Rance didn’t miss the unhappiness in Jigano’s voice and expression, even thought his anger prevented him from really acknowledging it. Later, when he was less furious, he might even thank him for not sugar-coating the truth. In that moment, it was all he could do to sit still and quiet, seething, but still intent on everything Jigano was saying. His fists loosened and clenched, a flexing of curled fingers against his palms, as if working talons he didn’t currently have against a branch.
The knowledge that the Voice had once been human didn’t improve his mood, but it couldn’t worsen it. His lip curled up in a sneer and let out a scoffing huff. What she had once been mattered little compared to what hard her actions and creations had done after she had achieved divinity. Pulling innocents — humans and non-human folk alike — into a strange world for the sake of her own selfish ambitions and because the older gods hadn’t like a new upstart and put her in her room.
And people wondered why he respected so few deities….
“I would have been right with you,” Rance commiserated, voice rough and growly. “The whole situation sounds like bullshit for all the mortals trapped in there and it stinks to the underworld and back.” He sighed and finally uncurled his fingers, wrapping one hand around one of the mugs with more care than he gave to his own hands. He too a careful sip, attempting to let the heat relax him a bit while Jigano asked about the gods Rance had left behind.
“Oh, we have gods, though they’re half myth for humans.” He snorted mirthlessly and tapped his fingers against the side of his mug. “The Hidden have members who are centuries old and have seen the miracles or Great Acts in person. Terregris turning a camp of cannibals into a smoking crater. Mythara commanding a hillside make itself into a throne for the Sidhe king. There’s plenty of records on both sides, but the human ones read like more like bedtime stories.” He looked down at his mug, bringing his other hand over toe wrap both around it. “Other than those big, dramatic shows, I guess it’s mostly on faith. I never much cared either way, but everyone prays for a little luck from Gan and has a little shrine to the Ghost Queen to honor their dead.”
The knowledge that the Voice had once been human didn’t improve his mood, but it couldn’t worsen it. His lip curled up in a sneer and let out a scoffing huff. What she had once been mattered little compared to what hard her actions and creations had done after she had achieved divinity. Pulling innocents — humans and non-human folk alike — into a strange world for the sake of her own selfish ambitions and because the older gods hadn’t like a new upstart and put her in her room.
And people wondered why he respected so few deities….
“I would have been right with you,” Rance commiserated, voice rough and growly. “The whole situation sounds like bullshit for all the mortals trapped in there and it stinks to the underworld and back.” He sighed and finally uncurled his fingers, wrapping one hand around one of the mugs with more care than he gave to his own hands. He too a careful sip, attempting to let the heat relax him a bit while Jigano asked about the gods Rance had left behind.
“Oh, we have gods, though they’re half myth for humans.” He snorted mirthlessly and tapped his fingers against the side of his mug. “The Hidden have members who are centuries old and have seen the miracles or Great Acts in person. Terregris turning a camp of cannibals into a smoking crater. Mythara commanding a hillside make itself into a throne for the Sidhe king. There’s plenty of records on both sides, but the human ones read like more like bedtime stories.” He looked down at his mug, bringing his other hand over toe wrap both around it. “Other than those big, dramatic shows, I guess it’s mostly on faith. I never much cared either way, but everyone prays for a little luck from Gan and has a little shrine to the Ghost Queen to honor their dead.”
