#guili

★ Which is why it was so terrifying when you realised that you can no longer protect them on your own. You could no longer fend off other gods; you were losing ground bit by bit, day by day. So you make a final, desperate plea— You head to the Guili Assembly to prostrate yourself and ask for asylum for your people.

★ The two ruling deities of the assembly— Morax and Guizhong— are suprisingly willing to let you in.

★ Guizhong becomes a very prominent figure. She holds your hand and leads you into the mountains, chatting away about her machinery and engineering. A cheerful, yet competitive demeanour, she finds herself content with racing you to the other side of the valley and falling to her knees when she loses. She'll have to make an invention to beat you next time.

★ Morax, on the other hand, signed a contract with you to be under his command. With an unwavering, almost cold demeanour you don't talk to him often. But he's always there, cleaning off or sharpening his spear, or forging something new out the metals he makes. One day, you find a polished, clean-cut blade in your lodgings with no explanation.

★ When in battle, Morax is always nearby, always over your shoulder or by your side. When out of battle, Guizhong is always there to patch up your wounds or run her fingers through your hair to comfort you. It's suffocating. You can't escape either. When you try to bring it up, Morax reminds you of the contract and Guizhong completely dismisses your thoughts as unwarranted.

★ And when you appear like you're having second thoughts, your people suddenly get sick.

★ Gestures that could be passed as platonic are their favourite. Guizhong kisses you on your cheek, nearing the corner of your lips but not quite. And Morax rests a hand on your back during a sparring match, fingers ghosting down your spine, lower and lower. You knew that they were a thing, and it felt horrible.

★ But both were very much on the same page.

★ Guizhong's kisses and Morax's touches became more than platonic, and you found yourself wrapped up between the two. Often quite literally. Rough, gentle, coarse, delicate. Relief comes in many ways after the bloodshed of a war.

★ Both are easily jealous, they simply show it in different ways. You find no time to yourself, nor do you have time to visit your subjects when they're with you 24/7. You're either watching Guizhong tinker with her weapons of war or sitting on Morax's lap while he pens his armies strategy.

★ The other Adepti kept their heads down as you tried bringing this up. You look towards your people, and doubt if this was a good idea at all. You're enduring this for them. You want them to be happy, even if that's at the cost of your misery. But you're faltering.

★ Your contract stated that 'For as long as the seven seats remain empty, you will serve under my command as one of my Adepti.' It was finite, you realised as Guizhong laid her head on your lap, while Morax sat by, his eyes gleaming like topaz as they lingered between you two. Silently, you began to scheme.

★ As soon as the war is over, you're gone. You'll round up your people and escape during the celebration. Away from the Guili Assembly, away from all this conflict. You'll find a realm where they can never follow, and your people will no longer worry.

★ Not thinking about how volatile their reaction could be.

★ Even thousands of years later, when the Guili Assembly has fallen into history and the harbour stands in it's place, your people thrive. You smile to yourself as you hear of Rex Lapis' passing, wandering through your realm.