The Fallen Ascending 01 -- Rebirth
Chosen By Chaos

Lashing out, my magic bathed the small chamber Crystal and I was sleeping in, in a bright fiery glow. Startled, she rolled up and spun to face the door, sword ready. Mongo burst thru the small opening separating our rooms, his massive sword ready, with Skeet only a moment behind. Getting my bearings, I slowly looked around and the dark horror of my nightmare slowly started to fade into the background.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized to everyone. “I was having a nightmare, I think.”

Skeet looked over at Mongo, who just shrugged, and Crystal made a shooing motion towards them both. “Go on. Get. You heard My Lord.”

Skeet finally just shrugged and moved back out of the room. Mongo nodded sympathetically. “Anyone can get nightmares in a place like this. No shame in them at all here,” he offered comforting, before turning and leaving as well.

Finally alone once more, Crystal eased back down and placed Heartblade close beside her again. “Care to dim the glow, My Lord?”

Embarrassed, I turned off the glaring inferno I’d created to illuminate our room, and tried not to blush. “Sorry,” I apologized.

“It’s not a problem, My Lord.” Crystal slowly pulled my head over to rest on her breast, as she stroked my hair lightly. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a Child of Chaos, My Lord?”

“I’m not,” I assured her. “I’m a child of The House of Dancing Flames.”

Laughing, she just leaned and kissed me slightly on the forehead. “Of course you’re not. A Child of Chaos would never admit they were, if they didn’t want to. I apologize for asking something so foolish. I should know better.”

“But I’m not!” For some reason, it didn’t seem like she believed me at all, even though she nodded in agreement. “I don’t even know what a ‘Child of Chaos’ is,” I finally admitted, poutingly. I hated having to admit to not knowing something – especially when others made it seem like common knowledge. It’s not my fault I grew up on Father’s Harem Isle! I don’t think there’s a person there with an ounce of common knowledge which I could’ve learned from, even if I wanted to!

Nodding exaggeratedly, it was completely obvious that Crystal didn’t believe a word I was saying. “Of course you don’t, My Lord. Should I tell you what all people of wealth or influence know of the Children of Chaos? Or would you prefer to continue not knowing?”

“Just tell me what you know,” I replied, moodily. Out of pure peevishness, I bit her on the nipple hard enough to make her yelp slightly.

“Ok! Ok! Ok!” Each time she tried to talk, I tugged gently with my teeth, until finally she thumped me upside the head slightly with her hand. “Enough of that for now,” she demanded. “That is if you want me to tell you anything more.”

“Fine.” Pouting, I nuzzled my head between her breasts and settled down to listen.

“Before I tell you about the Children of Chaos, I need to know what you know about the Gods,” Crystal whispered, stroking my hair once again.

“Not a damn thing,” I told her honestly. “They weren’t important to mother or anyone at our home, and I grew up in a secluded place which focused on teaching specific skillsets. Knowledge of the gods weren’t needed for any of those teachings.”

“Then I’ll tell you the story of the Gods and the Making, as I heard it long ago,” Crystal offered, and nodded lightly in acceptance.

“Once, long ago, there was nothing. Nothing, floating in nothingness, surrounded by nothing. Not even darkness existed, because darkness is something, and there was only The Nothing.”

“Sounds empty,” I muttered, only to be thwaped gently on the head and told to, “Hush.”

“It was empty,” Crystal agreed. “Empty nothingness. Until one day it wasn’t. From The Nothing came Earth. The First of the Gods, he scattered his power throughout the nothing and large boulders floated and crashed about. Sometimes the boulders powered themselves; sometimes they joined and grew larger. Planets, moons, and stars were born.

“Soon after, the Second of the Gods rose from The Nothing. Water spread His influence over the great emptiness. Ice formed in the cold that was The Nothing, and acted much like the earth itself. Frozen comets were formed. Ice attached itself to large bodies of earth, increasing their mass and becoming frozen lakes, ponds, and oceans. Even larger bodies of ice created plants of pure water floating and bouncing endlessly in The Nothing.

“Later, though none can say how much later since time itself didn’t exist then, like we know it now, The First Goddess was born. Fire – third amongst the Gods, and first amongst female. Burning wild and hot, she was the complete opposite to the icy coldness that was Water. With her flames and her passions, she melted his heart, and much of the ice in The Nothing changed to become the water which we see it as even now. As a promise that he would never be without her warm embrace, she created great wells of fire and placed them to where they could reach the depths of Water’s icy exterior. Suns were born, comets were set on fire and trailed flames though the sky, and the center of many planets were heated until their very core melted and flowed with an inner flame that radiated eternally upwards.

“Water’s cold demeanor began to change, influenced by the presence of Fire, but Earth… Earth remained unchanging. Older than all others, stubborn beyond compare, Earth simply was. Unmoving. Unemotional. Find any stone, and you would’ve found the essence of Earth.

“And then the Second of the Goddesses came into being. Many scholars believe that Air was born out the necessity of balance, to help offset Earth as Fire thawed Water. Unfortunately, Air was…” She paused for a moment, seeking the proper word, and then laughed slightly. “… Flighty. Blowing across The Nothing, her energy was scattered and wasted; too ethereal to have the influence of the others. Air may have wasted away and returned to The Nothing from which she was born, except for the fact that Earth enjoyed the sight of the sands and ground as she blew across them. Instead of becoming his balance, he shackled her to him, and she became the First Slave.

“Earth remained stubborn. Hard. Unchanging. But he now kept Air trapped with him and around him, never allowing her to escape back to The Nothing.”

“An interesting take on creation,” I laughed lightly. “But, I don’t see what any of the elements has to do with Children of Chaos.” Crystal slightly tapped me on the forehead again and told me, “Hush. I’m getting there!”

“The Nothing was still a place of complete disarray, with the planets all zigging, zagging, and crashing without any sense of guidance or purpose. Order, Fifth amongst the Gods, was the third male born. With precision, time, and effort, He set the elements in their place inside The Nothing. The great balls of fire were placed as a center; a sun from which the planets were placed and made to revolve around. Comets were set long orbits to help mark the passage of time as they circled the edges of The Nothing. Order was given to the universe, and the Fifth God forever became known as Order thereafter.

“With things set in balance, the third female was born; Life. By her breath and essence, plants began to grow upon the land, fish inside the water, and birds roamed the sky. Earth was – and still is – a stubbornly possessive God, and he claimed all that walked, crawled, or lived upon him to be HIS. Not to be outdone by his older brother, Water claimed all that lived within the rivers, oceans, and water as his. And the two, in their jealously never allowed what was theirs to stay and live upon what the other claimed. The fishes died if they were brought to the land, and the creatures of the land drowned if trapped within the water too long.

“Life, being the light-hearted, cheerful creature that she was, was simply overjoyed that her brothers loved her creations so much that they wanted them as their own. With wild abandon, she continued to breath endless varieties of life throughout The Nothing. Earth’s Children grew in numbers, as did Water’s, and soon the universe was a crowded, cluttered place. With her endless love, and the male’s endless possessiveness, the universe would’ve became one huge ball of nothing with living essences packed endlessly tight inside the waters, or stacked mindlessly high upon the earth – but it was then that the Fourth Goddess, and Seventh amongst them all, was born.

“Cold and uncaring, Death saw that things were growing out of control, so she coldly sliced down huge swaths of living creatures, causing the First Great Fight amongst the Gods. Earth and Water were possessive; they didn’t want anything of theirs to be touched by another. Life was sad and cried endlessly, her creations being destroyed and lost to The Nothing. Air supported Earth – when she remembered to, or when he forced her – and Fire supported Water. Death simply didn’t care and continued to reap, which caused Life to cry out in anger and breath life even quicker and harder.

“And Order? Poor Order was left to try and mediate the fight and replace a solution. Eventually it was decided that Death must do her work, or else Life would have to stop hers. Endless birthing could not be permitted, for the good of all. Still, Earth and Water didn’t want to allow what was theirs to escape their grasp, so a compromise was made. Death would reap the flesh, but the essence of the existence would remain behind. Souls, which each God would keep for their own.”

“And the universe settled. Peace descended, and all the souls of all the creatures of Earth returned to him. All the souls of the creatures of Water returned to him. Harmony was achieved, and nothing changed. Only the Gods can say how long The Balance was maintained, but after time had passed, a great a loud laughter rang out from within The Nothing.

“The Eighth, and Final God was born; Chaos. Born of the pieces that weren’t, built of the nots, filled with the impossibles, Chaos danced across Creation, tossing perfection into perfect disarray. Planets were bounced out of orbit. Stars fell. Souls were stolen from Earth and Water, and hidden in places where they could not be. Creatures were altered. Some were given free will, their spirits unshackled and set free to replace their own path. The Fairies were born – wild children of laughter and pure Chaos, breaker of all the rules.

“In anger and frustration, Death struck them down, only to growl in frustration as they were reborn in laughter. Earth dropped mountains upon them, to trap them and make them his, as they took up residence in his trees; only to replace that somehow they had simply disappeared and moved elsewhere to plant their home upon his soil. Water drowned them. Fed them to his fish. Frozen them. Fire burnt them. Air ripped them to shreds and scattered their wings across the horizon. And yet, they forever healed. Forever returned. Forever broke any rule that was set. Fearless, wild, and untamable, the Fairies existed for only one thing – pure joy and laughter. Green trees were dull and boring! They needed colors! Gray fish were yucky! Why not make some like a rainbow? Or even transparent? Why not steal the bones from some and make them jelly?

“The Second Great Fight broke between the Gods, and it seemed as if nothing could stop the plague that was Chaos. Every rule that was set and agreed to was broken. Everything that was decreed to not be, came into being. Stones talked. Water gained life of its own. Life was born directly from the flames, as creatures were altered or created such as The Phoenix and gifted away by Chaos. Life, being the most light-hearted and easiest by nature found the whole process wonderful and was drawn into many of Chaos’s greatest works and pranks. Air, being as flighty and forgetful as she was, would forget that she was supposed to stop Chaos, and after being distracted or tricked, would often be drawn into Chaos’s work as well.

“Death reaped. Earth and Water moped. Fire fumed and blew her top. And Order was once again stuck to try and being Order to the Chaos, all to no avail, until one day he stumbled upon a secret. In frustration, he exclaimed, ‘I bet you can’t stop, even if you wanted to!’ And, Chaos stopped. All at once, utterly and completely. Chaos simply stopped; frozen like a statue, doing nothing.”

“For a God that does what can’t be done, Chaos was drawn to do nothing, simply because it was believed that he couldn’t. Even in the Heart of Chaos, order exists, and once Order discovered that, he brought peaceful accord back to creation. New rules were agreed upon, with all the Gods and Goddesses were asked to abide by; with the exception of Chaos, who was forbidden to follow, listen, or agree to the rule – and thus was often the first to vow to be bound by the agreement.

“Since creatures had been given free will, a new system was created for when Death reaped their flesh. Those that chose a God could remain with that God for eternity. Those that hadn’t would be separated to either Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory forever more. To watch over the pure souls, Angels were born to manage and guide the heavens. To punish the dark souls, Demons and Devils were created and placed within the hells. A balance was stuck once more with Creation, and we are privileged to live within this time of calmness, My Lord.”

“And you think I’m some sort of Fairy?” I asked, trying to wrap my mind around all the pieces of this world’s creation mythology. The way she described Chaos made it sound an awful lot like The Fool that I’d had the displeasure of meeting twice now.

“Not at all!” Crystal laughed lightly and hugged me tight. “A fairy is a pure creature of Chaos, much as the Phoenix is a pure being of Fire, or the Unicorn is a pure embodiment of life. I simply think you may have the Blessing of Chaos, and be one of Its Children. They may be called Chosen Ones, Priests, or Children, but they’re all the same thing – those that have been blessed or claimed by a God.”

“So you think I was claimed by a God?”

“Absolutely.” Crystal said, without a doubt sounding in her voice.

“Why?” Leaning my head up, I looked down into her eyes.

“In the case of Chaos, who knows why the God will claim one. Some of those who carry his blessing are pure saints, others are pure evil. If you try to set a rule by which they can be found or judged, then that rule will be broken. Nearly all seem driven to pranks, laughter, mischief or mayhem, but not all. There’s no real hard or set rule for who Chaos may favor. But there’s somethings which they always seem to have in common. An “Order in the Heart of Chaos”, if you will.” Crystal was staring back at me and smiling radiantly.

“And what’s that?” I pressed. “What did you see from me that makes you believe I carry that blessing?”

“I’m telling.” She laughed.

“Then tell me.”

“I’m telling!” Her mouth twitched and her eyes danced.

“So spit it on out!” The sparkle in her eyes was almost too much for me to resist.

“I’m telling! I’m telling!” She laughed freely, and finally I’d had enough. Smothering out the light with my magic, I wrapped a wall of thick air around the passage out to Mongo’s and Skeet’s chamber to blanket us in silence, and I descended down upon her. If she didn’t want to say, I didn’t care. The sparkle in her eyes, the twitch of her lips, and the warm embrace of her flesh was simply too much for me to resist anymore.

Laughter filled the air as I kissed and caressed her from top to bottom, and moans of pleasure shoved the darkness completely aside. The spark in her eyes filled my heart, and the warmth of her flesh fed my desires. I don’t know how long I indulged myself in the endless warmth and embrace of her body that night. All I know is we were both soundly asleep and twined together when Dino came into the room to refuel our lightstone, and we were still asleep when he finally managed to shake off his disbelief, and finally leave to gripe to the others about how inappropriate we were together.