How Divine is Thou?

Fire

Behind the branches was another clearing, about thirty feet in diameter. Instead of making a full circle, it dropped into a steep cliff and made the circle lopsided. Near the edge of the cliff was a dark indentation. Years ago, this must have been a fire pit.

A broken lantern hung on a nearby tree branch, swaying slightly in the wind. A small group of stones that had once been a pile sat under the broken lantern. Bits of glass scattered the dirt underneath.

This wasn't the amazing part, though. The cliff drop off opened up a perfect view of the sky. More noticeably, it showed a perfect view of the sunset. The sky was painted with magnificent oranges and reds. I didn't even know the sun had enough light to make this. A dark cloud of purple and blue swam behind us, slowly taking over the sky.

"I know the sun isn't as bright right now, but I still think it's pretty cool," Nyx said, walking to the edge of the cliff and sitting down. "Care to join me? I won't let you fall."

I hardly needed prompt. I walked over and sat down, pulling my knees to my chest to protect myself from the winds. "It's magnificent," I told him. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"No problem," he said quietly. "I don't mind when it's you."

"What does that mean?" I asked him, looking away from the sky and to him.

"You don't judge, and you're gracious. And I always like looking for an excuse to get out. The constant bickering is irritating," Nyx replied.

"You can say that again," I sighed. "But, we don't need to talk about them right now. It's just us. We don't need to worry about the gods right now."

"Seems that's all we can do anymore." As much as I didn't want to admit it, Nyx was right. It seemed every waking moment had been dissolved into worry. Worry about the gods.

"Then we'll make something else to talk about. Tell me how you found this place."

He seemed surprised that I asked. Nevertheless, he told me. "Well, as every good story of mine starts, I was trying to get away from my parents. I was about thirteen. It was supposed to just be my father and me, but my mother insisted on coming, bringing Amelia. I left around noon with some excuse about getting lunch."

I noticed just how different he was from before. He was calm, almost serene. This was one of the few places that had good memories attached. "I was walking down the path and got lost. I heard a deer, that buck actually, crying about and figured if I was already lost, it didn't do much harm to help something."

"That's kinda dumb. When you're lost, you're supposed to stay where you are."

"No one would come looking for me," Nyx said as if it was a reminder. "I set the deer free and forgot which way I'd come from. Came out of the trees and nearly fell off the cliff. I found my way back until it became second nature. It's the only hiding place my parents never found."

"It's so peaceful. It's almost strange after the last few weeks," I responded.

"It's why I like it so much."

A comfortable silence took hold. One only broken by the cicadas and crickets. As the sun grew ever lower, I found myself wondering how we were going to get back in the pitch black.

"Can we stay here for the night?" I asked him quietly.

"Of course. I just need to start a fire. Shouldn't be too hard," he told me. "I could show you some more things in the morning, and we could be back tomorrow in time for dinner."

"I can't start fires anymore." I'd tried before, but not a spark seemed to come to me. Is this how Ialdir felt when he became mortal?

"Then I guess we're doing this the old fashion way," he responded, standing up and walking towards the stone pile, grabbing two off the top and hitting them together. A small spark flew from the collision. "Flint," he told me, waving the stone in his left hand.