Moderia

Nothing was fun for the Goddess of Balance anymore. Moderia rolled over in the sky, her stark white hair wrapping around her body like a cocoon. She’d presided over the principles of balance since her birth, but even the laws of causality couldn’t save her--nor her brothers--from the endless torment of boredom. Her brothers had both developed their own creative ways to stave off the perpetual boredom that came complimentary with being a timeless entity. However, she was the goddess of balance. She lived a much more constrained life than them both, and the consequences of acting outside her constraints was much harsher than that of her brothers. The last time she decided to act out was 10,000 years ago, and as a consequence, she’d damn near caused the extinction of a fledgling race in the lower realms. 10,000 years should have been enough time to get over her small foible, and the laws of the universe had already punished her by binding her metaphorical hands for the thousands of years following. It was only recently that she had been given all of her responsibilities back. She had mixed feelings about it, but it felt quite nice to be able to stretch her legs in the lower realms again. She didn’t enjoy interacting with mortals in disguise like her brothers seemed to have a penchant for. Mortals were just as boring and annoying as they were 10,000 years ago. However, their audacity had only grown in the time she was away. She found that oddly pleasing. Sure, there were plenty of mortals who worshiped them as the Gods that they were, but others had begun lusting after the Gods’ powers, and some had even denied their existence at its core. She wondered excitedly if this sentiment would continue to grow. Perhaps, if mortal faith wavered enough, she and her brothers’ existences would no longer be deemed necessary. They would finally experience the sweet release of what mortals referred to as ‘death’. Sadly, she was still operating under the laws of the universe, and even she wasn’t privy to what could potentially happen. It was entirely possible that their existences would just become less defined, or perhaps they would simply be assigned to a separate role. However, nothing could stop a goddess from dreaming. It was with this concept fresh in her heart that she decided to take a celebratory stroll in the mortal realm. It would be offensive to suggest she use her holy legs to touch mortal soil, so she simply floated along the sky, tossing and turning and letting her abyssal eyes trace over everything that had changed since her last foray into the lower realms. 10,000 years, she was beginning to learn, was time enough to change just about everything. She floated along for an undefined amount of time, taking in every expanse of earth that had shifted or changed since she last saw it. The mortals were obnoxious eyesores as always, but the glamour magic that shimmered over her flesh form kept her safe from prying eyes. Eventually, she stopped under a tall oak tree, her dark eyes scanning the sun between its intricate leaves. She shut off her omniscient senses, fully dedicated to committing the pattern of these leaves to memory for no other reason than to give herself something to do. Days passed before Moderia was shaken out of her stupor. A mortal hand passed in front of her vision and plucked one of the low-hanging leaves. She narrowed her eyes, debating whether or not to will this mortal out of existence for their disturbance. However, she couldn’t make any waves yet, not when she’d finally managed to shake the Will of the World’s punishment. She released her glamour and sighed, for the first time lowering her flesh body onto mortal soil. As she turned her head to the mortal, intent on giving them a fright, her eyes widened ever so slightly. For the first time, she understood why her brothers were so enamored with the mortals that worshiped them. It was the first time she’d ever looked at a mortal and felt anything other than contempt or irritation. While it was far from affection she felt for this interloper, she was intent on chasing this newfound sensation and exploring it for all it was worth. She quickly sucked the mortal into her subspace and observed them curiously. ”Mortal,” she began, speaking directly into their mind. ”Why do you disturb the placidity of the oak with your whims and disrupt the balance of man and nature?” In reality, she didn’t mind or care about that at all. Even having her speech filtered by the Will of the World didn’t bother her this time. All she wanted was to hear this mortal speak.