Ribbontail: Enter Emalia
Chapter 8: Departure

Author's Note: Please read my artist's comments before continuing. :3
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Ribbontail and Why-Yeh the Wise returned the way they came, descending into the dark, circular Gods' chamber. It was here where the other Gods lounged among one another, chatting intently with worried and agitated faces. Their eyes, though usually calm, now proved to be leaden with disdain. All attention turned to them as Why-Yeh appeared.

Ribbontail almost pushed past Why-Yeh in her new confident way, but a frustrated glance from Riddle sent a bolt of fear down her spine. Instead Ribbontail huddled in Why-Yeh’s shadow, tucked amidst his thick leg tufts.

For a moment the room fell perfectly still, before finally Why-Yeh’s deep, booming voice rang out. “Why show fear? The departure of the two godchildren is nothing to be frightened of.”

Ai the Fierce, a nervous frown set upon her striking pig-like features, coughed and mumbled, “But Why-Yeh sur. We ain’t gone done teach these hur Ribb’n’tail th’ laws. She dunno anythin’ bout them mortals and stuffses.”

Ribbontail cringed at the Nature godesses’ broken accent. How the other gods could understand the beast was beyond her.

“Then we shall teach them quickly. The laws of the gods are simply said.” Why-Yeh stepped aside, leaving Ribbontail slumped in plain sight. The wolf girl could feel all eyes upon her. “Ribbontail,” Why-Yeh crooned down at her, his remaining yellow eye calm and comforting, “being a god is not what you think it is. There is more to our jobs than relaxing here in our home and feasting on fine delicacies. We are here to protect the Emalians- the mortals that reside in the world below.”

“From what?” Ribbontail’s ears perked up, her yellow-green eyes bright and at attention.

Sighing, Why-yeh explained, “Our precious land has been overrun with evil beasts who call themselves Eclipsians. They are mindless fiends running on the mindless commands of the evil Eclipse. Bent on slaughtering any Emalian they see, they are all our enemy.”

“EVERY ONE OF ‘EM!” added Fidei randomly from across the room. He yelped nervously and hid behind a stone pillar as his father shot a defiant glare at him.

Why-Yeh continued. “The Eclipsians have endangered the safety of our worshippers, the peaceful Emalians. That is why we exist, Ribbontail, and for you to become a goddess you must carry out your tasks in the mortal world, alongside them. But the mortal world is not a paradise you would think it is. The mortals live in a dangerous, cruel, and unrelenting land. If you are not wary you might suffer the same end you met on Earth!”

A knot formed in Ribbontail’s throat and she gulped it down nervously, her ears folding down over her neck. “I…”

“But even in a world so vile you must follow our laws. We gods have codes of honor, too, and you must obey them.”

A chill shuddered through the room and Ribbontail turned and nodded up at the great lion-like Why-Yeh. The light god nodded back down at her and turned to the fore facing gods.

Suddenly En Fuego, the large two-headed god of fire, rose to his feet. He declared with a booming voice, “The first law. You must always come to the aid of any Emalian in danger, no matter how steep the odds.”

En Fuego’s companion Pola stood next, continuing where her friend left off. “The second law, Ribbontail, is that when in the mortal world you must remember to carry out your mission, regardless of anything that stands in your way.”

“Yeh!” Ai, with her slurred speech and dripping pig-muzzle, boasted, “An the third law be that ya gotta go ‘n EXECUTE any o’ them there Eclipsians who go ‘n want t’ attack ya ‘n’ stuff.”

With a hushed whisper of a voice, the quiet, mechanical bat WarriorFang stepped forth. She had a beautiful and soft voice, barely audible even in the silent room. “The fourth law is that you must be careful should you choose to interbreed with a mortal. Such actions cause chaos in the mortal world, and things can go awry.”

The black-cloaked god, Natas, then waves hooved paws and declared to Ribbontail: “The fifth law! You shall not eat the food of the mortals.”

Ribbontail cringed at that one. No food? That sucks! she thought; food was a personal love of hers prior to her death on Earth.

“The sixth law,” Why-Yeh finally said, turning to look down on Ribbontail with his wise feline face, “Is that you may never use a mortal to carry out your deeds. We may be great, powerful, divine beings, but to command a mortal to do our bidding would not be proper.”

Six laws down, one to go. Ribbontail paused and recollected who had spoken and what laws there were, until finally she realized that her mother, Riddle the Cunning, was the last to speak. The wolf goddess chose to lounge in the corner turned over on her back, admiring her sharp black talons.

All gods turned and glared accusingly at the death goddess, who shot a wicked grin at them. “What?” she crooned. Sarcasm permeated her snide, malicious voice.

“Riddle…” Why-Yeh began, his tone suddenly harsh.

“What? Hehehe…” Riddle lifted a paw to stare admiringly at her clawnails. Then she finally rolled to her feet and cleared her throat. “Oh yes. The FINAL and most important law is to ‘respect’ your fellow gods”

A foul hush fell over the room. Her attitude was mocking and her eyes defiant, yet the other gods simply stared at her. The way she recited the final god law made it sound insignificant- the irony simply that she lacked the respect for her fellow gods that this law demanded.  

Ribbontail noticed En Fuego and Pola whispering together, and soon the other gods followed suit. Hushed whispers filled the room, all accusing eyes turned on Riddle.

“Well then…” Why-yeh once more broke the silence, his wizened voice suddenly calling out. He lifted his head and called the attention of his fellow celestial beings. “Shall we continue? Ribbontail and Fidei have much business to get to. All bid your farewells to them.”

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Flanked by the two demon-like slaves PuppetRibbontail and WereRibbontail, Ribbontail trailed slowly behind Why-Yeh and Riddle. The two Gods led them down a poorly lit, confined hallway which snaked its way deeper into the temple. It was darker here. Eerie shadows cast by flames danced along the walls, with the echoing sounds of pawsteps resounding into the distance ahead.

Fidei could be heard a few seconds behind them, humming a song to himself. He lacked the inhibition to take the other Gods seriously.

A rope now tied about Ribbontail’s neck itched horribly; to it Ra’Kiroo’s scroll was held, clasped across her canine chest firmly. ”A magical scroll I’ve got to  deliver to a snake guy in the mortal world…” she repeated to herself, her mind anxious. ”Follow the one big star in the sky... may take weeks, even months.”

These three rules resided in her mind for a while. She had to remember this, after all. Dream or not, she had to carry out her duty as a god in this world.

Ribbontail was horribly nervous now, and saddened by her loss of the other gods. They somehow brought her comfort, every one of them somehow recollecting fond memories in her heart. To have met such wonderful beings, then torn away from them so quickly, caused Ribbontail’s heart to ache. She would miss them and their witty, kind-hearted personalities. They all loved her so much, too, even having just met her after so many years. Here she was a goddess in training, and so her very appearance demanded respect.

All these qualities she had been deprived of on Earth. Would the gods simply throw her back into a mortal world, after she finally found herself in a place she felt at home?

Finally Why-Yeh and Riddle halted, as they had led their godchildren to a small, circular room. It was lit simply by a mere set of torches on opposite walls, and their orange glows flicked off the ebony stones portentously. Strangely this cavern was devoid of any significant features- in fact, it lacked any features at all.

“This is where you shall depart- Ribbontail, Fidei, and guardians,” the lion-like god turned and glanced at the foursome. “Fidei, I would first prefer it if you retold me your mission. I do not want you forgetting why you are departing to the mortal world.”

Fidei shouldered his way past Ribbontail, his usual smug frown pasted across his face. “Sure. I’ve got to go hunt down this stupid Eclipsian and kill it. I’m gonna follow this one cloud that will always be in the sky, and it’ll tell me where to go and stuff.”

Immediately Ribbontail’s ears sprung at attention, as Why-Yeh spoke privately to his son. Fidei’s given cloud sounded much like the star she would be following. She grinned at this, but her glee was short-lived, as once more Riddle shot her daughter a glare.

“Oh right…Ribbontail!” called Riddle, “Dearie, do the same as sweet Fidei here.” The wolf-goddess intoned, her sing-song voice glaringly mocking to Ribbontail. “Mommy doesn’t want her baby girl to get in danger, does she?”

Riddle approached Ribbontail, her derisive eyes focused on the little blue wolf.

“I’ve got to…” Ribbontail began, gulping as she stared up at her mother’s wicked face, “I’ve got to travel across Emalia, with a star to show me where to go, and I’ve got to deliver this scroll to a wizard Ra’Kiroo.”

Extending a paw and pinching her daughter’s cheek, Riddle simpered, “Ooh that’s a good girl. Don’t forget your servants Puppet and Were, though. They’re going to be with you sweet thing ALL THE WAY, so you don’t get a boo-boo.”

Ribbontail received a much-undesired hug from Riddle, before the large beastly goddess turned and hobbled back to Why-Yeh. The two gods, mighty Why-Yeh of the light and the lanky Riddle of the death, conversed in hushed tones before finally turning to their children.

“Yeah, I guess ya got to go now, dear” Riddle sighed, a partially-hidden look of exasperation creeping across her face. Clearly the death goddess was attempting to trick Ribbontail into a feeling of motherly love; it failed miserably, and Ribbontail stared back with cold eyes. This wolf beast was not her mother. She did not care about Ribbontail, so Ribbontail did not care about her.

"So can we go already?" whined Fidei, "I wanna get out of this dump."

Funny, Ribbontail said to herself, staring disdainfully at the other Godchild, I want to STAY here.

Taking a deep, willful breath, Why-Yeh nodded. "Yes, we may begin."

Flourishing a claw, Why-Yeh opened his palm and swept the empty air before him. In the midst of his hooked claws, as soon as this gesture was complete, formed a pallid sphere. The ball of light flitted and bounded from Why-Yeh's to the center of the room, where it clung to the empty air.

The dim radiance shimmered in midair at the center of the room, balancing at about chest height before whirling and flicking to life. It flickered and trembled, with an outline barely traceable in its blinding light. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the ball of luminosity vanished, nothing left in its place.

"What…?", Ribbontail started as she turned to Why-Yeh.

The great white lion disregarded Ribbontail, his remaining eye focused ahead of him. "To Emalia. The forest of Keyhole," he commended to the empty void before them.

At first nothing happened.

Then there was a terrible ripping sound, a screeching tear that caused the room to shudder and convulse. Ribbontail drew in a startled breath, as before them a chasm of light trembled into existence. The light rift appeared to be a portal of sorts, resembling a nebula of light and stars; rotating slowly, it stood as tall and side as the wall before them.

"Oh a portal!" Fidei mused, his prude voice finally peaking with a newfound delight.

"Yeah," Riddle coughed, "It's alright. Just your standard bridge to the mortal world."

Ribbontail approached slowly, gazing up at the rift's white visage. "It's beautiful!" Fingers of light traced over her new wolf features, illuminating her soft blue fur and throwing soft flashes across her eyes.

"You two should be going," Why-Yeh finally announced, stepping aside to let Fidei through. "Fidei, go on ahead. Wait for Ribbontail on the other side. I want you to tell her where you are."

As Ribbontail would have guessed, Fidei seemed more than eager to leave. He swaggered over to the shimmering rift, giving Ribbontail a snide grin as he did. Then the large cat nodded to his father, took a deep breath, and leapt up into the portal.

Ribbontail was half-expecting a climactic departure. She had thought that entering the portal would send sparks flying, or at least a heavy metallic or roaring sound as he entered the rift. However, there was nothing. Fidei simply vanished into the white mists, leaving no trace of himself behind.   

"Does…does it…feel weird?" Ribbontail gulped.

Her mother Riddle simply shrugged. "It's fine, dear," the wolf goddess said, "You won't feel a thing, just go on ahead."

Then, with a sudden swift movement, Riddle lurched forward and wrapped Ribbontail up in an embrace.

"Be careful," Riddle hissed quietly, as not to be heard by Why-Yeh, "You die in the mortal world and I'll hunt down your spirit and feed it to PuppetRibbontail!"

Ribbontail was taken aback, drawing away from her alleged Emalian mother. She parted her thin lips then clasped them together quickly. Her eyes darting from Why-Yeh to PuppetRibbontail to WereRibbontail, then finally back to Riddle.

Not knowing what to say or do, Ribbontail turned and dove headlong into the white, whirling portal. It was finally time to begin her journey.