Goblins surrounded me. Moments after we had entered the encampment they formed a reverential circle around Sombra and I. It felt... good to be surrounded by my worshipers. For a moment, all I could hear were the words they muttered. Their voices were soft and I could hear and feel both fear and love in them. This was one of those moments in which I truly felt like a god.
Goblins were curious little creatures. They all stood between a meter and a meter and a quarter tall, and of the dozens gathered around Sombra and I more than a few had very different skin tones. I saw some with bright yellow skin, others with green skin, and some of them had skin tones that were pink or even purple.
I studied the goblins for a few moments. I recognized each of them, and I was delighted at the increase in piety that I felt from many of them. Their admiration for me had shot up since I was a god who had been willing to appear in front of them.
Raiz was also here, as was the orc chieftain who ruled over the goblins, Gnorl. He and his pet, the ebony-furred panther named Hunahpu, were in the crowd, both bowing. Raiz, Gnorl, and Hunahpu were the only non-goblins in the crowd, but each of them managed to be uniquely pious.
Raiz was a direct creation of mine. She was fanatically loyal to me, in my capacity as a nature god. Gnorl was a vicious orc shaman and was a powerful creature who had successfully hunted down very weak spirits, an impressive feat. He was also thoroughly cowed by my power and served me with surprising loyalty as the chieftain of the goblins. His panther, Hunahpu, was a cat and had been awakened when I healed every lifeform in the world.
Hunahpu worshiped and loved me in the same way that other animals did. It was a sort of pure, all-consuming love. Hunahpu's love for me outshined even his love and respect for Gnorl. I enjoyed the fact that if I wanted too I could order Hunahpu to turn on his partner and the massive panther would do so without hesitation. Wielding that power was quite fun, even if I didn't intend to use it. That said I did intend to use some of my powers.
I quietly activated an auric ability of mine that made creatures around me ambiently feel sinful, physical pleasure, akin to being in the midst of a sexual encounter. This was an upgraded version of my "Pleasure manipulation" ability, an upgrade I gained when I had gained the second tier of influence over the corruption subdomain, thanks to my innate power over lust. I heard several goblins, as well as Raiz herself, work to suppress pleasured sighs as my power washed over them. Sombra sighed openly, and I chuckled at the lustful demoness.
I could target this power to make it more selective but the truth was that I didn't want to do that. I had a reason for this and it was quite simple. I wanted Cosecha to be a deity of fertility and abundance, and one way to do that was to quietly make mortals who stood in its presence associate it with lust. One of the teachings of the Cosechian faith was already in line with this.
The third command of the Cosechian faith was for adherents to act on their desires and have large families. This teaching was a significant one that I actually quite liked. It reminded people of the Cosechian faith's ties to prosperity, which I only planned to increase in the future. Long term this teaching promised to transform agrarian communities into sizable communities devoted to me, which excited me significantly.
I quietly increased the pleasure creatures around me felt for a second, intensifying it to an incredible degree for one moment before dropping it back to more tolerable levels. As I did this I heard the rush of blood to various body parts sharply increase, and I chuckled, the sound airy coming from my incorporeal head. I also heard more than a few creatures sigh in pleasure, the sounds slovenly and animalistic. I waited until my worshipers were done sighing before I began to speak.
"Hello dear goblins..." I said, speaking soothingly. My voice was gentle.
"There are those of you here who do not know who I am. Some of you are, in a manner speaking, my children." I explain, speaking rather cryptically.
"I am Cosecha, a powerful spirit of civilization, abundance, and the harvest. And I am the entity who is responsible for your success, rapid growth, and the joy you've experienced so far in your short lives." I announce, my voice filled with confidence. I was speaking to the new goblins, as I had sped the pregnancies of many goblin women and then aged many of the newly born goblin infants to young adulthood in an instant following their births.
"I have come here to begin to establish a new order. To begin to reveal a new path forward." I explained, my voice increasing in seriousness and in volume the more I spoke.
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"It is time to create a new government! A new society!" I announced, which caused a shocked expression to appear on Gnorl's face. As shocked as the orc was, I was not lying. I had come here to reward the goblins and to turn this society on its head.
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The Emerald Palace was a stunning piece of architectural artwork. It was a brilliantly shimmering testament to dwarven ingenuity and to the prowess of the divine. It gleamed and glittered at the heart of a vast and incredibly dark cavern.
Within it lived and worked some of the mightiest leaders of dwarven kind in the world of Torus. Deadly generals, talented tacticians, shrewd politicians, and royalty all lived within the vast palace.
In a tiny chamber near the top of the palace, a small council of dwarves was engaged in furious conversation. Their differing points of view were all carefully articulated and they were all struggling to keep themselves composed. One of them, the very same princess Althos had once helped and saved from an unwanted political marriage sighed in annoyance and began to speak.
"Are you all seriously suggesting we turn our backs on Althos? He is the one who helped me! I am keenly aware of how quickly you've forgotten that..." She said, disappointment seeping into her voice. Princess Rachel was a young progressive, in so far as dwarves could be young progressives. She valued freedom, especially her own, and though she respected tradition she knew whom was responsible for her freedom and it simply was not Morehammer. She respected and trusted the figure responsible for ensuring that she get to live freely.
Some of the people gathered around Princess Rachel lowered their gazes, as the biting edge of her words and her tone touched them. Not everyone felt that way though.
"Althos is a liar!" One of the other individuals in the room, a dwarven general named Abraham shouted. As he spoke he hammered his gloved fist into the table that stood at the center of the room. The impact produced a loud noise, one that reverberated throughout the room. The table was a thick thing made of metal and large enough for every dwarf present to be seated around it. There was a visible rage in his gaze, one that didn't fade even when he turned to face Rachel directly.
"And you... You are selfish! You prayed to that... creature for a way to escape your duty." Abraham said, his words containing a vicious venom. This time his words didn't go unchallenged though, as he took it a step too far. King Abel, one of several high ranking dwarves reacted to the general attacking his daughter by turning his almost acidic gaze on the warrior.
"Abraham you go too far." He warned, his gaze harsh as he stared daggers at the general. An awkward silence fell over the room in the wake of the stern and efficient admonishment by the king. General Abraham turned his gaze away from the princess and let his gaze, still containing that same fire from before, fall on the table.
The awkward silence lasted for a full minute. In that time each dwarf at the table considered what they had learned so far. They learned that Morehammer was free, and the historians who lived in the palace and had explored even its innermost depths had confirmed this minutes after receiving that notification.
They also learned that their creator deity was apparently an ancient and deceitful demon-lord. This was something that they were skeptical about, but even the most zealous admirers of Morehammer felt the strange stirrings of Althos' power linger within their hearts.
"Morehammer..." Rachel's aid and handmaiden, Amaris whispered. She had been raised to respect the attitudes that the ancient dwarven creator had instilled in his children. The dwarf was conflicted and her conflict was obvious to everyone in the room. Her instincts, the result of millions of years of evolution, told her to stand by Morehammer. But her heart and mind were fond of the freedom Althos offered, and she wanted to believe him over the ancient god who created her ancestors.
"Althos has helped us. He has helped me." King Abel told the council after watching Amaris struggle to articulate her feelings. His gaze was still on her, but it was warm now. He himself was fond of the strange god who had protected his daughter from their ancestral enemies, the Dagwood dukedom.
"I understand why you all might choose to protect our traditions but I would hope that you'd be sympathetic to my daughter and to her aide. And to me. Althos has helped my family. He did it freely and has asked for very little in return. I owe my health to him. Rachel owes her freedom to him. It's not an exaggeration to state that anyone who likes the kingdom the way it is now owes at least a minor debt to him." The king said, speaking softly. His words weren't false, Althos had secured the freedom of Atlantis and he had even healed the king using his powerful healing prowess.
This expression of admiration for Althos did go a ways towards cooling the frustration felt by General Abraham. It was an honest declaration, and an accurate one, and the general was aware of that. Even though he was a traditionalist and wanted to trust Morehammer, he couldn't deny that Althos had been the one to protect Atlantis in ways that Abraham could not have.
The royal family favored Althos. This made sense, as the family was progressive in a way and valued freedom. The other inhabitants of the room were inclined to trust Morehammer and the attitudes that had existed in their people for so long that they were almost hard-wired into dwarven genetics. This discussion mirrored discussions happening throughout the world, as other dwarven communities wrestled with the false idea that Morehammer was sort of deceitful demon-lord who had fed on the worship of dwarves like a vile parasite.