Mortal

Chapter 1

"Come on! We're going to be late!"

"Yes, my lady," I say.

"Fix your hair," says Verda. We are inside Verda's house, in her bathroom.

I am a mortal. This means that I am basically a servant to Verda, the goddess who made me. Mortals do many things for their deity owners. We basically do anything they ask, really.

Not every deity can make mortals, though. Only deities who are members of the Union are allowed to own planets, where mortals are made.

The Union is the deity government. It was put into place to prevent any deities from starting another war. There are seven nations, which are basically big chunks of land that float in space. There's Sky Haven, where I live, Olympus, the capitol of the Union, Mikroa, Adara, Aurelia, Marinsula, and Silvania. Every nation has a leader, the Overgod, or Overgoddess. They basically act as the monarch until his or her death. Each Overgod or Overgoddess meets with the other seven Overdeities of every nation to ensure peace.

I am what's called a conciliator. Conciliators are special mortals that are given as gifts to help sort matters between two deities. In short, I am a peace offering.

I've lived with Verda since I was really young. All conciliators are selected from birth, but aren't usually raised by deities. I was an exception, though. Since I was put into foster care, Verda thought it would be too expensive to continuously track me down every time I went to live with new foster parents, so she took me.

The thing about conciliators, is that they are very rare, and have special powers. The powers develop over time, but they can be anything. With the right environment, a conciliator could develop the power to destroy a planet. Conciliators develop powers based on what they need. That is why conciliators are so sought after.

Since I am now eleven years old, I can legally become a conciliator. That is why Verda is giving me away today to solve conflict between her, and two other gods.

I brush my long brown hair, and put on my glasses. Verda gives me a look of disappointment, and sighs. She does this all the time.

"You really want to present yourself like that to two gods? You're the size of a shrimp. You could at least try to look nice."

I'm wearing a white hooded silk robe, long white gloves, and brown leather boots. It's an outfit that mortals wear whenever they are to be in the presence of a deity.

Verda is wearing a white dress with a gray jacket, and white flats. She has long dark green hair, and her skin glows a lime green. If she were in a dark room, she would be bright enough to dimly illuminate it.

My cheeks turn red. I'm only five feet tall, and Verda is twelve feet tall. I really am small compared to her.

"So, these gods are going to share me, right?" I ask.

Verda turns to look at me. She looks very annoyed. She never likes it when I ask a lot of questions.

"Yes," She says. "They are twins, and they share a planet. My brother caused them a few issues when he was still alive. That's what you're here for, to help us make peace."

"What are they going to do with me?"

Verda groans. My muscles tense up. I'm sure she'd love to slap me right now.

"Whatever they want. You're going to belong to them. You'll probably be a servant, dealing with matters on their planet or whatever."

I shutter. How long will I be forced to work as a servant? Can they force me to do it forever?