Presence

Part 1

Usuna opened his eyes to the world. No pain did he feel. No scar was left on his skin and no blood decorated his presence. All damage had been done and in turn undone, for now he was reborn. He was reborn into the afterlife. The blades harmed him no more, the fire burnt no longer, and his skin itched only with the presence around him, a touch of beauty that was pure and imperishable. He was home, home in a world he had never been to before but always felt within his heart.

The air swirled around his body in the form of clouds and mist. It clung to his tan and worn skin affectionately. Clumps of it gathered on his leather and metal armor, looking like balls of soft cotton. With the slightest breath he took or flex of a muscle, the mist stirred rapidly, and eventually it settled upon the ground where it faded into the dark brown earth beneath Usuna's boots.

His eyes lifted, his gaze rising from the dirt and mist to the vast scenery around him. Stretching as far as he could see was a great meadow. The grass grew just past the ankles, glowing a yellow-green color that was more vibrant than even the freshest Spring day. His mound of dirt was the only sight of the cold earth save for great mountains in the distance that were topped with mighty thunderstorms. Truly this was the Plane of Quij, his heaven, his home. In welcoming the goddess of thunder and wind into his world, he had gained the chance to come to hers upon death.

“Usuna!” a familiar voice called. It was male, deep but friendly. Usuna gazed across the meadow and noticed it was covered with the earthly clouds again. Clumps of it gathered and stood like gray pillars in the vast field. And as he stared at the odd entities of mist, slowly did they fall down into the earth.

“Usuna!” the voice called again, this time closer. The mist was clear again, at least around Usuna, leaving a circle of maybe thirty feet. It continued to clear in a widening ring, and in the process the lone man could make out distinguishable figures standing in the meadow. Friends he called them.

The figure that had called out to Usuna appeared through the vapors. A tall man stood proudly with large muscles and features. His head was bald, his shoulders and legs draped in heavy leather and bound by iron rings, and his bare torso and arms were covered in dark blue markings, paintings and tattoos that symbolized all he stood for and all he had done with his life. They were an honorable and most welcoming sight to Usuna who smiled upon the man's appearance.

“Usuna, my Lord, it is so good to see you,” the man said as he walked forward. He reached out with his hand and held it there to welcome a handshake, but Usuna ignored such a motion and gave the friend a great hug instead. The two embraced warmly as kindred spirits do.

“Harnor, my friend, it is good to see you. I wish that it was not in such a place, though.” Usuna paused and looked away as he released the hug. “I have let you down, Harnor. You are dead."

“I know that I am dead, Usuna, but I have not been let down by you," Harnor assured him as he grabbed his lord by the shoulder. He turned him slightly so they were facing each other again. “You led us with honor, and we died with honor. It is not your fault that I am here. It is my fault that you are here, though, Usuna. I did not protect you as I swore I would.”

“You did well, Harnor,” Usuna said with a smile. “You did well. It was my time. A lord must die too.” He paused again as he examined the meadow. He noticed the mist had mostly cleared, and standing around him were others soldiers from his army. “This many have died?” he asked with anguish.

“Hundreds are here, Usuna,” Harnor replied. “I do not know the outcome of the battle. More appear and join us in the Plane with each passing moment. I felt that you were here, and so I called out to you. I was guided to you, and now I am saddened to see that your presence here is true. You belong back in the living world, commanding the army, inspiring our people.”

“Let us not dwell on the mortal world anymore, Harnor.”

“Usuna!” another man called out. Others had noticed his arrival. Heads turned and gazed onto the dead lord.

“Forgive us Usuna! Forgive us!” voices cried out as the army gathered even closer to Usuna and Harnor on the dirt mound. “We have let you down! We have failed! We have failed you! We have fallen!”

“My friends!” Usuna cried out. Silence fell on the meadow. “My friends,” he continued, “do not say such things. You could never let me down, and you have not let me down. You did not fail. Your honor lives on in the mortal world, feeding our race with courage and hope. We have fallen, indeed, but in doing so we shall not be forgotten nor our efforts die in vain. Have hope for those left, for the kingdom and our people. Let us not lower our heads. We are at rest now, and mourning our own deaths is not what our Greaters would want of us. Let us smile and shake hands.”

Upon his command, the soldiers turned to their friends and embraced each other. Warrior and shaman hugged and smiled. They talked of what had happened, things that had passed long ago, and laughed at the memories. That was all they were now. Memories. Memories of another life.

“You did well my friends,” Usuna yelled to the crowd. “I saw your bravery and courage. I saw you warriors with your hammers and swords protecting our country from the Storm Giants and King Kriun. I saw you shamans wielding your magic of ancient spirits and aiding those that stood strong. I saw those that were good protect the villagers, and those that were brave lead the charge; I saw those that were wise guide the combatants, and those that were loyal stand upon that battlefield. You bring pride to our name, honor to our race. I am proud of you, my followers. I am proud to have been graced to know you all.”

“And we are proud of you, Usuna,” Harnor added. His voice was immediately followed by the sound of the crowd cheering in agreement. “You have always led us on the path of the pure. You have shown us light when darkness fell upon our cities. You have shown us hope by teaching us of the love that the Lady of Ire has for our race, a race she didn't even create. You have respected us as men and equals, and we have devoted our lives to you. From the moment we swore our allegiance we have been at your command, and we will always be even in the Plane of Quij; even after death.”

“No army could deter our faith in you, Usuna!” a shaman shouted. “We would fight a thousand more if it meant the honor of fighting for you again!”

“The forces came on strong,” a second man began. “Their power rivaling ours, but we never faulted because you never did, Usuna!”

“You kept our hope strong," another man, one more decorated in his attire, stated. “You were there with us, holding your sword, the Sword of Isilar, and your storm idol to the heavens, your armor stained with blood and sweat. You were one of us!”

“You are one of us, Usuna!” a female caster added. “You stood with us when the giants broke through the east wall. We did not retreat for you said our bonds will overcome anything!”

“And when the central gate shattered,” a young warrior shouted from near the back, his body covered in red paint and dried mud, “you told us to be strong because our faith in ourselves and the Lady of Ire would keep us safe!”

“And when all seemed lost,” said Harnor with a smile, “you were the one that raised his head and looked into the sky. You smiled, and grabbed my shoulder. I knew not what ideas you conjured, but I felt the warmth of your good soul on my skin. It was you that climbed onto the steed Yrtina, your blade raised high, and led the cornered flanks through the central gate and into the heart of the enemy. With your guidance, giant after giant fell at our hands, at the hands of the Aokulians. We fought by your side.”

“We fought hard, Usuna!” a warrior yelled from the right side of crowd.

“We fought hard for our kingdom!” another added.

“For our friends!” a third shouted as the crowed agreed in unison.

“For you, Usuna! For our lord!" an old man yelled, raising his cane into the air. The warriors and shamans agreed, raising swords and spears toward the vast sky above and yelling with pride.

“Usuna,” a voice whispered. It was a female voice, but it echoed from a great distance. It was not familiar, but it was very friendly and very welcoming. “Usuna, come to me.” The crowd stood silent. They knew that voice as well as Usuna did, though none had heard it before.

Flashes of thunder and lightning filled the sky, and Usuna's sight became blurry. Visions flooded his mind. He saw the very meadow he stood in, but in the vision it was empty. The scene flew with such force, lashing over the meadow and through the grass like some tempest, that his mind swirled and his body grew weak. Deep into the heights of the mountains it climbed, into the very clouds. Faces, vacant yet friendly welcomed him and passed by. Voices called to him but their words were incoherent.

“Are you all right, Usuna?" Harnor asked worriedly. He reached out and aided Usuna in his ability to stand tall again.

“I am fine,” Usuna assured his friend. “But I must go. She waits for me, and it is only proper that I obey.”

“We shall be waiting for your return," Harnor said with a smile. “And for the answers that you bring back.”

“Answers?” Usuna wondered out loud.

“Yes, answers,” Harnor replied with a soft nod of his head. “Answers to the questions you shall ask her.” Usuna only gave him an expressionless look. “You have thought of questions to ask the goddess, have you not?” Usuna didn't reply nor really gave any response. He simply stood there. It was true; Usuna had not thought of a single question to ask his goddess, and he never had. He never even imagined he would get the chance to talk to her, but there was no questioning that it was her voice calling to him across the realm of the afterlife.

His expressionless look turned to curiosity as he noticed Harnor beginning to laugh. It was a broken laugh, a few chuckles between pauses, but it grew into a full laugh of friendliness and surprise. “Is this true?” Harnor finally asked as his laughter began to subside. “Is the great Usuna not prepared for something once in his life?”

Harnor began to chuckle again, as did a few others in the crowd. Usuna looked around at the laughing crowd, at his peers, friends and soldiers laughing at Harnor's comment. And then Usuna himself began to laugh. He let out a mighty chuckle at his own expense. For he was dead and his life gone, but his sense of humor was not. He had worked his whole life to be prepared for anything that life threw his way, and then it threw at him Death. No man is prepared for death, but he could not mourn his own death. He could only laugh at it, and laugh at what it brought.

“You should ask her of your wife,” Harnor finally stated as the laughter in the meadow died out. “Ask her of your family.”

“And while you're at it, ask her about my wife!” a man nearby stated.

“And of my son! And my son's son!” another man shouted from the back.

“Ask her if there is ale in the afterlife!” a man shouted. Immediately the crowd burst into a brief moment of laughter.

“Ask her who the greatest shaman of the war was!” a woman yelled. There were a few nods of agreement by the question.

“And who the greatest warrior was!” a young man hollered from the back. There were a few grunts from the crowd at the approval of such an inquiry.

“Ask her who wins the war!” an older warrior yelled. More in the crowd nodded and grunted softly in agreement.

“Ask her what the meaning of life is!” The crowd grew silent upon hearing such words. All eyes turned to gaze upon the questioner, a soldier in the back standing alone. When he had captured the attention of the whole crowd accidentally, he lowered his head and rubbed his boot across the grass.

Usuna made his way over to the warrior. Upon standing in front of him the lord and leader realized that the man was only chest high at best, hardly a man by Aokulian standards. Height did not differ so greatly upon full maturity of age. And so out of curiosity, Usuna reached out and grabbed the helmet that rested on the small warrior's head. Upon removal the dead lord realized that it was not a man that stood before him, but rather a boy no more than fifteen and no younger than twelve. There were a few gasps from the crowd; such an age was too young to be a soldier, and using children for war was looked down upon. War was for adults, or so it should be.

“Is not this Oskuvv's helmet?" Usuna asked as he gazed at the helmet in his hands and then at the boy in the armor. “And are not these Oskuvv's clothes?”

“I am his son,” the boy replied as he took the helmet from Usuna's large hands. He lowered his gaze and stared at the top of the helmet. The bright glow of the sky shimmered off of the smooth metal. “I fought in his place. He did not want... he was not well. He told me to fight instead. Said that it was my duty to die for you, Lord Usuna, and in doing so I could redeem what sins my family has done. Please forgive us.”

“It should be Oskuvv standing there," Harnor commented as he stood to the right of Usuna. “Not his son.”

“Well, son of Oskuvv, I can tell you this: the meaning of life is not to die for another man, and it is most definitely not to die for me. Nor is it I who can forgive sins, little one. What sins could a boy like you have?”

There was a slight pause. The child did not want to confess anything less than honorable to his once ruler, but he could not lie to him either. “I... I have stolen. I have stolen food for my family. We are poor, and I... I didn't want my father and mother to work more than they had to. I didn't want my siblings to be hungry.” A tear escaped his young eye and splashed upon the shimmering surface of the helmet.

“You put the interests of your family before your own,” Usuna stated. “Not every man strong enough to wield a sword can say that.” He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, and then with his other hand lifted the boy's chin so their eyes met again. “Not a man here shall look down upon you for doing what you had considered a sin. No one is perfect, and we were not meant to be perfect. We are only mortals.”

As Usuna took his hand off of the boy's shoulder, the young soldier cleared his throat. “Do you think…” the boy started but then stopped. He began to lower his head again, but the glimmer off the helmet was so bright that he quickly looked up once more. His eyes were met by Usuna's eyes. “Do you think that the Lady of Ire shall forgive my sins?”

Usuna held back a chuckle and smiled. “You are here, aren't you?” The boy's doubts faded away; Usuna could tell so by the change in expression.. The young soldier smiled too and wiped a second tear away from his eye.

Harnor walked over to the boy and placed his arm around the smaller being's shoulders, holding him to his side and smiling down at the youth. “You are a most respected man, son of Oskuvv. I dare say one question has already been answered - you were the bravest soldier on that battlefield.” There were cheers and roars of honor from the crowd at the words of Harnor. Not every soldier that stood in that meadow had wanted to fight. Few, if any, were foolish enough to think that anyone is ever safe from Death when there is a war. And yet one young boy had surpassed adulthood by accepting the responsibilities of a whole family. “You may be gone from their world, but you are not forgotten. Though your family will grieve their loss, we here shall celebrate your death. You died not a brave child, but an honorable man.”

Harnor turned his gaze back to his lord. “It is time for you to go, Usuna. You must not keep our goddess waiting. You can join our celebration of death later.”

Harnor and Usuna shook hands, and then Usuna shook the young boy's hand. He turned and looked at the crowd of soldiers and smiled. “Take care my friends. I shall not be long. We have much time ahead to tell stories and recall memories. We are home.” With those words, Usuna left the army he commanded and headed towards the great mountains in the near distance.

Part 2

“I am waiting, Usuna,” the voice called again to him. “Follow the path.”

Usuna obeyed and followed the dirt path that led up the mountains. His thoughts caught up to him, though. He couldn't help ponder the Plane itself as he traveled its vast distance. So odd, he thought. He spent a lifetime imagining it, like many mortals do, and now that he was there it was nothing his mind could conjure. How hard it was to explain, he could not say. It was far too vast and complex to fathom. The meadows and mountains seemed endless, the beautiful colors of earth and sky painting the Plane in magnificence. He sighed and let the thoughts escape from his mind. He had no need for them anymore now that he was where he was meant to be.

Upon reaching the top of the closest mountain, Usuna was startled by what lay before him. A vast city of white stone beneath a dark cloud rested at his feet. More amazingly was the silence that thrived there. The lightning made no noise for there was no thunder to the storm. It provided tranquility and protection, a reminder of the goddess that governed the land.

“Usuna, is that you?” a voice asked from the near distance. A woman of an older age wearing a dress of purple and cerulean walked carefully towards the man. Her smile was more than welcoming.

“Mother!” Usuna cried out as he ran over to the woman. He embraced her longingly in his strong arms. It had been a decade since he last held her so. “Mother, it is so good to see you. I have missed you more than I can say.”

“I have missed you too my son,” the woman whispered between sighs. Tears fell from her swollen eyes and onto the armor of her child. “It is good to be in your presence again, but you have come here too early“" She leaned back and looked up into the face of Usuna. He wiped away some of her tears as he felt his own gathering in his eyes. “Surely the goddess has made a mistake.”

“She would never, mother," Usuna stated firmly. "You should not speak of such things.” Then he paused. His smiled had faded for only a minute, but he tried to form it again. “How is it that you are here, mother? You do not worship the Lady of Ire.”

“I worship her king, Srae. Being so, I am able to come here to her home when she welcomes me. She told me of your passing, and brought me here to see you. She is so beautiful, Usuna, and kinder than one would think of from her name.”

“I owe her my thanks for that kindness. There is so much to tell you mother. So much to tell you about after your own passing. Father misses you very much.”

“Now he misses both of us, Usuna. I hope your father has the strength in his heart without us. He gave up the throne to you far too early. He should still have been ruler. You wouldn't be here now if he was.”

“Such things don't change so easily, mother,” Usuna said as he tried to comfort her. “He believed in me. He gave me the throne because he loved me and he believed in me. It is the greatest thing I could have asked for. To be a lord, to have importance to a nation... my life is complete. What more could I have asked for?”

“More time,” his mother said disappointedly. She sighed. “Oh Usuna, you were a great leader, but you should still be their leader. They'll need you. They'll need someone now. It can't be your father. No, politics and war are a young man's game. When old men interfere they only cause more deaths.”

“The war happened while I was ruler, mother. It is my fault-”

“No! No Usuna, never think that," his mother said as she placed her hands upon his face. “You, my son, did not cause the war. You did everything you could to avoid it. You are only as lucky as your enemy. Had it been an old leader, a rich one that cared not of his people and let the poor die, war would've started long, long ago. The old use the young for their own self gain, for their own greed at the end. But not you. You truly cared for your nation.” She gently patted his cheek and smiled. “Ten years of peace in a constantly changing world. Ten years of sanctuary in a land born of conflict. You provided more in those short years than many will for centuries.”

“It matters not, mother,” Usuna sighed, though it was a gentle sigh of relief. “Those are things left for the living to worry about. We're dead. Is there pain in the afterlife?” His mother shook her head. “Is there war and fighting, killing and hatred?” She shook her head again. “We are the lucky ones, then.”

“Yes,” his mother agreed with a smile. “Yes we are. How did you ever become so wise, Usuna? And do not say it is because of me or your father - we were foolish in our rule and in our lives. Is it the teachings of the Lady of Ire? Is she the cause of your enlightenment?”

Usuna shook his head and chuckled a bit. “No, not at all. She teaches wisdom, yes, but all of the gods do. They all teach us to honor life. Though... I must wonder... what is the point of life if we have afterlife? Is Death just a gate to pass through,?”

“Such the philosopher,” his mother stated with a smirk. “Be thankful we have afterlife,” his mother added as she brushed some dust off of Usuna's armor. “A world where such a thing doesn't exist may seem illogical to us now that we are here on this Plane, but unfortunately it may exist. We are blessed by our world, truly blessed. Life has a point. It has a meaning.”

“Then what is it? What is the meaning of life?”

Usuna's mother chuckled and shook her head. She smiled up at her son and took a deep breath. She shrugged slightly and whispered, “Ask her.”

“I will. But there's so much for us to catch up on. So many stories to tell…”

“They can wait, Usuna. She calls for you and is waiting still. Do not keep her waiting. I shall be here when you are done. We have plenty of time to recall our memories. An eternity you know. Your ancestors will wait too.” Usuna looked past his mother and noticed that the city streets were filled with fellow Aokulians, many of which he did not recognize, but he sensed that they belonged to his nation and many to his bloodline. “They long to meet you, Usuna, to meet the great lord of the Aokulians that I have told many stories about already. Please do not let past events of your life get in your way. They are just memories now.” With that, she kissed her son on both cheeks. “Now go. Follow her voice.”

“I shall do so, mother. I shall come back when I am done, and then we will be a family again. Farewell for now.”

“I shall see you soon, my son.” Usuna’s mother smiled as she watched her child continue along the path. Through the crowds of gathered people he went, and soon he was consumed in the mass and disappeared from her sight.

The men and women, the elders and children that lined the streets, reached out slowly toward the passing man. Their fingertips grazed his armor and bare arms. He had never taken the moment to acknowledge the sense of touch since his death, but it was at that point that he truly realized indeed that the plane was of a physical existence even though it was the spiritual world. He had hugged friends and family and didn't even think anything of it, but as the souls passed on reached for him, his mind could only focus on the fact that they were dead beings. They were dead beings like himself.

It was quite the contrast to a dead body though. A dead body was cold and limp, nothing more than a used vessel waiting to be absorbed by the physical elements. The souls that reached for him and welcomingly touched his arm were warm and lively, more lively than those that were alive. There was such an energy within them, a presence, something that living beings did not fully recognize though possessed. And upon dying it was as if the presence within that had been locked up for a lifetime was finally freed, the door opened and the body realized what it had been unable to truly detect in life. That presence, that feeling that made Usuna close his eyes as he walked through the crowd, was the life force of every being. It took death to realize the life within.

Once he was past the crowd, Usuna paused for a brief second and turned his head back to them. Family members of great descent and recent times smiled back at him, waved to him as his mother stood upon a slight hill in the distance. Faces that lit up his life through his adulthood and childhood gazed warmly. Even legends that were long forgotten in books and scrolls acknowledged the dead lord.

His mind swarmed as the visions returned, though. Past the clouds they settled, in a great valley that looked even more warmly and welcoming than the one he arrived at. Flowers of the most vibrant hues of red and cerise reached up to greet him. Maidens with glasses of wine and baskets of fruit stood in the meadow, staring past him as his vision traveled. Men stood amongst the maidens, but stood as pillars of shadows reaching high into the sky. All was too blurry for him to fully see, and the visions faded quickly once more. He continued along the path nevertheless.

Part 3

The valley was welcoming indeed. The grass and flowers were sheltered by the warmth of the sky. It was a warmth created from light, for there was no sun in the afterlife, and yet the glow of the heavens was more refreshing and comforting than any light and warmth Usuna had felt before. He could feel the soft heat and breeze on his skin and he enjoyed the sensation. Further into the valley he saw the beautiful red flowers from his visions. Their stems reached past his waist, though the luscious buds were smaller than his fists. Some were open while others were closed, slumbering away peacefully in a world where everything was slumbering.

Farther along, the dirt path faded and all that was before him was the valley. As far as his eyes could see there was the delicate grass, and past that the tall mountains of the Plane. Butterflies danced in the air before Usuna, covering the field with their mesmerizing tints of cobalt and azure. Swarms of them welcomed him deeper into the grove of red flowers and thick grass. It was a paradise within a paradise.

Then suddenly figures stood before him. His vision had come true, for there before the dead lord were the maidens in white gowns. But their kind was not of his kind. They were like Usuna though shorter and with pointed ears. Their hair was blond, their skin fair, and their eyes as blue as the fading butterflies of the valley. There was something ethereal and soothing about their presence. In their hands were cups, large cups fit for a warrior's thirst, filled with aromatic wine that sparkled with the light of the heavens above. Others held great baskets of exotic fruit and ambrosiac breads. Usuna rubbed his stomach as it growled slight.

Past the maidens though stood danger and not comfort. They wer mighty pillars of shadows. The great storm giants glared from their heavenly height. Usuna glared up at them with rage. Not even four times Usuna's own impressive height, they still towered like earthly gods. The anger built up in Usuna up sight of such things, and in no time his blade was in his hand and he was charging the closest target.

The beast stood his ground defiantly. His hammer was raised high to crush the life out of the dead lord, though what good such an action would do in the afterlife is quite questionable. Still Usuna charged, his face glowing of passion and malice. His blade gleamed of silver brilliantly and was swung with a mighty force as the two met, the combatants prepared to slay each other once more.

Usuna's blade did not make it full way, though. During his swing he yelled furiously but then carefully lowered the blade to his side. What foolish feelings had possessed him. The giant too did not make contact, and his own weapon fell to his side with satisfaction rather than disappointment. As if the two were worn out from a day's fighting, they stood in relaxed positions and stared at each other for moments upon moments. Their hands loosely held their weapons, and their chests rose heavily with each breath and sigh.

“I know you,” the giant said firmly, his voice echoing through the valley like a great thunder, though his age was fairly younger than the smaller creature before him. Anger was in his eyes. “You have slaughtered my race and promoted the destruction of my kind. You have brought hatred and suffering to my people..."“The giant paused. He looked carefully into the eyes of Usuna and saw the sadness. His own now echoed such feelings. “And I to yours. Lord Usuna is it?” Usuna nodded his head. “I am Gyr of the Thonarr, son of King Kriun, your enemy.”

“He is my enemy no longer,” Usuna stated. “And that makes you not my enemy either. There are no enemies on this Plane. Our races may have been at war with each other since near their beginning, but even those thousands of years of hatred mean nothing here in this realm.”

“I blindly followed my father's campaign of hatred toward your kind since I became a man, and he followed his father's. And who knows how many generations that has gone on for. We have let our senseless wants dictate our lives,” the giant added with a heavy sigh. “I can see that now. We are truly mortals.”

“But here,” Usuna said as he looked slowly aroun the valley, “here there are no wants. Here... is complete. The feeling that this Plane generates, this awakening, is beyond mortality. Until I came close to striking you with my weapon, I had hared for your kind. But being so close to imperfection in perfection, I realize now my wrongs.”

“I know the same,” Gyr continued. “With nothing to gain, there is no need for hatred. We giants have sinned the same as your kind. No more, no less“" He paused and caught his breath, refilling his body with the air of the Plane. “May our races be given forgiveness in our new lives.”

The other giants looked on in confusion at the conversation. Anger slowly washed away from them too though, leaving them in a state of sadness and bewilderment. They walked towards their brother and their rival, but the feelings did not change. They realized the truth behind the conversation as their presence grew closer to Usuna's.

“Brother,” the first giant, Gyr, stated as he reached out his hand toward Usuna, “I welcome you to the Plane.”

“As do I, brother,” Usuna replied as he shook the giant's engulfing hand. “The battle is over here. The war... it is done.”

“Let us drink to this,” the giant said as he grabbed a glass from one of the small maidens gathered around the towering giants and Usuna. It looked like a toy in his hand, but still he held it firmly. “To the Plane.”

Usuna nodded his head and did the same. “To the Plane,” he agreed as he lifted his own glass. The other giants echoed the words and actions in unison.

“You have a brave and noble following, Lord Usuna. Your men are the greatest foes my people will ever know.”

“And yours ours," Usuna said kindly. “It is most unfortunate that our races came into conflict. 'Such things can not be changed though when gods are involved,' I guess you can say.”

“Aw, words of the greatest philosopher of our world, Nia'Ahth,” Gyr said in an almost sighing and relaxed voice. “And so we mortals fight a war created by the gods,” he added with a smile. “It is good to know that there is a brain in that tiny head.”

“And it is nice to see that you brutes know how to read,” Usuna retorted. The two of them laughed, as did the giants gathered around them.

“So…” Gyr began again after the laughter had subsided and his thirst was quenched from a large gulp of wine out of his chalice. “Who do you think will win the war, Usuna?”

Usuna paused for a second. Honestly, he couldn't see either side winning. For though the giants had pushed all the way into the castle, they seemed like two equal forces fighting. He only had one simple response. “Does it matter?”

“I suppose not,” Gyr replied. “Unfortunately, what does it mean in the long run anyways? We would be foolish to think that the war is the last our people will see. And yet, what is life without war? What is life without suffering? I suppose it is then called afterlife, but maybe it is the suffering in life that allows us to appreciate the eternity of bliss in the afterlife.”

“So that is the meaning of life?” Usuna asked.

Gyr could only shake his head and shrug slightly. “I do not know,” the large soldier admitted. “I'm just a young man pondering his former purpose in the world.” The giant suddenly chuckled to himself. Death had come almost unexpectedly to him. Now he was dead and in the afterlife, and given time to reflect on what it meant to be living. It made him laugh, even if it was a brief bit of laughter that escaped his lips. “Do you think there even is one, Lord Usuna?”

“There has to be,” Usuna replied honestly. His heart felt there had to be. His mind believed that there had to be. Surely there had to be a meaning. “What would life be without a meaning? Does that mean... you simply live to live? And in saying so, does that not give it a meaning?”

“What do you think is the meaning of life then, Lord Usuna?”

“I…” Usuna paused. How can one fully answer that question? He had just died mere minutes ago. Or was it even minutes? Did the afterlife have the same time as the real world? Did passing over happen instantly or did it take countless moments? What did time even matter when one was recording his own existence in eternity? Usuna rubbed his head as his mind became overwhelmed.

Why had the boy, Oskuvv's son, even wondered such a question? He was a boy, merely a boy. He should not have been concerned with the philosophies of life. He should've been concerned with being a child. But his childhood was gone… dead. He was dead. Everyone in the plane was dead. Why did they care about the past and about the meaning of life? They had other things to focus on. They had other things to waste their thoughts and time on.

Usuna knew in his heart why they wondered such a question. He knew because it was the reason he had wondered it: had his life been meaningful? When there was a war, you wondered why there was a war. When there was a natural disaster, you wondered why there was a natural disaster. When people died, you wondered why they died. When you died, you wondered why you died... and why you had lived.

“I... do not know,” he finally replied. There was uncertainty and doubt in his pale eyes. There was no real answer to be said. It mattered not what he had believed in life, but rather what truth was to be found in the afterlife.

“Then I suppose you're going to have to ask our creator and your goddess, the Lady of Ire,” Gyr stated. He looked past Usuna and smiled. “Your army comes now, Lord Usuna.” Usuna turned around curiously. Surely enough, swarming down the hill was the army that Usuna had once commanded, their weapons in hands and anger filling their eyes. The giants stood their ground, choosing to hold their glasses over any worthless swords or hammers. Usuna too did not flinch.

All that ran through the hearts of the approaching horde was lost, for upon reaching their enemy the feelings were cleansed from their bodies by the Plane. Their weapons fell to the earth, and some warriors collapsed to their knees in confusion. Many thought this was some magic work by the giants, for truth takes some time to fully show itself when found. They were all washed over by the presence that Usuna had been cleansed by, and not everyone had come to realize what that was yet.

Usuna walked over to the nearest man. The warrior was kneeling on his knees and looking up into the sky. It was almost as if he was praying to be spared. “Worry not, friend,” Usuna said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “You are in the company of brothers. Let us feast in their honor, and they shall feast in ours.” The soldier slowly lowered his gaze back down and stared into the eyes of Usuna. It took a few moments to find comfort again, but soon the man had a soft smile across his lips.

“Usuna,” the distant voice called out expectedly, echoing closer than before. Her beauty resonated from the word. “You are almost here. Follow still.”

“We shall be waiting,” Gyr spoke to the lord as he walked over to his side and held out a chalice of wine to the kneeling combatant. The man was hesitant to take the object at first, but soon his smile grew and his hands happily welcomed the object of celebration and merriment. Gyr smiled down at the man and then turned his gaze back upon Usuna. “Go now to our mother.”

Part 4

Visions flooded Usuna's mind once more. All that had happened shook his thoughts like a storm shakes a tree. Blood and swords, magic and thunder, stone and ice filled his reasoning, striking and shattering what he knew. His body wavered as he walked, his footsteps incoherent to any pattern or rhythm of balance. The ground shook, not from any force below, but rather from the tainted visions. His muscles flexed and relaxed as he continued onward. Pillars of stones passed him, large pillars that towered far more than any giant. Then he stood before the great building’s doors, and his hands reached forward for them, pushed them open and flooded his presence with beauty.

Usuna walked carefully across the tiled floor. Golden sparks echoed under his boots as they glided over the smooth marble. Columns of the most blessed white stones lined the walls which were covered in great paintings telling the birth of the Lady of Ire. Vivid scenes of her beauty rising from the elements of wind and water when the world was young covered divine canvases created from the hands of godly muses. Torches filled with the embers of Incandescence's courtship hung among the paintings. The hall was a vast cage of memories long forgotten by mortals, but so carefully nurtured by the goddess and those dearest to her being.

Charred doors sealed off the great chamber, marked by the signs of storm and rage. Elaborate symbols of her were etched carefully into the wood and stone. Usuna reached to open the doors, but no sooner did his muscles flex to the action did they creak and open themselves to the man, revealing the eternal form of his worship.

“Come in,” she spoke softly, her voice resonating like the great light that shook mountains and trees, but so tranquil like the softest rain and smoothest wind that a cloud could bring. He obeyed without thought.

Usuna admired all that she possessed for her beauty was endless, and though she was not the fairest of the goddesses, she held such an appearance that no mortal could deny that she was divine. Her skin was lighter than he had expected, far paler than his own and even more so than the maidens of the meadow. On its contours and tone were great marks of lightning that symbolized all that she was. They glowed in the flickering flames of perfection that were held on torches, but even without such flames they would glow with such a vibrant passion that no darkness could ever completely subdue them.

“I have been waiting for you, Usuna, Lord of the Aokulians,” the goddess spoke as he came closer in his trance. Her hair flowed in such odd strands that by appearance they looked jagged like thunderbolts frozen in time, but no doubt to touch they were as soft as fair clouds. Her eyes were blank, lit up by her inner being and radiated into the dead lord’s own gaze. Lips so tempting whispered all that she spoke, the same lips that commanded the thunder to roar and the storms to swirl. “I have been waiting for you for a long time now. You have arrived at last.”

“Great mother, forgive me,” Usuna muttered in such awe. He knelt down before her, gazing down into the tiles below her shimmering form. “Forgive my lateness. Upon journeying through the plane, I have seen so many faces I loved and knew through my years and days in my former life.”

“In the forty-six years you knew on the Core, you brought great prosperity to all you touched and looked upon. You fed off of the earth that My King has formed with his hands, and you welcomed the pain that the Ice Lord has blown into your race. You took from me all that I have created, the suffering and the beauty of a storm, and you turned darkness into light. I am honored to be in your presence.”

“Your tune does soothe my heart, and your smile warm my soul, but I dare say that your words mock my mortality, for how is it that a god, a creator, could be honored to be in a mere mortal's presence?”

“You find it unfathomable, like any mortal would. But dear Usuna, the one who forged the Sword of Isilar and vanquished the beast Cryon, who brought hope and comfort to a race formed from cold hands, who I have come to love as my own even if you warred with my children, I have watched you from the moment of your birth. I have seen you grow from a small child, son to Lord Mahall, and I have seen how you work: the wisdom you put into your actions, the thought in your plans, and the care in your beliefs. You are admirable, always and forever. It is honorable for any parent to know that their child has grown into such a beloved soul. A deity feels no less than a mortal, nor any more, for all that we feel is reflected. I am honored that you are here. Now please rise, Usuna. Your kneeling is not needed.”

“Lady of Ire, you are too kind,” Usuna said as he rose to his feet slowly. Still then he was unsure of his height compared to her, for the sight of her was immeasurable to him still. So mysterious did she seem that he could not tell the distance between them, though their shadows nearly touched on the white floor. “And I must thank you for allowing me to see my mother in your home. So much seems lost to me in coming in here, yet so much found.”

“Upon this plane, the former being that was my own creator known to all as Quij, you breathe in the air of wisdom as do I. We gods of the higher, known to all mortals as creators and the Divine, did indeed give to you life and form the world you had loved in your mortal years. But what power would that be if all that lived in such a world did not behold it with beauty? Our achievements and duties would be empty if we did not have our children to share them with, and so we reflected ourselves upon transient life. But we too are children, children of the Core itself, to the great Elements. And all is born from the greatest power, known only as Creation. Without such, no god could live, nor could any mortal, and nothing of any form could experience existence.”

“I realize now how we are all tied together," Usuna stated. “When I saw my friends and my men, I knew of loyalty. I could feel the bonds that we had created to protect our ancestry and kingdom. It felt good to be in their presence again without worrying about harm. When I saw my mother and my ancestors, I knew of family. I felt flowing through me love that was my blood itself. I was safe in their presence as if I was a newborn baby in loving arms. And when I saw my enemies, I knew of friendship. It was their presence in this Plane that made me realize how we are all tied together. They are different than my kind, but they are the same as any. We are all reflections of each other, as you said, Lady of Ire. The presence of one alters the presence of another, and so this cycle goes on and on, this reflection eternal.”

“You have learned a lot in your short time here, Usuna,” the Lady of Ire said firmly. She smiled softly. “More than many will learn in a lifetime on the Core.”

“For all the wisdom that I have been granted, from the teachings of scholars and ancient passages, to the thoughts formed from your hands, and from the very air that creates this plane, I still search for one truth though. Your words are wisdom, Great Mother, no less or more than a god's worth. But Lady of Ire, now that I am dead, I have only one defilement I can not resist. No mortal could ever answer it, yet I, like many, have longed for it, and now I ask that you forgive my sins and answer me this.”

“There is no sin for wanting to know the truth, Usuna. It is what mortals search for, and we Gods knew that when we created you. It was inevitable that we left you on the Core, but our actions brought with them such heavy prices.” She paused slightly with her words. “What is it that you ponder still, my child?”

“Zyphara, Lady of Ire, what is the meaning of my existence? Why do we mortals have life?”

She stood there in silence, as if she was drawing the truth from the plane itself and carefully forming it into words to speak. Usuna waited patiently, admiring the look of honesty and wisdom in her eyes. A smile slowly grew on his face as he welcomed the coming answer, the truth he had been asked to seek.

Lady of Ire parted her lips, her breath forming into unforgettable words. “I do not know the meaning of life,” she admitted, her voice echoing like a dying storm. “I am merely a god. Powers greater than me control all that exists, all that was and all that will ever be. My dearest Usuna... I do not know.”