Happy Labour Day!

Happy Labour Day, everyone! Or, if you do not celebrate Labour Day on the 1st of May, happy regional Labour Day to you!

I am Cozy. And I just want to say, thank you all for the support on this series.

I didn't know how this series would have turned out, but on April, the monthly views reached a scary number of 285, my highest ever for a month. That is something worth celebrating! Hurrah!

And, in appreciation, allow me to share with you, an interesting piece of lore.

You have probably heard of the name Diehl in WoP Quest if you've come this far from the very start. This little excerpt describes an important part of Diehl's lore - The one where he becomes... Non-human.

Here goes.

The Geis of Diehl
Lore of Words of Power Quest
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Ufel staggered slowly towards the Well of Wealth.

Dropping a pebble into the well, Ufel silently waited for a response. Seconds later, a lady dressed in full blue furiously sprouted forth from the well. With a ball of water and ice surging, and swirling in her right hand, and an ice spike with a pebble in its center on her left, she pointed the sharp tip towards Ufel.

"How dare you, insolent child! Tossing a pebble into my well?! That is the highest form of disrespect towards the Well of Wealth!- !!!" (... Who is this child?)

The boy was about 9 years old, with brown hair and a height of about 130cm. His eyes were closed, and blood trickled down the sides of his face from his eyes. The boy was holding the broken handle of an axe in his right hand, and fresh blood dripped from the handle's end.

"... My, my, child... Did you stab your own eyes, with that?" The witch inquired.

U : "... Yes."

"I see. That's a very stupid thing to do, child. Admirable, yet stupid. I wouldn't dare imagine what of a person who would harm himself this willingly, especially at your age."

U : "Are, are you the Azure Witch of the Wealth Well?"

"Why, yes. Yes, I am. But you need not address me with such formality, brave child."

U : "Then, how may I address you, Miss?"

"Hahahah! Miss!? Oh, you silver-tongued human. Do you have any idea how many men I've violated, copulated, desecrated and masticated?"

U : "... Yes?"

"Knowing that, you have the gall, to call me Miss? Are you foolish, or a trained dog of a gentleman?"

U : "... I am neither."

The witch eyed the boy for a while, before finally releasing the mixture of water and ice on her right hand, and letting the issue settle.

"... Very well. Perhaps you do know what you're doing. Let us suppose you do - State your business, child. Why have you thrown that pebble into my well?"

The child, with an unmoving, cold expression and body gesture, simply leaned forward a little bit and spoke softly.

U : "... I wish to forge an oath."

The witch's highly, smug expression turned pale, as cold as the ice spike on her left hand.

"... An oath? You wish to vow an oath? At your age? Are you serious?"

U : "... Serious enough to blind myself, Miss."

C : "Stop calling me Miss - I'm Cerule. Call me Cerule you may, but don't you dare utter or so much as breathe my name on other people. If you do, I'll kill you. Is that clear, child?"

U : "Okay."

C : "Good. So, you wish to vow, but what price will you offer?"

Ufel looked down at his right hand holding an axe and his left hand holding nothing before he remembered that he's blind.

U : "..."

Ufel's face faced the general direction of the broken axe for several seconds.

C : "... Well, speak up. Surely you're not thinking of offering that broken axe handle, are you?"

U : "... I..."

C : "Ugh, you sure are a dimwit, for a child. But, a dimwit you may be, you are also a brave child. So, I'll make a better offer for you than any of your gods would."

U : "A better... Offer?"

C : "Yes, a better offer! You don't need to give me something materialistic to oath to the gods, like an object. Just grant and swear upon me your fealty and your word."

U : "Swear my fealty... ?"

C : "Yes, child. Swear upon me, your fealty. You know, make a promise you absolutely cannot break."

U : "... A promise I cannot break... ?"

C : "Yes, child! Swear me a promise you will never break, and keep to that promise. In exchange, I shall grant you immeasurable power, for as long as you stay true to me."

U : "Yeah... Yeah! That's- That's the one I wanted!"

Cerule rubbed her ice spike on her left hand against her forehead, with a troubled face showing confusion.

C : (What is with this kid? Mixing up an oath with a geis, and making me all nervous!) "... So you wanted to swear upon me a geis, child?"

U : "Yes! I would like a geis with you!"

Cerule looks away, and sighs.

C : "... How pathetic - I thought I was suddenly going to become your eyewitness for an oath with a god, like Dardicel."

U : "Uhm, miss... Miss Cerule! Can... Can I swear upon you, a geis?"

C : "... Yes, yes, but make it snappy. Kneel down on your left knee and right foot, and place your right hand over your heart."

Ufel did as he was told.

C : "Good. Now, hold still..."

Melting the ice spike on her left hand, Cerule touched the boy's forehead. The cooling touch calmed the boy, and in his mind floated a scene.

A scene, of another man pledging a geis with the Azure Witch.

*** ***

E : "Cerule, Azure Witch of the Wealth Well! I, Edaman, pledge upon thee my solemnest promise. Heed my call, hear my prayers!"

C : "I, Cerule, Azure Witch of the Wealth Well, am present and an audience to Edaman."

E : "To thee I swear upon my life, to never break another sword! For it is the symbolism of my death, to succumb to cowardice, to resort to underhanded means, to attack the defenseless! Should I break my oath to thee, may my body crumble to dust! May my soul be your eternal slave! May my very existence become yours to do as you please!"

C : "I gladly accept your plea, Edaman! And for your oath, I declare that you are rebirth! From this day forth, you shall be known as the Dunwell Marauder, Dural!"

*** ***

Ufel snaps out of his trance with a violent shake on his body.

C : "Child! Do you understand what you must do?"

Cerule was shaking the boy with both hands on his shoulders.

U : "... Yes, Cerule. I understand the geis' procedure."

C : "Very well. You may begin if you wish, child, but let me warn you - Break the promise, and suffer the consequences. Are you sure you want to swear a geis upon me?"

U : "... Cerule, Azure Witch of the Wealth Well! I, Ufel, pledge upon thee my solemnest promise. Heed my call, hear my prayers!"

Cerule was shocked at Ufel suddenly starting the ritual before she was sure he wanted it.

C : (... What a rash boy, starting the geis immediately!... Ufel, huh... If you truly wish for a geis, then so be it. I have no qualms blessing a person with such resolve at such a young age.) "I, Cerule, Azure Witch of the Wealth Well, am present and an audience to Ufel."

U : "To thee I swear upon my life, to never kill one whom I lock eyes with! For it is the symbolism of my death, to hesitate in battle, to withhold my full strength for every swing, to be tempted by the evil that is desire and love!"

C : (!!! Is he serious!? A two-part promise like that, when he's already blind... A berserker's geis!?... That's as good as saying 'Turn me into a berserker who will never be stopped until my eyes can see, or until I know what love is'! What kind of monster is he trying to become?

... Rather, what did he go through to make a geis like that which would turn him into an absolute brute, disregarding his own life like that?...)

U : "...Should I break my oath to thee, may my mind be plunged into an abyss of insanity! May my body be torn asunder and fed to the crows! May my heart beat on in conflict with this body, till the love for a vile beast like my mind's death soothe the raging beast!"

C : (May his heart beat on in conflict as opposed to his body being torn asunder? He wants to be an unstoppable berserker even in death?... That's an interesting choice for a geis, but I can't believe anyone would do this, let alone a child...)

C : "... I accept your plea, Ufel! And... For your oath, I declare that you are rebirth! From this day forth..."

C : (... Do I... Really want to complete this? This... This wouldn't turn out horribly wrong, would it?)

C : "... You shall be known as the Lifesunder, Diehl!"

And so, the legend of Diehl began.
 
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Diehl. The Lifesunder. The slayer of Croxa and Sha'koth. He made a geis like this because he hates many, many things, including the family he was born with. When he realized that he needed a descendant, he met Urdythari, a beautiful woman. They married, but they never got to making a child - For Diehl's and their child's sake, Urdythari tried to change Diehl, using the child as an excuse. Despite her harsh words, she loved him to the end - And it's only when you have lost something precious do you feel the full impact of its importance.

Their tragedy is one of the most romantic pieces of history, similar in how Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a masterpiece in our world. A man, destined to not love, marrying a woman, whom has nothing but love to offer. They inspire many spin-offs of their tragedy, but only a few of those pieces can actually compete with it on an equal level.

... Just a fair warning to you guys now - I love a good tragedy. Because it's convincing. It's painful. Because the characters grieve, it reflects how human they are. It reflects how human we are.

It reflects how the mind's desire cannot be simply resolved with the body's efforts.

So... Here's a big, BIG spoiler. Expect this tale, WoP Quest, to end with a bittersweet ending. At least, expect the bad route and true route to end with at least one person dead. I won't mess with the good route - The good route is a heart-lifting lovely tale. The bad route bends the story towards a horror psychological nature, and the true route is what really happened.

I love 'what really happened'. Because of that, I will put it last, and get the other routes out of the way first.