Work Text:
There was once a God who lived in the high mountains.
With unkempt hair, glaring eyes, sharp horns and armoured tail, he never wished for someone to find him.
So he stayed in his cave, overlooking all to maintain the balance he so desired in life.
So a thousand years pass, not one soul willing to climb the mountain to see the God, for the journey was a death sentence.
One day, a wandering traveller looking for berries that grew at the base, got lost. They were exhausted, and needed a rest. They managed to find the God’s cave, and seeked help.
The God came before the traveller, unsure of how to act and asked,
“Traveller, what brings you before the living heaven?”
The traveller was taken aback, for they did not know a God lived in these mountains. They replied,
“I am weary and need of rest, will you grant me this request to rest here?”
The God had no reason to decline the travellers soft spoken request, so he went and gathered wood for a fire and fauna to eat.
For three days and three nights, the traveller rested with the God. They spoke with him, shared their life with him, and spoke of how humans lived.
The God was enthralled, and before long began to feel more.
Eventually the traveller had to leave, but before they left they turned to the God and asked if he would come with them. The God turned his back for the traveler, as he could not know what could happen.
Greatly saddened, the traveller returned to the city.
When they returned, they were greeted with joy and celebration for no one had ever gone to the peek and returned alive.
The King himself was overjoyed at this, and decreed a festival shall be held for the traveller. The traveller, with little choice in the matter, went along with the Kings wishes and so preparations were put in place immediately.
And so a year went by for the God, all alone in his cave. He felt sadness and loneliness without the traveller. When he thought of the times together with the traveler, he felt happiness and joy.
So the God for the first time in his life, went down the mountain to the city.
The God was overwhelmed by the people in the city, all dashing to prepare the city for the festival.
The God, alone and afraid, sat in the centre and cried to his heart's content. News spread fast among the city that this was happening, and reached the King and the Traveler in due time.
They both rushed to the centre to see the God still weeping.
The Traveller was thrilled to see the God once more, and went to comfort him. However, the King did not like the God and was fearful.
The King spoke to the God,
“God of beasts, I find you a danger to us, so I shall haunt you. Make blades of your horns and armour of your skin. Now, begone before I slay you here!”
The God, one of balance, wished to speak out against this but the Traveller spoke for him.
“Oh King! This God is why I lived ! Please take kindness on to him, for he has shown me human kindness tenfold.”
The King stopped and considered, then spoke once more,
“Shall be it, I will give this so called God of Balance until the night of the festival to prove to me he is human enough to not be a threat, but if he does not pass this test, I shall slay him at the festival and serve his meat for our feast”
So the God and the Traveller left, heading towards the Travellers home.
The Traveller spent seven days and seven nights teaching the God of human ways. Of music and art, literature and philosophy, dance and theatre. However this is not what helped the God learn how to be more human.
The Traveller treated him with kindness and respect, but he saw the Traveller cry about a dark future, and become frustrated at the King. In these moments, the God truly learned emotions, and felt his own grow and bloom.
Not only this, but his features had grown softer. Well kept soft locks, unplated skin, shortened horns and gentle eyes were now his sakes.
So the two came before the King during the festival, and within moments the King deemed the God no longer a threat, he begged the God for forgiveness, and it was granted with no hesitation.
So the two spent the night celebrating, dancing away well into the dawn.
The God decided to stay with the Traveller, and within months the God’s feelings grew even more.
The God confessed love for the Traveller, and so did the Traveller to the God. The two over thrilled with this, asked the King to change the festival into their wedding. The King agreed, and so the wedding was to be held then.
On the day, the two joined as one before the city, and a celebration of love was held in its place.
And as the two retired to their bed, the Traveller could only thank the stars above that they met the God, and that they could teach him love