Harvinn is a Lonely God

Submitted into Contest #246 in response to: Write a story about someone who takes a joke way too far.... view prompt

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Drama Fantasy Fiction

This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse.

Harvin was a lonely god. The god of joy and laughter some may call it, and yet he sits solemnly alone. Always alone. So full of life, yet so void of love. What a lonely god he is. 

Once while upon the land, he marched against a clear sky. When near the bluest of harbors he spoke towards the sky. He feigned tears while calling up to the heavens towards the domain of his brother, Faruin. Who used the sky to protect from the sun. He called out questioning Faruin’s love of their sister, Eshtar. With a domain of connection she was loved by the people, and if Harvinn could be believed she was also loved by many others.

The sky darkened, as a sadness slowly overtook Faruin. That season hundreds of fields flooded from a great downpour known as The Great Rain. This torment of Harvinn didn’t end there as a story sprung up, in the faiths. About Faruin’s heartache. There were even festivals of people praying to Faruin’s impotence.

Faruin had had enough and looked down upon the land that he protected from the sun calling to it’s people, “Who am I to be for you? You the people that scorn me without even knowing. Who has set you upon me with such ferocity? Who called down this fiery rain of brimstone and hellfire?” His calls to the people bore no answer, and the other gods seemed disinterested in his worries, 

Soon Harvinn, god of laughter and joy, blessed one of the babes of the kingdoms that sat under these heavens, in a city with the bluest harbors. Built upon the very ground that Harvinn had stood when he caused the Great Rain. This child grew to be one of the most valiant princes in the land, securing victories on the battlefield and the courts. Soon his armies were mightier then all the rest of the world’s combined.

His blessings did not end at manners of civility it would seem, as he earned the favor of a goddess, Eshtar. Domain of connections. A fated connection, willed so by Harvinn’s own hand. These destined lovers took to another and became a focal point of love and admiration for the people of the country. Many a fables being spun in their honor. Soon though that was not enough, they needed their love immortalized in the light of the All-father, the sun. They begun planning their wedding. Even adding in some grand prophet who would write a tale of it all.

Faruin caught wind of this, and made a choice, he was reveling in the ideas that permeated his person at this point. The day finally came, the bride gracefully descended from the clouds to the ground where the groom waited with an open heart. But something else awaited them too. In the sky, Faruin was watching with Harvinn in tow. 

“You warned me brother, and I should have listened sooner.” Faruin said.”Never did I imagine what a bitter drink all of this would be.”

Harvinn smiled, the way he always seemed to, “Dear Faruin, you can’t intend to sob up here the whole time. There are other things to focus on in the world rather then such devilry.”

“Focus I shall, but sob I shall not.”

Harvinns smiled slackened as he realized this was not defeat for Faruin. Not yet, not in his eyes. A wicked mind Faruin seemed to have most assuredly. It was in this moment that a sudden panic over took Harvinn, just as the couple read their vows. The clouds parted, the sky caved in. A beam of light enveloping the entirety of the harbor, turning stone to magma and flesh to ash.

Harvinn screeched, grabbing his brother admitting the terrible truth of everything, begging him to stop. But Faruin would hear none of it. The stone of the city seemed to flow hot towards the harbor being doused by the salty waters. From that day, the once blue harbor grew white with the ash and stone of a fallen portion of the city. It is known to this very day as White Harbor. 

The dust settled and Harvinn had already ran away. There was no forgiveness now. There was no getting over it. This was the end, and he knew it. He took himself to the place of his birth in the Hyte Fields, where the stars fell from the sky. There he began to make peace with what happened, knowing he would not suffer with it for an eternity.

Harvinn took a piece of wood and carved it into a stake, before driving the stake into his own heart. This was Harvinn’s fate, a loveless god causing nothing but unwanted mischief. His soul is now dissolved, his spirit strewn about. They say you can still see the god in random fits of laughter, though no one can know for sure.

The suicide attempt did not work, not entirely. Not in the way intended. Harvinn lives, his body incorporeal, his presence unavoidable. His life unending. He now rests and waits. Scheming something that will keep his mind off of all that death and mayhem. For Faruin there was another path entirely, not one filled with so much shame. The path of a true victor, at least in the eyes of a god. He took to the sea and resides beneath it’s surface from now until the end of time. Or until someone decides to bring him in for the crimes he has committed.

And Eshtar, she was chained to a cloud to float in the heavens for as long as it took to find Faruin. Weeping for her lover, for the people, all of whom are memorialized in the new city of White Harbor. Such a sad ordeal, but Harvinn’s laugh can still be heard amidst the people so there is some faint sign of hope. Though the truth is hard to find, and this case is no different, as the truth died with Harvinn.

April 16, 2024 20:11

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