The Book of Abbadon

Aatu's Gift

You're struck in amazement as you look at the object in Aatu's hand as he holds it out in front of you.

" A ring? "

You ask Aatu as you take it from his hand.

As you hold it in your palm, you feel an immense sense of power wash over you. You stare at the ring as it glows in a magnificent light. As you hold it, you feel like you're a god.

" Yes, mortal. Not just any ring, but a ring that's made from the light within me. It took about 69% of my light to craft something that could stabilize your existence, but in the end it was well worth it. "

Aatu says to you with a soft smile on his face as he admires what he's just given you.

You continue to stare at the glimmering ring and you notice that you're unable to avert your gaze from the ring's beauty. You try your hardest to look back up at Aatu, but you begin to feel addicted to the power rushing through you as you lock your gaze onto the ring.

" Mortal? "

Aatu says, trying to get your attention.

You want to respond, but you're so overcome with the magnificence of this ring that you're simply unable to. You try your best to muster up a sentence, but you're only able to say a couple of words to Aatu.

" Help... take... "

Aatu gives you a look of approval. He sees that you're having a hard time wielding the light of a god in your hand, then he reaches out to take the ring back from you. As his hand breaks the line of sight between your eyes and the ring, you instantly drop the ring into the dirt between the both of you. As the ring leaves your possession, the feeling of immense power subsides instantly. Because of this sudden change in how you're feeling, you drop to your hands and knees over the glowing ring in the dirt and take a deep breath. You feel Aatu's hand on your shoulder as he kneels down to check on you. Aatu speaks to you in an empathetic tone.

" It's burdensome. I know. Most mortals that feel such a level of power would be entirely consumed by it. Since I put 69% of my light into that ring, 69% of my power resides within it. As a God of Light, I am now only left with 31% of the power that my father gave me. "

" What? "

You look up at him, flabbergasted at what Aatu just told you.

" You sacrificed the majority of your power to create this for me? "

Aatu responds to you in a reassuring tone.

" I wouldn't necessarily say that my power was sacrificed. I'd think of it more as converting my power into a physical form. My power can only truly be lost if it is consumed by another being that's able to do so. Since the ring is made of my light, it will stabilize your existence and balance the darkness that you're made of until you can learn to control your power without it. Since the ring is a physical object, it will remain outside of your being so your body can handle it and not be overloaded by the light. The ring will act as a buffer to the light that you consume and throttle any light that is too much for you to handle. Any light that goes beyond what you can handle will be stored within the ring. You also will not be able to use the light within this ring since all light that's stored within it will merge with the 69% that I've put inside of it, and that amount of light is dangerous for even one of my siblings to consume. "

Aatu picks up the ring and you both stand up. Before Aatu gives you back the ring, he gives you a word of warning.

" In creating this ring, I have become weak. When my father created me, he made me more powerful than all 6 of my siblings combined. Now that I've expended over ⅔ of my power to make this ring, I am now only stronger than any one of my siblings. This means that if my siblings were to fight, I would need the help of a brother or sister to keep the balance. "