Rough around the edges
A made-up Greek tale of the birth of diamonds
This is a story involving the gods of War, Nature, and Death. Now in this story one might assume this tale would be about some sort of catastrophic event arisen from treachery and lies, but no. This story is simply about a couple of dead bodies.
Hades, the god of death, was sitting on his throne in his dark palace formed of molten skulls and obsidian, deep within the earth and in the heart of the underworld, lazily daydreaming thoughts too powerful and incomprehensible for any race to understand, when he noticed something peculiar. The moaning of the dead and departing that evening were a bit more troublesome to bear with that evening, and no, it was not because the amount of new arrivals, which were a LOT, but rather the complaints that strengthened the voice of the group.
"My body wasn't put to rest!" was a common quote to hear, another complained about currently being eaten by a frog, and one even had the nerve to walk up to Hades, an unofficial rule of something NOT to do, and yelled, "I HAVE A BLOODY ARROW IN MY HEAD!" at the top of his lungs.
Luckily for the departed soul, Hades had his focus somewhere else, as there seemed to be a tremendous bellowing noise stabbing into his mind, almost to the point where Hades felt like complaining to someone himself.
"WHERE IS THAT SOUND COMING FROM!?" Hades roared.
In mere seconds the whole underworld became extraordinarily quiet, then not so soon after there was the noise again, and it seemed to be the cause of an earthquake. "But that can't be right..." Hades thought to himself, an earthquake of any regular magnitude could not reach past so far into the underworld.
But regular was the keyword. The brutally murdered souls must have been the work of Ares, being the god of war and all, but why he was summoning earthquakes was yet to be foreseen. So, he took it upon himself to visit him. "Hey Cerberus! Anyone gets to close to the palace, you eat their soul!" The three-headed dog barked eagerly, "Good boys! I think..." And with a quick snap of his fingers, he vanished into a thick smoke, then reappeared on a grassy field flowered with Trees, arrows, and above all dead bodies.
He saw Ares and Demeter arguing several feet away, completely unaware of Hades presence, and along with seeing a frog gnawing on a person's body, his nose was flooded with an un-describable smell, a smell so rotten and foul that was stronger than the the one in the underworld! He quickly puked a dark, black liquid that quickly decimated the grass below him.
"Oh by the river Styx what is that smell! It is worse than a pile of-"
"That, just happens to be the smell of dead bodies, in case you haven't noticed." Demeter replied. The mystery of the earthquakes have been solved, it was just the bickering of two gods, nothing new. But why they were arguing Hades must know.
"Ares, Demeter," He bowed respectfully after greeting the gods, and they did so likewise. Hades forced a smile, and began questioning the two gods. "Not that it isn't a pleasure to see your b-e-a-utiful faces," He stopped to put on a more serious face with an intimidating and hate filled voice to match, "but I demand to know why you two are arguing. Demeter, feel free to explain first."
Demeter sported a scowl, and replied "It just so happens to be that this brute in shining armor refuses to move these darned bodies, and furthermore-"
"BITE THY TONGUE!!!" Ares shouted with a loud metallic echo, "That is NOT the case in question! You refused to let these warriors tread on this very ground! The fought valiantly, they died as HEROS, and shall be treated as su-"
"Ares shaddup." Hades replied while rolling his eyes. "Demeter wants these bodies gone, and Ares wants these bodies disposed of with up most care, right?"
"The most deserving funeral a man can deserve."
"Lost cause, but as you wish." And at that, Hades used words of an ancient tongue that he himself had nearly forgotten had existed, then in a quick motion raised his fist with god-like excellence and power, than watched as a chasm formed from the ground and slowly consumed all the bodies.
As the chasm closed, Ares was staring with a shocked expression, while Demeter was grinning the whole time. "Thanks Hades! Appreciate your help!" and along with a bow (and a rather rude raspberry delivered towards Ares) she vanished into thin air, leaving behind a smile pile of green leaves. Probably to somewhere that needed to look more "pretty" as she would say.
"Hades...explain. NOW."
"Hey, you wanted the soldiers to have a meaningful funeral, now they'll rot until all there's left is a diamond. A bit more deserving than what they should get, but whatever gets you out of my hair."
And from that point on, whenever a Soldier, man, or even a regular creature dies, and has lived a life filled with kindness and honor, they slowly transform into an object that reflects so.