Side Story - Natio 3: Settling In

AN: This takes place just after the end of Book 4. So lots of Gods he knew just got yeeted from existence.

Natio stared at the seemingly endless list of names that scrolled past his mind's eye. So many… He had known that the All-Mother was not to be taken lightly — his current condition showed as much — but this seemed to be overboard. She had just killed hundreds of deities; plunged countless worlds into chaos as they lost their only patrons.

Despite knowing a great many of the names on the list, Natio did not feel much of anything as he looked at them. He still did not really agree with what the All-Mother wanted for the world, but he could at least see why she had done that. Still, he had done what most of those deities had and had directly insulted her, and yet he had been spared. It simply made no sense for him.

Perhaps he was part of an experiment the All-Mother wanted to run. After all, everything that existed was because she wanted it to be. If she had decided that he was worth studying for whatever reason, there was not much he could do.

He let out a long breath and turned in his bed. In the end, he could not change what the All-Mother had done; could never have done anything to stop her. Going against her was delusional at best.

"What will she do next?" he asked himself as he squinted at the rising sun that shone into his room.

With a groan, Natio sat upright. Why do I even ask myself that… He shook his head in an effort to clear his mind. Today he was supposed to teach Adam some more advanced spells — ones he could actually use to defend himself. The boy had been a surprisingly fast learner, once he had finally managed to grasp the basics of mana and how it flowed through the body. Not surprising with the amount of mana he has now…

"Oh well," Natio mumbled to himself as he swung his legs out of his bed and got up. He stretched, letting out a long sigh. Having a body that actually needed to be maintained with exercise and the right food was still annoying, but a good stretch brought a kind of relief he could not have gotten as a God. Is that what they meant when they said I would miss some pleasures of the flesh?

He grabbed the staff that leaned against the wall next to his door, shooting the broom that waited next to it a glare. Not today. His duties would be taken care of by someone else — some other member of the janitorial staff who had mysteriously appeared when he had started teaching Adam in earnest. Natio was sure that Mister Penbrooks had nothing to do with that. Nothing at all.

"Good morning," the annoying voice of Qhinya greeted him from the side. "What is Mister Janitor up to today?"

"Teaching Adam how to set you on fire," he replied as he turned the opposite way of the Dragonkin and started walking towards the canteen. "Maybe even how to shoot lightning at you."

"You think that boy could injure me?" she asked, a few quick strides placing her next to the man. "How cute."

"You'd be surprised how far he has come." And just how much mana he has gotten access to.

"Oh I know." She smiled. "I also know that he has enough reserves to rival a century old archmage already. He still wouldn't be able to injure me, though."

Natio eyed the Dragonkin, trying to spot anything that might explain her confidence. He knew that she was strong — easily in the three hundreds — but that did not mean she would go unscathed by Adam's magic. There were three reasons he could think of for her confidence.

The first seemed unlikely, as he doubted Qhinya had been blessed by a deity. The next was the possibility of hidden armour, one that worked well against magic. Natio thought that it was a more plausible option, as it was a valuable asset in her line of work, but he had doubts. Her words seemed to imply that she was confident to the point of finding extra items unnecessary.

"Would your family happen to include an Ardent Dragon?" he finally asked. It was a bit out there, but that particular species of Dragon was known for their resilience against all forms of magic. If Qhinya had an ancestor in her line that was strong enough, she could have inherited a bit of that.

"How smart the janitor is," she replied with a broad smile. "Do they teach that at cleaning school?"

"You know as well as I do that I have never been to such an institution," he scoffed. "And you also know that I like to read."

"And I know that you are hiding things from me," Qhinya added. "It's only a matter of time until I figure it out, Mister Janitor Man."

Natio shook his head again — a seemingly common occurrence for the day. If this continued, he would have to visit the nurse for a massage. "How can you be so happy when the world is on its way to unprecedented uncertainty and turmoil?"

The Dragonkin shrugged, the smile only dimming slightly. "I am quite happy about the death of many of those deities," she said. "And I am also pretty sure that these 'unprecedented times' are not as unprecedented as you make them out to be. The Dark Ages were only a few millennia ago and we survived that just fine."

"Every continent except Vetus, yes," he corrected. "That one got burned to a crisp."

"It also had a huge slaver empire on it."

"That it did," he agreed. While he had never been explicitly told, Natio was fairly certain that the All-Mother had been responsible for the removal of all life on the continent just before the Gods were allowed to return. Not too surprsing considering her hatred for slavery.

What was surprising was both the fact that she had allowed it to happen in the past and, now that she was doing something, was not instantly eradicating it from existence. Unless she can't? He doubted that was the case. Aperio was the All-Mother, the literal Creator of everything that ever was, currently is, or will at some point be. Even if she had not made everything personally, she made the world itself and enabled life to evolve.

Before Qhinya could ask any more annoying questions, Natio stepped through the always open door into the canteen. Just as always, he grabbed a plate and shovelled it full of various foods the kitchen staff had prepared. How Mister Penbrooks managed to get as good a cook as he did was still a mystery to the fallen God, but he was thankful for it nonetheless.

Eating was still not something he had gotten entirely used to, but the fact that the food actually tasted good helped a lot. And that they are friendly. For one reason or another, the kitchen staff was always nice to him; were nice to anyone that did not create more work for them. Sadly, the Dragonkin did not leave him alone. She simply grabbed her own food and followed Natio to his usual spot in the back of the room.

"Did you follow one of the deities that disappeared?" Qhinya asked, poking at her food.

"For a while," Natio replied. He did not want to lie, as the idea that the All-Mother was somehow looking at him and judging him was not leaving his mind. "That turned out to be a mistake. They manipulate and use those that follow them."

"Of course they did, that's why they got the axe." She shook her head slightly. "And why Fel'Erreyth told us to stay clear of them."

Natio lowered the piece of bread he had wanted to eat and looked at the Dragonkin. "Wasn't he a follower of Lor'Kem?"

The Dragonkin tilted her head at the words. "How am I supposed to know? Are you simply assuming he would follow a God that was once a Dragon himself?"

"Right," Natio replied. "Probably shouldn't assume." Of course, he had not assumed anything at all. He had known that Fel'Erryth was a follower of Lor'Kem — indeed, it had been hard to avoid the knowledge, as the God had constantly bragged about using the Elder Dragon in his dungeon experiments.

Apparently, he had found a way to use the mana of the dungeons by channelling it through the body of the Dragon to himself. Not that it saved him… Any mana he might have taken in an effort to get stronger was still meaningless in front of the All-Mother. In the end, it was her mana anyway.

With yet another sigh, Natio began to eat. He would need all the energy he could get to make it through the day. Especially if Qhinya decided to stick by his side like this. The woman was exhausting to be around not only because she asked countless questions, but also because he had to watch what he said around her. She had no need to know exactly who he was, and he was quite certain that, should she ever find out, he would quickly find himself joining the other recently-departed Gods.

The rest of the breakfast was spent in blissful silence as Qhinya had finally realised that she would not get much from the fallen God while he ate. In fact, she got bored enough after a while to move over to Laelia's table. Natio tried to overhear what they were talking about, but he did not manage to catch anything. She is probably trying to get Laelia to tell her who I am again.

According to Mister Penbrooks, Natio would not have to worry about that. The Scion of the All-Mother had said she would not tell anyone who he was, and apparently the woman did not break her word. Truly a paladin of Vigil. Despite the actual God having basically been the opposite of his Domains, his paladins had always had this thing about not telling lies. Even Natio himself had felt a strange aversion to untruths when he had born that title.

As soon as he was done, Natio quickly brought his plates away and left for the courtyard. Qhinya had not yet followed him and the dim light of hope was slowly but surely growing brighter and brighter.

Outside the canteen, Adam was already waiting for him with his staff in hand. He bowed, like he had done the last couple times, and fell into step behind Natio. The fallen God had given up on asking why the Human did what he did, always getting the same, simple answer that bowing to teachers was a custom where he came from.

"Did you do the exercises I gave you?" Natio asked as he rounded the corner on their way outside. "Mana control is paramount for this."

"I did," Adam replied. "But I am not sure if I am doing it right. Am I supposed to feel sore after practicing?"

"Yes, that's right," Natio said and opened the door that led into the courtyard. "You are using your mana to strengthen your body. It will react as it would to normal training until you surpass what should be possible for a Human." Which should only take you a decade or so… Maybe less if he truly focuses on it.

"You might also notice that your magic itself 'aches' a bit when you use it," Natio continued. "Just like your body, your mind has to get used to using the mana. Fatigue is a natural byproduct of that."

Adam only offered a nod at the words, obviously not quite sure if he should really believe them. It did not matter much to Natio, as the boy would find out sooner or later that he spoke the truth. And that I am teaching him far more about magic than a mortal should know… That might turn into a problem at some point, but Natio did not really care if Adam knew. The boy had already had opportunity enough to go ask the All-Mother who he was... and, if asked, she'd certainly tell him.

For now, he would teach Adam some more meaningful magic. Leaving someone with so much potential just as useless as he was would be a disgrace for anyone, but especially for a fallen God. Perhaps, he mused, teaching people was a way for him to redeem himself, if only a little.