Chapter 63

**Merianna**

When I had marched back into the castle I expected Noch to be in his office, especially since Thyrion and I didn’t leave there too long ago. He wasn’t there… I then remembered how excited he looked when I handed the scythe back to him. I hadn’t expected for him to be excited enough to start on the scythe so quickly that he would slip through the floors and walls again. That was the only reason I could come up with for him disappearing so quickly. My guess turned out to be correct.

As I walked up to the door of his creaking smithy, I could hear him fiddling around inside. I walked up to the door and knocked. “Noch, do you have a moment?”

The clanking inside the structure stopped and I heard shuffling coming closer to the door. “Is that you Demon Spawn?” He asked as he pushed the door open.

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. “You couldn’t have been in here for more than a few minutes, how could you be so dirty if all you’re doing is attaching a chain?” I asked incredulously. Noch was in his dirty blacksmith clothing, but that wasn’t what I was baffled about. He looked like he had been working in front of a forge for a whole day instead of a few minutes.

“Creating masterpieces is no simple matter. I don’t care what I look like while I do my best work.” He huffed. “Now you probably didn’t come here to check on your weapon. What do you want, Demon Spawn?”

I huffed right back at him. “Is Raska back yet?”

“I have not seen her yet, but she should be coming back soon. Once she does we’ll just let her know about the visitor. I assume you found Fog and let him know already?”

“I did indeed.” I confirmed with a smile. I needed to ask him about the time before the calamity, but how do I start the subject? Noch usually avoids talking about what happened back then, and whenever I tried to ask previously he’d just twist the conversation into a completely different direction. I wasn’t completely sure how much of a taboo topic it was for him.

“What’s wrong Demon Spawn? I can see you practically running circles in your head.” He gave me a look that said I should better spit it out or get out.

“What exactly happened in the time before the cataclysm? What caused the cataclysm in the first place? Back then, were deities beings that physically interacted with people?”

Noch looked taken aback by my questions. I knew he didn’t expect me to ask something like this. I have respected his wishes to steer clear of the subject up until now. I knew that he didn’t want to talk about it, but this was just something I had to know. After Thyrion brought it up, and mentioned the name Denaue. My heart just couldn’t calm down. I felt like I was in a slight panic the whole time, and there was no way for me to resolve the panic because I didn’t exactly know what was causing it. The information shouldn’t be affecting me as much as it was.

“Why the sudden serious interest in the long past?” Noch asked. His demeanor suddenly changed from the carefree Noch I’ve forever known, to a serious one that almost seemed threatening.

“I asked Thyrion what he knew about the Dark Warlocks and their goal. He told me that their goal was to bring back an old Dia of war and chaos named Denaue that was destroyed in the time before the cataclysm. I can’t get it out of my head.” I muttered. Noch looked like he wanted to rip Thyrion a new gullet. I knew his glare was pointing towards me, but his intended target was most definitely the one that gave me the information.

Noch heaved a sigh, stalked back into the smithy and sat down on a rickety stool. “I’d rather keep the past in the past since none of it helps the present. I’ll have a word with Thyrion later, he should have told me about the Dark Warlocks rather than you. I tend to stay out of their business, but when it concerns the long past, then it could be a different story.” He mused as he rubbed his face vigorously.

“Would you mind telling me?” I asked while closing the door and grabbed another stool from a corner.

Noch eyed me from between his fingers. “And why are you so interested in it? If Thyrion blabbed to you about that, then it shouldn’t mean much to you.”

I frowned and planted myself on the seat. “I know. I shouldn’t be as attached to this as I feel I am, but I can’t help feeling like it’s important, and in a way, ominous or dangerous. I can’t seem to calm down since Thyrion mentioned the deity’s name. Something about what he said isn’t sitting right with me.”

Noch must have noticed just how unsettled I was. He didn’t try and make a jab at me or shrug it off. In fact he leaned back slightly and closed his eyes. “The events of back then were out of the ordinary even for that environment. Factions sprang out of nowhere with extraordinary ideals and goals. The space of time just before the cataclysm, was a time of chaos.” He opened his eyes again and looked directly at me.

“Was it possible for deities to be destroyed back then?” I asked curiously.

“It was complicated and difficult, but it was possible to some extent. The Warlocks back then didn’t worship just one deity, but the one you mentioned was the one that put up the most fight to the rising chaos.” He said gravely.

I frowned. “Wasn’t she a deity of Chaos and Warfare? Didn’t she enjoy what was happening?”

“That is where this new generation of Warlocks have missing information. Sadly over time, information gets lost and twisted. The earth reclaims villages, towns and even cities when given the chance. Especially during a cataclysm, and any information that gets left behind after the tragedy and manages to survive, usually always ends up being misinterpreted and spotty. The deity Denaue was known for Chaos,and the warfare part was just something people added to her repertoire, but that wasn’t all she was known for. She was mainly a deity of Chaos and Order.” Noch explained.

I raised my eyebrow at that. “What do you mean by that?”

He leaned back slightly on his stool. “It means that she was a deity of balance. If dark and light exists, she was the perfect balance between the two. She was the very definition of a ‘grey area’. She was neither truly loved nor truly feared by people. She was most definitely a turning point in either the victory or loss of a side though. If someone wanted to wage war, they’d have to get rid of her first if they knew that she wouldn’t take their side. Her ideals were clear, her goal was maintaining balance in the realm, and she rarely ever took sides unless she felt that there was truly a wrong committed.”

As Noch explained these things to me, I could feel my heart settling. This somehow felt more right than what Thyrion told. I could feel the rightness in his words.

“So is that why she was destroyed? Someone who was clearly in the wrong wanted to wage war?” I asked.

“I personally don’t know the reason as to why she was destroyed back then. All that I know for a fact, is that once she was no longer there, all hell broke loose and the cataclysm rocked every inch of this realm. Many good people died back then. It is something I never wish to revisit.” He said solemnly.

“You said it was possible for deities to be destroyed to some extent back then, what did you mean?”

“Well, if you think of a deity, what comes to mind?” He asked, to which I shrugged. “A deity is not a mortal being. Although they were more present in the past than now, they were still beings of energy. Beings who are as old, if not older, than the realm itself. A being like that, can be ripped apart to make the smaller pieces of them easier to destroy. It is still possible then though, for pieces of them to survive and disperse. The pieces would end up either in the land itself, or even in other living beings such as animals or humans.”

“So she wasn’t completely destroyed?” I asked curiously.

Noch simply shrugged. “Who is to say. I was more interested in saving my own skin back then than paying attention to that.” Somehow he always managed to irritate me with simple words.

“So it’s possible that the Warlocks think that pieces of her are still scattered around, and are on a mission now to find those pieces and bring her back?”

“That is what I’m thinking, yes. It’s highly possible. And now since they have Dermon in their midst who is clearly in league with the demons, I can’t help but wonder, who is using who?”

Now that was an ominous thought if I ever heard one. Just before I could open my mouth to ask him about that, the door to the smithy burst open and a smug Raska appeared in the doorway with Jasnine right behind her.

“Guess who found the snake’s den!” She grinned from ear to ear.

“Oh that’s perfect! It’s also perfect that you just arrived Raska.” Noch said as he stood up from his stool. It seemed that this was the end of our discussion. There were more important things that needed our attention.

“Jasnine, you can fill me in on the information.” Noch ordered. “Raska, you have a new friend waiting for you in the dungeon. Demon Spawn and Bastard Spawn brought him in when they found him in the village.” He said quickly before Raska could say anything else. My mind on the other hand seemed to have stopped short when Noch referred to Thyrion as Bastard Spawn… why did he have to make it sound like I actually got along with Thyrion?

“Oh is that so?” Raska asked. “Who might this friend be?”

“It’s a Dark Warlock that needs some quality time with a quality woman like you.” He smirked.

“Oh my! A Dark Warlock? Meri my dear, I assume you were the one to bring the new play mate?” Raska asked as she waltzed over and pulled me out of my stool for a hug.

“Not really.” I muttered against her.

“She was present but the Bastard Spawn was the one to drag the unfortunate soul in.” Noch said with a shrug as he started shooing us out of his smithy.

“Is there anything specific that you want me to ask him?” She asked as we all stumbled out into fresh air again.

“I want to know what the goal of the Dark Warlocks is, and if they know what Dermon’s goal is. I don’t like the fact that Dermon is in league with Demons, as well as the Dark Warlocks. Something smells fishy enough to rot my nose off.” He grumbled. 

“Your wish is my command!” She said with a happy sway in her hips.

Noch looked after her retreating rear. “I swear that woman would lead me to an early grave.”

“Well, she does try her best on occasion.” Jasnine pipped up happily.

“As if playing with the Demon Spawn isn’t enough of a death sentence.” He muttered, then turned back to his smithy, only to look at me like he only then realised I was still there. “Demon Spawn, you can come back at the end of the day, your scythe should be done by then.”

“It’s already almost dinner time.” I said with a raised eyebrow.

“Come after dinner then.” He clipped, then dragged Jasnine into his smithy and slammed the door shut in my face.

“I swear…” I mumbled to myself as I made my way back into the castle.