Divine Trials: The Rise of Mortal Deities

5

The air shimmered as Mombi followed Helix through the sanctuary's crystalline archways. Her heart thundered in her chest, each beat echoing the rhythm of distant wings. Above them, the sky teemed with mythical life - majestic Pegasus carved through clouds with wings of pearl and silver, their hooves striking sparks from the very air. A phoenix wheeled overhead, its feathers painting the air in strokes of molten gold and crimson, leaving trails of ethereal fire in its wake.

But it was the dragon den that stole her breath entirely.

The vast chamber stretched impossibly high, its ceiling lost in shadows and smoke. Crystal sconces cast dancing light across scales that gleamed like jewels - ruby, sapphire, emerald, and metals no mortal smith had names for. The very air thrummed with power, thick with the scent of storm-winds and mountain stone.

Laphire, Helix's battle dragon, dominated the space like a living mountain of crimson scales. His eyes, ancient as the foundations of the earth, met Mombi's with an intelligence that pierced through pretense and facade. Steam curled from his nostrils with each breath, carrying the scent of woodsmoke and star-metal.

"Dragons don't have a taste for mortals," Helix's voice carried a hint of amusement. "You are safe here."

Mombi's hand trembled as she reached toward Laphire's scales. The heat radiating from his hide felt like standing before a forge, but his scales were smooth as polished marble beneath her fingers. The dragon's rumbling pleasure vibrated through the stone floor beneath her feet.

They moved deeper into the den, where Grimsmoke lounged like a shadow made solid. The two-headed dragon's missing horn told a story of battle and survival - a jagged reminder of a clash with a primordial gods leviathan that had nearly shaken the world apart. "My sister Vixen's companion," Helix explained, pride coloring his voice. "There's no fiercer warrior among the gods."

But it was Malesnow who captured Mombi's soul. The silver dragon's scales caught the light like freshly fallen snow, while his purple eyes held galaxies of wisdom. Without prompting, the magnificent creature dipped its head in a bow that sent ripples of gasps through the watching helix. Never had he seen a war dragon show such deference to a mortal.

"Remarkable," Helix murmured, watching the exchange with keen interest. "Malesnow chooses his friends carefully." The silver and purple dragon's tail swept forward, gently guiding Mombi closer to Helix, its intention clear as starlight. In that moment, amid the ancient power of the dragon den, Helix's kiss felt like destiny itself.

Later that night, as darkness wrapped around the palace like a cloak, Mombi's dreams twisted into memory...

The nightmare came with the clarity of crystal and the sharp edge of a blade. She was fifteen again, the night air split with screams. Her mother's desperate hands, trying to hide her away. The window frame under her fingers as she watched her brother Mani and father in the field. The minotaur's shape, darker than shadow, moving with impossible speed. Her scream, tearing from her throat too late - always too late.

The weight of Mani's body as she dragged him toward the temple, her nightcap turning crimson with his blood. His final embrace, growing weaker with each labored breath, until his hand slipped from her dress like autumn leaves falling. The gods' silence as she screamed their names, not knowing they were battling the minotaur attack that had claimed her family.

She woke with tears on her cheeks and Vasavi concerned face swimming into view. The memory of Mani's last moments clung to her like cobwebs as she sought refuge in the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face and trying to wash away the ghost of her brother's blood from hands that would never feel clean again.

Meanwhile, in the palace halls, the gods themselves wrestled with the mystery she presented. Domino's words hung in the air like incense: "She doesn't smell human." And Helix, remembering Malesnow's unprecedented behavior, could only wonder what fate had brought this extraordinary woman into the realm of gods and dragons.

In his chambers, surrounded by luxury that suddenly seemed hollow, Helix lay awake. His thoughts circled like restless dragons around the puzzle of Mombi - the mortal who might not be mortal at all, who had captured the loyalty of a war dragon and, perhaps more dangerously, the heart of a god.

As Dawn and painted the training grounds in shades of amber as Mombi watched Vasavi's axe slice through the morning air. The weapon sang with each swing, a deadly arc of steel guided by hands that spoke of years of hard-won skill. Vasavi's sandy brown hair caught the light like spun copper, the beauty mark above her lips drawing attention to her infectious smile.

Their friendship bloomed in the spaces between combat drills. Vasavi's story spilled out like water from a cracked vessel - her mother lost in childbirth, a sister claimed by tragedy. Each word resonated with Mombi, who knew too well how fate could steal loved ones in an instant. Their worlds couldn't have been more different - Mombi's childhood spent among the fertile fields of Maltbeth's wealthy quarter, where her father's farm supplied the finest meats and crops to eager nobles, while Vasavi had carved out survival in the slums, working in a pleasure den while her mother taught at the local school.

"You probably wouldn't last a day in my world," Vasavi teased, her hazel eyes dancing with mischief. The laughter they shared bridged the chasm between their experiences, making their differences seem small against the vastness of their growing connection.

Later, during their private training session, Helix's presence changed the air itself. His question about intimacy caught Mombi off-guard, her inexperience with men suddenly feeling like a tangible thing between them.

"In all my centuries," he murmured, watching her with eyes that held the weight of ages, "no one has affected me quite like you." The confession hung in the air like summer lightning, charged with possibility.

But it was in the dragon den where the day's true tension coiled like a serpent ready to strike. The massive chamber echoed with the breathing of dragons - Laphire's crimson bulk, Mificent's blue-gold majesty, and Viserre's copper-red splendor creating a living tapestry of scales and ancient power.

"Cut her?" Helix's voice carried the sharp edge of betrayal as he faced his brothers. "Have you lost your minds?"

Domino's usual mischief was absent from his face. "Brother, think. She bonded with Malesnow. A war dragon doesn't bow to mortals."

"The blood will tell us everything," Kyrus added, his words heavy with certainty. "Golden blood for gods, white for demigods. We need to know what flows in her veins."

The dragons stirred restlessly, sensing the tension between their riders. Laphire's tail lashed against the stone floor, sending echoes through the chamber like distant thunder. Mificent's blue-gold scales caught the light as he turned his ancient gaze toward the brothers, while Viserre's copper hide seemed to glow with an inner fire.

Before Helix could voice the refusal burning in his throat, Odessya burst through the den's massive doors, her presence electric with urgency. "Kyrus!" Her voice carried the weight of revelation. "Your wife - she knows something about the girl's scent. Something important."

The brothers exchanged glances charged with meaning. The mystery of Mombi deepened with each passing moment, like a well whose bottom remained forever out of sight. What truth could Kyrus's wife possess about their mysterious mortal? And more importantly, what would that truth mean for Mombi's fate among the gods?

In the silence that followed, only the dragons' breathing disturbed the air, each exhale carrying the weight of ancient secrets yet to be revealed.