Page 1574

She’d always been scared of the dark, but she wasn’t now. The flashlights helped, but it was mainly because Koh was here. She felt like the bravest little girl in the whole world with him around. Maybe that wasn’t how bravery worked, but it was what she felt--along with a tinge of anticipation, wondering where Koh was leading everyone.

In time, they reached another clearing, and the moonlight returned. A new set of branching pathways lay before them, and this time, Koh chose the leftmost one.

Snow was everywhere now, filling her vision so much that it was getting difficult to see ahead.

As they continued on, Germal approached her from the side. “Do you know the story of Hada, cedo?”

She shook her head.

“The God of Storms? The God of Wrath? You’ve never heard of him?”

She shook her head again.

“Would you like me to tell his tale?” said Germal. “I think you might enjoy it.”

She nodded.

The one-horned man smiled that smile that made her feel safe. “Well, it all began long ago. Before even humanity as we know it existed. Hada was born deep beneath the earth, but he hated it there, because he loved the sky. Even before he had ever seen it, he knew that he loved it. He believed that it was his destiny to be one with the sky, and so he became desperate to reach the surface. He searched every day for a means of getting there.

“Eventually, he encountered someone named Ettol, who said that he knew the way to the surface and would show him--on one condition. Ettol didn’t want anyone else to know the way, so he said that Hada had to seal himself and all of his power into a bottle, and then Ettol would carry Hada to the surface. Hada, eager to achieve his destiny at any cost, agreed to this demand, and sealed himself away.

“And indeed, Ettol did exactly as he had promised to do. He carried Hada through a secret passage to the surface. However, once they were there, Ettol did not unseal the bottle. He placed Hada on a rock and left him there. Hada was wroth. He was closer to his goal than ever before and yet powerless to take that final step.

“So passed many, many years until someone discovered Hada there. The poor man who released him was consumed in Hada’s fury, as was much of humanity, for Hada brought forth storms unlike any the world had ever seen. Hada quickly grew to hate mankind, as he was jealous of them. They had been living on the surface for so many years before him that they had already claimed much of it for themselves. So he tried to wipe humanity out in its entirety.

“But with the aid of other gods, they resisted him, which of course served only to make him angrier. And that is why the world still has terrible storms even to this day. It is a lingering effect of Hada’s never-ending bitterness and hatred towards humanity.”

Durendia frowned. “I didn’t like that story at all.”

“No?” said Germal. “My apologies then, cedo.”