One God. One Demesne. This is a hard rule we are all sure of and it has never been broken. Yet whilst it sounds simple, it stretches into infinity. Anything that can be thought of being an independent demesne results in the eventual incarnation of a Divine. Whereas the major abstract ideals and natural forces have been taken, the recent incarnation of Nelezanezzar, of Aminion, has presented to us an entirely new type of Deity: The National Divine.
Naturally, this is a problem. A major problem to be precise. This Divine possesses the power of a major God yet it has a base that is fundamentally ephemeral. There is no material thing such as “Aminion”, it is merely a nation. Aminion currently has no Divines representing it, this could be the reason for the incarnation of Nelezanezzar. Yet the four of do not agree with this idea. Eventually, every nation will incarnate a Divine to represent its own power. We can only speculate that the grander the country, the grander the Divine.
Thus, we get to the issue. Nelezanezzar is a powerful Divine yet the nation it represents, whilst powerful, is not particularly stunning. We can only prepare for when greater lands incarnate their own representatives, however there is one precaution which must be taken to ensure that a Divine which possesses a monopoly on power will never appear.
A nation of Gods cannot ever be allowed to exist. If human consciousness ever comes to the idea of a Divine so powerful it represents entire lands of Divines, what assumptions can honestly be made about the power of such a Divine?
The solution we propose is the Pantheon idea.
The creation of a Divine Collective is simply too large a risk to contend with. The Pantheon Proposition will solidify Divine relationships and rulerships into Pantheons which are alliances and nothing more. Whilst such a concept will naturally make organisation weaker, a Pantheon can never be allowed to have a collective identity and must always treat itself as individuals and nothing more. This is doubly true the more powerful the Pantheon. If the various incarnations decide to collectivize and force about an Of Tools or the like, it can be dealt with. What will happen when a titans such as Olephia or Fer or Allasaria or Irinika are represented? This is not a case of seeking some advantage. God Arascus of Pride has forseen this, and he will put a halt to the Land of Divinity project he is currently working towards as a sign of good will.
The simple fact of the matter is that the alternative cannot be risked. A Divine of Divines may be harmless or may be the most creature to ever exist.
- Excerpt from “The National Problem”, co-written by God Arascus, of Pride, Goddess of Pride, God Paramethus, of Spirit, Goddess Kassandora, Of War, Goddess Fortia, Of Peace & Goddess Maisara, of Order. Signed by four hundred and twenty-six additional different deities. Dated to the Era of Pre-Worldbreaking.
Iniri took a deep breath as she hummed along to the music that played in her headphones, it was good, the pillow underneath was comfortable and for once in this dreaded underground, she was warm and toasty. Honestly, she had spent too much time with Anassa to bother seeking out anything new, the Goddess of Sorcery had been enough of an emotional rollercoaster that she had enough excitement for a decade. She simply put on an old track she enjoyed and hummed. Arascus had prepared transport for her to catch up to him and the road was not bad. Of course it would not be though, to get here she had returned to the surface, gotten on a plane, and then re-entered the underground through a mountain in Southern Doschia.
This was the heartland of the Dwarven Underkingdoms, it was highway that was still maintained. The roads were as smooth as modern roads, maybe even smoother and Arascus had made sure she would be comfortable. Even though her transport was just a huge cargo container, it was furnished from the inside as to be the luxurious bedroom of royalty. Even the sides had red wallpaper that begged the Goddess to forget she was within the same thing that ships carried bananas in.
But that posed a problem in itself. These tunnels were maintained. Dwarves still walked these lands. Inter-hold commerce apparently ran through these routes. As did the new arrivals from the surface who brought fresh produce and goods and everything else that the Empire could provide but the latter was less important. Dwarves stalked these lands and Iniri had been part of the White Pantheon. True, she had been in the first expedition, and true, her name no doubt would have gotten spread around the Underkingdoms at this point. But she still had been a White Pantheon.
At the end of the day, a few engagements in the first expedition against Tartarian forces and assistance in Fazba did not remove the stain of a century of warfare just because it had happened a millennium ago. Maybe it would for humans, but not for these people who so vehemently held onto their vows. There was a difference between being enlisted in Kassandora’s forces on the frontline and waltzing into their capital.
Iniri smiled to herself, kept humming and rocked her head from side to side in time to the tune. It was funny to think that before meeting Anassa, she would have thought of doing this. Now, there was some twisted form of excitement and relief in her, although that was mainly due to the fact that she had managed to survive what felt like an eternity as Of Sorcery’s subordinate. Helenna would no doubt say it was an unhealthy sort of behaviour but Iniri did not really care. When all was said and done, relief was relief.
Heavy thuds that rocked the trailer Iniri sat in made her open her eyes. That was odd, these highways were maintained. They should be perfectly smooth. And then there was thudding again and Iniri realised it wasn’t holes in the road. It was knocking on the side of the vehicle. A third set of thuds came and Iniri quickly got to the rear doors of her trailer. Should she pull it open? No. It could just be some cargo check. But then she was a Goddess. But then she would ruin plans if this was some cargo inspection. But then was she being smuggled? Iniri’s stared in confusion as more thuds came. Suddenly the metal was dented and Iniri realised the trailer had been soundproofed. Downright idiotic she didn’t think of it earlier.
She heard car engines and she heard men talking. It was human pitch, Doschian and Lubskan speech rather than the low grumbles of dwarves that made her think they were pretending to sound like earthquakes. And then she heard the rumble that always came about when Arascus talked. The dwarves may have sounded like earthquakes, but hearing Arascus always made Iniri think of a dragon. “Are you alive?” He asked.
Iniri stared at the dented metal, she felt a cool draft of underground come in through the sliver of gap Arascus had made. And then she kicked herself she heard Arascus started tearing the rear door open. “I’m alive!” Iniri wished her voice wasn’t so high-pitched.
Arascus stopped immediately. She actually heard the God of Pride sigh as if he was a teacher dealing with the same child who always misbehaved. “Are you dressed?” He asked.
On one hand, Iniri responded faster this time. On the other, she pinched herself that she actually looked down to check whether she was still in her green dress or not. Why wouldn’t she be? What? Was the dress just supposed to grow a mind of its own and decide to walk off? “I am!”
“Come outside then.” Arascus said. “We’re almost there.”
Iniri pushed on the door, realised it was stuck and then pushed harder. The metal budged and she saw Arascus swing it open for her. She blushed at the fact she couldn’t do it herself. “I…” What was there to say? I could do it? When she obviously couldn’t? No no no. It was time to salvage whatever scraps of dignity she had left. She should act like a proper Goddess, no one capable got offended when things were done for them. “Thank you.”
“Mmh.” Arascus said as he held his hand out. Iniri stared at it for a few moments until she realised that he realised that she wouldn’t get the hint. “Are you stepping off?” He asked. Most embarrassing was the fact there was actual amusement in his voice.
“I am.” Iniri said and took his hand for the sake of politeness. Honestly, she had to admit that being treated nicely for once was not half-bad. How long had it been even? She gossiped with her friends in Kavaa and Helenna, but that was different. They were peers. Arascus was a superior. Frankly, there wasn’t even a need to jump, she was short amongst the Pantheon and major Divines, but she was taller than Nationals, and she was still giant compared to humans, easily more than half again the size of one. Although that meant Arascus was half-again the size of her.
“How was the ride?” Arascus asked.
Iniri tried not to gawk at the fact Arascus was asking how was the ride. The second half of the ride had been spent worrying about the dwarves, the first half had been spent trying to bury thoughts of him. She had met him before of course, but it was always with Kavaa or Helenna or Kassandora or someone else. There was a difference when it was mission briefing where they sat around a table and Arascus handed out tasks like candy compared to… Well, to wandering into a kingdom that hated with, with a God she trusted only insofar that…
That was the though, wasn’t it? It was one thing to be Helenna who had obviously fallen sweet for him, and another to be Kavaa who was close to Kassandora, and it was something else entirely to be Iniri. Arascus’ daughters didn’t have all that grand of an opinion about her either. Kassandora just disdained the weakness so much so she put her with Anassa. That woman was such a character that Iniri struggled to believe in part whether the Anassa who had led her was the real Anassa in any extent. Fer just felt sorry for her. And what of Arascus himself? Who had adopted the greatest Divines to ever exist into his family? What exactly would he-
Arascus snapped his fingers in front of Iniri’s green eyes. “You can’t be zoning out like that.” His tone was forceful yet not particularly angry. It was how Iniri imagined men scolded their children. And then he made his tone lighter, not exactly jovial, but not harsh either. “I’ll give you a pass on a lot Iniri, but not that.”
Iniri bobbed her head up and down and utterly hated the words that came out automatically from her mouth. “Yes sir.”
Arascus raised an eyebrow as he stared down at hair. The corner of his lip curled upwards, it was obvious he was struggling to hold in laughter. “Don’t call me that.” Iniri opened her mouth and realised she was about to say the exact same thing. She shut it and just nodded an affirmative. “Right.” Arascus said. “I can tell already you’re going to be a handful.”
Iniri didn’t know what to make of that comment exactly. On one hand, it should have been offensive. But then on the other, Fortia would have called her weak, Maisara worthless, Anassa would have told her it was unfit behaviour for a Goddess and Kassandora would have just reminded her to follow orders. Even Kavaa and Helenna wouldn’t have called her a handful. Frankly, what sort of comment was that even?! She was a handful!? What did that mean? “You’re doing it again.” Arascus said and the Goddess of Nature blinked out of her stupor.
“I…” She began and then realised she was just going to say exactly what a ‘handful’ would say. “What sort of comment is that even?” She asked.
Arascus just shrugged. “You got the message though.” He didn’t even ask whether she did. But… Iniri found herself actually smiling. She did in fact get the message. Arascus gave her a short pause to speak, but then filled the silence after a few moments when she did not. “We’re about an hour away at Divine March.” He nodded to the vehicles around him. It was almost all trucks pulling trailers, although there was a tank with its barrel raised upwards and a personnel carrier there. A few men were smoking, others were running around. Iniri had no clue what was happening. “We’re on break preparing for entering Klavdiv.”
That had been the capital a thousand years ago. It had been the capital two thousand years ago. Apparently the history back six thousand years. And it was the capital now. “Oh.” Iniri said.
“This is just a show.” Arascus said as he threw his hand towards everything in this massive tunnel and yet nothing in particular. “We’re bringing tools and papers for them to study. Maps, information, seeds, alcohol too, just the lot.”
Iniri didn’t know if she should tell the man to stop. Even in the White Pantheon, plans were usually kept secret. Kassandora herself famously operated on the need-to-know basis as did all of other Arascus’ daughters. “Should you be telling me this?”
“Should I not?” Arascus asked. “You may have to explain what we’re doing here.”
“So I’m going to be talking?” Iniri asked. “To them?”
“You may. What did you think you were being brought here for?”
Iniri thought for a moment. This was not going at all how she thought it would go. Wasn’t this man her boss? Why even ask such a question? Where was the Arascus who sat at the head of the table and handed out jobs to do!? But then she supposed she should answer. And there was only one real answer to give, as humiliating as it was. “So you can parade me around because you defeated the White Pantheon?” Iniri made it a half-question. She hoped she was wrong to some extent.
Arascus stared down at her with such pity that she wanted to grow a cocoon of wood around herself and just disappear. “What a dismal way to frame it.” He said sadly.
“Is there any other way?”
“When a starving family slaughters a cow for meat, is it the killing of an innocent bovine or is it a blessing to feed hungry mouths?” Arascus asked.
Iniri thought for a moment and then realised this was a trick question. “It’s both.”
“Likewise, you’re being paraded around but you’re also here to represent the Empire. It would be a parade no matter who came.”
“Wouldn’t Helenna do a better job?” Iniri asked. Arascus obviously wasn’t amused.
“Would you prefer a longsword or a greatsword to chop your arm off?” Arascus asked and Iniri cracked a smile again. It was a stupid question, but it made her realise she had asked a stupid question too.
“Which one am I?” Iniri asked.
“You’re the Goddess of Nature.” Arascus said. “And it has to be a major Goddess rather because I’m not bringing Of Spoons or Of Wires here, am I?” Iniri shook her head. Honestly, he wasn’t so bad. She still didn’t want to go against him, but…
Well, anyone else would have told her off by now. Iniri blinked and realised she was to zone out into her own thoughts. She saw Arascus look down at her, and then saw him smile. He had seen her catch herself. And he was impressed. Iniri turned away, she shouldn’t be blushing at that! “I suppose you’re correct.” Iniri said. The worst part was that he did not disagree with her or anything like. Somehow, everything she had said was correct, and yet he managed to spin it around to be entirely wrong too.
“You’ll need to wave your hand and say hi to them.” Arascus said. “And I expect you to intuit if I want a magic trick or not.”
There was not a soul on Arda who could say a statement like that with a straight face. Not a soul bar Arascus. “You expect me to intuit? You mean read your thoughts?”
“Aren’t you a Goddess?” Arascus asked and Iniri narrowed her eyes. What an absurd response! She wanted an answer, not… What the fuck did this mean even? Of course she was a Goddess!
“Aren’t you a God?”
Arascus shrugged and looked around as if actually considering the question. “That’s hard to say Iniri. Difficult question you pose.” She didn’t know whether it was the tone or the fact he managed to make his comment not biting and still be obviously making fun of her, but Iniri felt her lips turned upwards. Even when she bit down on them, she couldn’t contain the laughter. And immediately her cheeks went red when she realised that it came out like a snort because of how she tried to hold it in. Arascus so obviously knew it was terrible, and yet he looked around over her head, from side to side, making such a show of gazing at everything but her that she laughed again. “So I can expect you to play the part then?”
“Now you’re making me out to be some trophy wife!” Iniri retorted. What sort of question was that. How hard was it to play the part of being the Goddess of Nature? Hadn’t she just been doing that all this time with Anassa? Maybe not in any glorious sense, but in the sheer annoyance and hatred she when she saw when that fucking crane tipped over or some stupid fucking tool exploded or maybe the rails were bent or some other garbage like that.
Arascus made a very serious face towards. “Bless my luck Iniri, I have somehow managed to dodge tying myself down so far.” Iniri’s eyes bulged and her cheeks went bright crimson when she realised what she said. No. She did not… To him as well! How could she? Iniri wanted the tunnel to just collapse on her. “So I apologize Iniri, you’re not the first, you won’t be the last. I turn your hand down.”
For a moment, it was as if the world stopped. No. The man did not just say that. How… It was one thing to be the God of Pride, it was another entirely to be so arrogant as to take what she just said in that way. “I fucking hate you.” Iniri said flatly, she didn’t mean it of course but what else was there to say? Arascus burst out in laughter.
“There we have it!” He roared with humour. “That’s the Iniri we want.”
Honestly, what an amazing man. She could see how it was that so many Divines followed his lead. This… Iniri smiled to herself. She had heard humans talk about their families and so on. Every Divine had. And every Divine Iniri had ever mentioned it to shared the same thoughts: They wanted that. And when Arascus said that, she felt it. She honestly felt the full force of every Divine that aligned themselves to Arascus. She didn’t know how, but she knew it was there. Fer and Kassandora and Anassa and Helenna and Kavaa, all of them. That was the Iniri they wanted.
She caught herself, and she realised she was smiling. Arascus was looking down at her, he had not bothered to interrupt her or pull her out of it. He just let her feel the moment. Iniri took a deep breath. “Trophy Goddess then.”
“A trophy has to be a trophy to be a trophy in the first place. We make them out of gold and not out of tin for a reason.” Iniri understand exactly what he meant, but she wasn’t going to let him get away with it this time. No. No more rephrasing.
“So I am a trophy Goddess!” She half-shouted. Honestly, her tone shouldn’t be so excited but she had just proved him wrong!
Arascus made a so stupid it made the Goddess of Nature crack a smile. He lifted up his hands to either side, miming empty-handedness. “Well, aren’t you?”
Iniri’s eyes grew wide. The sheer cheek of it! It wasn’t even a humiliation, she could see his point exactly. And besides, he was so coy about it that it was difficult to even shout at him. She made her tone faux-embarrassed and faux-enraged. “Why don’t you stick me in a pretty pink dress whilst you’re at it then!? Just dress me up like a proper princess!”
“Well actually…” Arascus turned around and pointed to a truck which was driving besides them. Iniri looked at it again. She knew exactly what the man was about to say. Just… Just have it be him, please, not… “Helenna and Malam prepared clothes.”
By the Divines please say it wasn’t so.