Rebirth: Over the Horizon

"Wonderful!" Squeaks Elthnorn. "I'll hold you to that."

His voice suddenly deepens. "And I mean it. I may not be as big on the whole 'divine oath' thing as some of the others, but trust me on this."

"You break your word to me, and you'll be very, very sorry." On that somewhat ominous note, he vanishes in a poof of smoke.

With that interruption dealt with, Adam makes his way towards the river. 

The previous ideas of tricking Elthron were now vanished a long time ago by his mind.

After walking a little further, he finds the river. It cuts straight through a beautiful grassy meadow, full of early blooming flowers.

The river appears to be deep and wide, with a strong current that could be deadly.

He approaches the riverbank and takes a moment to take it all in.

His thoughts are disturbed after a few periods by a smooth, pleasant voice begging for his attention.

In the plain cloth clothing of the Elysia people, Adam discovers a lovely young woman.

She looks at him with wide, frightened eyes. She says putting up an incredible act, "I was out gathering seeds when I was lost, please help me to return to the village."

This is obviously Nolwyn, the nymph keeping the villagers from the river.

Adam was also not to be trifled with, he puts up another act and says "I know that you are the nymph nowlyn."

"The villagers are planning to kill you by pouring barrels of poison they collected from the swaps, I came here to shift you to another place by the request of Divine God, Elthron."

Nolwyn seems skeptical at first, but when Adam noticed her eyes widen in fear he knows that she believes his ridiculous tale.

He convinces her that relocating to a more remote river is the only way for her to survive.

"Is this really the only solution? I do so love this river. Though… I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing to get away from nosy mortals for a while. Very well. If I must."

Adam assists Nolwyn in making a boat for herself out of an old barrel filled with river water.

"It won't be pleasant." With a frown, Nolwyn says. "However, it will keep me alive long enough for me to be taken elsewhere."

He brings the nymph and her barrel back to the hamlet, where the befuddled locals agree to have her shipped out with the next trading ship, with explicit instructions to send her to a river far away from any mortal town.

While many are sceptical of this particular arrangement, the villagers are relieved to once again have access to Elysia's river.

----

As the sun rises up in the morning, Brother appears before him, "Hecate's chosen, you did well"

Her smile grows and she says "I would say that you did, Outstanding. You truly helped bring order to the chaos of the aisle and did much to improve the lives of the villagers here in the process. Well done indeed."

"You not only passed my test, but you also exceeded your fellow Chosen, in my opinion. Incredibly impressive." Declares the God of Harvests.

"Not the outcome I had projected, but then again, forecasts aren't my forte. In any event, I feel your efforts have earned you a blessing."

She waves her hand and four foods items appear in his cot.

The first item was beef, next to it was an apple, below the Apple was a handful of carrots and lastly, at the centre, there was a loaf of bread with a golden aura emitting.

Even though he knows that the piece of loaf seems incredible it will not satisfy his hunger.

Adam was bored by eating the grain soups for the past two days, without any hesitation, he cut the steak into two and started to eat the richly cooked beef.

[You have consumed a Unique Grade Beasts' Meat]

[STR and AGI has been increased by 30 points]

Satisfied, he walked out of the hut, some of the chosen looked more pleased than others, but it seems like everyone is still here.

'So, no one was eliminated, huh?'

He was a little upset, it was already the second trial, but still, all of them were alive and kicking well.

'If only there is a way to trick these...'

Adam's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of the god of love, followed by the other 12 gods.

Adornick, in the appearance of yet another incredibly attractive figure, stands at the head of the group. Even for the God of Love and Beauty, he appears to be in especially good spirits.

"Good morning, lovely!" He addresses the group. "So far, you've all done a fantastic job. You were all obviously well-chosen for these tests."

"It's fantastic to be confronted with inconceivable perils and to be able to vanquish terrifying beasts."

"But now it's time to test your knowledge of the heart's mysteries."

Adornick continues, ignoring Palindera's disdainful scoffing tone. "It's three days till my holy day, the last day of spring.

"Villages all throughout the world celebrate Valentine's Day with a festival of love."

"Young lovers exchange vows of matrimony or simply go out under the stars to make love. However, alas!"

Adornick presses the back of his hand to his brow, pretending distress.

"Elysia has food, timber, and stone, but not love,"

"They have been too focused on survival to listen to their hearts. So many left their families to come here in search of new lives, fleeing war and tyranny, but they have yet to truly build those lives."

"And, as much as it hurts me, I've taken away these decent people's blessings to put you all to the test."

"As a result, this is going to be your trial." Bring Elysia, love. I want my holy day to be appropriately observed."

"Assist them in finding their one-of-a-kind someone or someones."

"Alternatively, you can make your own unique ones. Bring love to the people of this island. This is your assignment."

Palindera, who can no longer be content with mere scoffing, interrupts with a rage-filled bellow. "This is your trial? Compelling mortals to rut?"

"They spend half their time trying to do that without any assistance at all! What kind of challenge is this?"

"This my challenge, and you shut up!" he winks after saying his words.

"..."

Adornick simply laughs, brushing aside the rage of the Goddess of War.

"Love can be as dangerous as any battlefield. I think it will be interesting to see how they address this challenge."

"Regardless, it is my challenge, and my mind is made up."

The God of Beauty shoots one more grin at the Chosen. "Best of luck, lovelies!"

Eleven of the Twelve fade away, with Adornick waving goodbye as he melts into pale gold light.

Palindera lingers, somehow even more terrifying with her steel-clad form looming over them alone.

"You had all best to enjoy this respite. Your next trial will not be so forgiving."

Then she was gone, vanishing in a haze the colour of blood.

"Hahaha...This seems simple enough" She laughs with a long scar on her face, her gaze still avoiding Adam.

"Find a few likely couples, pair them off, order them married. I am a queen. I have that authority."

"It seems like there is an even simpler solution," Daedala replies. "Adornick's festival is traditionally celebrated with acts of intimacy, yes?"

"We can just pair off with each other. Six couples should be sufficient, shouldn't it?"

Adam couldn't care less, is it even worth considering Daedala's suggestion, instead of doing this kind of thing he will gladly eat shit.