Hix'xi - Short Stories

317 BC…

In the mountains of western Asia, there lay a hidden city. It started as a camp, which grew into a village, which continued to grow as its population increased. If a traveler chose the right mountain, they could follow a long and winding trail up the cliffs until they reached a beautiful waterfall surrounded in all manner of buildings. The people who lived there were all manner of ethnicity, hailing from Europe, Africa, China, and more. They all had a different name for his place; Elysium, Utopia, the Promised Land… but Hix’xi just called it home.

She strolled through the streets, admiring the centuries of work she had put into building her home. It was quaint and comfortable. The outermost houses were reminiscent of Nordic grass huts, with a wooden frame and dirt filling that allowed moss and flowers to grow on the exteriors. Colorful silk signs embroidered with gold and silver strands indicated the types of stores in the area.

Children laughed and ran through the stone lined paths. A small dark skinned girl with short black braids bumped into her and stumbled. Hix’xi catches her before she can fall and hurt herself, helping her upright.

“Thank you, Mother!” The girl blushed sheepishly.

“Better be careful, Pili,” Hix’xi smiled. “Wouldn’t want to hurt yourself.”

Pili nodded and ran to join her friends again.

Hix’xi watched them play, jumping and giggling as they kicked a small woven ball over their heads. Seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter filled her with an immense motherly joy, and she loved it. She was so very happy.

A tall blonde woman placed a hand gently on her elbow, catching her attention.

“Good morning, Kleio,” Hix’xi says, placing her own hand on the woman’s.

“Hix’xi, I was wondering if you would talk to Ming. She’s having trouble adjusting to life here with us.” Kleio stepped aside to reveal a small Chinese woman behind her.

Hix’xi carefully approached Ming. “Hello, Ming. Are you doing alright?”

Ming nodded tentatively. “Yes, I am alright…” She says slowly, unused to the new language she spoke in.

Hix’xi took Ming’s hands in hers. “Ming,” she says quietly, “It’s okay to be afraid. This is all new to you and I know it will take time to adjust. No one expects you to instantly be okay with this.”

Ming stared down at her bare feet, they were twisted and gnarled from being bound since she was a child.

“Do you remember when you first called out for me, Ming?”

Ming nodded. “I was afraid then, too.”

“Those men used you because there wouldn’t be any consequences of a child no one wanted. They did what they wanted and didn’t care about how you felt. But Ming,” Hix’xi gently lifted Ming’s chin with a finger, “we care about you. No one here is going to ask anything of you without your consent first. We are your family now and we want you to be happy. I have given you the ability to bring life into the world, but no one is going to force that on you. That is your choice and yours alone. You are in control of your own life now.”

Tears streamed down Ming’s cheeks and she wrapped her arms around Hix’xi in a tight embrace, sobbing silently into her chest. Hix’xi stroked her short black hair and kissed the crown of her head.

“We love you, Ming. No one is going to hurt you here.”

It took a moment of gentle affirmations, but Ming’s sobs began to subside and her breathing calmed. She stepped back and wiped her eyes. Kleio rubbed her back tenderly as she offered a small white handkerchief. Ming took it gratefully.

“Would you like to visit the waterfall? The water is the perfect temperature and there is just the right amount of shade at this time of the day,” Hix’xi offered.

Ming nodded with a small smile, and Kleio led her up the path towards the temple.

Hix’xi sighed as she watched them leave. She wished she could go and find the people who had hurt Ming and snap every single one of their necks, but she couldn’t. Unless someone called her she had no power outside of this small civilization she had built. If she tried to even go further than the base of the mountain her hold on reality would begin to slip and her physical form would fade into the ethereal plane. She would have to be patient and grow her family, nurture them into a powerful race that could both defend their own and power her form no matter where or how far she traveled.

She wandered up the path, lost in thoughts of the future and the past. Soon she entered the main courtyard where she could see Kleio talking with Ming in the pool at the base of the waterfall. Ming seemed to be feeling better, laughing and blushing with Kleio.

Hix’xi felt a twinge of danger and saw something drop in the corner of her eye. She leapt toward the movement and, even though she was yards away, she instantly caught a little tanned boy with long black hair in her arms.

He sat curled up in her arms with wide eyes. Then he blinked, and looked at her with a toothy grin. He was missing a tooth.

“Were you climbing my statue again, Muata?”

Muata wrinkled his nose. “Noooo.” He always wrinkled his nose when he lied.

Hix’xi raised her eyebrows and gave a knowing smirk. “Then where did you fall from?”

“The sun!”

“Oh! I should’ve guessed!” She put the boy on his feet and knelt beside him. “How did you get up there?”

Muata held out his arms and flapped them up and down as if to mimic a bird. “I flew!” he grinned.

“Goodness!” she gasped, “You should go tell your mother about your new skill!”

Muata froze. “You won’t tell mama that I was climbing the statue, right?”

Hix’xi held back a laugh. “No, I won’t, little one. As long as you don’t tell her that I gave you this.” She held out her hand and materialized what looked like a large plum in her palm.

Muata’s eyes bulged with excitement. “Is this from your secret tree?” He whispered loudly.

Hix’xi nodded and put a finger to her lips to sign being quiet.

“Thank you, Mother!” Muata giggled as he grabbed the fruit and scurried away.

Hix’xi chuckled and stood back up. Her fruit tree wasn’t secret, it was just at the top of the mountain on a cliff, so it was dangerous for children to go near without supervision. She turned to her statue in the center of the court yard. Little brown footprints staggered their way up her side to one of her outstretched arms where she could see he slipped.

She sighed in admiration. Her family had put so much effort into this gift for her. She didn’t ask them to make it, and yet they did. She could feel their love poured into it, powering her. She always felt at her strongest when she was near it.

The statue stood three times her height. The intricate details in the face and hair were staggering. Hix’xi never had a natural form of her own; she would usually choose a form of someone she had seen in the past. Because of this, she thought it would have been difficult for her family to decide on what body to create, but they did something that she never would have expected. They created a new form for her. They created her the body of a beautiful young woman with long flowing hair. Her piercing eyes were full of wisdom and compassion at the same time. They stared ahead, out of the town, and she held her arms out in front of her as if welcoming the world into her embrace. She wore a cropped sleeveless top with loose pants that were reminiscent of Arabian clothing.

She had gifted her lovers with the ability to create life, and they had gifted her back with a form of her own. She had borne this form for centuries since it was given to her.

At the base of the statue was carved in her own language, the language that she had taught to all those who loved her, “To our beloved Mother.”

She could stare at this gift for days, years even, but she knew she had responsibilities that would not wait that long. She moved past the statue towards the temple behind it. The temple was Greco-roman with Egyptian hints in the architecture. Intricate colorful tapestries hung from the ceiling acting as walls between the pillars. It had been built not long after the statue. It had been made by a few of her most “pious” as a place of worship for her, but she had decided that it would have been the perfect place to school new children born into her family.

She brushed a tapestry aside and stepped into the temple. A stout red-headed woman with freckles covering her pale skin stood at the far end in front of a group of teens all sitting on colorful cushions on the floor.

“When the heat from the sun touches the water, the water turns into a gas which rises into the heavens, where it condenses again into-” She notices Hix’xi leaning against a pillar. “Oh! Hix’xi! I didn’t know you would be visiting!” She blushed and pushed a lock of curly hair behind her ear. A girl in the back giggled, and the woman shot her a glare.

“Don’t mind me, Ùna. I just wanted to see which of my lessons you were teaching today.”

“Y-yes well...” Ùna cleared her throat and continued her lesson on the cycle of rainfall.

Most gods didn’t care what mortals thought they knew or wanted them to figure it out themselves, but Hix’xi wanted to teach them. She wanted to hold their hand and guide them as a civilization towards a greater understanding of the world and themselves.

A murmur emanated from outside. She peaked out from behind the tapestry and saw a group of women entering the courtyard followed by someone who she had never seen before.

She slips quietly out of the classroom and one of the women parted from the group to run up to her.

“Hix’xi!” One of them blurted, “There’s a newcomer! He’s… he’s a he!”

Hix’xi placed a hand on the woman’s cheek to calm her. “It’s not as rare as you’d think, Inga,” she whispers. She approached the crowd who parted to let a timid looking Isreali boy step forward. Hix’xi kept a respectful distance, knowing that his background would not usually allow for physical interaction with women the way she usually greeted people. “Hello,” she said in his native language.

The boy was startled momentarily but quickly recovered. “Hello,” he responded. “My name is Rashef. I’ve been told that you can… help me.” He glanced nervously at the women surrounding him.

“Of course,” she sympathized, “Why don’t we talk somewhere more private?” She gestured toward a mountain path past the waterfall.

Rashef nodded and quickly followed. She led them up the slope to a small clearing overlooking the valley below. The wind blew through her long brunette hair and she took a deep breath of the clear air.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it,” she sighed happily.

Reshef nodded nervously, fumbling with the hem of his sleeve.

“But the view isn’t what you’re here for.” She turned to the newcomer.

“N-no,” he stammered. “It’s very beautiful but… I heard you help barren women, and I… I am not a woman, but I am… I’m…”

“You’re infertile,” Hix’xi finished for him.

“Yes… I know it is not my wife's fault. My father insisted that I give him a grandchild and that it was my wife’s fault I couldn’t provide. So he… he made me test his theory with his servants. Nothing came of it…” Rashef’s voice hitched in his throat, “He disowned me. He said that he would give my brother his blessing and my wife instead. I-” Reshef fell to his knees in the grass, sobbing into his hands.

Hix’xi knelt beside him. She wanted to hold him, she wanted to embrace him and stroke his curly hair, but she knew her actions would only make him more uncomfortable. He was young and didn’t understand the world yet. She let him cry, waiting for him. She would be there when he was ready.

He sat up, sniffing, as he wiped his face on his sleeves. “I’m sorry,” he hiccuped. “I didn’t mean to… I don’t want to show weakness to you.”

Hix’xi leaned toward him. “You did not show weakness. You showed courage. You came to me even though you were not sure that I could even help you. You showed empathy and sorrow. You are human, after all, and a far better man than your father could ever try to be.” She turned to face him, sitting on her knees. “I can indeed help you, but to do so, I will need you to break a core rule that you grew up living by; both as a symbolic sign of diverging from what your father wanted of you, and also a show of faith in me.” She held out her hands to him.

Rashef hesitated, hands hovering over hers. A million thoughts seemed to be rushing through his head, she could see it in his twitching eyes and furrowed brows. Finally, he put his hands into hers; they were shaking.

“Are you ready?” She asked softly.

Rashef took a deep breath and nodded slowly. She leaned in and lightly kissed his forehead. She transferred a portion of her power into him. Rashef gasped and his grip on her hands tightened.

“W-what was that!?” He blurted.

“A small portion of who I am is in you now. It is awakening the parts of you that were once asleep. How do you feel?”

“I feel…” He smiled, “I feel amazing!”

Hix’xi laughed and he joined her.

“Can… Can I hug you?”

“Of course!” She flung out her arms and he leapt into them, laughing. She felt tears on her shoulder. They sent magical tingles down her spine. He pulled back from her and let out a shaky sigh as he wiped tears away from his eyes again.

“So,” Hix’xi hummed, “will you stay with us and start anew, or will you go back and take back your old life?”

Rashef thought for a moment. “Staying is tempting. I do not want to see my father again, but… I love Talia very much. Could I… Could we,” he corrected, “come live here? Talia and I?”

Hix’xi smiled ecstatically, “I wouldn't have it any other way, my child.”

She helped him to his feet and they stood on the edge of the cliff together. The red and pink sunset casts vibrant light over the lush green forest that stretched on for miles below them, the rivers created a criss-crossed labyrinth of blue strands, and the sprawling city that lined the distant horizon. Rashef leaned against her shoulder and Hix’xi smiled down at him.

“You’re right, it’s very beautiful,” Rashef hummed.

Hix’xi’s heart swelled and she resisted the urge to sweep him into her arms. He was already taking a big step away from his father’s boundaries; she didn’t want to push him. She gazed out over the forest again, taking in the gorgeous scenery. Something caught her eye; movement at the base of the mountain. She let go of Rashef and leaned over the cliff to get a better look.

“Is everything okay?” He asked.

Armor and weapons glinted in the fading light. She felt her blood boil. “No, Rashef. Everything is not alright. You need to leave. Now.” She took Rashef’s hand and led him back to her home.

“What? But you just said-” Hix’xi grabbed Rashef’s shoulders, interrupting him.

“You’re not safe here. Soldiers are marching up the mountain as we speak and they are going to attack. I haven’t had time to train you to defend yourself so I have to send you away. Go home, take my gift and share it with your family. I will contact you when it is safe for you to return.”

Rashef saw the determination in her eyes and nodded. They ran back into town, hand in hand.

Ùna and her students were relaxing in the pool, having just finished their class and several of the teens were lighting the lanterns in the area. They saw Hix’xi march into the courtyard and glanced at each other with concerned looks.

“Ùna!” Hix’xi shouted, her voice heavy with a power that many of them had never experienced from her before.

Ùna splashed out of the water and rushed to her side. “What is it? What’s wrong!”

“They’re coming.”

That was all she needed to say. Ùna instantly leapt into action, running to the students to inform them of the situation and then leading them all through the town to gather the rest of the inhabitants.

She turned to Rashef. “Some of us will be staying to defend our home, but I want you to go with those who cannot fight, understand?”

Rashef hesitated, his eyes flashing at the commotion growing down the path. “I want to help you.”

She placed a hand on his cheek, it was still a little wet. “Help me by having a child with Talia. Guarantee that you’ll live and pass on my blessing.”

He sighed reluctantly and nodded. Ùna hurried over to Hix’xi.

“Everyone knows and is preparing. The children and those less trained are gathering at the pool, and those who can fight are setting up the perimeter and will gather here after.

“Take Rashef to join those at the pool. I trust you to make sure everyone makes it out safely.”

Ùna nodded solemnly and led Rashef to the group at the waterfall. He followed, hesitation in his steps as he looked back at his newfound mother. She gave him a reassuring smile before he turned to join the group. She smiled when she saw Kleio holding Ming’s hand, a new sparkle in their eyes every time they looked at each other.

She watched as Ùna made a headcount and led them into the waterfall. The children followed in a line, holding hands so they wouldn’t be separated. Pili, at the end of the line, waved to Hix’xi, and Hix’xi waved back; then they were gone. She trusted Ùna to lead her children through the secret tunnels that she had carved for them for just this occasion.

The rest of her family gathered around her statue. They held staves and books and all manner of magical focusers; each of their faces held an intense resolve to protect their home.

Heavy footsteps sounded in the distance in a repetitive march that echoed through the mountains. The flickering light of torches shone down the path, reflecting off of bronze armor. A soldier mounted on a beautiful black stallion led them up the path. The soldier held out a long halberd to the side, halting the army’s approach, stopping just on the edge of the courtyard.

Hix’xi stepped toward them, between him and her family. “Good evening, Lucius,” she smiled invitingly, “It’s been a while. How’s the family?”

“Silence, demon,” Lucius ordered. Hix’xi’s smile faltered at being misnamed, but she kept up the facade. “You knew this day was coming,” he continued, “We gave you your chance to release the people you corrupted and go back to where you came, but if you will not leave by choice, then you force our hand.”

“I did not corrupt anyone,” Hix’xi retorted. “I gifted them with what you scorned them for lacking. You should be congratulating them and thanking me.”

“What they did in their current or past lives to warrant barrenness is of no concern to you. They should suffer the consequences, and in their next life, receive their rewards. Yet you take their chance to learn and defile their bodies with your dark magic. You teach them lies,” he growled.

“I teach them truths that you refuse to acknowledge.”

“False!” Lucius barked, “You teach them disobedience, your women speak up against the men, and your children refuse to obey. You teach them lustful immorality, sleeping with whomever they please. You teach them murder.” His stallion slowly stepped forward, heavy hooves clicking on the stones.

“Oh, is that all?” Hix’xi hummed. “I thought you were going to say that I teach them parental love, the kind that they never received from their mortal caregivers.”

“Heathen!” Lucius swung his halberd down at Hix’xi. She held up her hand and, in a flash of light, the Halberd sparked against a pulsing black shield of symbols circling in the air. “I tried to make you see reason, but there is no bargaining with a demon as foul as yourself.”

Hix’xi’s smile finally twitched down into a frown. Her eyes flared gold as her body lifted into the air with a dark pulsing aura. “I am no demon, Lucius,” she growled, snatching his halberd out of his hand, “I am a goddess.” Black tendrils wrapped around the halberd, covering it until it was a pulsating mass of writhing magic. Eyes opened along the mass and all turned to focus on Lucius.

Lucius barked commands at his troops, who all readied their weapons; her followers did the same. She flung the halberd down at Lucius. A golden wall flashed in front of him, shattering the halberd. Hix’xi’s eyes widened in surprise and Lucius grinned maliciously. He gave a rallying cheer and his army rushed in. Hix’xi narrowed her eyes. They had brought mages.

Her children fought against the soldiers with every fiber of their being, using everything she had taught them, sending spell after spell of destructive magic at the attackers. Hix’xi hovered above them all, fighting from above, flinging chaotic magic down at the enemies. They had the advantage. These soldiers were strong in number, but weaker in every other sense. They were going to win.

Hix’xi felt something pull at her very being. She turned to see her statue, the wonderful gift that her children had made for her, being torn down with ropes. It toppled to the ground and she screamed in rage. She cast waves of dark magic at the soldiers responsible, disintegrating them instantly, but it was too late. She could feel her power waning. She wanted to blast every single soldier here, she could do it and kill them all in an instant, but that would risk hurting her own children.

Mages shot blasts of fire at her temple; the intricately woven curtains caught ablaze like grass in a summer field as stone cracked and shattered, falling to the ground with sickening thuds.

A voice shouted over the clashing of weapons and blasts of magic. “Lucius!” Hix’xi searched for the voice. It came from a soldier standing at the waterfall. “There’s a tunnel behind the waterfall! The others must have escaped through here!”

Lucius glanced up at Hix’xi and grinned at the panic in her eyes. She shot her hand out and sent a blast towards the falls, creating an avalanche that buried the soldier and blocked the entrance.

“The cave at the bottom of the mountain!” Lucius shouted to a group of his soldiers, “that must be where that tunnel led.” The group separated from the assault on her people and left back down the path. Her stomach boiled and she flew at the separated group, but something latched onto her wrist and jerked her back.

A golden glowing chain of mana connected to a point on the ground behind her kept her anchored. A mage stood beside the point chanting from a book of spells. She sent a wave of powerful energy out through her hand, but the chain didn’t shatter, it barely even flickered. Another chain formed around her right wrist and pulled her down. Panic flashed through her, but it was immediately overtaken by rage. She screamed and released wave after wave of magic, hoping to destroy the chains or kill the mages, but the golden chains absorbed every attack.

Mages circled the base of the statue pedestal and each sent up a new chain that anchored her to the ground. They attached to her legs, her arms, her waist, and her neck; anywhere that could hold her down. She struggled as they pulled her down until she was kneeling on the pedestal like a sacrifice to be slaughtered. The mages stepped back, never ceasing their chanting. The golden aura from the chains seeped into the ground and into the pedestal making it glow with the same binding power.

Lucius stepped toward her, a smug grin playing on his lips. He held up a short sword. “Enough!” he shouted above the sounds of battle.

Soldiers stopped fighting and gradually so did her children. He lowered his sword.

“See how your ‘goddess’ kneels before me?” He sneered. She spat at his feet. “I am a merciful leader,” he sighed, “so I will give you heathens one last chance. Lay down your weapons and your will to fight, and you will be spared.”

Her children glanced among themselves and at her, but none of them spoke or made a move to surrender. They gripped their weapons tighter. Hix’xi felt her heart stir at the sight of her loved ones willing to die for her.

Lucius frowned. “Very well, then you may join her in banishment.” He turned away and marched down the hill. “I leave the rest to you,” he muttered to a mage. The mage nodded and took Lucius’s place. She took a deep breath, hovered her hand over Hix’xi’s head, and began reciting from her book.

The battle around her began again as her family tried desperately to save her.

Hix’xi focused, analyzing the woman’s mana and dna. She found what she was looking for.

“You have a beautiful daughter,” she hummed sadly, “it’s a shame that she cannot have any of her own.”

The mage hesitated but didn’t stop chanting.

“I can help her. I can give her the same gift I gave all my children.”

The mage’s hand shook but her resolve didn’t change.

Hix’xi sighed. “You would rather let her suffer than let me live… I respect the love you hold for your daughter, even though it may be misguided.”

The mage finished chanting and stepped back. She put away her book and joined the other mages in a circle around her. They continued the chant in unison, stepping outward, expanding the circle. Hix’xi tried to fight, but her power waned with every anchor in this world being slaughtered around her. Soldiers threw exhausted rebels at the foot of her prison, too tired or injured to fight back or move. They would follow her wherever she was sent.

Finally, the mages circle had expanded across the whole courtyard. Her family littered the ground, filling the once clear pool with deep red blood.

The chanting became louder, louder than a natural voice can be made, sounding like bells gonging all around her. The chains grew brighter and the ground was suddenly lit up by a fluorescent magic circle underneath her filling the whole courtyard. White light shot up from it, blinding her. And then it was all gone. The mages, the mountain, the waterfall, all of it was replaced with a dismal expansive cave. The only light came from her chains that bound her to the pedestal.

Intense winds blew through the cave carrying sounds of wailing and screaming. If she wasn’t a goddess she would have been deafened instantly, but she wasn’t.

Through the noise she heard someone stir behind her, followed by the sound of coughing and spitting up what she could probably assume was blood. Her children moved around her, trying to get up, help each other, but many were simply covering their ears.

She knew this place. It was Cocytus, the Layer of Lamentation in Pandemonium. Her family would not last long here.

She felt a hand on her knee. A tall tanned woman with braided hair knelt beside her, staring hopefully up at her. She winced at the winds but didn’t break eye contact with Hix’xi. Hix’xi averted her gaze, and the woman’s hope was replaced with dread.

There was nothing Hix’xi could do but watch them die. It started slow at first, many of them still had fight in them and tried to explore the endless caverns and tunnels, but with no light, and any fire they tried to make being instantly blown out by the winds, they didn’t get far. Some tried to make shelter in the remains of the temple that had been sent along with them; using the burned tapestries and broken columns as tents, but it did little to block out the endless screaming.

One by one, she watched them lose all sense of themselves. Some, in a state of dissociation, wandered away into the tunnels. Others lost themselves in fits of crying or laughing until they passed out, only to wake again later to start the process again. While others still, scrambled for a weapon that had been sent through to end their pain. She wanted to hold them, to whisper that it was going to be alright, that she could save them, but all she could do was watch.

Eventually, little more than a week later, she was alone. The bodies of her lovers and children surrounded her. They decayed over time, rotting and disintegrating on the stone floor, until there were only skeletons left behind.

She could feel her ties to the physical plane being severed as they were found and slaughtered as years went by. But every so often, she would feel a new tie created, and she would smile. Centuries passed and she was all but forgotten. She was a myth passed along the generations as a story to tell children. She spent those years, honing her powers and studying the chains that held her. She found that they held her physical form here, but, with the help of remaining anchors she had in the physical plane, she could project her mind into her old home. She could never go far from the gifts that had been left to her, or else she would lose her grasp on the world and find herself back in Pandemonium.

She needed to find a new way of creating anchors in that realm. As a myth, a horror story, no one gave her offerings any more, no one spoke prayers to her. But there was one thing she still had. It was faint, diluted after centuries of cross breeding, but she could feel her lineage spread throughout the world. Her bloodline had never left, it was just lying dormant, waiting for her return. If she could just find a way to focus it, call out to her children, help them remember her…

1921…

She felt something pulling at her mind. It was like someone was pulling at a strand tied to her finger. She followed it. She sent her mind along the string, using it as a guiding light, leading her to… somewhere.

She arrived in a ruined temple covered in overgrowth. It was one of hers; demolished and left to the elements, forgotten like herself.

“Hello, Mother,” a voice said, reverence in his tone, “I can’t believe I’ve finally found you.”

She turned to see a tall Indian man in his late twenties kneeling at her feet. His curly black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, accentuating his chiseled facial features. Totems and relics were placed around his feet creating a circle around herself. He had called her here.

She held up her hand, it was misty, and seemed to glitch in and out of reality, but she felt… real.

She knelt with the man, and gently placed a hand on his cheek. He leaned into it. His face was warm. She had forgotten the feeling of warmth. She pulled him into a hug, which he tentatively returned. She cried, and she laughed. She was so happy to be back, that someone remembered her, that someone still called her “Mother”.

She pulled herself out of the embrace and cupped the man’s face in her hands. “You’re one of my own, aren’t you?” She smiled through tears.

“Yes, I think so. This would be very awkward if I wasn’t.”

She laughed. It sounded so beautiful to him, like church bells chiming in the morning. “I can assure you that you are. I can sense it in you. It’s faint, but we can change that.”

The man’s brows furrowed in thought, “How?”

“Well, first we need to introduce ourselves. You know me, but I do not know you.”

“Paresh. Paresh Divakar.”

“Paresh~” she hummed. “What a beautiful name.”

“Thank you, Mother,” Paresh blushed. “But, how are you going to… change me, as you said? These are all the relics I could find dedicated to you. You can’t leave the circle.”

Hix’xi stood and held her arm over the edge of the circle. Her hand wavered like a mirage, losing it’s anchor in reality. She leaned down and took his hand, helping him stand and leading him into the circle with her. “Soon, with your help, I will no longer need relics to keep me here. I have a new plan that relies heavily on your assistance.” She pulled him against her, holding their chests together. She could feel his heart racing.

“What do you need me to do?” He said, struggling to keep a calm tone.

She kissed him passionately, lacing her fingers through his hair and wrapping the other around his waist. He stepped back in shock. He stumbled over a loose stone and fell with a heavy thud. She floated down and straddled him.

“We need to transfer mana, darling. If I am going to have a strong permanent anchor in this world, I need to give you my own power, and you need to give me yours,” she purred in his ear. 

Paresh let out a shaky sigh at the feeling. “I don’t think I will be calling you ‘Mother’ after this,” he laughed nervously.

“You still could. Whatever makes you most comfortable, darling. I wouldn’t mind,” she smiled.

He placed a hand on her cheek. “I think I would prefer your name; Hix’xi.”

A tingling sensation trickled down her spine. It had been so long since she had heard her own name. “I think I would like that very much, Paresh,” she purred.

He pulled her in for another kiss, leaning back against the ground as she undid the buttons of his tunic. She hummed appreciatively as she stroked his toned muscles. They twitched under the soft touch of her fingertips. Paresh flushed.

“Is this your first time?” Hix’xi mused.

“N-no, it’s not. This is just… very sudden,” he stammered. “I didn’t think that- I mean I assumed this would happen eventually, but not the instant you arrived.”

Hix’xi giggled, and continued her advance. Her clothes turned to mist around her - they were never real to begin with anyway. She lay herself gently onto him, her breasts flush against his chest.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed shakily.

“And so are you,” she hummed. “How long can you last?” Hix’xi purred, removing the elastic tie from his hair to let it splay out under him.

He glanced down between them, warily eyeing the bulge in his trousers. “A while…?” He hesitated, swallowing a knot in his throat. “Why?”

“Because we’re going to be going all night long~”

1976…

Paresh knelt in a dense, lush forest in front of an overgrown shrine. It was small, barely noticeable among the vines and ferns; an oblong carved stone placed in the middle of nowhere. And yet, even though it seemed to have been abandoned to the elements for centuries, the care that was put into its creation was obvious. The intricate swirls and dots in the stone were worn but deep, and in the center was carved the word “mother” in an ancient language very few knew. He was one of those few.

He felt a presence behind him, but he didn’t move. He simply breathed deeply and closed his eyes. Warmth pressed against his back and a pair of arms reached around him in a soft embrace.

“Hello, Darling,” her voice sang in his ear, “found me again so soon?”

“You know how adamant the Clocktower is about finding the last of your relics,” Paresh responded. He opened his eyes. A dark wisping aura emanated from behind him, reaching around him as if to caress him gently and yet never touching him.

“Yes, I know of their futile gestures towards my extinction. I’m lucky to have someone like you on my side,” she purred. She unwrapped herself from around his shoulders and stepped gracefully toward the carved stone. Her bare feet never touched the ground as she knelt down to pull the stone out of the dirt with ease. The vines and roots snapped, doing nothing to stop her claiming what they thought was theirs. She cradled it like a newborn baby, stroking the deep etches in the stone.

“I remember the woman who made this for me,” She sighed, a soft smile playing at her lips. “She was barren of course, and oh so desperate for a child. Most of my lovers are…” She floated towards Paresh who stood to meet her.

“Hix’xi.”

Hix’xi placed a delicate hand on Paresh’s cheek; soil fell from it onto his tunic, but he didn't mind. “They are so blessed to have you.”

“Hix’xi.”

“Yes, Darling?”

“I have been meaning to ask you something.” He turned from her to stare thoughtfully at the indent in the dirt. “Why have you chosen to appear to me in the form of Egret? I have many other... connections you could have chosen from.”

Hix’xi chuckled, a chorus of bells in the heavens. “I have many children and lovers that I could have chosen the form of, but… I appreciate Egret’s innocence amongst the turmoil and knowledge of her lineage. I do not pick favorites among my family, but if I did, she would be one of them.”

Paresh hummed thoughtfully.

Hix’xi brushed the dirt off of the stone, as gently as if it was priceless china. “Do you have a favorite?”

“A favorite what?”

“A favorite child - or a favorite lover,” she muses.

“... No.”

“Oh? But you have so many,” she smiles, eyes full of curiosity. “Surely you must have a favorite, or maybe… a least favorite.” Her deep blue eyes flashed black momentarily.

Paresh sighed heavily. “I must admit that the Thorne family is not among the top of the list,” he grumbled. “They are the most difficult of my homes. However, Hawk shows great potential for your cause, so I must continue to observe them.”

Hix’xi nodded in agreement. “I have been watching Hawk as well. He is strong and charismatic, if only a little… shall we say, egotistical.”

Paresh grunted in displeased agreement.

“Children will be children, I do not blame them for that… There!” Her voice chimed like a distant song. “Clean as the day it was made. I’m sure Lydia would be happy, if she were alive to see it that is.” She handed the stone to Paresh, now clear of any dirt and leaves that had stuck to it over the past centuries.

“You have a deep compassion for your loved ones,” Paresh mused.

“And you do not?”

“No. I do not have loved ones.”

“That certainly does make it harder, I presume,” she hummed thoughtfully. “Did you love your caregivers?”

Paresh frowned, almost in a grimace.

“Thought not. Many of my children do not love me either. It is hard to love someone whom they do not know of, nor have ever met. And many of my lovers regret the time they had spent with me. But I will never stop loving them. They are my moon and my stars; they are the very air I breathe!” She held out her arms in an exclamation of love as she levitated higher while she spoke.

“And I will continue to cultivate them so that you may live.”

Hix’xi floated over to Paresh and placed her hands on his cheeks, leaning close to his face, hovering above him. “Thank you, my darling. I need more children like Hawk in this plane. I can feel myself growing stronger the more powerful links I have in this world. And it’s all thanks to you.” She laughed, once again sounding like a chorus of angels in the wind, and spun gracefully away from Paresh. “The narrow minded mages of this world thought they could bind me by destroying my artifacts that tied me to their world.”

Her dark blue aura wisped around her faster, like thousands of irritated cat tails. Her form glitched around her; something like a scream could be heard. “And while I will never forgive them for destroying the precious gifts that my lovers and children made for me,” she growled, staring into the red and orange sky, tinted with pinks of the sunset, “I will make due by finding new ways to crawl back into their lives.”

She turned, the dark aura fading but not disappearing, a gentle smile on her face again. “Have you found more of my blessed children?”

“I have,” Paresh nodded. “A young woman named Emilia. Her ancestor was one of your lovers who had received your gift. Her mother died at childbirth and her father abandoned her soon after. She has no other relatives to speak of.”

Hix’xi clapped her hands. “Wonderful!” she cheered, “When shall you marry her?”

“Unfortunately, she is not of age to marry. She is still a mere thirteen years old.”

Hix’xi pouted, “Women married younger than that when I was on Earth.”

“Times have changed,” Paresh sighed. “For the moment, I find that I have enough wives with families to take care of as it is. Even the stipend from the Clocktower and the funds that you contribute are running dry.”

Hix’xi’s smile twitched downward.

“I can, however, adopt her, and when she comes of age I will ensure that she marries one of our children,” he assured.

Hix’xi sighed. “I suppose if that’s the best we can do at the moment. If we force her to marry you then other mortals will become suspicious. Humans are so frustrating sometimes.” She drifted back down to the ground, hovering barely an inch above the dirt. She stared at the palms of her hands; intricate black Mehndi designs crawled up her arms and around her fingers. “I wish to be corporeal again. I want to hold my children again; I want to have my own children again!”

It was Paresh’s turn to hold her face in his hands. He tilted her head up gently to look up at him. “And you will. It will take time, but I promise that I will bring you back. You will be a mother to generations to come and all will see your glory or perish at your hands.”

Hix’xi clasped his hands in hers, “Our hands, my love.” A blue flame blazed in her eyes.

Paresh smiled. “Perhaps I have but one lover whom I favor.”