Fantasy Emissary of God: A Hero's Belief

[White Masquerade]

Link To Interest Check:

Fantasy - Emissary of God: A Hero's Belief
​

A City In Distress​

Thebes. A city sprouted from the hands of Cadmus, son of King Agenor, it has seen its share of rise and fall, from the death of Pentheus, Cadmus's son, to the mistaken return and crowning of Laius' disowned child, Oedipus. From there, the city's history extends long across bloody pages, with each new ruler seeing their rules come to tragic ends. It is hard to believe that a place hailed from such humble beginnings, being built on the weary of a tired cow. However, not all was bad. For a time its people were blessed by a man with great ability; a seer at the Oracle of Delphi who went by the name of Teiresias. A man dedicated to his post, he did what he could to prevent loss for the people of Thebes...yet, even with his foresight, they would eventually fall, leaving the once-great town, a ransacked mess razed by those of the After-Born.


It was in his last best act of greatness, the seer Teiresias warned those of Thebes to flee before the day of destruction. They heeded his call and ran the night before, leaving all that they knew behind to keep safe their own lives.


Now. After the passing of many years, after the death of Theseus in Athens and of the venge-filled kids of the After-Born...they come back to once again reclaim what was lost.


Thebes, Greece: their home. At least..it was to their parents and those before them. This new generation, the descendants of old, have cultivated the area, raised the tattered buildings, and repaired the infrastructure, even going so far as to restore Thebe's fabled 7 Gates. These children would truly be proud to bring their city back from the ashes, filled with awe, but as always, with the rising crescendos of fate, there will continually be the shadows of nadir that threaten to drag it all down. The people were proud, indeed proud of what they had accomplished, and it would be that very same pride that'd bring their fall. Coming to rely on themselves, soon, they forgot about the Gods, and the Gods forgot about them. Inexplicable things began to happen. Citizens died in their sleep as their death was accompanied by a ghastly wail then scream. Men and women suddenly woke to find marks on their skin with eerie numbers arranged them. Madness struck others, dragging them to the floor in fits of inconsolable despair...verily it felt like the whole of Tartarus was descended upon the city itself. Cyclops stand at the wall, pillars of fire gush up from the ground, and warriors that should be long dead walking in through the city gates; the people of Thebes had incurred the wrath from the heart of a jealous God.

Who Will You Be?

This is where your story begins. Guard to the Cadmea, the fortress citadel of Thebes, you have fought all you could to stem the rows of dead pouring into its halls, but you fall to your back tired, having fulfilled your role as diversion to the king. Looking up to a half-eaten man re-animated in a state of undead, you grip the chain laid across your neck, praying for a safe trip to the gate of Hades. Smiling, the gesture comes off as funny. It makes you pause; according to the scholars, your masters, siblings, and parents, it was all just nonsense.

​

Still.

​

"I will believe on anyway."

​

Male Trooper (Name?)

Female Troopera (Name?)

 

[Life.]

Male Trooper (Alexander)

 

[Genon]

Female Troopera (Andromeda)


Why is it spelled "troopera" anyway? Is that a typo? Also, we don't get enough girl power in quests, I want to see our character blossom into a badass heroine capable of taking on armies and winning.

 

[White Masquerade]

@LifeNovel


You could have warned me ( )


@Genon


Not a typo. I wanted to differentiate between a male and female soldier, so I decided to put an A at the end. You do bring up a good point about having a capable heroine. Didn't expect that statement; I really like your answer. I'll see if someone will be a tie-breaker. If not, I'll go with the female option. I hope it lives up to what you look forward to.

 

[Genon]

@LifeNovel[/URL]
You could have warned me ( )


@Genon


Not a typo. I wanted to differentiate between a male and female soldier, so I decided to put an A at the end. You do bring up a good point about having a capable heroine. Didn't expect that statement; I really like your answer. I'll see if someone will be a tie-breaker. If not, I'll go with the female option. I hope it lives up to what you look forward to.

You know, I just realized something: The English base "andr-" means "man." Think androgen, or android. Hence, the name Andromeda literally signifies that the person in question has masculine qualities! And to think I just picked that name because it sounded cool!

 

[White Masquerade]

You know, I just realized something: The English base "andr-" means "man." Think androgen, or android. Hence, the name Andromeda literally signifies that the person in question has masculine qualities! And to think I just picked that name because it sounded cool!

Haha, well there you go. The universe is trying to tell you something. You're going in the right direction.

 

[Life.]

@LifeNovel[/URL]
You could have warned me ( )


@Genon


Not a typo. I wanted to differentiate between a male and female soldier, so I decided to put an A at the end. You do bring up a good point about having a capable heroine. Didn't expect that statement; I really like your answer. I'll see if someone will be a tie-breaker. If not, I'll go with the female option. I hope it lives up to what you look forward to.

Warn you about what?

 

[Genon]

[QUOTE="White Masquerade]Haha, well there you go. The universe is trying to tell you something. You're going in the right direction.

[/QUOTE]
Indeed. Now for the next update (or a tiebreaker vote, whichever comes first)!

 

[White Masquerade]

To keep everything organized, please use this Main Thread for voting only.

Use the OOC for voting discussion:

Emissary of God: A Hero's Belief - OOC

For reading the quest straight through, the Story Only Archive:

Emissary of God: A Hero's Belief
​

 

[Life.]

FEMALE TROOPERA (ZETA)

 

[Cross]

Female Troopera! (Cassandra!)

 

[White Masquerade]

A City In Distress

Zeta

"Aughct!"


So as you expect, it is your time to die; to join the countless others bloodied and strewn about the Cadmus temple floors. In one slow motion, you are lifted high to stand by the neck, a hand patched of bone and rotted flesh steady robbing your gift of breath. Smiling small at the act, your eyes begin to close, but stop midway upon feeling a loosening of the grip. Confused, your eyes open fully wide not understanding why it was deciding to let you live.


Am I being...spared?

Clink.

​

The soldier released his weapon to crash into the floor and in that moment, you feel some making way into your stomach. The armor. There was something trying to push it...off. The movement gets frantic and your brain begins to realize what is going on. Prickling, you slowly lower chin to look it straight in the eyes. Mouth open and breathing heavy, you know the look and immediately fidget, tremble, demand, your energy to return.


"NO!" You scream, driving a knee aside as far as you possibly could. Barely pushing to flesh, a blow like a sledgehammer rips into your stomach as response. Legs buckling, a gurgle is heard through the reverb of tightness and pain trickling down through your core.


"Hr...egh, hr...egh. A wooman of Thebes. What a treat foor the A-Argive army."


The Argive army...? What...what were they doing there? Hadn't they been defeated at the battle of The Seven Gates? In stories told, they were utterly destroyed, leaving only Adrastus, King of Argos, as the sole survivor of the Seven. No, no, no...were the souls still seeking revenge? Could they not move on with such hate in their heads? The people of Thebes...had they...had they...somehow offended the gods? This destruction. The nights of wailing death. The resurrection of their enemies. Was this now the price they had to pay for transgressions of the past?


Hand grabbing your chin, the soldier leans forward to lock lips with you, slipping his tongue deep into your open mouth. The tenderness. The flesh. The flakes. The rance. The grooves. Control being taken away from you. The contents of your dinner from one day before races out your throat as you fall to the ground, powerless, wondering, Why..? Why is this still happening? Isn't this why I became strong? To avoid being forced? To avoid being treated like a tool? Avoid being taken advantage of...? I am not a resource to be used and tossed to the ground! I am...A PERSON!


Yet, there Zeta lay, on the floor of the temple, listless with tears in her eyes as pieces of bronze were ripped from her skin. It can't. It couldn't end like this...

But it was.

​

"Gods. Please, have mercy."


And by the nerves your navel, you feel the same glossing of rotted flesh twirl its way around the exposed rim and plunge into the center.


"Gods...please. Have mercy."


The cold stone of the temple's floor sends chills through your backside as it meets beating skin. Your rmor; it is no longer there.


"Yoou will be tainted foor the rest of life knowing it was a man of A-Argive who completed you. Wooman...this is for my broothers your kings s-slaughtered."

Gods...Please...

​

"They faced n-nightmare. Futures w-were taken...and n-now, I will take yoours."

Have mercy.

A Hero's Belief
​

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Hearth hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Love hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of the Hunt hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Wisdom hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Fertility hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Marriage hears your call.

 

[Life.]

Goddess of Hearth

 

[Genon]

[QUOTE="White Masquerade]

A City In Distress

Zeta

"Aughct!"


So as you expect, it is your time to die; to join the countless others bloodied and strewn about the Cadmus temple floors. In one slow motion, you are lifted high to stand by the neck, a hand patched of bone and rotted flesh steady robbing your gift of breath. Smiling small at the act, your eyes begin to close, but stop midway upon feeling a loosening of the grip. Confused, your eyes open fully wide not understanding why it was deciding to let you live.


Am I being...spared?

Clink.

​

The soldier released his weapon to crash into the floor and in that moment, you feel some making way into your stomach. The armor. There was something trying to push it...off. The movement gets frantic and your brain begins to realize what is going on. Prickling, you slowly lower chin to look it straight in the eyes. Mouth open and breathing heavy, you know the look and immediately fidget, tremble, demand, your energy to return.


"NO!" You scream, driving a knee aside as far as you possibly could. Barely pushing to flesh, a blow like a sledgehammer rips into your stomach as response. Legs buckling, a gurgle is heard through the reverb of tightness and pain trickling down through your core.


"Hr...egh, hr...egh. A wooman of Thebes. What a treat foor the A-Argive army."


The Argive army...? What...what were they doing there? Hadn't they been defeated at the battle of The Seven Gates? In stories told, they were utterly destroyed, leaving only Adrastus, King of Argos, as the sole survivor of the Seven. No, no, no...were the souls still seeking revenge? Could they not move on with such hate in their heads? The people of Thebes...had they...had they...somehow offended the gods? This destruction. The nights of wailing death. The resurrection of their enemies. Was this now the price they had to pay for transgressions of the past?


Hand grabbing your chin, the soldier leans forward to lock lips with you, slipping his tongue deep into your open mouth. The tenderness. The flesh. The flakes. The rance. The grooves. Control being taken away from you. The contents of your dinner from one day before races out your throat as you fall to the ground, powerless, wondering, Why..? Why is this still happening? Isn't this why I became strong? To avoid being forced? To avoid being treated like a tool? Avoid being taken advantage of...? I am not a resource to be used and tossed to the ground! I am...A PERSON!


Yet, there Zeta lay, on the floor of the temple, listless with tears in her eyes as pieces of bronze were ripped from her skin. It can't. It couldn't end like this...

But it was.

​

"Gods. Please, have mercy."


And by the nerves your navel, you feel the same glossing of rotted flesh twirl its way around the exposed rim and plunge into the center.


"Gods...please. Have mercy."


The cold stone of the temple's floor sends chills through your backside as it meets beating skin. Your rmor; it is no longer there.


"Yoou will be tainted foor the rest of life knowing it was a man of A-Argive who completed you. Wooman...this is for my broothers your kings s-slaughtered."

Gods...Please...

​

"They faced n-nightmare. Futures w-were taken...and n-now, I will take yoours."

Have mercy.

A Hero's Belief
​

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Hearth hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Love hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of the Hunt hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Wisdom hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Fertility hears your call.

So in the darkest hour, the Goddess of Marriage hears your call.

[/QUOTE]
> Goddess of Wisdom

 

[Cross]

Goddess of the Hunt!

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Goddess of Hunt.

 

[White Masquerade]

​

Zeta

"Zeta.




Zeta.










Zeta."



...?


"Zeta."


Zeta? Who would be calling that name? Was there someone here still alive? Most of her comrades had fallen; had...the king come back with reinforcements? Those warriors from Sparta. Surely they had answered the Thebian's call. If those brave soldiers had come...then they would be saved. Together, no one could beat...


Mouth creasing in horror, Zeta solemnly looked down to her hip, gradually remembering the last position she was in.


So then...I'm dead. And this is after..after...being...How shameful!!


Smacking the floor, Zeta looked to the endless white that stretched around her for miles. Still finding herself to be naked, swallowed the dent to her pride, lifted straight and set her face.


"So...I have endured!" She declared to the great expanse. "I have fought all I can for my home, and the sisters of Fate have decided the threads of my life end here. I am not bitter. I am thankful I have lived a life thus far; one where I pushed past the lines others did not want me to cross. One where I did not heel, stay in my place at home, but strove to reach for what others did not want me to have. I did not receive an illustrious education, a joy afforded to others more privileged than me, but I became a warrior! A strong fighter and strong woman, set high in the ranks of men where there were none! Guard to the king in the privatest of quarters of Cadmus! I may have died, and in a such a lowly manner, but I have tried! And I will happily take that to grave with me! I am ready...I am ready to receive my lot in Hades!"


"Oh, child..."


The voice was closer now, almost beside Zeta, with a whispering of wind pushing up against her neck right into her ear. Arms draped down the soldier's body, hugging it by the shoulders, tight. Zeta felt a passion fill her heart as the directive, "push forward on the ground with all your might," suffused her mind.


"Zeta. You move on my mark. Use all you can muster on the count of three. All you can muster. Ready yourself child."


"One. Focus on the peril."


"Two. Place faith in your hands."


"Three. And use the belief that you can."


Goddess of the Hunt

Slamming down the flats of her palms into the ground, pushing forward with everything she had, Zeta slid back from beneath the lecher just as an arrow ripped through the roof and smashed though the head of the undead, leaving a small hole in the concrete, shearing into the Earth.

Thwap!


Thwap!


Thwap!


Thwap!


Thwap!


Thwap!
​

Collapsed, more arrows hit the man, severing him at the hip, shoulders, knees, and heart, each leaving fist-sized craters as they bored furious circle into the temple ground. At once, the present undead turned to Zeta, eyes falling chief to her exposed skin.


Breathing hard, the Troopera couldn't process it all. From the destroyed corpse to the other resurrected keying on her, to the fact that she was still alive; it was incomprehensible to the human mind. However, there was no time figure it out now; her strength had returned, but the other undead soldiers were forming a circle and drawing to her. Glancing down and lunging for her unsheathed sword, Zeta held her breath, springing up and lowering the tip toward the closest one.

Smash!

​

Immediately to her left, a hole in their formation opened with a dog throwing itself against their as if it was something bowled.

Woof!!

​

Stopping to view the growing commotion around her, it was truly mystifying to behold. Stray dogs from the walks of Thebes approached, led by four that raced through the dead to form a shield around her. In protective circle they stood guard, eyeing the zombies that suddenly paused.


"There are only two men I know who could do this...and one of them watches Thebes from the Heavens with me."


Wait..! What!? Wha-what was going on? That was not her voice!


"Hades. Show yourself."


H-Hades?!


For one moment the temple fell quiet, and then, footsteps coming closer were heard followed by a loud clap.


"Excellent, Artemis," said a tall man, appearing from seemingly thin air. "That is something I'd expect from the Athena."


"Athena is the goddess of wisdom. Not intelligence."


"Haha! Oh, Artemis~. Tell me something. What has that woman done to earn your favor?"


"She has done nothing. You have just managed to stoke my anger. Hades. You know full well I am a goddess who also watches over virginity. What is it you're trying to accomplish?"


"Nothing too heavy. Just looking for a city to call my own. Athena, Apollo, and even you, my dear niece, have one. I simply want to experience a privilege the rest of you enjoy."


"Thebes already has a patron and it's Dionysus. Hades, are you trying to start a war?"


"Please Artemis. You know as well as I do this city no longer believes in anything at all. The hubris. You understand why the contents of Pandora's box are attracted to this place yes? I mean, without the protection of the Gods, what other outcome would there be?"


The box of...Pandora? Attracted to Thebes? What is he talking about??


"I swore you didn't kill mortals."


"I am not. I've only resurrected those who've died in a war long ago. It is at their own yearning they wish to raze this city and see it burn."


"You are foul."


"However! Once this destruction has finished running its course, I still need a mortal to be mine. To spread the stories about this calamity and lead Thebes when I rebuild it anew...as my very own oracle."





"Hades. Dionysus may be new, but I doubt he will let this city go so easily, still praised or not. What almost occurred here," Artemis pointed to herself.


"With this woman. If you try to make this city yours, I will stand by the side of the god of Grape Harvest. And so will my brother Apollo."


"Ah? Is that so?"


And stroking the butt of his chin, Hades wasn't keen on warring against the three Gods. Dionysus alone he could be managed, but Artemis and Apollo too...no. This would not do.


"Mortal," The god boomed, looking straight at the eyes of Zeta. "Let me introduce myself. I am Hades, god of the underworld. The one all men's souls come to after visiting death. Of the people in this place, you're the only one to keep belief in the Gods. I would like to reward you. Human. If you dedicate this land to me, build statues across it in my name, I will give assistance to and help you see this through to the end. If not, me and my undead will depart from Thebes, and you'll be left to fend for yourself against terrors too impossible to fight on your own."


"Hades you - "


"Begone Artemis. I am talking to the mortal. Either way, she will be spared. At least by my hand. Your woman is safe; I will not touch her. Now. Your business here is over. Do not interfere with the wishes of this human. You have occupied her for far too long. Her fate is not yours to control."


"..."


And after what feels like forever, a small twinge of hate rolls into your heart, but just as quickly as it'd come, it dies, replaced in full by a single-minded focus. Similar to how you first woke up in the vast blank, the wind picks up and speaks to you once more.

'Zeta. I advise you, do not take his offer. I promise you will not be alone. As long as you don't give in to this man, I will grant you the protection of the fiercest dogs. Mortal. Choose wisely. The future of Thebes, rests with you.'

​

A Route Between Gods

Promise to dedicate Thebes to Hades if you make it through this ordeal alive.

Turn down Hades' offer of patronage in favor of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.

 

[Life.]

Turn down Hades' offer of patronage in favor of Artemis, Goddess of Hunt.


(Never make a deal with the underworld.)

 

[Metalgeardude]

Turn down offer