Co-Write with Luminesa and Finsternia
Orientation at Holy High had begun with a large gathering of gods and goddesses. Many new gods and goddesses, and many old. The story of a world which was re-growing from the ashes of a dreadful war.
The teachers standing around understood that the contract which the new students would sign would be binding in ways which would determine their own futures and stories. These students were young, many of them impulsive and nervous. Many of them were excited for the challenges that came with being assigned to represent their domains and their pantheons. They had several millennia of heritage to protect, and yet here they were, bright-eyed and ready to prove themselves. And yet such proof would only show itself slowly, as the students worked under the tutelage of their new professors.
Zeus was a rather disgraced being, among the gods who knew him. Still powerful, still respected, and yet the times were changing. Various gods understood that Zeus had committed many misdeeds in his time of existence. He was as powerful as lightning, and equally as impulsive. Yet he reserved his impulses as he stood before the students, looking grand and dignified and only a slight bit nervous for the day ahead. Several of the gods were talking and discussing matters amongst themselves, many were making friends, and the teachers were aware that many could make potential enemies. They hoped such would not be the case.
Hestia, being more astute at matters of positive relations and friendships than Zeus, walked around the main hall and watched the students interacting. Her motherly gaze, pumpkin-like face, and flowing robes of auburn, orange, crimson, and gold gave a warm and welcoming appearance. The students would feel more comfortable around her, she would make sure of such. To that end, she had cooked the marvelous feast which the students now enjoyed as they signed the Pax before the teachers.
The Pax. A document which held together the new universe, or perhaps the pieces of the old. An agreement which had once been an unspoken one, now brought to light by the scars and reminders of The Old War. While many of the young new gods had no idea of The Old War, all of the teachers knew. They understood what they lay before the students. An agreement which had carried the pantheons through the ages, which had survived a war, and which now depended on their cooperation. If the students would only so respect it, the world had a chance of regrowing.
Patriah had signed the document as he had signed all papers in his life, with some mild disgust for anything related to writing. Thanatos had sent him here for his education, and yet the food and the new other gods were more interesting than hitting books. He was not much of a talker, and did not bode well in many social situations. Just recently, he had spoken to a young Fae God, who had spooked him somewhat. If only he had brought an extra scarf, perhaps he would not look so ridiculous as a young, built man standing over seven feet tall wearing nothing but a colorful pair of wide-legged pants. His father-figure could not get him to wear a shirt, and the Wind god was determined to keep things that way. He held as many legs of fried chicken as his muscled arms could carry, while watching the other students interact.
All the while, the Pax glowed on a long, wide parchment document, reading the following:
•Integrity: The Pax Deorum demands all Powers That Be to keep the sanctity of reality. To wield the grand powers that could shake the Heavens and the Earth in order to change the fundamental aspects of the world is grounds for punishment.
• Deterrence: Respect your fellow divinities, and the strength that they wield. When all is capable of slaughter beyond mortal proportions, one must consider that your fellow God could match your own. Do not repeat the Great War that sundered the world.
• Property and Territory: All must respect the boundaries and claims set forth by each divine Lord and Lady. What is holy and what is sanctified must not be trampled, what is chosen and blessed must not be harmed, and what laws that have been laid down upon their lands must be honored.
Hecate, in her dark and stately glory, stood nearest to the document alongside venerable Ganesha, the Hindu god of wealth and luck among other domains. Holy High was a place which mingled the many domains who may never interact with one another. Zeus, Hestia, and wise Athena had all given speeches on the importance of making new friends and allies in such a complex environment. Much like any new children going off to high school or college, the possibilities of friends and classes were almost endless. Hecate, however, felt she had seen everything, and as she watched the students come to sign the effable document, she gazed around with plum-lidded eyes and adjusted her long, flowing, violet robes. Most male deities would have found her alluring in her own stark beauty. Yet bright, golden Ganesha stood with more mirth and less attraction to the deity next to him.
The world was wide open, as open as the mountaintop on which Holy High stood in the sun, far above the world and observing all that be.