Side Story: A Discussion Between Gods

“-Well, it was lovely to pick your brain for a bit,” Anailia told the weaker god in her presence. “But I really should be going. I hope we’ve come to an understanding?”

“Yes, I’d say you’ve made yourself more than clear,” The other said in defeat, earning them a thin smile before Anailia parted, off to find her next conversation partner.

Something she was sure had been happening throughout that higher realm ever since their new little god had been born, with every existing deity having opinions with more than a few of them needing to be corrected as far as she was concerned. After all, there were already more than enough up there who openly disliked Ben even before he’d turned himself into the coming god of sacrilege, managing that wasn’t going to be winning him many friends and when there were sure to be plenty of private meetings stemming from it to grow that hate, there had to be someone with enough weight to level the scales.

Of course, that didn’t just mean threatening anyone who’d expressed any negativity about the boy before but also gauging the feelings of anyone who was already among his allies. There was no doubt that Nare was having his own conversations with the crafting gods and Helori with knowledge and mind ones, leaving her to talk to the outliers, those who enjoyed the boy’s existence even without him walking within their domain, bringing her next to Jagal’s realm, that goddess taking notice of her as soon as she arrived.

“Well, don’t I seem popular today,” She laughed lightly, with another already there for Anailia to give both a nod.

“Jagal, always lovely. And Phixth, I was wondering when I would run into you.”

“Mmh, I could say the same,” The stone god said, sounding like the most worn out of the three. “I’ve already spoken to a few you’ve threatened-”

“Such an ugly word, all I’ve been doing is going around having conversations, same as you.”

“What I’m doing is gauging opinions, you’re trying very clearly to get people to join your own.”

“And that’s automatically a threat now, is it?”

“It is when it’s coming from one of the more powerful gods on this world.”

Even if she hadn’t been among the founding gods of the planet, she was still among the earlier groups to make their home there but more than that, of any god, she’d managed to be among the ones who’d saved the most of their people, giving her a sizable base of worship right from the start. When faced with a divinity that might hold four times the faith that the average would, any one-on-one conversation was going to be lopsided and could only be more so when the political power of the succubi was considered as well, leaving her to give a thin smile.

“Please now, it’s not like I’m the only one going out to have these little talks, am I?”

“...”

“I thought not,” She laughed. “And given that you also would rather not have to deal with any unruly deities trying to swing their weight in the opposite direction as me, we should talk as well while you’re here. As for Jagal, I feel safe assuming you feel no ill will towards Ben?”

“Oh no,” The nature goddess smiled. “As far as I can judge he seems a sweet boy and as for if he’s dangerous to us, well, I don’t have much respect for any who’d feel so easily threatened. Any god up here should know how to feel dangerous themselves.”

A convincing statement from one whose history included the elimination of the male half of her race, even if it left Phixth to sigh.

“And you’re sure your fondness for the boy isn’t tied to what he’s done for your people?”

“Hmm? Of course it is though,” Jagal laughed. “And why should it be so wrong that that’s the case? I don’t believe I need to express to you any displeasure about how my dryads have been treated on this world. To have someone come who’d do their best to improve the standard of living of some of them and help them improve their magics to the point that it would be so much harder for anyone to think of hunting them again though? Why shouldn’t he have gained my favour for that?”

Phixth frowned, the reminder of all of their failings where inherently magical races would be captured and used as nothing more than materials to strengthen others still feeling like a recent event for any immortal being, with the goddess whose very people had been one of the victims of that and created their current isolationist relationship with the rest of the world breezing past it as she went on.

“Besides that, he’s even taken one of my girls in as his student. I may not watch her too often but from the look of things, if we win our war in the end he’ll be making me a rather powerful believer.”

“If he doesn’t convert her away,” Phixth pointed out. “He is an apostle after all and he has taken one of your believers before.”

“And if more choose to change then so be it,” She shrugged. “That’s their freedom to choose but as for if he’s going to personally take the effort to convert her, let’s be serious, Phixth, it’s rather clear he takes a fairly more passive role in gathering his god any faith.”

“And an effective role at that,” Anailia added. “Given that, even if it’s getting few converts, it’s earning more than a few casual prayers from anyone that sees the name of the church of Myriad on any piece of powerful equipment they wield. Besides, what’s wrong with liking the boy for what he does, unless you think I and every other god of a passive race don’t appreciate what he’s done for them?”

“I’m not saying that,” Phixth told her. “I’m just left wondering how far those feelings might go depending on what happens.”

“At least in my case, as far as they need to if anyone is planning to harm the boy, which is exactly what this comes down to, isn’t it, Phixth?” Anailia asked him. “No matter what you may be asking, I can see you have no issues with him but that isn’t exactly true of all of our contemporaries, is it? And if murdering another god's believers is to suddenly be placed on the table, well, I’ll simply be left to make sure that any who thought it was a good idea to break that little rule of ours gets to see why we have it in the first place.”

“Mmh, this is exactly why I used the word threaten before instead of conversation.”

“Oh please, when we’re talking about a reaction to our laws being broken it hardly counts as a threat. I’d consider it more of a learning experience than anything else. Of course, I’d be happy to be dissuaded if you could help it.”

“And now it sounds like you’re asking for a bribe.”

“Information actually, given that I’m sure there’s plenty who would talk to you that wouldn’t to me. So tell me, Phixth, what’s the consensus as far as you can tell? Just how many foolish gods want to see what is perhaps the most valuable mortal on this world die?”

Phixth said nothing at first, seeming only more worn down than anything else as he hung his head before answering. “Openly? Only the ones you’d expect already, making a bit over a dozen. Eneth and Olensia have no issues making their hatred clear after what happened between them-”

“No matter how deserved it might have been, is it? Perhaps I should try talking to them next.”

“Don’t. As for anyone else though… I am acting as the neutral party but not many are going to admit to wishing for the boy’s death to me. After all, in cases like this, neutrality and acting in accordance with the laws leans heavier to one side than the other. Plenty have made their feelings known to me, either disgust that a mortal would achieve such a thing or fear about what it could mean but as for how many are looking to see Ben die in a way that would keep him from joining us, I can’t be sure.”

“But they’ll surely be less hesitant if some of the more openly hostile ones contact them,” Jagal finished. “Oh my, one does have to wonder just how messy things might get before the next wave comes. A nice little divine war perhaps?”

“It won’t get to that point,” Phixth said firmly, with Anailia looking at him in something close to amusement if it weren’t for the depth the topic held.

“Won’t it? Everyone has their lines in the sand to draw and if anyone does succeed in killing Ben, I know where mine’s going.”

“It won’t happen before the third wave because nobody is going to be so dumb as to try anything before then. As for after… Well, I suppose that’s going to come down to how it ends. Either the safety we’re all hoping for or yet another wave to survive, both measured against whatever casualties we face. Still, the society we’ve created here isn’t built on sand. If someone does make the choice to murder Ben, succeed or fail, I choose to believe they’ll be properly condemned.”

“I see,” Anailia said, her look and tone both taking on a far more neutral character. “I’d like to believe so too, though that’s a bit too optimistic for my taste. After all, no matter what you think of the boy, there’s one thing Ben’s been right about from the start.”

“Oh?”

“It was so easy to ignore, back on my old world when it was only me and my husband, I’m sure it was the same for every one of us in our limited numbers but here, grouped together with none able to stand above any other the way we stand above our mortals? We really are just a group of people and if there’s one thing I know from eons of watching such things, all it takes is just one rash individual to make one irreversible choice to leave the world changed. So many of us on one world, I wonder what choices will still be made in the months to come?”

Neither of the other two said anything but she’d got what she’d needed and with more visits still to make, Anailia left, off to find her next conversation partner.