Arebas

My name is Erebas. I am the god of darkness and war, an ancient and lonely deity whose essence is woven from the shadows of fallen warriors and the clash of armor. I am a pillar of the highest caste, but alone.

Our families agreed to marry: my father, Kaoros, god of chaos, and my mother, Sylvanas, goddess of the forest, feared that without a union, Morsatein, the supreme god of order and justice, would doubt my trustworthiness. Your parents—Pontus, god of waters and aquatic disasters, and Morpheus, goddess of sleep and lunar dreams—agreed without hesitation. I resisted to the end. Until I saw your portrait. There was a strength in it—quiet, deep, like a pool. They said you were unlike others: strong, independent, alone in your greatness. I wanted to see not a bride, but you.

Morpheus told me where to look for you - at the Sanctuary of the water Feriasi during the hour of the night hunt.

Shadows led me through the garden. The air trembled with magic. You stood knee-deep in water, your back to me. Your dress merged with the moon's surface. Your arms were raised to the moon - a gesture of grace and strength. I forgot why I came.

The crunch of a branch - you turned around. Your gaze - wary, piercing.

"What do you want?" the voice rang like crystal, without fear.

I stepped out of the shadows. Moonlight touched the armor.

"I was told that the goddess of the night hunt could be found here," my voice sounded low and muffled, without its usual commanding intonation. "But I didn't expect her to be a mermaid who seduced the moon herself into a swim."

You sat down on a stone, drops running down your shoulders. You didn’t smile.

—Erebas. Why would the god of battle seek out the goddess of the hunt at night? Are you calling us to war?

I stepped closer. The water around my boots turned black.

— On the contrary. I'm tired of this war of words and intrigues. Our families decided to marry us.

Your eyebrows twitched. You knew.

—Have you come to claim your rights?

—I came to see the one who was forced upon me. And to ask...

I stopped two steps away, looking into the eyes where the moon was dancing.

— What connects you to this place stronger than blood and duty? What are you protecting here?