to reject her Holy state. “You… You are…” Her eyes widened at Avianna as she threw out her arms and made a splitting motion with such force that the goddess’s chest tore in two. The powers within her entered it’s target and made its way throughout the body and entered the mind, at which it would attach to everything that could be destroyed.

Decay had then formed in the goddess’ chest, turning to giant wriggling masses of rot and ruin. Avianna put her hand to her chest, clenching the fabric of her shirt. Her arms were black with decay, black with drain. Her power helped snuff out the light in any being, helped the body reject itself due to imperfections. It was happening inside her, and she knew her magic would one day take over and kill her. The flesh began to form back on her hands as she coughed up a little bit of blood. Her chaos magic allowed her to kill gods, because gods were supposed to be perfect in every way. When her chaos magic entered them, it proved to their entities that they were indeed not holy.

The breeze held something in the air as she heard the last words of the goddess, “You, accursed. You are the downfall of all civilizations. Your destiny is dark and whomever you love will surely perish. Your destiny will kill anyone who chooses to stand beside you, like you will one day destroy yourself.”

Avianna whispered. “There is no love that will ever come from me, no one is going to love me: for I am wrath, i am death.” she whispered, her face cold. “I will disappear, as you did, falling into a decay, magic taking all of what I am.”

The wind chuckled as the voice began to fade, a vow on its lips. “You will suffer; unlike any other.”

Avianna held her chin up. “So be it.”