《The Game of Petty Gods》 Chapter 1: In the beginning.... Deone opened his eyes to a great blackness and immediately met the eyes of the person across from him. Those eyes were white and pupil-less, in a face with no features and no gender; a glowing body, human and vague. They blinked. He looked left, then right, and found himself within a circle of similar forms. He looked at his hands and realized they, too, were glowing, white and nail-less. It took a moment to remember who he was. His body began to change, shifting- still glowing, still white, but nails began to form and in a vague way he knew he was growing shorter. The other forms around him, 12 other white figures, began to change in subtle ways, some seeming suddenly more masculine or feminine, some growing far taller and one shrinking to a size that seemed barely above a child''s. They remained featureless. Their eyes gain pupils of the palest grey. He knew where he was. He knew who he was. He couldn''t remember where he was from or how he''d gotten to this place but he knew, in his core, what being Deone meant. And he knew, this was the beginning of the God''s Game. "Hello, players," a deep voice, comforting, detached and calm, rang from all around them in a way that he felt in his chest. "You are all here and aware now. You know who you are." A few figures nodded to themselves while one, one of the three tallest figures, broad shouldered but thin, a body that seemed to hang from itself, called out, "We''re five by five. Skip the Cut-scenes, let''s get on with it." Deone understood the reference but still shook his head, folding his arms. Such impatience. "We begin, then," the deep voice said without a hint of emotion. "You are Gods. You are a Pantheon. The world, your field of play, will be an agricultural, post-traditional pre-industrial economic early civilization level of 200 million souls, as agreed upon. You have set parameters as population 20 billion souls as end-game, proportional spiritual influence win condition. You have set parameters that you may not make direct physical or spiritual attacks on other Gods. You have set parameters that Powers may influence or effect other Gods if not intented as physical or spiritual attack. You have set parameters that Manifestation may only be done through Prayer from the mortal soul of a True Believer. You have set parameters that there will be one Reset Cataclysm, if agreed upon by a 2/3s majority of the Pantheon. "You will have the choice of 1 Domain, which may have one or more related subdomains (Randomized). Know that with your Domain will come a Godly perk (Randomized). You will also have the choice of one Free Perk chosen from a pool of Perks which may provide you with additional powers, direct influence or Divine weaponry. "The pool of Domains and Perks have been taken from the overall pool and have been decided. "Lottery has determined First Pick of the Domains. First Pick of the Domains will have Last Pick of the Perks. "Do all Players understand these perimeters?" Some of the figures nodded, others folded their arms and the tall, thin figure just snapped, "Get on with it." "Then let us begin..." A menu appeared before all the figures, showing the list of available Domains:
Available Domains
Contracts
Wine
War
Fire
Art
Oceans
Memory
Chaos
Death
Pleasure
Animals
The Sun
Light
Magic
Electricity
Order
Crime
Forests
Reptiles
Metal
Wind
"Lottery has determined pick order beginning with... Gary. Gary, choose your domain. You have 2 minutes, as per agreed upon parameters. Note: this choice may effect your appearance and, based upon Belief, may influence your personality until the Game is completed. Timer starts now."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Gary was one of the middle-sized, more masculine forms- nothing about him stood out, beyond that. He was, as yet, unformed. Gary took a long moment going over the list, stroking his chin; Deone took a moment to glance around, seeing most of the others examining the list floating before them, except for two- one feminine form that seemed to be stretching, maybe even doing Yoga, while the other, neither masculine or feminine, the closest to their original forms, just sat cross-legged, gazing about with their head cocked. Deone took a moment to examine the list and figure out his options. As this was a hidden lottery, he would not know his choices until his name came up- at least, until the Free Perk round came up, where he could take a guess. He knew, intuitively, that there were thousands of domains that make up the overall poor but only a handful were presented as choices. Some of these were common, like War or the Sun, while others... he hadn''t heard of a God of Contracts, Memory or anything as oddly specific as Reptiles and wondered what their actual rarity was. As the Game had begun, there would be no way to know what those concepts meant, as translated into the Mythology of a Pantheon. The God of Reptiles might be able to bring back the Dinosaurs... actually, Deone didn''t know if the Dinosaurs, in their world, had ever done extinct. For all he knew, it could be an OP domain. "Alright," Gary said in an almost bored voice. "I think I''m going with..." as he touched the screen, a glorious blaze of light lit him from the darkness, giving him more and more form until that indistinct figure resolved itself into a 5''9 young man with slicked back black hair, pitch black eyes with white pupils and sickly pale skin. He wore leather pants, thick soled black boots and cloak that covered his pale, bare chest. "First of the Pantheon," the omnipresent voice intoned, "Gary, the God of Death. Godly Perk: The Lord of the Underworld sub-dimension." When Gary, God of Death, smiled at the first of the Pantheon, his teeth were sharp and his mouth obscenely wide. "I''m guessing you''re an evil God of Death?" called one of the feminine forms to Deone''s right. "That''s a little cliche." "Evil is relative," Gary said, shrugging. "Maybe I just look evil. Guess you''ll find out." "Evil Gods of Death are never popular," said the figure who was sitting. "Humanity already fears death. We should welcome it, instead." "Yet," said the tall, thin figure, "here we are, immortal. Next pick!" "Lottery has determinedsecond pick of the Domains is... Wen. Wen, choose your domain. You have 2 minutes, as per agreed upon parameters. Note: this choice may effect your appearance and, based upon Belief, may influence your personality until the Game is completed...." "No more Tips," the thin figure snapped, interrupting. "Acknowledged," the voice intoned. "Wen. Timer starts now." Wen, a short but somehow extremely masculine, athletic figure immediately made their choice without saying a word. "Second of the Pantheon," the voice called, as the blaze of golden light surrounded Wen''s form, resolving him into a handsome, still short, man in tan leathers with a series of complicated seeming decorative buckles wearing fingerless glovers. He wore his reddish-brown hair spikey and no weather or time would change that. Gods didn''t need hair gel. He had a tool belt around his waist, nestled with a small silver hammer. "Wen, the God of Invention. Subdomain, God of Tools. Godly Perk: Manic Inspiration." "Alright, next!" called the thin figure, but Wen held up a hand. "Wait! What''s that Perk, Manic Inspiration? I don''t know it." "Godly Perk, Manic Inspiration," the voice calmly recited, "when a mortal soul is close to new invention, the God of Invention and Tools may place the mortal into a manic state where they will work tirelessly to create the new work. Depending on the difficulty on the work, as decided by civilization/technology level of the surrounding culture and Multiple Discovery, increasing chance mortal will work themselves to death before the invention is completed." "Eh," Wen grunted folding his arms. "Thanks for the heads up on your Power, Wen," one of the taller masculine figures said, giving him a thumbs up. "Appreciate that little leg up. Guess I won''t be afraid of you building too many temples." Wen grimaced, then shrugged. Deone nodded to himself, resolving that whatever his perks ended up as, he wouldn''t pass that information on if it gave him an edge in the game. After a beat, the voice spoke again: "Lottery has determined third pick of Domains is... Timely. Timely, you have-" "War!" the tall, thin figure shouted triumphantly. "...two minutes." Before the voice could finish its sentence, Timely had already begun his transformation, filling out with muscle, growing in stature, long, thick and wavy black hair spilling down his broad shoulders. He had a barrel chest, a chiseled jawline and massive hands. He also seemed to be wearing a leather kilt and sandals. "Third of the Pantheon, Timely, God of War. Godly Perk: Drums of War." "Don''t explain that!" Timely snapped up at the nothingness, his voice suddenly a deep baritone. He smirked and looked at each of the other players in turn, suddenly wanting to draw out every moment. "Game over, kids. I win. Anyone want to align with me, the line starts...." he draw a line in the nothingness with a toe. "Here." Multiple eyes rolled though Wen cocked his head at Timely thoughtfully. Deone could see where the arrogance might come from. War, like Death, was part of mortal life. It was a powerful deity in every game played, a powerful God in just about any Pantheon. If the peaceful Gods, whoever they might be, wanted to gather followers and keep them, they''d have to band together. Looking over the list again, Deone could see a few solid counter picks, domains that were almost always powerful, like The Sun or Oceans, but... in a way, Deone almost felt bored with the choices. He had knowledge ofnothingbeyond who he was and that he was playing theGod''s Game but some part of that, some vague emotion, pushed him away from those obvious powers. He was more interested in... the interesting. The voice called for fourth pick and, just like that, Deone lost one of the more interesting choices on the list. "Fourth of the Pantheon, Petra... Goddess of Reptiles. Subdomain: Poisons. Godly Perk: Reptilic Possession." When the golden light faded, the feminine form of Petra resolved itself in... a stunningly beautiful face with high cheek bones, emerald green eyes and blonde hair tied up into a thick, single braid that trailed almost as long as her.... tail. Her upper body remained close to human, those her skin had a patina reminiscent of scales but seemingly soft. Her breasts were bare and her nipples... non-existent. And her entire lower body was that of a snake, coilingto let her stand at eye-height with the others. Unlike the other gods, she remained nude and was entirely nonplussed by the fact. For the first time, Petra spoke. "Testing, testing... Okay. Good. I was afraid I''d end up with a lisp." Petra grinned and bared fangs. She cast a cold, detached look around at the other unformed Gods, flexing fingers that seem to sprout retracting fangs from their very tips. "Just to let you know, I''ll be aligning with nature-based Goddesses. Reptiles may not seem like much, but Poisons...." She let that linger. Timely, God of War, spoke up again, his voice rumbling and he seemingly enjoying the feel of his every word. "Those claws might be useful if this were God vs. God but the parameters were set to No Direct Physical Attacks. Bare fangs all you like but they better be with kisses." Petra flicked a forked tongue his way, pausing with wide eyes when she realized she could taste the air, before snorting at him. "You''re so not my type. You''re not even my species." Timely shrugged. "Just keep that in mind, people. Line still starts here." The voice spoke again, calling out, "Lottery has determined Fifth pick of Domains is... Deone. Deone, you have two minutes." Deone blinked. If his faintly glowing figure could sweat, it would. He had a high pick. Two minutes. And no idea what Domain to choose. Chapter 2: Choices and Alignments Of the few things Deone was sure about, he was sure that he liked to take his time in making decisions. Two minutes wasn¡¯t a lot of time to figure out how he would spend the next few thousand years. Deone went back over the list floating before him, scanning the potential power he would weld:
Available Domains
Contracts
Wine
War (Timely)
Fire
Art
Oceans
Invention (Wen)
Chaos
Death (Gary)
Pleasure
Animals
The Sun
Light
Magic
Electricity
Order
Crime
Forests
Reptiles (Petra)
Metal
Wind
Moments ago, he was considering a counter-pick for Timely, the newly minted God of War who had proven himself a bit of a prick. Oceans, The Sun, Light¡­ perhaps even Electricity would be a solid pick. Oceans or Electricity would probably be subdomained with Storms, giving mortals a pretty strong reason to believe in and worship him. Forests were always solid. Long after sailors stopped praying for Hurricanes to leave their ships be, there would be mortals praying to the Forest God¡ªif only so they wouldn¡¯t get lost in his mysteries. Were the Fae a possible Godly Perk? Mortal agents that would keep his faith and act in his will? He dismissed them all. They were powerful. But were they interesting? Were they¡­ a challenge? Why did he feel so sure he could win this with just about anything? And why, he thought glancing away from the list down at the seated, androgynous white figure across from him, did he think he wasn¡¯t the only one so sure of himself? Maybe he needed a sure pick. A boring, sure pick¡­. One of the figures, the one who was as small as a child but otherwise still featureless, spoke to himself while intensely studying the list in front of him. ¡°There¡¯s not a lot in common here. Nature is pretty much Forests, Animals, maybe Wind? Not a lot to Align with. Fire might Align with War, as Destructive forces¡­.¡± ¡°War will align,¡± Timely drawled, ¡°with anyone willing to help him win. I couldn¡¯t give a fuck if you were God of Bunnies.¡± ¡°That Domain is not available,¡± the omnipresent voice intoned, though the question wasn¡¯t really asked. ¡°Deone, you have 30 seconds.¡± ¡°Good thing there¡¯s no God of Speed,¡± a tall figure, one who had chided Wen earlier for exposing the details of his Godly Perk, called out. ¡°You¡¯d sign up for hares and end up with tortoises!¡± Thirty seconds. Animals might be interesting but, then, Deone¡¯s gut, his instinct level understanding of himself, knew he didn¡¯t actually like animals. He preferred people to pets. Plus, all the bunny quips were annoying him. He¡¯d hate to give either of those tall, cocky deities the satisfaction of¡­ Twenty seconds. Interesting, interesting¡­. Magic? Maybe. But was that within the parameters? Did the world they would compete over even have a magic system? He could ask but¡­ no, no time. Pleasure? Thousands of years as the God of Pleasure¡­ no, he wasn¡¯t a hedonist and he couldn¡¯t figure out what kind of power that would bring. He wanted at least to feel like he could compete with War or Death. Just on his own terms. Crime was interesting. He dismissed it with a sharp frown, feeling in his gut that his Identity and Crime were¡­ antithetical. He didn¡¯t hate crime, he just deeply despised the idea of being associated with it. ¡°Five seconds.¡± Deone felt that invisible, non-present sweat on his brow and let out a breath. It was, after all, only a Game. Deone selected. The moment he selected he realized , or perhaps remembered, that this was not only a Game. His body began to glow with golden light, changing¡­ no hair growing on his scalp, instead leaving him bald¡­ not growing any taller or shorter, but feeling his body grow thin, reedy; a severe, wiry kind of muscular, like an old man who could outrun his own grand children. He could not see his own eyes but he knew their irises shifted from grey to sparkling, mineral gold. His skin went from glowing white to a deep, mocha brown. On his chin, a long, white goatee sprouted and fell to the waist of his wine-purple robes. Beneath the robes, he wore sandals that wrapped up to his calves. And strapped across his shoulder, hanging beneath an arm, was a simple leather satchel, filled to the brim with frayed, blank parchments. The paper had a faint glow that made the simple satchel seem mystical. Deone looked around, feeling refreshed and feeling very much himself. ¡°Fifth of the Pantheon, Deone¡­. God of Contracts. Subdomain, God of Curses.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± the tall, cocky and unformed masculine deity quipped with a smirk. The voice continued¡­ ¡°Subdomain, God of Gamblers.¡± ¡°The fuck?!¡± the cocky deity said again, this time surprised. Deone¡¯s golden eyes went wide and, instinctually, he stroked his long chin beard thoughtfully. Two subdomains? He hadn¡¯t expected that. It might show the weakness of the Domain in general that he was given two but the subdomains themselves¡­ Curses? He was a God of Curses? That seemed as useful and omni-present as Poisons. It may align him with the darker aspects of the Pantheon¡­. And Gamblers? What did Gambling have to do with Contracts? He supposed Contracts were¡­ a promise, in a sense. And breaking a promise tended to cause curses in the first place. It was very circumstantial, at least in fairy tales. But Gambling¡­ How was it connected? Was it that trust was the key? A gambler had to be trusted? Is playing high stakes poker a kind of contract? If you lose, you have to pay up, no matter what? Deone chose Contracts because he had no idea what the God of Contracts could possibly be. If he wanted interesting, it looked like he just got a large helping of it. Deone was so lost in thought, considering the implications, that he entirely missed the seventh deity¡¯s name getting called to choose¡­ or his own Godly Perk! He had no idea of his powers! He wanted to interrupt and ask but, as he looked up sharply, about to raise his voice, the seventh had begun to glow and their choice was called out. ¡°Sixth of the Pantheon, Ze¡­ Deity of Chaos. Subdomain, Deity of Games. Godly Perk: Butterfly¡¯s Flap.¡± Ze turned out to be the seated, genderless figure who had seemed so disengaged with the choosing of Domains, never seeming to bother with a glance at the list. They resolved slightly taller, light aqua hair blooming out backwards and slicked against their skull, bringing their sharp cheek bones, thin but bright red lips and white lined in black irises into sharp, severe relief. Their features were in beautiful in an alien, inhuman kind of way. They wore what looked to be a loose vest that hung on their thin frame, colored in a silver that seemed both liquid and metallic, over similar long pants that seemed like a skirt until they moved¡­Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. And they were moving just then, long legs striding with an awkward kind of grace, to the echoing clack of boot heels, to lean in and stare at him, intensely. For a moment, Ze said nothing. ¡°Diety of Chaos? What is she? Or is she a he?¡± This came from the cocky, unformed masculine figure. ¡°Oh, here we go,¡± muttered Timely. ¡°Can we move on?¡± ¡°What? I¡¯m just confused,¡± the masculine figure said, folding his arms. ¡°You a man, Ze?¡± Ze, Deity of Chaos and Games, continued to stare into Deone¡¯s eyes until it made him uncomfortable¡­ but Deone didn¡¯t look away. This was, after all, the kind of weird stuff Gods of Chaos tended to do. Backing down this early wasn¡¯t an option. ¡°Ze,¡± they said, ¡°is Ze.¡± Ze¡¯s voice was as androgynous as the rest of their features. Sultry, light but not especially masculine or feminine. It was not unheard of for a Deity, in the God¡¯s Game, to be either gender, both, or neither. Some, Deone knew innately, manifested as the opposite gender of whomever they were addressing. If someone was ballsy enough to strike the silver off Ze¡¯s body, strip them nude, it was just as likely they¡¯d find no distinguishing genital features as it would be they¡¯d find both. The masculine figure started to say more but, instead, grunted in disgust at the few sharp glances he received from some of the feminine Pantheon, not to mention the hostile hiss he received from Petra. Wen and Gary looked uncomfortable, both of their arms folded. Timely, as usual, looked impatient. ¡°Is there something I can do for you?¡± Deone said, calmly taking a single step away. Deone¡¯s voice, he realized, had a stately quality to it. It was reedy but held¡­ weight. ¡°You are God of Gambling,¡± Ze stated, their tone curiously sing-song. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°I am the Deity of Games. We¡­ are in Alignment.¡± ¡°I object!¡± Timely called out. ¡°Or whatever! This is wasting time. We should wait until the Pantheon is chosen before Aligning.¡± ¡°You,¡± Deone pointed out without breaking eye contact from Ze, ¡°were the first God to bring up Aligning.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I didn¡¯t make deals,¡± Timely said with a shrug, smugly brushing his thick curls over a shoulder. ¡°I just said you could stand with me. More choosing, less talking.¡± Before Ze or Deone could speak again, the omnipresent voice guiding the Game rang out, calling for the Eighth of the Pantheon, Wes, to choose. Wes was the tall, cocky masculine figure; with little deliberation, he tapped a finger to the floating menu before him and threw out his arms, awaiting the golden glow with flourish. ¡°Seventh of the Pantheon, Wes¡­ God of Oceans. Subdomain, God of Storms. Godly Perk: Stormbringer.¡± Wes formed, filling out to a size larger than any other in the Pantheon so far. The whites of his eyes grew dark and cloudy, his irises a bright and brilliant sea blue. His face shaped from featureless into a deeply lined, furious scowl. For a moment, it seemed he would be as bald as Deone but his scalp began to weep¡­ Water spilled down from his head and over his body, covering his nude form like a liquid toga, a toga with small, live fish swimming in its depths. When the toga was completed, the weeping of his scalp became a steady, thin waterfall that fell down his shoulders but never seem to spill past them. When he spoke, Wes¡¯ voice thundered. ¡°This. Is so. Fucking. Awesome. How could you guys have left this on the board? I¡¯m the fucking God of Oceans, baby!¡± The feminine form, who had, until down, been doing yoga, paused and cocked her head. ¡°So you¡¯re, like, Aquaman?¡± Several of the Pantheon chuckled. ¡°We should Align,¡± Ze stage-whispered to Deone, now casually leaning against his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re natural allies, Games and Gambling.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking subdomains,¡± Deone said, pulling away with a huff, straightening his purple robes. ¡°How do Contracts and Chaos align? Better question, does Chaos align with anyone? Chaos is¡­ Chaotic!¡± ¡°When I want to, yes. When I don¡¯t, no.¡± The voice called for the Eigth God to make their choice, calling for Ayaan, the childlike figure who had been muttering to themselves throughout while considering the Domain list before them. ¡°What do you bring to the table?¡± Deone asked. ¡°Chaos tends to wreck things, play by their own rules. Or no rules. You could Align him,¡± he said, nodding towards Wes who was, at that moment, comparing muscles with Timely. ¡°The Ocean God over there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like him,¡± Ze said stiffly. ¡°Why not? You don¡¯t know him.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t like me. I know that much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like you. I don¡¯t know you.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ze said with an altogether seductive smile on their thin red lips. ¡°But you¡¯re reasonable,¡± they drew out each syllable of that word, ¡°enough not to need to. Contracts don¡¯t have feelings.¡± Ayaan made his choice, was bathed in light and, despite already being the smallest of the Pantheo, grew¡­ smaller. Not child size or even toddler size. Ayaan became the size of a doll, mere inches in height. And yet, when he spoke, it was in a voice no softer or smaller than any other. It was like he was standing right next to each of them. ¡°Is there someone¡¯s shoulder I can stand on? I¡¯d feel better if I could see you all eye to eye.¡± ¡°Eighth of the Pantheon, Ayaan¡­ God of Magic. Subdomain, God of Dreams. Subdomain, God of Illusions. Godly Perk: False Miracles.¡± Ze suddenly lost all interest in Deone and strode, their silver pants billowing with every step, to Ayaan. They dropped into a wide legged squat and offered their palm. ¡°Now we, my little friend, are very much in Alignment.¡± The little man, otherwise dressed in gold finery and great and bulbous harem pants, a little man with comically large and bushy black mustache¡ªlarger than his face, easily¡ªclimbed onto Ze¡¯s palm and made a deep, sweeping bow. ¡°Ah, a friendly hand up for the little guy.¡± He grinned as Ze lifted and placed him on their shoulder, where they began a low, muttering conversation. Deone was relieved. As much as their existence didn¡¯t seem to offend him as much as it did Wes, he still found Ze¡­ unnerving. The next to choose was¡­ Songbird. Songbird turned out to be the figure who had been doing Yoga. When the voice announced them, Songbird moved into another stretching pose and simply said, ¡°No, thank you.¡± The rest of the Pantheon looked about at eachother in surprise. Ze and Ayaan¡¯s conversation paused, while Timely and Wes stopped eyeing eachother long enough to begin eyeing Songbird. Gary, the God of Death, laughed. ¡°You can do that?¡± Deone wondered aloud and then realized that, indeed, you could. The voice confirmed, ¡°Songbird has chosen to be Last of the Pantheon.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Songbird said. She returned to her stretches and the Game moved on. The Ninth of the Pantheon was Khadijah, a feminine form who had, thus far, very little to say. Rather than choose on the menu, Khadijah called out her Domain and more than any other Deity, her golden light blazed with painful brightness, a brightness that lingered even after her form resolved itself. She was full-figured, curvy, and brown skinned wearing a sari whose colors shifted from red to flowing yellow to a white that even other Deities had trouble staring at too long. Her eyes blazed bright, spilling light from their corners like steady tears. And yet her hair was an inky, depthless black; a black deeper than black, seeming to swallow her own light and move across her sari as if it were causing an eclipse. Khadijah, Goddess of the Sun and Resurrection, stood before them and waggled her head. ¡°I do believe you have all made a terrible mistake. This is what real power looks like,¡± she said, smiling with full, dark red lips. Deone had no idea what her Godly Perk, Sign of the Sun God, meant but it certainly sounded impressive. But, then, Deone still had no idea what his own Godly Perk was much less what it did. The next to choose was another feminine figure who resolved into a solidly built, thick thighed, broad shouldered and busty black skinned woman¡­ Like Khadijah, her eyes blazed but instead of light there was active, flickering flames. A form fitting gown of smoldering magma seemed to pour from her skin, beginning from just above a generous neckline and below a mane of thick dreadlocks that, themselves, seemed made of char and cooling lava. Pre-empting the voice, she called out to the Pantheon, ¡°I am Zuzu, Goddess of Fire!¡± The guiding voice supplied, ¡°Subdomain, Goddess of Volcanos. Godly Perk, Rage of the Land.¡± Khadijah frowned, looking Zuzu up and down. ¡°You¡¯re stepping into my territory.¡± ¡°You are The Sun,¡± Zuzu said in a melodic tone that felt familiar to Deone. ¡°I am Fire. You are my territory, dear Khadijah.¡± Khadijah folded her arms and for a moment the light of her eyes blazed. Zuzu¡¯s fiery eyes blazed back. Deone knew, innately, that all Deities spoke the same language but Zuzu¡¯s accent had a sense of place, just a place he could not name. He liked the way she talked, though. That, of course, did not mean they were in Alignment. ¡°Fire, Oceans, Magic, the fucking Sun,¡± Wes said, his voice rumbling and, in his permanent scowl, his smirk somehow furious. ¡°I bet you wish you didn¡¯t pick Contracts now, huh, Deone?¡± Deone arched a bushy white eyebrow but Timely spoke up before he could. ¡°The Game was over the moment War was off the table,¡± Timely drawled. ¡°Everything else is just filling out a roster.¡± For a moment, Wes¡¯ toga swirled against his body, the living fish inside swarming into panicked schools as the surface of their little sea churned. Wes abruptly turned to Zuzu, who was still throwing shade at Khadijah. ¡°Zuzu, Goddess of Fire and Volcanos, will you stand in Alignment with the God of Oceans and Storms?¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Timely started in but Zuzu moved forward, seeming to flow across the floor of nothingness leaving wisps of smoke in her wake, until she reached Wes and offered a hand. ¡°I will, indeed, Great God of the Oceans,¡± Zuzu said with a grin. ¡°Shall we be friends, then?¡± ¡°Your interests are my interests,¡± Wes rumbled. ¡°My followers will respect you and yours and they shall not come to War,¡± the last word emphasized as he looked towards Timely and look Zuzu¡¯s hand. A gong sounded in Deone¡¯s skull, one that made him wince a moment though none of the rest of the Pantheon reacted beyond Timely shaking in anger. That gong sounded through every inch of his body but more so, it seemed to vibrate¡­ from his satchel. Deone began to open it but looked up again sharply as Timely marched over to Gary, the God of Death. ¡°Join me, Gary. War and Death go hand in hand. We¡¯re the most natural Alignment in the Game. My every decision will basically give you power. We can end this game faster than it¡¯s ever been played.¡± Timely extended his massive hand, looking at Gary intently. ¡°Pass.¡± ¡°Gary. Who else would you be better Aligned with? I¡¯m a God of War, man. My worshippers kill people.¡± Gary¡¯s smile was made ghoulish by his pale skin and thin form. ¡°Hard pass.¡± Before Timely could continue his pitch, Wen called out. ¡°I will join you, Timely.¡± Timely glanced back at Wen, dismissively, raising a finger to count out another point to Gary but Wen continued speaking. ¡°Steel,¡± Wen said, raising a finger of his own. ¡°Archery.¡± A second finger. ¡°Gun powder. Canon. Submarine. Nuclear arms,¡± Wen continued to count off fingers. ¡°Nanophages. War is powerful. But War without Invention is just cave men clawing eachother in the mud.¡± Wen dropped his hands, folding them behind his back and waited. ¡°You know,¡± Timely said, casting a dark glance over his shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t like being wrong.¡± Timely turned away from Gary and sauntered over to Wen, looming over the smaller God. Wen, for his pant, did not blink or move away when Timely leaned in¡­ and offered his hand. When they shook hands, Timely¡¯s massive fist swallowed Wen¡¯s but Wen did not seem the least bit intimidated. ¡°We are Aligned.¡± Again, a thrumming gong sounded through Deone¡¯s skull and his satchel pulsed against his side. Again, none of the rest of the Pantheon seemed to react to the Alignments with anything more than calculations and considering glances. Petra watched Wes and Zuzu but made no move to join them, while Khadijah tapped an impatient foot, shaking her head. Ze and Ayaan grinned at each other like children plotting a prank while Gary¡¯s ghoulish grin seemed like a permanent facial feature. Songbird was now laying face down on her stomach, her arms at her sides. The other two, as yet unformed, Deities watched them all. The Pantheon was Aligning, already. These relationships would not just shape the nature of the God¡¯s Game, whose interests would lie with whose¡­. Alignments would shape the very world they would battle over and the nature of the mortals who inhabited it. Deone would not yet make his choice. There were, after all, three Deities left to choose their Domains. As the voice began its chant for the next of the Deities to choose their sphere of influence, Deone reached into his satchel and pulled out a glowing parchment. Reading the simple words marked there, each letter, each symbol, on it shifting and alive, Deone knew that the meaning behind the words and symbols were as unchangeable, binding and forever. Deone smiled to himself. This was¡­ very interesting. Chapter 3: The Last of the Pantheon Deities were Aligning, politicking, forming grunges, partnerships and plots but Deone, the God of Contracts, Curses and Gambling, was wondering at the faintly glowing parchments in his weathered leather satchel and what power he may have in those simple pages. There were three Deities, currently unformed, who had yet to choose the Domains that would be the sources of their power and the channels through which they would influence the world; Deone pulled up the remaining Domains, only half-heartedly scanning them as he continued to tease out the meaning of those parchments, those Contracts it seemed, that seemed the core of his entire path to winning the God¡¯s Game.
Available Domains
Contracts (Deone)
Wine
War (Timely)
Fire (Zuzu)
Art
Oceans (Wes)
Invention (Wen)
Chaos (Ze)
Death (Gary)
Pleasure
Animals
The Sun (Khadijah)
Light
Magic (Ayaan)
Electricity
Order
Crime
Forests
Reptiles (Petra)
Metal
Wind
Already, Zuzu, Goddess of Fire, had Aligned with Wes, God of Oceans, while Timely the impatient, overbearing War God had, as unlikely as their temperaments made it seem, Aligned with the phlegmatic and thoughtful Wen, God of Invention. Ze seemed to Align with Ayaan yet, unlike the other two pairs, Deone had felt nothing as the tiny mustacho¡¯d man and the strange, lanky Ze whispered and giggled to one another. The calm and omnipresent voice of the guide had called out for the Eleventh of the Pantheon to choose and this unformed Deity, an average sized, thin but masculine form that, even in this group, seem to hold to themself, was taking up every second of the two minutes allotted to make their choice. There was plenty of power left here. Elemental power, like the God of Wind or Forests. Perhaps, Deone pondered, they would choose Order... with a God of Chaos already in the mix and Deone himself naturally Aligned, perhaps this world needed a Deity to shape and control it.... In the end, the God choose none of these. The omnipresent voice rang out once more. ¡°Tenth of the Pantheon¡­ Young-So, God of Crime. Subdomain, God of Travelers. Subdomain, God of Children. Godly Perk, Thief of Divinity.¡± As the voice sang Young-So¡¯s titles, the unformed being burst with golden light that dulled into a pulse on their skin. He did not grow taller or fill out in the body but, abruptly, sprouted a great black hooded cape that shrouded him from head to boot sole. It was only when he was fully formed and pulled back his great hood that a dandelion puff of red-orange hair was revealed¡­ along with long, pointed ears that seemed to curve halfway up that huge¡­ afro, was the only word¡­ ending in furred tufts. The face beneath all that hair had tanned skin and sharp cheeks, dotted with dark freckles. His eyes were similarly sharp and considering. But he had an easy smile, a kind of lazy grace, as he looked about at the rest of the Pantheon. ¡°God of Children. Don¡¯t mind it. Didn¡¯t expect it,¡± he said with a shrug. Timely¡¯s eyes seemed to light up with possibilities but Young-So gave them all a wave and turned his back to the group. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, I¡¯m not Aligning with anyone. I solo. Good luck.¡± With that, he plucked a knife¡­ how was he the only with weapons?... from a heavy, hip-drapped belt he wore beneath the cloud and began picked at his finger nails. Deone rolled his eyes at the affect. They were Gods. If his nails were dirty, it¡¯s because he Willed it so. ¡°Lottery,¡± the guiding voice called, ¡°has determined that theEleventh pick of the Domains is¡­ Filipa. Filipa, you have 2 minutes.¡± If it were possible for an all white, bald, glowing feminine form to radiate hate at a voice, that is what Filipa did before folding their arms and quickly pressing one of the options that floated in mid-air before them. ¡°That,¡± the feminine form said, ¡°was easy.¡± ¡°Eleventh of the Pantheon, Filipa¡­ ¡° As the glow resolved into long, delicate fingers and pale skin, the Deity flicked up a hand and glanced sharply at the nothingness above them.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Eleventh of the Pantheon,¡± the voice amended, ¡°Cortez¡­. Goddess of Pleasure. Subdomain, Goddess of Feasts. Godly Perk, Holy Ecstasy.¡± The golden glow continued to pulse, then fade into clarity, revealing a pale, muscular woman with deep crimson hair, bowl cut in a slopping diagonal that fell to her chin while the sides were dark, buzzed close to her scalp. She wore a black, velvet body suit with deep cleavage, drooping from clavicle to her belly button; her wrists and back collar were white and ruffled, her pants legs flaired at the calves. Beneath them, toeless red pumps with sharp heels. Cortez took a moment to admire herself, then gazed from one Deity to the next, her eyes lingering a long moment on Petra. Her eyes were an arresting emerald green. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t all gape at once.¡± The other Deities of the Pantheon watched her, considered her, seemed to weigh or, in the case of Timely, dismiss her¡­ except for the God of Death, Gary, who was, indeed, gapping ghoulishly. ¡°I¡¯d Align with you if you¡¯re up for it,¡± Gary said, approaching the Goddess as he stroked his stringy black hair back. ¡°Pass,¡± Cortez said with a seductive smirk, hand on hip. ¡°Hard pass.¡± Petra, Goddess of Reptiles, slithered towards Gary and Cortez and Cortez almost seemed to perk in anticipation until the half-snake Goddess passed both by, joining Wes and Zuzu. Wes, God of the Oceans, whose liquid toga swam with agitated schools of tropical fish, took a step towards her but it was Zuzu, the Goddess of Fire and Volcanos, that Petra addressed. ¡°What was it that he said to you? We are¡­ aligned in interests?¡± ¡°I believe the phrase was,¡± Zuzu said in her lilting accent, the flames of her eyes flickering as she spoke, ¡°Your interests are Our interests, Our people will respect you and yours¡­ and we will make no war on one another.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Petra said, this time hissing for effect. ¡°Your interests are mine and we will make no war. We are Aligned.¡± ¡°We are Aligned,¡± Zuzu repeated, offering a hand which Petra then took. ¡°We are Aligned,¡± Wes¡¯ thunderous voice rumbled but Petra only spared him a glance. ¡°The game continues,¡± Young-So said, his back still turned on the rest of the Pantheon though he had slightly turned bak with a smirk, but Deone was not listening. All he could hear was the thrum of the gong that resounded in his skull, sending vibrations up his spine. Quickly, Deone pulled out one of the parchments, one he knew had been previously blank, and read the words now etched. He muttered to himself, smiling, as the voice called out once more. ¡°The Last of the Pantheon now chooses¡­. Songbird, you have two minutes.¡± Songbird, who had been previously doing yoga before taking a resting pose on her stomach, face down, raised up once more, hips on the ground, hands pushing up from the waist and upper body raising as she leaned her head back. ¡°Thank you,¡± the feminine form said. ¡°I choose Art.¡± And with those words, the golden glow bloomed for the last time and, more quickly than every other change, Songbird resolved into a woman with dirty blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, wearing¡­ a pink sports bra and matching yoga pants. Her face was round, beautiful but in a soft way, with blue eyes that seemed wholly suited to her blonde hair. She moved from her hips down pose quickly into a squat, then rose to standing. ¡°Last of the Pantheon, Songbird¡­ Goddess of Art. Subdomain, Goddess of Song. Godly Perk, Profane Worship.¡± Songbird had a small, tight smile that she offered to the group. Most noddedwelcome or watched her cautiously but Timely covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh. ¡°Art?¡± Timely said, shaking his head softly. ¡°Art? Are you even playing the game, right now? This is too easy.¡± ¡°Songbird,¡± Wes said, casting a scowl at Timely, ¡°You can join us and grow strong. Art and nature. It makes sense.¡± Wes paused. ¡°Kind of.¡± ¡°No, thank you,¡± Songbird said. She looked up at the nothingness above. ¡°I¡¯d like to take a break, please. Can we have 5 minutes?¡± ¡°A rest?¡± Timely asked, dropping his hand and no longer feeling so jocular. ¡°We¡¯re Gods, we don¡¯t need rest.¡± Deone stroked his long, thin white beard and spoke. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind time to think¡­.¡± Timely waved at Deone dismissively, ¡°There¡¯s not a lot to think about, God of Contracts and Lawyer shit. I want to move on, we still have to pick Free Perks.¡± Wen nodded, folding his arms. ¡°He¡¯s right, we do not need to rest.But if we¡¯re going to break, why not see our Free perks beforehand?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need any me-damned break, period,¡± Timely snapped. ¡°I¡¯d like to collect my thoughts, thank you,¡± Songbird said once again, her high voice a calm that was almost bored. ¡°Can we take five?¡± The voice called out, ¡°a 5 minute break has been requested before the choosing of Free Perks. Is the Pantheon in agreement?¡± The various Deities looked about to one another but, before any could answer, the voice called again. ¡°A majority of the Pantheon would like 5 minutes to collect their thoughts. You have 5 minutes before the choice of Free Perks begins.¡± The voice did not need the Pantheon to speak Deone knew, then, for it to know their thoughts. That is also, he knew, how their manifestions knew what form to take without a descriptive word spoken. ¡°Fuck,¡± Timely said, softly. He stalked over to Songbird and stood over her, pushing his chest out and he looked down on her. ¡°What exactly do you need to think about? You¡¯ve been doing yoga this entire time, you asked to choose last and for fuck sake when you got to choose, you decided to be the Goddess of Doodles. I was going to Aligned with you out of pity but now you¡¯re just pissing me way off.¡± Songbird looked up at Timely and cocked her head. ¡°Please explain,¡± she said to the void surrounding them, ¡°Godly Perk, Profane Worship.¡± ¡°Profane Worship,¡± the voice intoned deeply, ¡°the Deity receives passive Faith bonus from all works of Art that depict their aspects. The Deity has a chance of adding +2 Awe to all works created by the Deity¡¯s followers to any non-believers with an additional chance to Convert non-believers. Increased chance of +2 Awe to any mortal who has no Faith Loyalty to any other Deity.¡± Timely listened to this droning a moment, glanced about, then looked at Songbird once more. ¡°Was that supposed to impress me?¡± Wes, Zuzu and Petra, clustered together, glanced at one another. Ze paused in their constant chatter with Ayaan, narrowing their white-in-black eyes. Wen¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, coming to some understanding. Khadijah just seemed bored. Deone continued to stroke his chin and nodded to himself, seeing how Songbird was playing the game. She¡¯d shown her hand, deliberately, to give an idea to the group of exactly what they were dealing with and, sadly, most of them didn¡¯t see the potential in a Divine power that could convert any of their followers with a single painting. Songbird didn¡¯t look or sound like she belonged in the God¡¯s Game but Deone was seeing that, beneath the uncreative image her aspect had manifested as, was a subtle mind. And two could play at that game. ¡°Tell me,¡± Deone called out, now watching Songbird. ¡°What is my Godly Perk again¡­ please?¡± The voice called out, ¡°Deone, God of Contracts. Godly Perk, Word is Bond. All Oaths made in the Presence of the Deity, God of Contracts, becomes a Contract, whether Mortal or Godly. Contracts made before the Deity may not be broken. Promises made in this Deity¡¯s name by Mortals becomes a Compulsion. Promises or Oaths made by a mortal in any Deity¡¯s name is subject to reprisal, or Curse, chosen by the Deity, God of Contracts.¡± The Pantheon looked to one another, confused, except for Ze, Wen and Young-So; Ze smiled to themselves, Young-So looked to Deone with a raised brow while Wen abruptly laughed. Timely cast a sharp glance at Wen, but it was Wes, God of Oceans and Storms, whose rumbling voice spoke first. ¡°Am I missing something?¡± Wen continued laughing a moment, shaking his head, before nodding towards Deone. ¡°I see you have papers in that bag of yours, God of Contracts. Perhaps you could show Wes his?¡± Deone returned Wen¡¯s knowing smile, reached blindly into his satchel and plucked the exact contract he was thinking of. Their glowing, etched words facing away from him, Deone unfurled the parchment and read without needing to see the words. ¡°Wes, Aligned with Zuzu and Petra, will not conflict with their interests. Wes¡¯ followers will not make war with the followers of Zuzu and Petra. Followers of Wes will not come into conflict with the followers of other Deities in this Alignment. This is a Contract,¡± Deone said, his golden eyes alight and his voice taking on a deeper manner that echoed in finality. ¡°You have Aligned. This oath can not be broken.¡± Wes¡¯ eyes went wide; Petra and Zuzu cast eachother sharp glances. ¡°What do you mean,¡± Wes said, hesitantly. ¡°this Oath can¡¯t be broken? I wouldn¡¯t break an Oath but¡­.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Deone, packing the contract away in his satchel once more. ¡°I¡¯m kind of curious what happens when a God breaks their oath, too. Or if a God can break their Oath. ¡°But, to me, the better question is,¡± Deone said, arching a brow, ¡°what happens if your faithful followers... break their God¡¯s Oath?¡± Chapter 4: An Abundance of Choice. Deone¡¯s question lingered in the air and, for a moment, there was thoughtful silence. The moment was broken by Wes and Timely shouting at the same time. ¡°Join my Alignment.¡± ¡°Your Alignment?¡± Petra hissed, slithering up to Wes¡¯ side and casting him a dark look. Wes could not blush red, nor choke- he was the Deity of Oceans, liquid would ever and always cloud his lungs- but he seemed to do both, just then. Timely saw his opportunity and pounced. ¡°Looks like there are three agents of¡­ nature, I guess.. but you aren¡¯t like them, are you? You¡¯re more like me and Wen. Like¡­ uh¡­.¡± He said floundering. ¡°We are Gods of Mortal Concepts,¡± Wen finished for the War God, holding his hands behind his back. ¡°We are Gods of abstractions. Our Alignment is,¡± Wen said paused to stroke his chin ¡°¡­ sensible.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you joining Ze?¡± Ayaan said. ¡°I could have sworn I heard you agreeing to an alliance of Games and Gambling¡­¡± The little man, only a hand¡¯s full height, called from Ze¡¯s shoulder while twirling his oversized waxed mustachio. Ayaan was clearly rooting for his new friend in this political fight. For her part the newest Goddess, Songbird, glanced about at the Pantheon now vying for Deone¡¯s attention, took a deep, slow breath and dropped smoothly into a lotus pose. Khadijah, the Goddess of the Sun who had, thus far, Aligned with no one, simply looked¡­ confused. But she folded her arms and said nothing, stubbornly refusing to ask the many questions flickering across her expressions. Petra slithered forward a step. ¡°I don¡¯t know about¡­ abstractions or whatever Wen is going on about but I do know how to count. There are three of us and two of them. If there are four of us, we have a powerful Alignment.¡± Zuzu spoke up, just then. ¡°We already have a powerful Alignment, snake Goddess. What he has is a powerful Perk. One that he has already used on the three of us, without our permission.¡± Wes glanced back at Zuzu, furrowing his bushy brows while Petra flicked her forked tongue and smiled, immediately picking up where Zuzu was heading. ¡°True, Fire Goddess¡­ We were forced into a¡­ what is it, Deone?¡± she asked, turning Deone¡¯s way with a flick of her thick, blonde braid. ¡°A Contract? I think that means you owe us, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Deone narrowed his eyes, casting a reflexively protective hand over his satchel. ¡°That isn¡¯t how this works. I did not force anyone here to make any Oaths before me.¡± ¡°And yet,¡± Zuzu continued in her musical lilt, ¡°you have, you did and here we are. What are we to make of that, Petra? Wes?¡± Wes, finally catching on, nodded and spoke in a voice that rumbled through the nothingness surrounding them. ¡°I feel¡­ deceived. This is the kind of power I would only allow an Ally to hold over me.¡± ¡°Us,¡± Petra corrected. ¡°Yes, us,¡± Wes continued, glowering at Deone. ¡°You will Align with us. Or I¡­ we¡­ might get offended.¡± Timely strode forward and stepped in front of Deone, his massive hand warding Deone back protectively as he stared down the God of Oceans. ¡°Don¡¯t threaten our friend, here, Wes. We made an Oath too and have just as much reason to be pissed off at the God of Accountants, here. ¡°However,¡± Timely said, looking back at Deone with a grin, ¡°Me and Wen aren¡¯t petty Gods. We won¡¯t bully you into joining us. We offer you a chance to join the winning team, Deone. All fair and equitable like.¡± ¡°I almost feel forgotten,¡± Cortez, Goddess of Pleasure, sighed while stroking the velvet fabric along her clavicle. Gary, God of Death, returned to his entreaties for the Goddess to join him. Khadijah, suddenly realizing her position, flexed her power and flared with a moment of blinding light that made all but the Goddess of Fire wince. ¡°No!¡± Khadijah shouted, stomping a sandaled foot. ¡°No. You will join me. You will join me because I am the only one here that can protect you from these others. I am the Goddess of the Sun. I am strong on my own and I need no Alignments. Come to me,¡± she called, offering a hand while the depthless dark of her hair shifted over the blazing light of her sari, ¡°take my hand and I will shield you.¡± Deone almost took offense but it was Ze, suddenly appearing at his shoulder once more while Ayaan continued to ride theirs, who spoke instead. ¡°Is he so weak that he needs protection?¡± Ayaan, like a parrot on Ze¡¯s shoulder, spoke up echoing the sentiment. ¡°Looks a touch thin but not at all weak.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± said Ze, nodding at Ayaan then turning their attention back to the rest of the Pantheon. ¡°I see before me a God of Death and a God of War. I see Gods of Nature, Magic and¡­ in my case, a little madness,¡± Ze winked at Deone just then. ¡°I see a Goddess of Art and a Goddess of Pleasure. I even see¡­ a God of Crime.¡± At that, Ze placed an arm around Deone¡¯s shoulder. ¡°And for all that, I do not see a God of Law and Order.¡± Ayaan chimed in as he strolled from Ze¡¯s shoulder onto Deone¡¯s, leaning a hand against Deone¡¯s bronze bald head. ¡°I guess this guy will have to do, won¡¯t he? You never answered your question, Deone. What does happen to a follower who breaks their oaths?¡± Deone feigned thoughtfulness a moment, playing to Ze and Ayaan¡¯s theatrics. ¡°Why,¡± he said ponderously, ¡°I suppose that is entirely, 100 percent my choice isn¡¯t it?¡± That brought the group to another moment of stunned silence. Just as a new round of bickering was about to begin, the guiding voice called an end to Songbird¡¯s requested break. ¡°We will resume the Pantheon¡¯s choosing of Free Perks. We will begin with the Last of the Pantheon, Songbird. Songbird, you have 2 minutes.¡± The bickering ceased like an abrupt spring rain as the thirteen arrayed Gods, Goddess and Deity brought up their menu¡¯s once more to see the Free Perks randomly made available to them from a greater pool of divine power. This Perk, each recognized, was the last chance to increase their personal power and get a competitive edge in the God¡¯s Game. Like the rest, Deone brought up his menu. This one, he noted, included descriptions of what the Free Perk could do¡ªputting each of the Pantheon on the same level of knowledge.
Free Perk Description
Heretic''s Spear The Heretic''s Spear is a Divine Artifact given which can only be spawned once. Once spawned, the Heretic''s Spear may be wielded by a Mortal to wound or kill a Deity. The Heretic''s Spear may, in the hands of a Mortal, summon a Deity of the Mortal''s choosing to Manifest before them (note: this action will deplete the power of the spear, which generates to full power over the course of 42 years Mortal time). The Heretic''s Spear, once provided to a Mortal, may not be touched again by any Deity or their Divine Agents.
Monotheism Followers above "believer" Faith threshold for a Monotheistic Deity may not worship any other Deity; Monotheistic followers will have increased hostility towards all followers besides and beyond their Monotheistic Deity. Worshippers of a Monotheistic Deity will not go to any other Deity''s after life; their souls, and associated Soul Points, will disperse upon death.
Ancestrial Cult Deity begins the campaign with a tribe/familial group of worshipers. All members of this tribe/familial grouping will provide Faith Points to their chosen Deity regardless of individual Faith level (including Atheist). Members of the tribal/familial group will provide 20% Faith points if active (believer) worshipper of another Deity (or none). Perk has dominant genetic component, lessening output with dillusion from original tribal/familial line. Deity may manifest to any members of the tribal/familial line without prayer.
Animal Companion Deity may summon an Companion to act as agent in Mortal or Divine realms. Animal Companion may be living, exinct or Mythological creature of the Deity''s choosing. Cost: 50% of current Divine Power. Divine Power at time of Summon corresponds with Divine Power of Animal Companion, strength level and ability to act upon to Mortal and Divine Realms.
Soul Sacrifice Mortals may choose to sacrifice their souls to their Deity. Soul sacrifice to the Deity is worth 5 Divine Points per Sacrifice.
Unspeakable Name Deity may choose a True Name which may be written but not spoken by Mortals. If this name is read by a Mortal, automatic Awe effect is activated. Awe effects may, by the Deity''s choosing, increase Faith level (including non-worshippers or Atheist), cause Religious Mania with a chance to produce Divine Prophet, induce Vision or cause Madness.
Angelic Host Deity may create Angelic/Demonic agents of the Deity''s design which may act upon the Mortal Realm using the current Deity''s Awe rating at the time of Summoning. Angelic/Demonic host acts independently though in accordance with the Domain or Subdomain of their Deity. Cost: 10% of current Divine Power per angel. Deity may increase individual power of Angelic/Demonic host by adding Divine Power up to 50% of current Power. Note: Increased Divine Power Increases Independence of the Agent. Angelic/Demonic agent will not betray their Domain/Subdomain aspect.
Holy Realm Deity may create a separate Divine realm of their design, to house the souls of their followers. Note: Holy Realm will override any other after-life realm for followers. Note: does not effect Monotheistic followers. Cost: 100% of Divine Power at time of summon, corresponding with absolute Realm size; upkeep cost, 10% of Divine Power with relative size increase with larger DP pool.
Eternal Champion Deity may assign an Immortal Champion from the Mortal Realm to act as Mortal agent. Immortal Champion will age but will automatically resurrect ten days after death, returning at the age Champion status was conferred. Immortal Champion may receive full Deity Manifestation without prayer regardless of Deity Faith points.
Blood for the Blood God Deity''s with this perk receive 300% increase to Divine Power from Faith points from all followers who witness a Human Sacrifice in this Deity''s name.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Karmic Prophet Deity may assign a Karmic Prophet who will reincarnate from among the Deity''s followers upon death. Reincarnations will be distinct individuals but retain any Faith and divine connection of previous incarnation. If Karmic Prophet is a priest of the Deity, the Prophet will retain previous status and knowledge.
Undead Host Deity may raise the dead to act as their Divine agent. Undead host is destructible in accordance with the integrity of their physical form. Cost: 40 Divine points per Undead agent. Note: Undead agent''s independence and intelligence correspond with the amount of time their physical form has been deceased.
Demi-God Fertility Deity may be impregnated or impregnate a Mortal with their Divine seed, created a Demi-God. The Demi-God will be restricted to the Mortal Realm as an absolute Independent actor influenced by the Deity¡¯s Domain or Subdomain. Deity may Manifest before all Demi-God spawn without Prayer. Cost: 5% of current Divine Power. All sexual activity with a Mortal, human or other, will trigger this effect. Demi-God power level randomized. Low chance of Lesser Pantheon effect with no ongoing associated costs.
Idol Manifestation Deity may physically manifest in the form of all Idols created in their image and prayed to by followers. Idol Manifestations may make limited physical changes to the Idol which their followers pray to, including movement.
Touch of Divinity Deity may confer Divine Power to a Mortal, making the Mortal their agent and providing the ability to create miracles in accordance with the Deity''s Domain or Subdomain. Cost: 20% of total Divine Power with 10% upkeep cost as long as mortal agent lives.
Minor Cataclysm Deity may create a Cataclysm of their choosing which is guaranteed to kill 10% of the world current population. Cost: 100% of Divine Points with ongoing 10% Divine Points penalty until end of campaign.
Plague Deity may create a plague of their choosing which will effect a limited geographic area directly corresponding with the amount of Divine Points invested. Minimum cost: 10% of current Divine Points. With increased Divine Points pool comes an increase in minimum geographic area.
Hallucinogenic Plants Deity may assign a single plant species which will enable effects on Mortals in the Mortal realm. Effects: Manifestation, Epiphany, increased Faith or Visions.
Architecture of Awe All Temples dedicated by a believer faith level of worshipers to this Deity will have added +2 Awe effect with chance of automatically conversion for non-believers.
Supreme Mathematics Deity will have increased Faith and affinity for all Mortals who delve into abstract Mathematics and physics. 2% passive Faith bonus for all mortals who study mathematics.
Origin God Deity is considered by all believers of the Pantheon to be the Origin God, creator of the Universe. Deity receives passive bonus of 2% faith from all Pantheon worshippers (note: this does not apply to Monotheistic followers; this perk increases hostility for all Monotheistic followers). +1 Awe to all current worshippers of this Deity.
Divine Avatar Deity transfer their consciousness into a Mortal, to live out a Mortal life with 20% of their current Divine Power. Mortal form may produce miracles in accordance with their available Divine Power. Deity may act in their role as Deity for all followers, with 30% penalty to their Divine Power while Avatar is in the Mortal Realm.
Lessor Pantheon Deity may summon lessor Deities. These lessor Deities will be considered by Mortals as part of the summoning Deity''s pantheon. These lessor Deities will be independent but act in accordance to the summoning Deity''s Domain or Subdomain. These Deities will have automatic +4 Awe to their summoning Deity and will provide 30% passive Faith bonus from all their followers to the summoning Deity. Cost: 80% Divine Points with 10% ongoing upkeep cost; original summoning Divine Points pool will determine relative power of the lessor Deity.
Once again, Songbird, the yoga stretching Goddess who needed only a moment to choose her Domain, choose first and choose quickly; the rest of the Pantheon barely had 30 seconds to digest their options before the Goddess spoke. ¡°Monotheism,¡± she said, still serenely sitting in a lotus pose. ¡°Monotheism,¡± Timely mumbled, glancing her way. Even Wen seemed surprised, considering aloud. ¡°A monotheistic God of Art? That seems¡­ imprudent.¡± Ayaan, still atop Deone¡¯s shoulder and mock-serendipitously peeking at an option¡¯s menu overlayed with Deone¡¯s (they could not see each other¡¯s menu¡¯s, Deone knew, but Ayaan¡¯s view seemed to be peeking at his), pipped up, stroking his mustachio. ¡°Every work of Art in the Mortal Realm dedicated to her power and every artist her dedicated follower¡­. Amazing what you can do with a couple of clever perks, eh Deone?¡± Deone himself had been so focused on the abilities of their Godly Perks that the Free perks seemed like an after-thought until he ruminated on Ayaan¡¯s absent quip. A Goddess who had passive Faith bonuses from Art, Song and Sculptures¡­ whose every follower only believed in her? Art had power, soft power and suddenly every other member of the Pantheon had no access to what she had. Every idol created in their name would give her power and every one she converted would be hers, absolutely. Deone considered the strangely¡­ average¡­ Goddess of Art and Song, stroking his chin beard. Timely was loud. Wes was powerful and his Alignment was clearly a group of major players. Songbird, though¡­. Songbird was in the image that Deone saw himself. Clever. Only¡­ better. Clearly, clearly better. The entire Pantheon felt the weight of their final choice before the game begun fall on their shoulders, stowing the bickering and politicking to intensely study the Perk menu before them and their descriptions. Deone himself was winnowing at his choices when the Guide called for the next to choose: ¡°Cortez, you are next to choose. You have two minutes.¡± Whereas the velvet suited Goddess of Pleasure quickly picked her Domain, with a firm idea of what she wanted from this campaign, she seemed thoughtful when considering the choices before her. Timely, God of War, conferred with Wen, seeming to get into a private argument. He was a late choice, as one of the first to choose their Domain, and seemed to be disagreeing with his Aligned Deity over their path to winning the God¡¯s Game. Petra and Zuzu seemed to have a few words while Wes, hovering near them, moved as if to speak but said nothing. Khadijah, Goddess of the Sun, seemed eager. Ze, Deity of Chaos, seemed placid. Ayaan, still on Deone¡¯s shoulder, began to quip. ¡°What do you think? Blood for the Blood God? Or Soul Sacrifice? Although, I do like this¡­ Unspeakable Name perk. Perhaps, Holy Realm? Hmmm¡­. Tell me, Deone, do you see me more as a tiny God of human sacrifice orat the head of a legion of Mini-Mes?¡± ¡°I see you as a tiny pest, so a plague of locasts makes a certain sense but... with that mustache, I¡¯d go with Demi-God fertility. Go be the Holy Tom Selleck.¡± Ayaan¡¯s eyes went wide a moment as he stroked his mustache thoughtfully. ¡°I know you¡¯re joking but that isn¡¯t half bad¡­. I am quite the potent¡­ personality.¡± ¡°Hmmm,¡± Deone hummed to himself, considering his options. An Angelic Host would be useful, spreading his admittedly thin power out with powerful agents bond to his Domain¡­. What would angels of Contracts look like, he wondered idly. Winged lawyers? Angels whose wordplay could conquer countries? At the same time, Deone knew he had more of a soft power- every Oath was his to curse, he knew, giving him passive power over the rest of the Pantheon and their followers¡­ perhaps he needed something that would more actively add to his Faith points. Architecture of Awe? Supreme Mathematics, perhaps? As he ruminated on his choices, Cortez, Goddess of Pleasure, began to speak and the rest of the Pantheon looked up from their menus, watching with baited breath. ¡°I choose¡­¡± she said, pursing her inky black lips. ¡°I choose¡­ the Heretic¡¯s Spear.¡± ¡°What?¡± Timely shouted, throwing his hands into the air. ¡°What the fuck is a sex Goddess going to do with that? What game are you people even playing?¡± ¡°The Game,¡± Cortez said with a sly smile, casually stroking the collar of her black velvet pantsuit, ¡°is keep away.¡± The Pantheon glanced around to one another. ¡°A weapon that can kill Gods, manifested by one of you idiots? No,¡± Cortez said with a smirk. ¡°I don¡¯t think you boys should play with this particular toy¡­.¡± Wes spoke up in his rumbling brass. ¡°I will make an Oath, with Deone here, right now, if you summon that weapon for one of my followers.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll,¡± Timely began before Cortez interrupted. ¡°No deals,¡± Cortez said, waving a hand to the assembled Deities. ¡°I keep this and I use this exactly the way I feel like. No God killing weapons¡­ for any of you. ¡°Oh, disembodied voice?¡± she said, sing-song. ¡°Time to move on, don¡¯t you think?¡± The voice chanted out for the next of the Pantheon to choose. ¡°Young-So, you have two minutes.¡± It was only a moment, with Young-So saying nothing, his face betraying no emotions, before the omni-present voice called out in its calm, deep baritone: ¡°Young-So, God of Crime, Children and Travelers has chosen Animal Companion.¡± Zuzu¡¯s blackened brows rose over the flames of her eyes. ¡°I see the guide is a blabbermouth.¡± ¡°Free Perks,¡± Songbird said softly, ¡°are open information. I think we agreed on that.¡± ¡°This was within the parameter¡¯s set prior to the campaign,¡± the guide confirmed while Young-So, ever enigmatic, continued toying with the odd dagger he''d manifested, rolling its blade over his long, delicate fingers. ¡°Zuzu, you may choose your Free Perk. You have two minutes.¡± The Heretic¡¯s Spear, objectively powerful as the only artifact in the pool and the only way to kill a Deity, was off the board, as was Monotheism (a powerful passive perk, Deone realized) and now, Animal Companion. Frankly, the God of Contracts could not see the strength of this Free Perk but it was already clear that the rest of the Pantheon were clever. Songbird alone had seen angles, had found strengths that the rest of the Pantheon had previously seen as weaknesses, and worked to her advantage. Deone needed to do the same. The rest of the Free Perks seemed powerful but Deone himself was middle of the pack for choosing. He¡¯d have to sift through whatever Zuzu, Khadijah, Ayaan and Ze left behind. Deone stopped thinking of himself, what would strength his own abilities, to focus on the Deities who would choose before him. Who were these people? Zuzu had a list of gifts floating on a blue panel in front of her eyes¡­ if she were like Cortez, that choice might seem completely random to the rest of them but, like Songbird, that choice might be genius for when playing to her own strengths. A Goddess of Fire¡­ already powerful on its own. And Zuzu was Aligned with other nature-based powers, already bound via the Contract that Deone felt glowing warmly in his satchel to never have enemies in the two other, considerably powerful, Deities in her Alignment. What would she choose? Deone tried to guess but considering he only knew his, Wen¡¯s and Songbird¡¯s Godly Perks, it was hard to know what she might consider a weakness that needed shoring up. Again, in that musical lilt of hers, Zuzu flipped her charred dreadlocks and called out to the unseen voice of their Guide. ¡°I believe,¡± she said, ¡°I will choose something powerful. Something that will help both me and my Alignment. I believe I will choose¡­ Lessor Pantheon.¡± She flicked out her tongue, tasting her dark and full black lips. ¡°The more the merrier, yes?¡± The rest of her Alignment nodded in agreement, Petra patting Zuzu on her smoldering shoulder while Wes simply folded his arms, looking pleased. Ayaan whispered to Deone, still perched on his shoulder. ¡°A Fire Goddess with her Pantheon of child Gods? She¡¯s bringing the heat, isn¡¯t she? Ze, close-by and overhearing, nodded. ¡°That is a lot of fire power.¡± ¡°Certainly lighting a fire under everyone else¡¯s ass, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°She''s burned us, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Ze continued before the voice spoke again. ¡°Khadijah, you are next. Two minutes to choose your Free Perk.¡± Khadijah, Goddess of the Sun, wrapped in her glowing sari that shifted with the light of a blazing star, needed no time to choose. ¡°I am the Origin God,¡± she called out, her voice strong and clear. ¡°I began where this world began and I am where it shall end.¡± ¡°Typical,¡± Zuzu muttered. ¡°The Goddess of the Sun is an egomaniac.¡± ¡°I am not an egomaniac,¡± Khadijah snapped, stamping a sandaled foot. ¡°I am the Sun. The world literally revolves around my Domain. I will be respected!¡± ¡°The world revolves around you?¡± Zuzu said, laughing softly. ¡°You have the Ego for a solar system.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an objective truth,¡± Khadijah said, huffing. ¡°A cosmological and now mythological truth. Have all the children you want but you can¡¯t take that away from me.¡± ¡°Heaven forbid,¡± Zuzu said with a smirk. ¡°No one gets more attention than the sun.¡± Khadijah did not seem to mind this back-handed comment and, indeed, shifted her chin up haughtily. ¡°It¡¯s all fun and games to pick on people who can¡¯t tell they¡¯re the butt of the joke,¡± Ayaan said while Khadijah cast in a confused glare, ¡°but it¡¯s my turn and I don¡¯t need any time to consider. ¡°Deone, my friend, I think you¡¯re right. Guide? Give me Demi-God Fertility.¡± The guide acknowledge his choice while the rest of the Pantheon cast each other confused glances. ¡°Ayaan,¡± Deone said, speaking for the rest of them, ¡°you¡¯re no more than 4 inches tall. How, exactly, are you supposed to impregnate¡­ well¡­ anyone?¡± ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll just have to find out, won¡¯t I?¡± Ayaan said, hopping down from Deone¡¯s shoulder onto the featureless expanse of the ground. As he landed, he seemed to slow, floating down and touching the floor with barely a wince before turning and looking up at Deone¡¯s giant form. ¡°Anyway, figuring out that will be the fun part, won¡¯t it?¡± Deone gave Ayaan an uncomfortable smile while the guide called out, once more. ¡°Wes, God of Oceans and Storms. You have two minutes.¡± Deone swept a glance over the remainder of the Free Perks and knew what Wes would pick. He, like Timely, had shown himself to be a God preoccupied with short-term Power, which left him only a few choices that made sense for his play style. Deone waited for him to call for a Sacrifice based perk when Wes surprised him, calling out, ¡°Unspeakable Name.¡± Deoned blinked. The power itself sounded¡­ interesting¡­ but the power didn¡¯t seem in line with what Deone thought the Ocean God would want to use to win the game. Was he going full Cthulhu? Indeed, as if sensing the unspoken question on the many Deity¡¯s lips, the great God shrugged his massive shoulders. ¡°It sounds cool.¡± That, undeniably, was true. Seeing his shrinking options, Deone quickly shifted his golden eyes back to the Menu and realized he was only a choice away. But first, he thought, considering their lanky, relaxed form, came Ze¡­ the Deity of Chaos. As if reading his thoughts, Ze returned Deone¡¯s gaze¡­ and offered him an unreadable smile. Chapter 5: Butterflys Flap Ze fixed Deone with their gaze, that strange smile still playing at their red lips. Ze made as if to say something, as Deone¡¯s golden eyes narrowed, before they pirouetted away, striding over to Zuzu¡¯s and casually leaning on her shoulder. ¡°What is this?¡± Zuzu said, glancing down to where Ze¡¯s pale forearm sizzled against the black skin of her smoldering bare shoulder. ¡°Why are you touching me, Anansi? What game is this?¡± ¡°You¡¯re...¡± Timely began but Ze raised a palm at him without looking. ¡°Wasting time, yes yes. But it¡¯s my time to waste and I¡¯ll devour every second with relish. Tell me something, Zuzu, dear, before the world becomes our playground. What¡­ are mortals?¡± ¡°What?¡± Zuzu asked, glancing at Petra for support. ¡°I don¡¯t understand the question.¡± ¡°I¡¯m closing on 70 seconds, don¡¯t think too hard on that, dear. Just answer. What are these creatures that will be worshipping us not long from now?¡± ¡°Mortals? They are¡­ part of the game?¡± As the last syllable of Zuzu¡¯s sentence fell from her lips, Ze quickly strode over to Timely and pointed a long finger at his nose. ¡°And you, War God? What¡¯s your answer?¡± ¡°Resources,¡± Timely said, slapping Ze¡¯s hand away. ¡°Points on the board.¡± ¡°Ayaan, little friend,¡± Ze called, their eyes lingering on Timely a moment before turning away to face the tiny God. ¡°What say you?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡± Ayaan hummed to himself, thoughtfully, while the guiding voice called to Ze in warning, only thirty seconds left to choose. ¡°That is a good question, my towering friend. Let us considering the philosophical question, what, truly, is man itself? Is man behavior? Genetics? Environment? And if we Gods are born of Man, what, then, is a Mortal in this game¡­¡± ¡°Ayaan,¡± Ze drawled, their tone warm but they still waggled an admonishing finger. ¡°I suppose,¡± Ayaan said, sighing. ¡°I suppose they are life, down there. Texture. Mortals are game pieces and sources of power¡­ And, ultimately, Mortals are¡­ people.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ze said, now looking once more towards Deone. Ze stared at him intently as they spoke. ¡°Mortals are game pieces and they are people. Beautiful, simple, algorithmic and living people. And I think I should like to be one. Guide? I choose Divine Avatar.¡± Deone blinked for several moments then hurriedly studied floating the menu, reviewing Ze¡¯s choice.
Divine Avatar Deity may transfer their consciousness into a Mortal, to live out a Mortal life with 20% of their current Divine Power. Mortal form may produce miracles in accordance with their available Divine Power. Deity may act in their role as Deity for all followers, with 30% penalty to their Divine Power while Avatar is in the Mortal Realm.
Deone did not know what to expect from the strange Deity of Chaos. Hallucinogenic Plants, Minor Cataclysm, Plague. Those made sense. Those were¡­ Chaos. But Divine Avatar? There was a deep game being played here,, Deone thought. While he appreciated Songbird, the Goddess of Art and Song, with her seemingly bizarre yet cleverly chosen Free Perk, Monotheism, as a subtle mind playing two steps ahead of the rest of them, Ze just seemed to be playing an entirely different game. Deone couldn¡¯t figure out their motives or make sense of the move. Did they plan on manifesting as some kind of cult leader, sowing rebellions? Every strategy that came to Deone¡¯s mind felt¡­ late game, suited to a world that had fight through barbarism into order and, like a teenager, was ready to reject everything including belief itself. This made choice made no sense. Lost in his thoughts, Deone had ignored the guide¡­ and wasted thirty seconds on someone else¡¯s strategy. He shook his head, refocused his thoughts on where they needed to be: his Free Perk. Deone had already narrowed his choices down, ignoring the destructive Perks like Plague and Minor Cataclysm: destruction was powerful, both as an act against the followers of other Deities and as something to scare Faith into his own, but that style did not work well with abstract Domains like Contracts. Curses? Maybe. But Deone didn¡¯t feel an affinity for that subdomain and had no idea what he¡¯d do with it. Destruction, he decided, was best left to the Nature deities. In the same vein, Blood for the Blood God didn¡¯t feel right. Human sacrifice, perhaps as punishment for breaking a Contract? Gambling Mortal Lives in bloody, spectacular gladiatorial games? Soccer with human skulls? Deone¡¯s appearance was that of a thin, severe, brown skinned old man in robes carrying a leather satchel. Deone¡¯s persona was anything but Blood God. Soul Sacrifice was also out: just not distasteful but useless, with his passive Godly Perk. He didn¡¯t need the Divine Points. Holy Realm also sounded attractive. A place to shape as his own, not as powerful as Gary¡¯s creation? Perhaps. But what would-be God did not want to create their own universe, however small? The problem, of course, was Deone needed to win the Game, not just play in a divine sandbox. To win, Deone needed was to shore up his weaknesses. Nature-based Deities would be worshipped as pieces of the world, avatars of the natural order, surrounding scared young Mortals and their infant civilizations. It would take time before the idea of writing, much less formal Contracts, would influence Mortal cultures. Deone would have to adapt. He had a few ideas of how to do so but first he needed something that could act upon the world in a real, concrete way. He needed tangible. Angelic Host. Undead Host. Idol Manifestation. Each would give Deone ways to act upon the world, tangibly, from the first moment each of the Pantheon took their thrones and the game began in earnest. Deone could imagine winged angels of the Divine Contract, holy enforcers¡­ but Timely¡¯s jibe, calling him the God of Lawyers, left him imagining winged men in business suits and glowing brief-cases, cursing sinners with divine litigation. Idol Manifestation would bring him face to face with his followers¡­ Hard to deny the God of Contracts when their marble fingers are writing on parchment before your very eyes. 10 seconds. It occurred to Deone, then, that he¡¯d overlooked a choice that could give him the benefits of both Idol Manifestation and an ease to the transition from abstract idea to concrete Deity. Again, something¡­ tangible. 5 seconds. An early advantage, manifestation and some passive benefits that suited a slower paced, concentrated play style. ¡°I choose,¡± Deone said, taking a moment to strong his long, white chin beard, ¡°Ancestrial Cult.¡±
Ancestrial Cult Deity begins the campaign with a tribe/familial group of worshipers. All members of this tribe/familial grouping will provide Faith Points to their chosen Deity regardless of individual Faith level (including Atheist). Members of the tribal/familial group will provide 20% Faith points if active (believer) worshipper of another Deity (or none). Perk has dominant genetic component lessening with dillusion from original tribal/familial line. Deity may manifest to any members of the tribal/familial line without prayer.
It felt right. It felt appropriate. It felt like the first thing Deone should do when the game began was immediately write a Covenant. Thou Shalt Not Kill felt natural but¡­ foolishly na?ve. A pacifist religion might not survive a world with a Goddess of Reptiles and Poisons or a holy crusade of monotheistic¡­ Artists¡­? Deone was still having trouble figuring out Songbird¡¯s endgame. Thou Shalt Not Kill Within The Tribe? And how to make more of them? A rule that forced them to have as many children as possible? It would help in the early game but make some misery later on¡­. Although, Deone wondered, did that really matter? As Ayaan said, they were¡­ game pieces. Deone was thoughtfully considering his options when Petra made her choice, one that seemed to please the other two Deities in her Alignment: Wes, the preternaturally scowling God of Oceans and Storms with his Unspeakable Name perk, Zuzu, flagrant and conflagrant Goddess of Fire and Volcanos, soon to birth a Lessor Pantheon of Fire Deities, and Petra, Goddess of Reptiles, Poisons¡­ and now, Plagues. They were a ghoulish trio, the Nature Alignment. Once more, Deone weighed whether finding early Allies would be the best option. He wanted nothing to do with Timely and his impatient competitiveness but his Domain seemed more naturally inclined to join his and Wen, the God of Invention. Khadijah the Sun Goddess had offered him her hand, as a protector. That was why Deone knew he would avoid her help if at all possible. Her ego was not something he wanted to owe a debt to. Young-Sou, God of Crime, Children and Travelers and Songbird, Goddess of Art, both seemed determined to go it alone. That left the Alignment of Ze and Ayaan¡­ the Alignment of Tricksters, Deone called it. Ze was Chaos on their own; combined with Ayaan¡¯s magic Domain and odd personality, he didn¡¯t know what he could expect from his possible allies. Deone pursed his lips thoughtfully and patted his satchel¡­ then stopped, his golden irised eyes wide going wide. Deone could feel Wen¡¯s contract with Timely, could feel the difference between their looser arrangement and the specific words spoken by the trio of the Nature Deities without drawing a parchment from his bag but when his mind went to the contract, the Alignment of Chaos and Magic, Deone could feel¡­ nothing. He could now conjure up Ze and Ayaan¡¯s contract. The reason, Deone quickly concluded, was simple. The two tricksters had never made an agreement. They weren¡¯t an Alignment.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. What had they been doing that entire time, whispering, plotting and giggling with their heads bowed? Timely was the next to be called and his choice was an uncharacteristically slow one. He thoughtfully fingered the floating menu before him, seeming to read and reread several options. ¡°Alright,¡± he finally announced, more to himself than to the rest of the waiting Pantheon. Despite the soft tone, the deep brass of Timely¡¯s voice carried. ¡°I choose Eternal Champion. Wen, keep that in mind when you choose.¡± Wen, the God of Invention and Tools, made for a much smaller contrast to the barrel chested, leather kilted and long-haired Timely, God of War. Wen had spiked up red hair of an unnatural hue and wore tan leathers covered in belts and buckles whose purpose was anyone¡¯s guess. Wen fingered the silver hammer dangling from his tool belt then used that finger to tap the menu. ¡°Hmmm,¡± Wen hummed to himself, thoughtfully. ¡°Yes. Yes, this will do. ¡°I choose Blood for the Blood God.¡± At that, Cortez actually gasped and even Timely, his ally, furrowed his brows a moment before conceding Wen¡¯s choice with a nod. Deone reviewed Wen¡¯s choice, himself unable to quite understand it. Blood for the Blood God?
Blood for the Blood God Deity''s with this perk receive 300% increase to Divine Power from Faith points from all followers who witness a Human Sacrifice in this Deity''s name.
Why didn¡¯t Wen choose Supreme Mathematics, a natural affinity to Invention? Of all the Deities, Deoen though he had the best read on what Wen¡¯s choices would be. His Godly Perk, Wen had revealed before being chided by the rest of the Pantheon (many of whom kept their Perk as closely guarded secret), was Manic Inspiration. They all knew how Wen could use Divine Power to spark manic, possibly suicidal, inspiration in a follow to force technological advances. How much Divine Power could the perk possibly need? As much as Timely seemed to accept Wen¡¯s choice, it was clear no one but Wen himself understood it. By chance, Deone then glanced towards Songbird. Her lips always vaguely suggested a serene smile but looking at her now, that default serenity did not reach her eyes. Unusual. Wen, Deone saw, seemed content to examine his hammer with feigned interest. Timely, the God of War, clearly wanted to win and so far seemed comfortable with speed and brute force to do so. And it seemed he assumed, like everyone else, Wen would just follow behind him taking advantages where he could. Deone was beginning to rethink that na?ve opinion¡­. The last to choose their Free Perk was the very first of their Pantheon¡­ Gary, stereotypical embodiment of the God of Death. Gary, who had manifested as a fairly mundane, black haired and pale skinned Death God In Leather Pants. Gary who, frankly, seemed bored when anyone but Cortez was talking. Gary made a pursued the options menu floating ethereally before him as if it were an appetizer menu and shrugged. ¡°Angelic Host, I guess? Yeah, let¡¯s go with that.¡± Gary paused, then cocked his head up towards the emptiness above them, calling a question to the guide. ¡°Hey, how long do I have to wait to use this?¡± ¡°All Perks have been chosen,¡± the voice deeply intoned. ¡°Mortal Realm is configuring. The Divine Thrones are manifesting. Divine Power will be available when the Thrones are completed.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Gary said, eyeing Cortez and the Goddess of Pleasure studiously ignored him. ¡°I think you¡¯re going to love Gary¡¯s Angels¡­.¡± Cortez rolled her eyes. Petra took that moment to slither over towards her, coquettishly toying with her long, blonde braid. ¡°Are the boys making you uncomfortable, Pleasure Goddess? Should I sink my petite little fangs into some Godly throats?¡± At that, Cortez gave a little smile and Gary¡¯s ghoulishly grey skin almost seemed to blush. ¡°I¡¯m a big girl,¡± Cortez said, pointedly eyeing the length of Petra¡¯s snake-like tail. ¡°I can handle quite a bit, thank you¡­.¡± Petra¡¯s brow rose a fraction but all eyes rose as the guiding voice called out, the murky limbo surrounding them subtly brightening like a misty dawn at lake-side. ¡°Mortal Realm configured,¡± the voice called. ¡°Below, Pantheon¡­ your divine thrones.¡± All at once, as the ambient grey dawned into a morning mist, thirteen chairs rose from the ground, each matched the persona and style of the Deities that owned them. Wes¡¯ throne rose, moist, austere and built of aqua ocean sponge; Cortez, with opulent, plush velvet contrasting with Wen¡¯s simple wooden work bench; Zuzu¡¯s chair was built of flame while Khadijah was a spherical throne, a blazing sun that left her silhouette a bare eclipse against its blinding light; Petra received a throne of living serpents, an ever-writhing mass making only the hint chair shape in its form; Young-Sou, God of Crime, sat atop a high-backed crimson throne fit for a king and Ayaan had a similar, purple royal throne, though only a fraction of Young-Sou¡¯s size. Gary¡¯s throne was¡­ a gamer chair, meant to cushion his neck and back against hours of assumed sloth. While Deone might assume Timely, the God of War, would have a throne of swords or guns he, instead, received a wooden rocking chair. It did not seem comfortable to Deone¡¯s eyes. Songbird, meanwhile, had a mat. She sat upon it in a lotus poise and fell into an immediate trance. Ze¡¯s throne was a, in fact, a lounging couch. Ze did not move to it, just yet. Deone¡¯s throne was, unlike the other¡¯s, a desk. The chair was functional, wooden with wheels at the bottom but solid cushioning for the back and neck. The desk was a polished mahogany, a dark wood that still reflected on its surface. Deone moved to touch the desk, stroking his fingers against the wood and felt a profound peace and comfort. His throne screamed of¡­ order. Solid, constant, comfortable organization. He knew those drawers would hold a million contracts and each could be called with barely a thought and a flick of his fingers. And around those thrones¡­. The Pantheon had their Olympus. The thrones had manifested in a circle arranged around a vague and clouded bronze globe. While the globe seemed artificial, the clouds shifting over its surface was very real. Deone knew each of the Pantheon would have a different view of that world, a peek of the Mortal Realm that no one else could quite see until their power was strong and certain. The Thrones themselves were a kind of hub, a micro-realm for each of the Deities to call their own, as well as an access to their status menu. Most of the Pantheon took their appointed seats and began to access to their power. Songbird had already gone into a trance, likely reaching her will into the Mortal Realm and accessing the lives of her followers. Gary immediately sat in his gamer chair and used what little Divine Power he had to conjure the first of his angelic hose: a toddler sized, bat-winged cherub in a vinyl bodysuit¡­ who looked exactly like a big eyed, bobble headed Cortez. Cortez, unfortunately, had already flopped down onto her cushy throne and fallen into a trance. Frustrated, Gary let his eyes go blank as he, too, began accessing the game. Deone, Wen, and Ze were the last to watch as their Olympus resolved itself into a high mountain surrounded by clear, blue skies, lit and bright but without a sun to claim it. Their thrones were housed in a simple temple with an open design, a clear view of an endless world beneath them. Its ionic marble columns were mottled with black and beige, as if onyx were accidentally spilled into their white paint skin. Deone looked to Wen, who watched Ze. He seemed to want to wait but ultimately decided to approach Deone while Ze was present to watch them. ¡°May I,¡± said Wen, ¡°have a copy?¡± ¡°A copy?¡± Deone asked, a single brow raising. ¡°Don¡¯t be coy, Deone. I¡¯d like a copy of the contract between Timely and I.¡± Deone furrowed his brow, wondering, for a moment, how he was supposed to create a copy from his parchment bag when he realized that simply handing it to him, as Deone did just then, meant nothing. The paper was not the Contract. The parchment Deone had pulled when he felt it¡¯s power glowing in his satchel, the parchment etched with the eternal worlds of their Divine oath, passed from Deone¡¯s hands to Wen¡¯s and when Deone patted his satchel once more, he knew the original was still there while Wen could walk away with his perfect copy. Wen nodded, then went towards his throne, a simple wooden bench, and fell into a trance. That left Deone and Ze, for once truly alone. Ze was taller than Deone, and thin as a scarecrow. Still, when Ze strode to Deone and wrapped an arm into his, they felt gracefully feminine in their lankiness. ¡°Deone,¡± Ze said, cocking their head and letting their gaze explore Deone¡¯s face. ¡°Do you remember what I said to you? About your¡­ potential?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Deone said, ¡°remember you saying potential.¡± ¡°Because I didn¡¯t say those words, Deone. But you¡¯re smart enough to know I meant them, whatever I said.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Deone said, warily. ¡°You said, I think, I could be another kind of God. God of Laws. Of Order. Because my contracts are absolute.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Ze said, now brushing a long, thin finger against his jawline until a fingernail finally met his chin hair. ¡°You could be something special, this time around. You just need to take control.¡± ¡°Take control?¡± Deone asked, pulling away slightly. ¡°Hummm,¡± Ze said, considering Deone a moment before taking a few long, horse-stomp steps away from him, hands in pockets. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to tell you a secret, God of Contracts, Curses and Gambling. I¡¯ve decided to tell you but I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re quite worthy of holding my secrets.¡± Ze leaned, back arching in an angle that barely seemed human, and offered another mysterious grin. ¡°How will you prove yourself worthy?¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Deone said with little hesitation, reaching into his satchel, ¡°perhaps we can make a contract?¡± Ze grinned. ¡°Aha, Deone. I see you already understand your power. You clever, clever God.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the God of Oaths. I have to keep any deal we make, you know.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the God of Lawyers. You¡¯re smart enough to talk daggers into the fabric of any deal you make.¡± Deone scowled at that, both at the repeated insult of ¡°the God of Lawyers,¡± and the fact that he knew Ze was right. When you choose a Domain, the Domain influences you. Deone could not quite know how much of himself remained whatever it was from¡­ before¡­ the vague that preceded the God¡¯s Game¡­ but Deone knew that he could not break an oath but loved, savored, the idea of finding a loop hole in an oath. ¡°What do you want?¡± Deone said, flatly. At that, Ze smiled. Once more, long leg¡¯s taking careful, loud and thoughtful steps, Ze approached Deone. ¡°For¡­ hmmm¡­ let¡¯s say, Free of Charge¡­ I will offer you a secret, Deone.¡± ¡°I will take your secret, Ze,¡± Deone said, his face a mask of distant, disdainful calm. ¡°But first I need your price. Feel free to make it a promise, with lots of stipulations.¡± ¡°Ha,¡± Ze barked a quick, loud laugh. ¡°Ha, no, Deone. No, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be tying chains on me just yet¡­ not until I give consent, anyway¡­ no, I¡¯ll give you this for free.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of games, Ze,¡± Deone said. ¡°This game, at least. I¡¯m ready to start playing in the world, so why don¡¯t you get on with whatever you need of me. What is the damned deal, Ze?¡± ¡°No deal,¡± Ze said. ¡°Just this. Just a gift. Tell me, Deone¡­ aren¡¯t you curious about my Godly Perk?¡± Deone glanced about at the rest of the Pantheon. If the world were¡­ as it should be, anyone around them would hear Ze¡¯s secret and there would be no advantage for him or anyone in earshot. The Pantheon, on their thrones, were still as statues while breathing with chest rises that moved like glaciers. ¡°I¡¯ll admit¡­ yes,¡± said Deone, ¡°I¡¯m curious. But I still wouldn¡¯t trust you to feed worms to a fish.¡± Ze chuckled, their voice started flat, high and softly feminine before lapsing into a deeper timber. ¡°So cynical. This is why I¡¯m going to live in the world for a while, Deone. What¡¯s optimism without powerlessness? Sour, is the answer. Now come, Deone. Let me whisper my secret to you. It won¡¯t change much.¡± Deone considered Ze once more, taking in their bell-bottomed, long pants, lanky frame and colorful, deep cleavage vest. Finally, Deone sighed, shrugging his shoulders. ¡°Alright, Ze. Please,¡± Deone said, feeling if he were going to be toyed with by this bizarre Deity, the least he could be was polite. ¡°What¡¯s your Godly Perk?¡± Ze opened their mouth, then shut it. Every moment, Ze seemed to look into Deone¡¯s soul and weigh it for its worth. Deone met Ze¡¯s intense gaze calmly. Finally, Ze nodded, letting their long finger¡¯s drift up to take Deone¡¯s chin and turn an ear their way. ¡°Ze, Deity of Chaos and Games,¡± Ze whispered in Deone¡¯s ear. ¡°Godly Perk, Butterfly¡¯s Flap. It reminds me a scientist, the butterfly. But I can¡¯t remember his name. Neither, of course, can you, hmm Deone?¡± ¡°No,¡± Deone said, scowling. ¡°No. I know the concept, I think. It¡¯s not unfamiliar¡­.¡± ¡°I know. You know who you are. You know what you are. It¡¯s just the details that are messy.¡± Deone glanced at his throne, realizing that even the few minutes of this conversation had, with the dilation between Mortal Realm and Divine Realm, he was already losing ground. Deone brushed past Ze, hurrying towards his throne. ¡°Wait, Deone!¡± Ze called. ¡°I haven¡¯t told you my perk!¡± Deone was done with Ze¡¯s game. He had a game of his own to win and it seemed the Chaos Deity, random as they seemed to be, played a game of their own. The game of wasted time. As Deone lowered himself into his Throne, its shape that of a large, mahogany desk and sturdy chair, he heard Ze softly call, waggling their thin fingers his way as worldbegan to fade away. ¡°Butterfly¡¯s flap. To see all of fate¡¯s dominoes and know which ones need a little¡­ push...¡± Chapter 6: Most Faithful Servant The Temple of Deone was modest. It was tucked away near the market district, its walls polished stone with terracotta roofing; squat, square, vaguely resembling a small bank¡¯s idea of ancient majesty than a palace or grand cathedral. The entry way was between two columns, both looking largely decorative, topped in painted gold. That gold was the only reason it stood out; the rest of the district was painted white and an aqua blue, colors of the sea that surrounded the city¡¯s harbor. Phyfe the Elder dipped his gnarled hands into a water basil near the sacrificial alter and watched the blood swirl and wash away. His eyes, watery and brown as they were, were dull. For a man who had just given a God his deepest prayer and slit the throat of a lamb to show his seriousness, Phyfe the Elder¡¯s eyes were curiously dispassionate. A slave slipped behind him and took away the lamb while Phyfe himself lifted hefted the clay water bowl from the altar, took it out from a hidden back way and poured it out into the dirt. The man¡¯s expression never changed throughout the ritual, his eyes never shown with a light of faith or the sense that, indeed, his God walked with him, by his side. Moreover, Deone examined, for all the strength of his sacrificial prayer, Phyfe himself¡­. Deone was invisible, intangible, watching Phyfe the Elder¡¯s procession and was puzzled. Phyfe the strongest prayer, that much Deone knew. But he could sense something was¡­ off. He could feel a bright light of faith blazing while Phyfe himself seemed¡­ dim and dull and¡­ distracting. Deone felt himself pulled somewhere else, somewhere not far away¡­. As Phyfe the Elder refilled the sacramental bowl from the wall, Deone left him and wandered further into the strange city-state that housed his temple and its many followers. Deone wandered past the far edges of the market district, which sat empty with the night sky overhead, into a darker, dirtier section of the city. Most of the clay and brick of the housing was marred with mud, dirt and crude markings; while the markets were still lit with hung lantern flame, the only light in this place was from a single building where men stumbled about or sat huddled just around back, hidden from prying eyes. Overshadowing that dim light, Deone could see a blaze of Faith shining. Shining, he saw, from a back alley, where a group of men crouched around a dirt pit as one of their number, a larger, bald and heavily bearded man with large arms, skinny legs and an immense gut was rolling dice from a clay cup. When the dice fell, tumbled and settled, the big man roared in job and pointed a fat finger as a smaller, sharp eyed, frowning man. ¡°Triples! That¡¯s done and I¡¯ve won them, you sour faced rat. You owe the double.¡± Sharp eyed man spat, rising to his feet. ¡°Triple or nothing. It¡¯s only fair.¡± ¡°Only fair,¡± shouted the large man, folding his arms. ¡°You lost to me twice. Twice! The first, I gave you an out and let you double. You fucked it. The second, I let you go again and here, now, you¡¯ve fucked it twice. And you want me to give you a third?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only fair.¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s fair in this, boyo, when you lose and lose again, only to keep making new promises. You owe me, Geoffon, and you will pay me.¡± The sharp eyed man¡¯s eyes never shifted but he broke into a sudden smile nonetheless. ¡°Aye, I made that bet twice but¡­ I can¡¯t quite pay, just now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t¡­ quite¡­ pay¡­.¡± The large man said, cracking his neck. The rest of the men in their circle began to glance at one another, rising to their feet. ¡°That sounds to me like a broken promise, friend. Are you breaking a promise? To me?¡± Geoffon had, before that moment, seemed calm but watchful. At the word promise, he seemed to have slowly had his nerve sapped away; his hands trembled slightly and his smile grew nervous. ¡°Look, I can¡¯t pay just now but it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t pay¡­¡± ¡°Just not now, eh, Geoffon?¡± ¡°Just not now.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine that, isn¡¯t it, Geoffon my old friend.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Geoffon said, taking a slow step backwards. ¡°Oh, aye, it¡¯s fine and dandy, friend. You can¡¯t pay today then you can pay tomorrow or the next, am I right in thinking?¡± ¡°Oh, very right in thinking.¡± ¡°Well, then, good. Today, tomorrow, the next,¡± the large man said, nodding to himself. ¡°Today, you owe me 5 coin¡­ tomorrow, you¡¯ll owe 7. And if the day after, you¡¯ll owe no coin at all¡­ you¡¯ll owe five lambs, two chickens and a suckling calf. After that, hmmmm¡­.¡± He said, stroking his beard, ¡°after that, it¡¯ll be one of your daughters, and not the old and ugly one, mind you, Geoffon. The clever one with the bosoms.¡± Geoffon stopped stepping away, suddenly still, his hands no longer shaking. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°Oh I am, friend,¡± the big man said, stepping forward and crackling his knuckles. ¡°Today, tomorrow or the day after but you will pay me what you owe or you¡¯ll see your cock slit off with a dull knife, oiled in asp venom and sacrificed to Petra¡¯s poisonous cunt. And then I¡¯ll fuck you with it. I¡¯ll fuck you with your very sanctified cock, fill you with serpents get and midwife the bloody lizards from your shit-stained arse and damn every boy child Geoffon the Thief, after your very fucking name, friend. The giant of a man leaned forward, towering over his debtor, grabbed a handful of his tunic, and whispered, ¡°And after I¡¯m done fucking you with your own shriveled, venom tinged prick and pumped you full of scaled spunk, I¡¯ll show up at your wife¡¯s downstair and still get what you fucking owe me, won¡¯t I, then, friend?¡± When the sharp-eyed man said nothing, the large man repeated himself. ¡°Won¡¯t I? Friend?¡± The smaller man pulled a knife and stabbed at the larger one in a single motion but for all his size, the foul-mouthed gambler still caught the smaller man¡¯s wrist easily, twisted until there was a snap and watched as the dagger fell into the dirt. Two swift punched doubled the little man over and the larger man threw him bodily against the wall of the lit noisy, dimly lit building whose alley they were playing dice behind. ¡°I was settling for lambs and a suckling calf but we could go with your farm, your wife and all you kin as slaves if it please you, Geoffon. And your corpse as an offering to Deone, of course.¡± The little man vomited in the dirt a moment while the larger man watched, watching curiously. ¡°What say you, then, gecko fucker? Give me coins or kin, means nothing to me.¡± ¡°Coins,¡± the man choked out. ¡°Coins, Wes damn you to the deep.¡± ¡°Aye, I appreciate coins better than cunt myself, thank you. I¡¯d best see you before tomorrow¡¯s tomorrow then.¡± The smaller man stumbled away and, after a moment, the rest of the circle closely closed in on the pit once more as another of their number took up the dice and the group quietly called bets to one another. The large man, for the moment, did not join them. He leaned back, watching Geoffon wandered away, arms folded and nodding to himself. ¡°No one breaks a debt to Black-Tongue Phyfe.¡± ¡°Black-Tongue Phyfe,¡± Deone muttered, amazed at the amount of golden light flaming out from his skin. ¡°Behold, my most faithful servant.¡± Deone watched as Phyfe continued to gamble into the night and watched as he stumbled back into what seemed to be a tavern, ordering himself a cup of heavy wine; he followed silently as he made loud overtures to the serving women and lorded himself over a particular malnourished and vulnerable slave woman who cared for the stable of donkeys, none of which Phyfe seemed to own. He watched Phyfe threaten smaller men, witnessed as he spit into drunkards cups when they weren¡¯t watchful and listen as he spat every foul, disgusting thought in his bulbous bald head from darkness to near dusk. This, Deone thought in bewilderment, was his mouth faithful, most pious servant? This drunken monster? For a moment, he wondered if the game itself was broken but knew, deeply, innately, that was simply wasn¡¯t possible. This disgusting man was, more or less, Deone¡¯s high priest. Black-Tongue Phyfe was such a devoted gambler, he kept three dice in a bagged cord around his neck. Phyfe had finished his drinking and games, as the sun began to rise, and stumbled away from the tavern, rolling the dice in his meaty palms. Phyfe watched the bone die with the avidness of a drunk who couldn¡¯t focus on anything else besides his ability to walk. And that focus, that intoxication, left Deone¡¯s most faithful open to the Revelation.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Look upon me, Phyfe, son of Phyfe, and tremble, for I am your God.¡± At Deone¡¯s Awe level, combined with his perk, his voice thundered in Phyfe¡¯s skull, causing him stumble and look about in fear. Phyfe could not locate the source of the voice for a moment, until he looked down at his palm and saw that the dice in his hand was lit in heatless flame. From those flames, Deone spoke once more. ¡°Do you know the voice of God, Phyfe? Do you know me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Phyfe cried out, dropping the dice that settled to all 3s facing skyward; though Deone had not known, all 3s were a sign of fortune in the game but, like how his tone and diction seemed to manifest to Phyfe as powerful, echoing and dignified, it was his Awe that controlled most of how Phyfe experienced a visitation from God. For his part, Deone was simply touching the dice to focus his manifestation and speaking completely normally. ¡°Do you know me, Phyfe?¡± Deone repeated. Again, to his servant, Deone¡¯s voice rumbled like distant thunder. ¡°I know you! You are Deone, the God of Oaths, the God of Curses, the God of Gambling! I know you and I worship you!¡± ¡°And how, exactly, do you worship me? You don¡¯t much look like a priest. You definitely don¡¯t sound like one.¡± Whatever portentous and holy words Phyfe heard Deone speak, his answers were plain enough. ¡°I never break a oath, my God! Not once in my life! My word, my oath, is unshakable! I roll the dice every day and offer you a prayer every time.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Deone said, drolling; he stood, arms folded, over Phyfe¡¯s shoulder as the man dropped to his knees and seemed to be kneeling to his dice. ¡°You gamble and you pray for me to bless your winnings.¡± ¡°No, my lord, highest of highs!¡± Phyfe cried out. ¡°I pray in thanks for the stones it takes to risk it all on a dice roll. You are the God of risk and winnings and losses! I pray thanks to you for the stomach to lose everything for a chance at winning anything!¡± Deone blinked. He had¡­ not quite considered his domain that way. ¡°Go on,¡± Deone said. ¡°Uhh¡­ keep going. I¡¯m not quite getting this¡­.¡± ¡°Of course, my God! I praise you as the God of promises, the God of Oaths and true faith! None are more honorable than you! ¡°That makes a backwards kind of sense, I suppose,¡± Deone muttered to himself, idly wondering how Awe would translate his confusion. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll work with what I got. ¡°Phyfe,¡± Deone said, severely. ¡°Rise and look upon me.¡± Phyfe did what he was told, rose and look down at the dice worshipfully. ¡°Phyfe, I need you to help me.¡± ¡°Anything, my God. I am yours to command, your number one believer!¡± ¡°Well, the best available, anyway,¡± Deone said with a shrug. ¡°Phyfe, I need you to answer a few questions for me. And then, I have a task for you.¡± ¡°Ask me anything. On my Oath, I¡¯ll tell no lies to you, my God, or may my tongue spill from my head, become a slug and crawl back up into my insides to lay a thousand eggs!¡± And like that, a Contract made, bound and glowing in his sachet, Deone knew that Phyfe truly did keep faith with his aspect. Deone also knew that Phyfe¡¯s tongue would not turn into a slug. He wondered, briefly, if he himself could make the curse true but it didn¡¯t matter, as the Word is Bond made truth Phyfe¡¯s compulsion. Deone had really misunderstood and underestimated how his aspects translated in the Mortal Realm. ¡°Good, Phyfe. First question¡­ where are we?¡± Phyfe was momentarily confused but answered quickly. ¡°We¡¯re in Spear¡¯s Bay, Lord, second oldest of the Bay¡¯s Deep cities.¡± ¡°Bay¡¯s Deep. That¡¯s a country?¡± ¡°It is no empire, no, my God. More like¡­ each city has a senate and they send a senator to the council for four, between Spear¡¯s Bay, Everrain, Midpoint and Orso, in times of war or trade, but otherwise stay out of eachother¡¯s way. ¡± ¡°And am I the only God worshipped here, Phyfe?¡± ¡°Well¡­ no, Lord. Far from it. There are a few Gods here, though there are plenty of Deonites in my father¡¯s temples.¡± ¡°Your father?¡± ¡°Aye, Lord. Phyfe the Elder, the high priest. Do you¡­ not know him, Lord of Oaths?¡± ¡°No, no,¡± Deone stumbled out, ¡°I know your father. His prayers are what called me here. Originally, at least. Tell me about him.¡± ¡°Yes, Lord. My father has been your high priest for over 20 years, himself an apprentice to his uncle, Toklar, who himself was apprentice to Simon, who himself was¡­.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I get it, a long line of priests. He doesn¡¯t seem to have as much faith as you, Phyfe. Not to mention, he¡¯s not a drunken gambler.¡± Again, Deone had no idea what Awe translated his words to his follower into but Phyfe seemed to take them as praise. ¡°Yes, my Lord,¡± Phyfe said, ¡°I have tried all my life to live to your aspects. My father taught me but he¡­ had not been the same since his wife, my mother, died ten years back. His second wife tries but there has long been an emptiness to my father since that day. Still,¡± Phyfe was quick to say, ¡°he¡¯s upkept the temple and kept to all your sacraments. He sacrifices lambs to you regularly and gathers coin in your name.¡± ¡°Yeah. I appreciate the lambs. Still¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my God,¡± Phyfe grumbled to himself, looking humbled despite his giant size. ¡°My father is a good man and does all things good men do. He just could not understand why you did not answer his prayers. His acts have faith where his heart does not.¡± Deone did not answer Phyfe the Elder¡¯s prayers because Deone had not yet entered the game. Frankly, he may not have even been able to answer those prayers even if he were. It was a bitter pill to know that, even before the game begun, there were choices, mistakes and suffering Deone could have done nothing about. ¡°Her soul is¡­ safe, Phyfe. Just know that. Now, tell me about the other Gods in this place¡­ Spear¡¯s Bay.¡± ¡°Yes, my God. Well,¡± Phyfe leaned back, scratching his dirty brown beard thoughtfully. ¡°The sailors and traders, they mostly pray to Wes the Spear-Fisher, who cut the Bay with his spear-point while hunting the Night Whale.¡± ¡°Uh, right, yes. Of course. The Night Whale. What about Ze? Or Ayaan? Are they worshipped here?¡± ¡°Ze? No one worships the Trickster, unless you want to call his attention on your head. It¡¯s bad luck. As for Ayaan, many hold little shrines for little God, to bless them with a visionless sleep. It¡¯s said that if you don¡¯t have a little shrine to Ayaan above your bed, he will visit you while you rest at night and spill madness from a jar into your ears. You¡¯ll never know yourself again.¡± ¡°That sounds about right. Who are the other major Gods worshipped here?" ¡°The largest temple is to Petra, as she is worshipped by the wealthy and the farmers alike. Farmer tend to pray so¡¯s her children won¡¯t dig into their crops or lay their den in their houses and kill them all in their sleep. The wealthy pray to make their souls more like hers, cold and poisonous and better at politics. Their high priests sleep with an armored-asp in their beds, letting it bite them through the night. It¡¯s sad that no one can poison a high priest of Petra. ¡°How very¡­ Petra. Who else?¡± ¡°A few pray to the Sun Goddess, keeping the old ways. Word is that most of the barbarians, the goat fuckers of the steppes, all worship Khadijah. And everyone keeps a spare coin for the Death God, whose name we never speak. Yours, Petra and Wes are the largest faiths in Spear¡¯s Bay and most of Bay¡¯s Deep.¡± ¡°Excellent! Thank you,¡± Deone said, then paused, remembering his most potentially potent rivals. ¡°What about Timely, Phyfe? Or Wen? Or the Goddess Songbird?¡± ¡°Most don¡¯t really worship Timely, high holy, not even the seasonal garrisons. Spear¡¯s Bay trains all boys with the Spear and Shield and expect all men to fight when war is called for but we¡¯re a trading, sailing and fishing people. We¡¯ll pray to War for help when it¡¯s time but pray for Peace in any other.¡± ¡°Wisely put, Phyfe. And Wen?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that Wen is a God to be worshipped, my lord. He¡¯s famed for stealing Fire from Khadijah¡¯s womb, giving birth to Zuzu and gifting the secret of making a wife of her to the first King, Orso, but beyond that he¡¯s not known to be very strong. Just clever.¡± Stole Zuzu from Khadijah¡¯s womb? Deone could barely keep himself from giggling. ¡°And aye, there¡¯s a few nutters out in the bluffs, in the caves, who worship Songbird. We call them Dirt Chewers. Disgusting lot, constantly chewing their lime and charcoal, making cave paintings with their spit. There¡¯s better ways to make paint but those nutters act like aquamarine is a offensive to their Goddess. We avoid them for the smell, holy one.¡± ¡°Right. Excelllent, Phyfe. You have been a good and faithful servant. And now, my task.¡± ¡°Anything, my Lord! Anything!¡± ¡°I need my temple to be bigger. Much bigger. Grander, even.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a builder, Oath binder.¡± ¡°Oath binder? I quite like that¡­ No, you¡¯re not a builder but you can hire builders. So, first, I need you to make coin for the temple. Gather followers. Preach my faith, especially among the traders.¡± Deone paused a moment. ¡°Wait, do the people here all know how to write?¡± ¡°The Deonite¡¯s do, of course, since you invented writing. And most others have some writing, except the farmers and the slaves, of course.¡± ¡°Slaves, yes. Right.¡± Deone found it distasteful but also knew this was the major economic basis for cultures at the current level of development. ¡°Go to the traders. Tell them that Faith in the God of Contracts will bring wealth to their houses.¡± ¡°I¡­ yes, I will do this. But how will you bring wealth to their houses?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t quite got the details ironed out but I¡¯m working on it. Do you have all that, Phyfe? You will build up my temple. You will preach to the traders and increase my faith among them. You will raise to the place of High Priest, in the place of your father, and you will be a Great Man. When you are the man I need you to be and the Temple of Deone is great, I will visit you once more with a contract in hand. A contract I want all of my people to sign.¡± ¡°Yes, my God! I understand! And I will give you my Oath on this, Lord.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Except you haven¡¯t said what¡¯s in it for me.¡± ¡°I.. wait, what?¡± Deone said, stumbling. ¡°Are you joking?¡± ¡°You are the God of Honor and Fairness,¡± Phyfe said to the dice with solemn humility. ¡°You are the Oath Binder. You shun unbalanced deals. So, what¡¯s in it for me?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t being raised to High Priest of your God¡¯s faith and leading the entirety of your tribe enough?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather be gambling and drinking wine,¡± Phyfe said, brushing off his tunic and starting to walk away from the discarded holy dice. ¡°If it¡¯s all the same to you.¡± ¡°Fine, Phyfe,¡± Deone sighed. Phyfe stopped in his sandaled tracks. ¡°What is it that you want of me, to do this task, Phyfe?¡± ¡°Well, Oath binder, if you could¡­ I would ask that bring a message back from the land of the dead, a message to give comfort to my father. I would ask that you bring a message back from my mother, to let my father know she still waits for him in the after-life.¡± Deone felt a pang for Phyfe, for all that the man was large his wish felt like that of a child¡¯s. It felt appropriate. Deone would grant Phyfe the Elder¡¯s prayer to raise up his son to greatness, grant Black-Tongue Phyfe¡¯s prayer to give his father some relief and maybe make up for the prayers Deone wasn¡¯t there for. ¡°Yes, Phyfe. Go build me a bigger temple and I will bring word from your mother. Now make your oath to me that you will do as I asked.¡± ¡°Thank you, most honorable God,¡± Phyfe said, grinning fiercely, staring at the flaming dice with a gaze that matched their intensity. ¡°I, Phyfe son of Phyfe, give you my Oath that I will build you a great Temple in this city, I will bring you followers from among the sailors and that I will raise myself to be the High Priest of your blessed people. I will praise you and raise your honor up high, my lord God!¡± ¡°Great, excellent,¡± Deone said with a clap, abruptly dismissing Phyfe''s hallucination; and none-too-soon, Deone noticed, as the sun was up, people were milling about and the drunken stupor Deone was taking advantage of was starting to segue into sobriety. Phyfe scooped up his dice and ambled back towards the temple, shouting that he had been visited by the God of Oaths, Curses and the game of Cups, scaring himself a wide path. Deone had a few items on his to-do list. The first, he could do in the Mortal Realm. While Phyfe was hurrying back to Deone¡¯s squat, modest little temple Deone himself decided it was time to find a temple of Wes the Ocean God, and see if they might strike a deal¡­. Chapter 7: The Blood Curse Bargain. For all the power of a God that Deone had, to make himself present in any place his followers dwelt, to have most of the Mortal realm his to transport to, Deone decided he¡¯d rather stroll through Spear¡¯s Bay and wander until he stumbled upon the Ocean God¡¯s temple. Sometimes, it was best to take the scenic route. He really did have all the time in the world. Deone explored Spear¡¯s Bay. As Phyfe left a chaos in the wake of his bellowing gospels, Deone went the other direction, away from his temple and surrounding markets. Deone first went to the Bay itself. The Bay for which the city was named held little of the long, sandy beaches that Deone envisioned; the land sloped into the sea, carrying shrubbery patched into mixed soil and on into the very edge of the greenish-blue water. The Bay held long wooden docks, populated with ships of all sizes, from an armada of little two person skiffs to a few large, blue and white colored galley¡¯s flying many flags but each sharing one amongst their thin sails, blue with a diagonally pointed white spear head. One of the galleys was of a slightly different design, colored in red accent and flying red and gold flags. Deone assumed that was a foreign trader of some sort. The houses, build of a porous brick intermingled between wooden buildings that seemed to use the bricks as a base for them to shoulder themselves between; as if the brick came first and the wood were wild vines that crept between their crevices. Spear¡¯s Bay¡¯s streets and pathways were dusty dirt while its major roads done in stone. The people that walked through streets wore light clothes, tunics, dresses and kilts, largely white or brown with splashes of colors: aqua, deep blue, the occasional red and green. Color, Deone quickly noted, seemed to mean wealth. Dyes must have been expensive. Deone thought of his temple, of Phyfe the elder, and noted he had not seem as much dyed beige or gold. He¡¯d need a change of color for his Deonites. The people themselves tended to be curly haired and olive skinned on the whole but dotted among them were more bronze, with a stiffer, frizzier kind of curl; their skin more like his own. He saw no pattern amongst the clothes they wore, finding these darker folk in fine dyed fabrics mingled in with the olive skinned. Oh. And geckos. On low walls, in the dirt, hidden amongst hanging vines clinging the buildings and public houses, constantly underfoot and largely ignored by the populace, was a mad house of green and brown geckos. Deone stepped past, or sometimes through, the occasional crushed lizard left discarded in the dirt. From along the Bay and on through district with more white brick than wood, more colored tunics than brown, the little pests seemed ubiquitous. No wonder everyone seemed more or less healthy; even the poor could live on lizards alone. As a bonus- few rats! Though Deone could not feel it, he could see this was a humid place in the way sweat sheened most peoples skin. The few trees, though, did not seem particularly tropical. Deone¡¯s journey took him from the Bay, through a wealthy district, curving along the water¡¯s edges, away from the docks and towards well housed cliff sides. He saw a barracks, squat and simply build, with spearmen at guard wearing leather armor and leaning easily on their weapons. In the distance inland, Deone could occasionally glimpse a high tower with a series of squatter terraces beneath it. That seemed like a Temple but didn¡¯t feel like one Wes would frequent. Deone continued along the curve of the Bay until the road rose, breaking away from the wealthy district and into a wider space where grass broke between buildings in small fields, ultimately opening to a stone road leading up and seaward. Deone could see a cliff with a lit cave at its bottom; the road itself didn¡¯t climb towards the cliff but dipped down towards the cove, creating a pilgrimage of sorts that only a single line of people could navigate into. Grand, severe, dramatic¡­ that felt a little more Wes. Deone easily wound his way down to the cave¡¯s mouth and saw it was lit by two large pyres with a single, stooped old man attending them. Gulls swooped about calling to one another, occasionally diving into the water or towards land to pick apart a stray gecko. There was no dock, no boats moored to the sea bottom; approaching the cage, you¡¯d either walk or swim and, to Deone¡¯s eye, the waters here did not seem gentle. Within the cave sat imposing black columns of the God of Oceans and Storms¡¯ great temple. There weren¡¯t a lot of penitents here, with heads bowed; instead, a few stiff backed sailors, barefoot, approached the temple, spat at its entryway and entered. Deone followed suit. The Temple had a long pool its center, leading to the very feet of a 20 foot tall statue of a man that looked nothing like Wes holding a spear against his side. The statue¡¯s marble skin was painted in such garnish colors, his lips apple red, his cheeks blushing peach, that Deone could not help but start laughing. ¡°You dare?¡± a voice thundered, filling the temple¡¯s single room and echoing through its column. ¡°You dare mock the God that brings storms to drown cities, the God that drag ships to the seabed and calls thunder on whole armadas?¡± From behind the statue, blooming from nothing to three times its size, his head brushing the very height of the temple¡¯s ceiling, stepped Wes. His hair was a literal waterfall, his toga awash with live fish that swam in it¡¯s depths; his deep blue eyes flashed with lightening as they glared down at Deone¡¯s diminutive figure. Deone shook his head, smirking up at the grand figure. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I know your awe level isn¡¯t high enough to make this a genuine manifestation, I¡¯d probably be impressed,¡± Deone said. ¡°But you aren¡¯t. And I¡¯m not. So here we are.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Wes said, glowering. ¡°It¡¯s you. Took your time getting down here, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Did I?¡± Deone said, wandering over towards Wes to offer a slim, brown hand up towards the giant figure. Wes ignored it. ¡°I saw you and Ze hanging back. Must have been a long fucking conversation.¡± Deone dropped his hand. ¡°Not that long.¡± ¡°At least 20 years long.¡± ¡°20?¡± Deone nearly choked, realizing how bad the time dilation between the God Realm and the Mortal Realm truly was. Wes grinned, taking in Deone¡¯s surprised. ¡°Oh yeah, 20 years or so. You¡¯re a little behind my friend. Petra and I have carved out all the good followers, in this area at least. Might want to look East, go compete with Songbird for the Islands.¡± Deone straightened his robe and adjusted his satchet. ¡°I guess I missed out on a few things. But 20 years is nothing to a God.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Wes said, leaning against his decidedly thinner, hairless and overly decorated tribute stature, ¡°that nothing is a lot more than you had.¡± Deone grimaced, then glanced towards the statue whose head Wes was now leaning on. ¡°Love the lipstick, by the way.¡± Wes scowled, drawing himself up to full height once more. ¡°What. Do you. Want?¡± ¡°Ahem,¡± Deone dramatically coughed into his fist, then stood straight, looking up to the God of Oceans and Storms. ¡°Wes. I¡¯ve come to bargain.¡± For a moment, Wes considered him; Wes never seemed clever to Deone, but there was something swimming behind those blue eyes that he knew he could work with. He just didn¡¯t know what. ¡°When you come to bargain,¡± Wes thundered, ¡°you usually have something to offer. You have nothing. Few followers. No alliances. No power.¡± ¡°Some power,¡± Deone countered. ¡°Some?¡± Wes said, showing a fierce grin. ¡°I can make sure that every ship with one of your followers in it gets hit with a hurricane and ends with every hand drowned. I can make every village with your shrine is so soaked they¡¯ll never be able to harvest crops. Fuck, they¡¯ll never be able to plant them, waist deep in water. What were you again? God of accountants?¡± ¡°Lawyers,¡± Deone growled. ¡°Lawyers,¡± Wes drawled. ¡°If Gary sues me for copyright infringement, I¡¯ll come right to you.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. That quip about lawyers got a little under Deone¡¯s skin, but he was determined to come out of this ahead. This was, above and beyond the bluster, a negotiation. This was haggling. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Deone thought of an old woman whose smiling glee was all gums and wrinkles. It was a face he didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°You have some power over your followers. But I can make that power absolute. I agree to show up at your ceremonies, you can make your believers swear anything under oath. You heard the Guide. They¡¯ll be compulsed to follow it.¡± ¡°I also have the power to drown this entire fucking city.¡± ¡°True. I bet that would take a lot of Divine Power, though. How many times can you bring a storm that power? Once a century?¡± Wes sneered, ¡°More. I could do it every five years, if I wanted to.¡± ¡°Somehow I doubt that,¡± Deone countered. ¡°Doubt all you want. You don¡¯t know my power. You don¡¯t know my faith level. You¡¯re twenty years behind me, Mortal time.¡± ¡°Give or take.¡± ¡°Give or take¡­.¡± Deone weighed up Wes¡¯ towering, frowning form, from sandal to ceiling-touching crown, and threw up his hands. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ve wasted my time. Lovely to see you Wes,¡± Deone said, backing away with a wave. ¡°Cool Temple. The cove is a nice touch. I¡¯ll be careful of the seagull shit.¡± Deone began walking away, hands clasped behind his back, sensing that Wes¡¯ gigantic form was settling down into something more human the further he went. As he heard the splash of the sea kicking up against the land¡¯s edge, it¡¯s noise just above conversational tone, Deone muttered, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to go see what Petra¡¯s been up to¡­.¡± Thunder clapped in the Bay, despite the cloudless sky, and the sailors who seemed to make up the bulk of Wes¡¯ followers froze, staring upward. The gulls, frightened by the sudden noise, broke into flight, leaving the sounds of lapping waves and muttering sailors behind them. Deone paused, cocking his head. ¡°Alright, fine,¡± Wes said, folding his massive arms, causing a light ripple in the liquid fabric of his sea-water toga. ¡°What do you want.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Deone said, softly. ¡°The God of lawyers has something you might want?¡± ¡°Come back. Now,¡± Wes snapped. Deone turned, his eyes sharp and narrowed. He did not move. ¡°I mean please. You pissed me off. The statue thing. I got triggered.¡± Deone turned away once more, taking a few steps. ¡°I want out of the contract,¡± Wes called. Wes strode hurriedly towards Deone, maintaining a balance of pride and trepidation all at once. ¡°Tear it up and we can talk about whatever deal you like.¡± Deone glanced down at his brown leather satchel and felt the warm glow of the contract within, the Oath made between Zuzu, Wes and Petra and the beginning of the Nature Alignment. Deone touched the satchel¡¯s cover with a strong but wizened brown hand and shook his head. ¡°Your Contract?¡± Without pulling out the parchment, Deone recalled the words itched in its magical surface. ¡°Your interests shall not conflict with Zuzu or Petra¡¯s interests. Your followers will not make war with their followers. Deone cocked his head, regarding the still large, though human sized, Deity before him. ¡°Wes, were you planning on starting a war in your alliance? Isn¡¯t it a bit early for that?¡± ¡°No,¡± groused Wes, sharply glancing away. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on anything. I don¡¯t like being controlled this way. I don¡¯t like you telling me what to do.¡± ¡°Wes,¡± Deone said softly. ¡°I didn¡¯t make you align with Zuzu and Petra, that was all you. I¡¯m just the reason you can¡¯t change your mind. And¡­ I won¡¯t lie. I can¡¯t destroy any contract you¡¯ve freely made. Word is Bond doesn¡¯t work that way.¡± Wes spat, looking something like his sailor worshippers, his spittle a pool of algae and mini-jellyfish. ¡°Alright. If you have nothing to offer me, what do you think you could offer Petra?¡± Deone¡¯s bushy brow rose. ¡°Petra¡¯s smart. She knows she could bind her high priests to her, absolutely.¡± ¡°If she¡¯s so smart, why didn¡¯t you approach her first? Eh?¡± Wes said, tapping a thick finger to his temple. ¡°You need something from me and the only reason we¡¯re talking is you have something over me that I can¡¯t do a damn thing about. And you¡¯re telling me you still can¡¯t do a damn thing about. So I¡¯m starting to wonder if fuck you is the only thing we¡¯re negotiating over, is it fuck you to your face or fuck you behind your back?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to my face,¡± Deone said tapping a finger to his chin. ¡°I can¡¯t end your contract. But I do control the consequences of it¡­.¡± ¡°Explain,¡± Wes growled. Deone parted his hands in a shrug. ¡°Word is Bond forces you, Zuzu and Petra to stick to their contracts. Anyone in my presence who makes an oath must complete it. But your followers weren¡¯t under my contract. You can¡¯t encourage your people but they still have their own free will. And if they swear anything in your name¡­ like a war, for instance¡­ their punishment for breaking that is under my control.¡± Wes thought a moment, holding still. ¡°Alright. Assuming this is true, what do you want of me?¡± ¡°Simple. I don¡¯t know the details of your Godly perk but let me take a wild guess¡­. Stormbringer. Able to summon storms?¡± ¡°Close enough,¡± Wes allowed. ¡°Then maybe close enough to ensure anyone who considers themselves my follower will have storms avoid them when travelling?¡± ¡°What, so I can¡¯t bring a storm to any city your people are in? No deal.¡± ¡°While traveling, Wes. If they live there, bring the rain. If they are on ship or caravan, you won¡¯t bring any storms down on their heads.¡± ¡°It still seems like too much. And how am I supposed to know the difference between your people and any others, anyway?¡± ¡°All travelers under my protection will have a shrine dedicated to me. A traveling shrine. Should be obvious enough.¡± ¡°What does it look like?¡± ¡°I¡¯m making it up as I go along. I¡¯ll make it obvious, though.¡± ¡°In exchange for?¡± ¡°A curse on anyone who swears themselves to you, in your name, and fails to focus on making you the most powerful God in the mortal realm. Even if it¡¯s not in your Alignment¡¯s interest, your followers will always put you first.¡± ¡°They already should put me first!¡± ¡°Theoretically. But there¡¯s nothing to hold them to that.¡± Wes considered the offer for a moment, turning his gaze up towards the statue. It¡¯s sea green eyes stared down passively into Wes¡¯ depthless blue. ¡°Can you make them piss blood?¡± Deone choked. ¡°What? No. I mean, possibly but that¡¯s¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want. Assuming you can curse them to drown or something immediately?¡± Deone thought a moment and, in the corner of his eye, a small bar appeared, labeled ¡°Divine Power.¡± It was at max felt, relatively, smaller than the area it took up of his attention; as if it were a small pool, currently full, that could grow in capacity. The thought of linking mortal death to the curse struck him with a vision of a Divine Power so large, his current capacity was just a bare sliver, a cup of power dropped into a lake. ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t think I could do that¡­ but¡­.¡± Thinking again, Deone envisioned¡­ with a shudder¡­ a mortal peeing blood. A full hemorrhage, the flow coming this and undiluted, swallowed his Divine Power bar as it stood. But pulling back, leaving the bleed at more an uncomfortable pink¡­. This only took 30% of his current power. Considering where his power currently stood, this felt like a working a minor miracle. ¡°I can make them¡­ pee¡­ blood. They won¡¯t die from it. It¡¯ll just be uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Ha! Good.¡± Wes barked a laugh and clapped his massive hands together, disturbing the aquatic life swimming passively through the water of his toga. ¡°Fucking with me is an STD now.¡± Deone sighed, ¡°We have a deal then?¡± Wes looked over Deone, both Gods insubstantial, passed by and through by the few mortals coming in and out from Wes¡¯ temple, and gave a sharp nod, offering his hand. ¡°You start, God of Contracts,¡± Wes said, derisively. Deone took Wes¡¯ hand, though the Ocean God¡¯s palm swallowed his own, and spoke. ¡°I, Deone, God of Contracts, Curses and¡­ Gambling¡­ will curse all who swear themselves to Wes, the God of Oceans and Storms, and fail to keep Wes¡¯ interests, power and glory--¡° Wes nodded vigorously at this last minute addition- ¡°as their first priority, over all other Gods, individually or Aligned, with¡­. Bloody urination¡­ for the term of our agreement, the protection of my followers, who you will know by their shrines, as they travel through your aspected Domains.¡± Wes nodded, giving Deone¡¯s hand a single pumping hand shake. ¡°I, Wes, etc, etc, give my oath to not use my power on---¡± ¡°To protect,¡± Deone said, interrupting with a glare. ¡°Alright. I will protect Deone¡¯s followers as they travel through my¡­ how did you put it? Aspected domains?¡± ¡°Yes. The oceans, etc, etc.¡± ¡°¡­Aspected domains, as long as they have those shrines of yours¡­ for, oh¡­ one hundred years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s barely a generation! Give me four hundred, at least.¡± ¡°One fifty.¡± ¡°Three hundred.¡± ¡°One. Fifty. You¡¯re barely giving me anything, here. This is like a test,¡± Wes said. ¡°See if we can deal in the future.¡± ¡°Two hundred. We revisit the terms then, when I should have more power. Perhaps we can add explosive diarrhea to the curse.¡± ¡°Ha! That would be hilarious. Two hundred years. Mortal years. Deal.¡± Wes pumped his hand and the deal was struck, sending a gonging vibration through Deone¡¯s thin body and setting his leather satchel alight with the sealing of a new contract. ¡°It¡¯s done, then.¡± Already, surprisingly, Deone could feel the curse¡¯s effects playing out in the Mortal Realm. The meter in the corner of his vision, his Divine Power, quickly drained down to 70%. His power, it seemed, would remain at a loss for the next two hundred years. Deone needed to gain more faith, quickly, to replace the loss. At least, Deone thought, Word is Bond, the key to winning this play-through, seemed to take no energy at all. ¡°Nice doing business with you, Wes. I¡¯ll be going now,¡± Deone said. ¡°I have a few more horses to trade¡­.¡± ¡°The God of Lawyers has more paperwork? Of course, of course.¡± Deone sucked his tooth at that title again. He paused before leaving. ¡°Any chance you know how to get ahold of Gary?¡± ¡°Gary?¡± Wes said, suddenly smiling widely. ¡°If you¡¯re going to visit the afterlife, just hitch a ride with one of the mortals.¡± Deone glanced down, grimacing. ¡°Makes sense. Yes, thank you, I¡¯ll do that.¡± ¡°Would you do me a favor, while you¡¯re going?¡± Wes said, still grinning ear to ear. ¡°Let me borrow one of your parchments.¡± Looking askance, Deone drew a parchment from his satchel and handed it over. With his finger, Wes made a mark on the parchment that glowed with Divine Power, rolled it up and handed it back. Deone took the parchment and tried to put it back into his satchel but¡­ it felt like whatever was on the paper, it did not belong with the rest of his contracts. ¡°Do me a favor and show that to Gary. Don¡¯t open it until you see him, though.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Deone drawled, wondering if he¡¯d somehow become a mule for some divine weapon, some God bomb, he wasn¡¯t aware of. ¡°And if he asks you why? Tell him Wes says because Fuck You, that¡¯s why.¡± Wes broke into a bellowing laughter and walked back to his statue. He leaned into its painted marble skin and disappeared. Deone, still clutching the parchment, frowned at it, shrugged, and turned back towards Spear¡¯s Bay. He imagined that it shouldn¡¯t be terribly hard to find someone dying in a place like this. Deone began the trek back up towards the city-state proper, the cove still devoid of the gulls Wes¡¯ thunderous tantrum had scared off, trailed by a scampering handful of watchful geckos. Interlude: The Gospel of Black-Tongue Phyfe Black Tongue Phyfe was visited by the God of his people, Deone, the God of Contracts, Curses and Gambling and blessed with a holy task: to spread word of Deone¡¯s greatness, to raise his temple to wealth and power, the become the High Priest of this great temple and to preach to as many sailors as possible. While it was true that the Oath Binder, that most honorable God amongst lesser, traitorous Gods, asked him to bring him traders, Phyfe wasn¡¯t the strongest listening and made his holy oath in error. Traders, sailors, they both used boats didn¡¯t they? Thus it was that the giant mound of a man, Black Tongue Phyfe, marched from the site of his holy meeting, back towards the markets and, more importantly, the bathhouse located there; idly, as he strode, he shook the blessed dice that spoke with Deone¡¯s voice earlier, knowing the God had fled them but feeling in them a reminder of his sacred task. The market¡¯s bathhouse, one of three in the Spear¡¯s Bay area, was two stories, build of painted brick whose murals told the tale of Wes¡¯ the Spear Fisher carving out the bay itself; it was not dedicated to the God but, like most things in Spear¡¯s Bay and other cities so close to the ocean, his story stamped itself indelibly into the local culture. Many citizens wandered in and through the bathhouses, which made them excellent places for the would-be politician, lofty philosopher or local madman to rant at passer-bys. A cleverly built aqueduct carried sea-water from the second story of the bathhouse, into the building proper but, on it¡¯s way, split a waterfall that would fall into a fountain out in front of the building. It was there that an old man in ragged clothing, skinny and wild eyed, shouted at the passing people in a thin and reedy voice. ¡°Do not fear Death, my friends, for in Death we shall be free of strife! I tell you, the after life is a game the God of Death himself has created for Mortals like you and I to play together! We should not fear death, friends, when Death seeks to embrace us, to entertain us! Worship Death for unlike all other Gods, Death is fun!¡± A madman, then. Phyfe marched up to the fountain, took the old man by his tunic with one hand and casually tossed him into the water. ¡°Fuck off with that silliness,¡± Phyfe growled before throwing his hands wide. ¡°Let all stand witness to me, Phyfe son of Phyfe, and the revelations I bring!¡± A bare foot sailor ambling by glanced up at Phyfe and squinted. ¡°Aint you lose coin to me on the docks not but a week ago?¡± Phyfe paused, looked over the man and nodded. ¡°Aye, that I did.¡± ¡°And didn¡¯t you get sousing drunk shortly after on strong wine, so much so you wet your small clothes?¡± ¡°Er.. Aye, that¡¯s¡­ also a thing that happened.¡± ¡°Aye. Then how the fuck would you be holding conversations with a God when you can¡¯t hold your coin or your wine?¡± At that, several of the passersby and loitering bathers, who¡¯d caught pieces of that back and forth, began laughing. Phyfe frowned deeply. ¡°Aye, I had a conversation with my God. The God Deone. What¡¯s your name, swimmer?¡± ¡°Bulder, son of the Sea.¡± ¡°Orphan, eh? You follow Young-So?¡± ¡°Not that it¡¯s your concern, but no. I pray to Wes like any other man of the water who¡¯s not partial to drowning.¡± A fellow sailor, fresh from the baths, ayed at that and took a seat at the edge of the fountain. Phyfe spared a glance his way, then nodded. ¡°Well, I follow Deone and I follow all his aspects. And do you know what that means to men such as us?¡± ¡°Losing coin and cursing up a storm?¡± the man said, barking a laugh that the other sailor soon joined. Phyfe laughed too. ¡°Exactly fucking that. I¡¯ve lost more coin than many have held and won it all back just to lose again. I¡¯ve a mouth so foul, there¡¯s folk that call me Black Tongue. And I don¡¯t shirk from that name one bit cause damned if I wouldn¡¯t made a whore¡¯s ear bleed when I¡¯m in my cups or dirt gecko blush when I¡¯m having a hard shit in the alley. And for all that, my God honored me.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°My God, the God of Contracts, of Honor, sees me. He sees me lose money and never complain. I pay what I owe. I¡¯ve never stabbed a man in the gut to taking what¡¯s mine, only for stealing what aint his. The God of Curses, who I honor with every stubbed toe, bad roll of the dice and pissing your small clothes pretty sunset during Harvest season. The fucking high holy of the dice himself watching me roll and win and lose and risk every fucking thing I own with no fear. And you know what he does for me, for all that?¡± ¡°Well,¡± the sailor said quietly, ¡°he doesn¡¯t help you much, does it.¡± ¡°Fuck no, he doesn¡¯t! A God can¡¯t help a man gamble and call himself Honor itself. And that is the God of Contracts, the God of Promises. A God of his word. And that God came before me and told me I was the most faithful of his servants. I, Black Tongue, itchy cocked, bad rolling, pay his fucking debt Phyfe. Tell me something, boyo¡­ Do you think you¡¯d be Wes¡¯ most faithful servant, standing just as you are?¡± The sailor was dubious now. Several of the loiterers and passersby now watched the exchange, thoughtfully. A few moved on, a few ignored the scene altogether, but of those that heard, they all had thoughts that, in some cases, troubled them. ¡°Didn¡¯t think so,¡± Phyfe said. ¡°I¡¯m here to tell you my God asked me to tell others of his greatness, to build up his temple and to preach to sailors like you that he is going to give you a gift if you follow him, and me, in faith.¡± The sailor was quiet, pensive, a moment. And then he spat in the dirt. ¡°Bah. Promises, filth and losing is all your God has. I¡¯ll keep to Wes, moody as he is.¡± ¡°My God does what no other has done. My God made a promise. And by fuck, Deone is going to deliver on me.¡± The sailor spat again and wandered off, dispersing as the small, listening crowd went with him. All but the sailor who had sat down, coming from the baths; a young, squat and dark haired man who had moments ago been laughing with the others. But now, he called out to Phyfe, softly. ¡°A God that would take in a wretch like you?¡± ¡°Fouls, fuckery and all, boyo. His most faithful servant.¡± The man nodded to himself, worked his way to his feet and offered Phyfe a hand. ¡°I¡¯m Aaron, son of Redrick. The Deonites are all from the same tribe, aren¡¯t they? Don¡¯t that mean a man like me can¡¯t become one?¡± Phyfe nodded, took Aaron¡¯s forearm in a grip and grinned. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to go find some cousin or other for you to bed. Just don¡¯t be picky.¡± Aaron laughed and cast a glance back towards the docks. ¡°We¡¯ll set sail again soon but I like what you say and I like what Deone has to offer. A God who gives a fair deal, no matter who you are.¡± ¡°Deone is honor itself, boyo.¡± ¡°When I¡¯m back in Spear¡¯s Bay, where may I come to pray to Deone? How can I join the faith?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Phyfe said with a slight blush that was hard to see beneath the grizzled edges of his great beard, ¡°the temple is a touch modest but that¡¯s a might longer of a task¡­. You¡¯ll find it just south of the markets, a squat brown shit of a thing with some gold touches. May the first time you lay eyes on it burn you blind with the changes I have planned, though.¡± ¡°Oh? Are you the high priest in Spear¡¯s Bay, then?¡± ¡°No. That would be my father, a great and wrinkled prick if there ever was one. Still, my God gave me a task and I¡¯ll be seeing to it.¡± Aaron chuckled and gave a small wave as he started off towards the docks. ¡°It will be a true miracle to see what you¡¯ll do, Black Tongue Phyfe, faithful servant of Deone. If he takes you as is, I hope you don¡¯t drunkenly piss his divine favor away!¡± ¡°I may be a drunk but I¡¯m not pickled just yet,¡± Phyfe said, watching him ambled off. ¡°I have more than a few thoughts on making Deone¡¯s temple Greatest in the Bay. Many of them involve dice.¡± It had been a long evening that had stretched into a long morning and, even with the buzz of the divine revelation still coursing through his gut, the buzz of wine and the sick that came with it was beginning to settle in Phyfe¡¯s gut as well. So Phyfe started back towards home. His father¡¯s home. And the stable his father allowed him to sleep in. Phyfe went back to the temple, circled around to its high priest¡¯s humble hovel and the larger, higher roofed stable- thankfully, one with a second floor that kept Phyfe well above wallowing in the donkey¡¯s stench but still meant he had to breath it in as he slept the day away. His father, Phyfe the Elder, was up and about, ordering his slave towards menial tasks as he, himself, set about cleaning the temple. Phyfe could hear him chanting praise to Deone absently, half-heartedly, practicing the rituals as lip service. Phyfe knew his father believed in Deone and worshipped Deone, but he never truly understood Deone. His father had a clean temple and humble followers, took no risks and wouldn¡¯t mind a bad haggle at the market if he could get away with it. The Elder was disappointed in his son for everything he was. And everything Phyfe was, was loyal to Deone¡¯s ways. It would be a sad day when Phyfe replaced his father as high priest of the temple. Sadder still because Phyfe the Elder would not have wanted his son to replace him; he¡¯d be grooming someone, like that thin-lipped, gecko fucking coward Tullo, a man with so little honor he practically lived up the high priest¡¯s ass but complained if its smell when he wasn¡¯t listening. It would be a sad, but necessary, thing to replace his father, even as his father would not want replacing. But Phyfe had made an oath. A promise to his God that he could not break. It would make money for the Temple, to raise it to greatness. For that, he¡¯d have to do more than gamble his own money. Gambling his own money meant losing money for the Temple. No, better to be the one that kept the most money¡­ Phyfe would need to build himself a gambling house . Fair as it was, the house still usually won. Phyfe the Elder wasn¡¯t a stickler. Black Tongue Phyfe would bring in coin, tithe it to the temple, use the gambling house and the temple to gather more men like himself, gamblers, sailors, street rats and drunks- risk takers with foul mouths who still kept their fucking word. One day, the temple and the house would be the same fucking thing. Phyfe would make a temple to people like him. And his God, Phyfe was sure, would be pleased.