The team of Decay Lords were finally taking a break, after hours of ship repairs. While Arkay was in the kitchen, preparing drinks and sandwiches for everyone, Litvir decided that now was probably a good time to get some questions off his mind. After all, he was the newest to all this god-based stuff, but he’d been avoiding a lot of questions, never really having the time or space to ask them. Now that it was mostly just him and Galyn, alone in one of the observatories, Litvir finally had the chance to ask.
“So why are Life Goddesses the way they are? They all seem like… to put it somewhat politely, needy little bastards.”
To Litvir’s surprise, Galyn laughed out loud at the question, before quickly straightening himself out.
“That is a very good question, Litvir. I will be honest, I am not certain myself. But, to be fair, the number of Life Goddesses you have met is quite small. The majority are actually more like…” Galyn paused. “Have you ever met the Life Goddess of your home universe in person?”
Litvir shrugged. “Somewhat. I know of her, I have spoken to her but that is about it.”
“Well, the good news is that your Life Goddess, the one that created your universe, is one of the better ones. The bad news is that Kinisis is one of the better ones.”
“I… I do not follow…” Litvir tutted. “Are you saying that the being that created Arkay, the neurotic death god in the kitchen right now, is an example of a good Life Goddess?”
Galyn leaned back in his seat and nodded. “Mhm.”
“But Arkay is a neurotic mess with the self-confidence of a half-submerged fish.”
“Indeed he is. The other deities in Arkay’s life made his existence a living hell, which makes it hard for him to cope in, well, vague normality. That, combined with his hybrid deitic status, is a troublesome combination. But Arkay at the very least has a strong grasp of mortality.”
Litvir grunted a little. “Yes, turned out one of the four mortal beings who fought back the tyrant Time Drake was actually a disguised death god. The general population took that rather well, all things considered.”
“That time spent as a mortal gave Arkay a very strong sense of understanding. Arkay knows what it is like to be mortal, to be small and weak. These feelings conflict entirely with being a Life Goddess…” Galyn explained. “Life Goddesses have their own entirely separate culture, almost completely indescribable even to Decay Lords and other deitic beings. A culture in which Life Goddesses do whatever they want, with almost no consequence.”
“So they… end up like spoiled kids? All power, zero responsibility?”
“Exactly. The only responsibilities a Life Goddess has are whatever they want to have. The fact that Kinisis actually feels some responsibility to the creations she has built makes her a better being.”
“But not exactly a good being?” Litvir asked.
Galyn nodded, before sighing loudly. “Yes, not exactly a good being. Unfortunately, they can bend reality around them, and their gravitational pull traps everyone else in with them.”
“So we cannot simply just say no to them?”
“Unfortunately, no…” Galyn sighed some more. “Arkay may be small, fearful and erratic, but he at least cares.”
“What can we do then?” Litvir was about to ask, but paused as he spotted Arkay in the doorway, holding a tray of drinks and sandwiches.
“Just have to help the ones we meet into becoming better beings…” Galyn smiled, nodding towards Arkay. Arkay nodded back somewhat awkwardly, realising he had walked into a weird conversation pertaining himself. “If even a small percentage of Life Goddesses were like him, the space between universes would be a much, much better place. Am I correct, Arkay?”
“I, uh, I guess…” Arkay stuttered as he put the tray down. “You guys don’t mind sandwiches right? I kinda got carried away and made too many.”
Galyn patted Arkay gently on the shoulder. “It is fine, Arkay. Do not stress about it…”