To Nanithel a lot of Cara’s words rang true in her opinion, the gods were so much stronger and older than mortals but she couldn’t believe that all gods thought of them as weak and pathetic, surely they protected and helped their chosen race by more than pity. Morwen cared for her children, giving them protection from the cold and always taking her time to speak with those coming to her palace, the goddess queen was always sad to leave them in the winter and glad to rejoin them in when spring came, that had to be more than just pity right? What about the Konti’s mother Avalis didn’t she love her children as well? But of course, Cara could be right when it came to other gods, maybe some of them took pleasure in giving marks to mortals they saw fit of power or cursed them they deemed weak and hopeless, or did they help people because of their incredible weakness compared to themselves or by true good will? Who could know the true intent of gods for sure, maybe they were like Cara said, maybe they were the opposite or maybe they had plans that would never be clear to those serving them. But Nan could not give up her mostly positive view of the gods but never the less the older Vantha’s words had seeded themselves inside Nanithel’s mind, because the knowledge that many gods never showed themselves except when marking someone, why was that really? “I’m not sure about the god’s intent, nor will I ever be, and it is perhaps foolish of me but I want to believe that the gods do us good.” Nan said looking up at the sky thinking. “Of course I’m sure not all gods or goddess are the same, just as we are different, maybe some gods are like you say but I believe some help us because of love and attachment, like Morwen.” Nanithel fell silent and Cara’s next words about Ivak and Morwen got her thinking. “I wish people wouldn’t fight just because of their chosen gods, but that is almost always the case. Personally I wouldn’t fight a person marked by Ivak, I’d barely fight even if I was attacked, but if the gods planned for us to fight each other then they succeeded too many fights are caused by religion.” Nanithel hurried after Cara towards the hold, trying to keep up with the taller woman’s longer steps. They stopped near the wall and Cara freed a circle of ice from the wall and picking it up from the snow covered ground. “The past should never be forgotten entirely, if we don’t learn from the past then how will we avoid mistakes in the future?” That was something her mother had told her early on, past mistakes were good in hindsight as they thought you what you did wrong and stopped you from repeating yourself, but humanity listened little to those wise words. “Besides if everything in the world was known to you life would be boring, still, there are many things I’d like explained that I will never know.” “I don’t know, 500 years is such a long time, I would think details are forgotten but I don’t claim to know how good the memories of gods are. I thought Ivak wrecked the world in grief of his lover’s death and the other gods stopped him and ended the Valterrian but I wonder why all the gods entered a war that was originally between humans.” She had always wondered why the gods started warring from the start, what had they to do in a human war, she could understand them wanting to stop Ivak but that was after the war between gods and men. Nan’s blue eyes followed the smoke trail upwards from the magma that was now cooling from the ice water Cara had released over it. She pondered over Cara’s question, in all honesty she had no idea, she’d never been in a place that could be considered hot or been close to any fire except the fires in the hold’s hearths. “I have not and I couldn’t imagine the feeling of it, I’ve only been to Wind Reach and my hope of travelling outside Avanthal will probably show me the answer to that though, but I can’t stay here forever, I’m not a full Vantha and some part of me wants to leave and see if the rest of me is out there somewhere. I’m not used to the world, nor am I a skilled fighter but that is what I have to do before I get married to someone I don’t want.” So far her parents had not pressed her hard about marriage, her mother understood Nan’s feelings of being half to a point but Nanithel couldn’t stay in Avanthal if she wanted answers either |