Y'thrithsis

"We are given the opportunity. We are given the chance to Ascend once we have lived enough, accomplished enough, experienced enough. Through each day, each season, each year and lifetime, we grow. Yet, us Children, we are just unfinished versions of the Quartet, unfinished versions of the gods. Few of us have reached those heights, few still have retained the honor. Yet, the Quartet cannot die, not in any meaningful way. Three of us had reached the understanding they were trying to teach us, two of us fell. One to remain, one to know. When we reach the maturity that they were leading us toward, are we too... immortal?"

  When he walked the path, when he stood taller and brighter than the gods from which he was born. When he was the only line of defense, when his god failed to protect the things she had made, did he know. He stepped forward into the unknown, for his people were the Aegis of the realm, he did not know if it would be his end. His Mother's tormentor, that lust filled Shadow that plagued her like fleas on a dog. Consuming her home worlds with a prejudice that rivaled the might of a black hole.   He walked toward oblivion, laying his life bare before her and brought her to her knees. Sword held in hand, with nothing else to lose, he challenged that fragment of a fallen god. I knew that he was just on the edge of understanding, just on the edge of knowing that potential, for I had seen it when I Ascended in the early days. When my life was held in my own hands, when I controlled the strings of fate, when I heard the Songs that rang out in this world. I heard their voices for the first time, their real voices, the ones hidden behind layers for our childish minds to understand.   When he brought light to that darkness, burning away each and everyone of his brethren. He shed no tear, for they were already lost. Blade to her throat, she demanded to know by what right he had to threaten her so. I remembered his words as he took that last step forward to leap higher than his mortal bonds. "By right of Death. So too I shall be its guide, and I will not allow you to squander that any longer." So too did Anlyth, First Son of Syn become what the Quartet had wished, a seed finally to break through the soil. On his way grow to the heights of the gods.   When The Giants stood the line on Helios Prime, Y'vitol found his way to walk the same path. His Father overjoyed at his progress. The Citadel had fallen, he was the one to hold the swarm back. His arms, face, body and axe covered in the gore of the Children taken by the Shadows. He never spoke much of how he felt in that moment. Actually I think he refuses to admit anything, a dash of pride at his prowess, a sickening overwhelming feeling of dread. To this day he will not speak of it, and I will not insult him again by doing so.   He noticed something that Kyln had missed. That Shadow he stared down as the swarm moved with his movements. It was subtle, a mimicking of intent. A misunderstanding that wouldn't be left to it's own devices. This Shadow wouldn't be left to copy what I saw as aggression, but Y'vitol? He was always the patient one, the one to think before he acted. He planted his ax in the ground and did nothing. Made no move, made no intention, made no attempt.   The Shadow could do nothing while he stood his ground. He began to understand when he spoke to it, listening to it's broken speech, listening to it's fractured mind. I remember what he said. "My hands covered in the sins I have wrought, but you are not clean either. But, I find myself unable to hate you, it's the only thing you have ever known. Perhaps, perhaps in another life we could have been friends. But, in this place, in this time, I will not allow myself that." He heard the first whispers of the Songs then, a new seed to grow to toward the heavens above us.   Heh, I should make it seem so much that godhood is earned through bloodshed and war. Anlyth and Y'vitol learned their lessons through the hardship and horror they witnessed. Me? I earned mine through a dauntless dedication to knowledge. All I wanted was to know more, to know all. And in my arrogance I learned all that I thought there was. I heard their Songs when I cracked through the ether, understood the universe for what it was. But It was like a child finishing their first book, only to see the library when they finally look up.   But, you. I have now seen this three times. You found another way I didn't think possible. You found a new path. You found something we thought was lost. You are so close, so very close. You freed yourself from the chains that held you down, something we haven't done. In a way we chained ourselves. You cleansed a darkness we though permanent.   I'm sorry, that is wrong phrase. Please forgive my callousness. Cleansed would imply a filth, you were never a tainted creature. You existed in a place and time that needed you to be what it needed you to be. You changed the rules, you changed the paradigm, you brough hope through your conviction and need for understanding. Through strength, through curiosity, through grit and cleverness. I cannot help but envy you for having the experiences you have. You grew where there was not earth to grow, a sapling befor a seed. One to reach higher with your branches while we didn't understand. Even though you have not undergone Y'thrithsis, you are already far more than us Fledgling gods.