Hymn of the Elder Gods

No Rest (For the Weary) Part 1

Eve rented a car the next day and called Aska from her burner. She didn't do friends anymore, but she would never have survived so long if she didn't have a couple of...acquaintances.

Helpful ones.

"Yo," the girl said, the sounds of running water in the background. "Long time no call."

"Sorry," Eve cringed, hearing the careless irritation in that tone, shifting the phone to her other ear. "You know I've never been the best at calling."

"Stupid. Even though you made me buy the phone. Do you know what a hassle it is to keep it functional? There's no electricity in Cropis."

"Well, you're the one who told me not to use magic," Eve argued back, eyes flicking sideways as she changed lanes.

"Yeah," Aska drawled. "Because you're literally not built to handle it anymore." There was a sound akin to a stone falling into water, and then a long, drawn out sigh. The running water cut out. It was unusual for any of the divine to bathe; there was no need, not when magic would keep you clean. But Aska had always enjoyed it. The poor woman's body ran so hot that a cold bath helped temper some of that discomfort.

Or so she said.

Eve wasn't sure that was the honest reasoning, since being warm was Aska's natural stage of being. But the Elder God of energy had always been a particular one.

"I'm dropping by," Eve said, for lack of anything else to say.

"You overdid it again," Aska hummed. It was accusing.

"No," Eve replied, and the retort sounded weak, even to her. "It was necessary."

"I'm sure it was," Aska said in a tone that meant that it had been anything but. For a second, there was only the sound of her splashing around in the tub.

"It's been almost ten years," Eve whispered. An even weaker argument to make with an immortal. But she needed the help and was not above begging if need be. Her leg, where it pressed the gas pedal, trembled, joint aching. The silence stretched on. Then Aska sighed, dulcet.

"Fine. Swing by. I'll get you patched up. But you better bring those things you had last time."

"The donuts?"

"Yes!" Her voice was positively delighted. "Those."

"Be there soon," Eve promised.

"Don't rush," Aska purred. "I've just gotten in the bath." There was a click as she hung up the phone.

Her friend had always had a sweet tooth. She should have led with a bribe and spared herself the judgment.

Eve drove for a long time after that pit stop, maybe around two hours, in utter silence. Up North, the foliage grew sparser, and the wind coming in from the coast picked up. There wasn't a single town around, the unassuming, empty county a mess of empty farming fields. Burnt sugar tickled her nose, sinking into the car upholstery, and she rolled all the windows down to fight the sickly smell.

She passed a small pond, and an unassuming directional sign.

Slowly, as if she had all the time in the world, Eve edged off the road, and between two trees.

It was a subtle sensation, when it happened. The tear in reality. A mere ripple across the skin, a caress soft enough to be mistaken as a warm gale.

But the change was immediately visible.

The city of Cropis was built along one of the edges - the narrow strips that stretched between dimensions. There were only a handful of them, and they weren't accessible to humans. Even if some poor soul haplessly drove through, they would soon find themselves stranded by the entrance with no memory of how they'd arrived.