My Dear Olryn

By Jordan Stokely

“Long, long ago, there was Nep. Nep was no ordinary man. For you see, Nep was the first thing to ever exist. He had no form, and no shape since shapes and forms had not been even thought of yet. I would say he was everything and nothing at the same time. Planets were the first thing to ever grow inside of him. The speckling of lights spanned across his body, and galaxies formed, drifting through his body. I know that you know what it is. What do you call it… Space? Sky? The Great Vault?

He created the land, the life, the seas and the souls–most everything that you are familiar with today. With his talons, he granted himself; he sliced his body, and bled out upon the land, and everything he had made. He blessed this entire world with the gift of mana. The very essence of magic, lifeblood, and everything that could ever exist. And with that, Nep’s soul, growing weak and draining of energy, slept under the deep seas until he was summoned to rise again, his still-bleeding husk going limp with nothing to guide it. Two pieces of his flesh drifted away from his rotting body. There was me, and your uncle, Selta, who came a while later with the first ever ‘sun’. I took a small piece from myself and made you.”

My Dear Olryn, that is the story of this world so far. There is so much more to come.

—

Dyzmus, God of the Great Void and All Else Below, or at least, that’s what they call me, closed his tome. Olryn was my dearest child, whom I bore by myself. I was desperate for a child to raise, to occupy my time, something to love and cherish. To watch over and guide as she explored this world, and experienced all that the gods had provided to it. Perhaps, even, a family. There was only so much you can do with that light-ridden pest of a brother.

Olryn stirred slightly as she went to sleep, her shadowy form melding into the darkness. Well, everything was dark. Light was forbidden from this place. It was my sanctuary, and more importantly, her sanctuary.

“Precious child… I love you so much.”

I occupied the space under her bed, as to protect her from the so-called “monsters” beneath it. Of course, there was no such things as a ‘monster’ in this Pantheon. That was for the humans to deal with.

I woke up later to the sound of a knock at the door and to the pitter-patter of little feet coming towards him. For the love of Nep, It’s Selta. Why does he have to come now? Olryn, looking for her caregiver, peeks under her bed, her long, white hair flowing to the floor; her big white eyes were staring right back at me. Just like her father.

“Papa! I think somebody is at the door!”

“I heard as much. Could you let them in, my dear Olryn?”

The palace itself was rather immaculate, despite its darkness. Every door in this palace had the designs of an eclipsed sun over the center, with what appeared to be a sort of fractured webbing circling around it. It was monochrome and smooth, strictly in their black and whites. The ivory arches that held up the grand ceiling, high enough that it was lost within the limits of the human eye, shimmered in what little light, that pest, that was still left there. A plush rug rested on the floor wearily, sparing both residents from the cold marble floor. This palace was hollow, with only what looked like a quarter of the rooms being used leisurely. The door that had been knocked upon was the entrance, was more fitting for a tyrannical emperor, with sharp lines like knives and glaring eyes engraved upon it.

This was home, and I love it dearly. Soon enough, that innocent pitter-patter slowly faded away. I had assumed that she had been going to go get the door. However, it seemed that Selta had his own plans. He burst in the door, bringing in that obnoxious light with him wherever he went, which pierced the comfort of the dark that blanketed my home.

Olryn screamed, as I rushed over there as fast as I could. It was the first time that her eyes ever encountered the phenomenon known as light. I tried my best to soothe her poor nerves. She was shivering, shaking, closing her eyes, trying to shield herself from that wretched substance. I cannot blame her for that. There’s no telling how long I held her in my arms and before placing her back in her room to deal with this awful thing known as my brother.

“Brother, you left me outside for so long! How could you?!”

“I was resting and taking care of Olryn.”

“You named that stupid little thing? It’s just a part of your power! Why would you even take care of it? They are distracting you from time with me! We used to be so close!”

“They are my child. My pride and joy. How could you be so cruel to a new creation?”

“I am being perfectly reasonable, brother. You’ve torn me to shreds! Broken my poor heart! How could you abandon me after how long you’ve watched over me? Taught me how to manipulate my powers… and you left me behind.”

“Those times are over, Selta. You are not a baby anymore, despite your behavior saying otherwise. It’s time to be a real god. These humans need you for their survival.”

“I’ll make you pay for this! Then I’ll finally have your attention again! You’ll see!”

“If you say so, brother. I hope to see you again.”

He stormed off yet again, like he always has. I closed the door behind me, briefly peering out into what I could see within his aura. Immature brat. The few times he’s tried to get back at me consisted of evacuating his waste in the corners of my castle and trying to kill me. The latter would be more concerning, if he didn’t try to do so with his tiny baby-god hands reaching up as far as they can and slightly disturbing my calves. To be fair, he’s only 400,000 years old. I can’t blame him for being particularly angsty, since he’s just a little kid. However, I have a smaller kid to look after. I’ve taught him everything I know about managing his godly powers; I figured he could manage on his own.

—

As time passed, Selta grew into his prime. More rotting chunks of Nep fell from the god’s body and down into the pantheon, as humans ushered them on and into their lives. Selta and I slowly fell behind, in favor of more modern gods, with domains such as sleep, comedy, inspiration, lust, and all things that mattered to those creatures. As these gods came to fill the mass of space, we were to choose our partners, wife or husband. We were to choose whomever we wanted. However, one flower caught my eye. A beauty known as Lu, the Goddess of Motherhood and Fertility. I recall meeting her for the first time… She was so kind to me, despite her young age. But more important than our smitten feelings between one another was how she treated Olryn. She played with her, and Olryn had her first ever friend. I needed my child to have a mother, and Lu had wanted a child to take care of. Almost too good to be true. As arrangements were made, Selta became furious with our decisions.

“DYZMUS! You know I was after her! Date after date, and she was to be only mine!”

“I’m sorry, Selta. I left the choice up to her.”

“She is a misguided goddess! She knows that I must have her!”

“Please, simmer down, there’s nothing I can do about this…”

“It’s that stupid little thing, isn’t it? It’s that part of your power that you two see as a child!”

“That ‘thing’ has a name. Olryn.”

“I don’t care what you named it. It’s taken from me! Your company and my rightful wife! If this causes any more trouble, I’m doing something about it!”

“Alright, brother. I’ll see what I can do to sway Lu’s mind.”

As if. Lu never wanted him, and she complained about him all the time. She went on and on about his cruelty and hatred, holding Olryn tight as if she were her own born child. She’s had to chase Selta off of my property, since she said he was looking some sort of way. She had described it to me as “cold, horrible malice.”

Lu had decided to stay home, to keep watch over Olryn while I went out to attend to my duties. It was such a delight to come home to her sweet face. Lu softened up the palace, and removed those sharp, bitter lines with sweeping curves, draped in dark wreaths, with flowers on every windowsill. I loved the way she completed my home. There was a sort of dark comfort that I grew to love. I cannot remember a happier time.

We watched Selta, as there were several complaints about him stalking other gods, looking for a bride himself. He was stalking around my palace, occasionally snatching away Lu for a date. There were so many other people he had thrown his hat in the ring for. Konira, the Lust Goddess? Absolutely not. Who knows what kinds of standards she has? Ojim, that artsy little god? Quaint enough, but after an outing or two, he’s far too odd for his taste. Ini and Maku, those twin Earth deities? He could barely stand the silence of the two.  Poor Selta settled down to Selenai, Goddess of the Moon, which was blessed by my darkness. She ignored him frequently, as if he had never existed. And if not that, she constantly beat him, as he did not want to bear a child with the goddess. The God of Light had no intention of spreading his power. Then he saw them on Earth: Lu and Olryn playing under the moon as they did every night, happy as can be.

Then it happened. I remember that day as if it was all that I have ever known. I live it in my every waking moment. We were so happy until it happened. Seventeen billion times ago. Selta burst down from the moon with a crackling of thunder and a piercing scream of the Light God, as the sun rose in the deep night. Lu was pounced on and bisected vertically before she could make a single sound; her womb split in two as her golden ichor spilled, struggling to keep her alive from such an incident.

Olryn was shown no more mercy, perhaps even less than her mother, whose screams had beckoned me down to her, much to my absolute horror. I was too late. I saw it all before me. Olryn was crushed between Selta’s hands and beat upon a rock until cold and silent. The crying. The screaming of my name, from my dear child. Wishing for the pain to end. Anything, for that pain to end. She was tossed aside like garbage once the life was drained from her small body,

“My family, my dearest Olryn… I will avenge you.”

The chase began. Selta was no longer so high and mighty, and he ran in my domain. At every step, I tore away his miserable body, little by little. He soon grew tired as I tore away enough of his flesh and bone, and I had let him feel what he had done to my innocent family. First, a bisection in two as my shadows tore him apart, save for the head. Slow, and agonizing. Atom by atom, savoring that horrific sound. Every moment of pain that was shown on his face was one more moment of delight, of vengeance. He deserved this. When my damage to him had appeared to the base of his chin, it was time to move on.

I put my hands on his temples. Ever so slowly, I pushed down upon them, as Selta screamed for mercy. It was too late for that. No mercy shown, no mercy given. I found a rock, but it had to be optimal. I kept Selta’s blood boiling, paralyzing him as I searched. I found something perfect. I moved the rock towards him. The perfect black granite, with a triangular point, sharp enough to cut through the skies. Then, of course, I got to work. That rat made no more noise, and I did my job until Selta’s eyes fell dark and his body dimmed.

Oh, but no. I am not happy with this. I took my shadows and tore him to shreds until all I could see was little specks scattered across the site of his extermination. I used my magic to keep him conscious. I watched his specks twinkle, as a sort of struggle to put himself back together. Oh, nonono. I gathered his pieces and flung them into the void, so that I may torment him for as long as I please. I could see them in the human sky, and they were almost… beautiful, in a twisted way. Like, I could stare at them all night.

I think I’ll call them “stars.”