A waterspout formed in a part of the ocean that was seldom traveled by even the boldest of men. The water spiraled upwards, reaching for a storm that crackled above. Fingers of lighting spread from the storm’s edges swirled down the waterspout and branched out across the tumultuous sea. The wind whipped spray from the peaks of mountainous waves. The spout began to take the form of a humanoid bust much like an ice sculpture melting in the sun. The form developed an elderly bearded face on top broad shoulders. Above, the storm began to take shape as well. A feminine face formed from charcoal grey clouds, looking down at the old man, lightning crackling in her eyes.

   “Why have you summoned me Ludin?” asked the Tempest Goddess Rovhana impatiently.

   “Do I need a reason?” asked Ludin. “Would you dare spurn me if you thought the reason to be trite?”

   “I may,” retorted Rovhana.

   The ocean surged through Ludin's form. An arm, bulging with muscles large as whales, raised a fist and slammed it into the ocean sounding a deep thump and crashing like storm waves on cliffs.

   “Do you not garnish strength from my tides and currents? From where else would you feed?” said an enraged Ludin. “You have cut ties with Ulfgrim! The land will not sustain you.”

   “Do not talk to me of Ulfgrim. It was his stubbornness that caused the strife,” spat Rovhana, eyes dark as obsidian. “What would you do without the rains I bring? Your domain would dry up. All hail Ludin, God of the Salt Flats.”

   Great gusts of wind circled the form of Ludin. Bands of water stretched out from his form and dissipated into wisps of clouds that spiraled up into the storm.

   “Enough! It is because of your impetuous quarrel with Ulfgrim that I have summoned you,” said Ludin through clenched teeth.

   Rovhana was as fickle as she was impatient. She decided to change tack and offer a calmer approach in hopes of speeding up this whole debacle.

   “Ludin, I am grateful for your fidelity,” she offered. “How may I be of service to you, old friend?”

The winds abated. Sunlight shone through clouds as they became spotted and translucent. The sky, lit up with the color of burning embers, was reflected by ripplets on calm seas.

   “A great menace has formed as a result of your clash with Ulfgrim,” continued Ludin. “A menace that resides in my domain.”

   Rovhana was silent and closed her eyes. She remembered the battle she had with Ulfgrim and the toll it took. How Ulfgrim had sided with the mortals and altered the landscape to restrict her already limited powers. Rovhana had tried to reason with the earth god, explaining how they both benefited from the destruction she wrought. For her, it was a way to remind the mortals of her power and for Ulfgrim it brought balance to his domain. Setting fires to the forests would bring much-needed clearing of underbrush and replenished the soil. Heavy rains spread that soil and its fertility throughout the lands. Ulfgrim believed her actions tipped the scales too much and held firm to his decision, leaving Rovhana no recourse but war and in the end she lost. Her powers limited over land, only allowing enough to keep the water cycle flowing.

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   The wind shuddered, sending ripples through the clouds in all directions.

   “How is that possible?” she asked quietly.

   “By tearing into each other with such force as to rip apart your essence like flesh from bone,” Ludin emphasizing his point by thunderously crashing waves that heaved high into the air and splattered the frothy brine.

   “Your lifeblood spilled onto the earth and sea, mingled together,” continued Ludin as he formed eddies that rippled across his body, dredging up silt and brine from below. “It seeped into rock and soil, spread along the shores by the currents affecting flora and fauna.”

   He brought forth a creature from his depths. In his hands, he held what appeared to be a boulder covered in bleached coral, pockmarked with barnacles, covered in sea slime. The rock cracked open like a clam and glowing tentacles slithered out that pulsed with purple and red ringlets. Blue sparks crackled from the tips. Rovhana gazed at the creature with amusement.

   “I rather like it,” she said.

   “This creature came from the coast at the edge of my influence where I could do little to impede its growth. The degenerate bastard is irrepressible by my powers as it is not of me or mine but of you and Ulgrif.” Ludin lowered the creature under the water, banished it back into the depths.

   “I will take care of it,” said Rovhana plainly.

   “You cannot. Not alone... ” Ludin waited for her to come to her own conclusion.

   The sea and sky darkened once again. The air compressed and expanded, creating a pressure wave that moved sea and air.

   “No,” bellowed Rovhana. “I will not grovel before that mulish whoreson.”

   A bolt of lightning struck the waters with a sizzle and a crack, spraying vapors into the air.

   “This little one does not concern me. There is a far worse creature whose influence grows beyond my tolerance. It feeds from all our domains and as it grows, so does its influence. It spreads beyond the island it is tethered to and into the lives of mortals. I fear it will find a way to free itself from its bindings. I charge you with its demise. If you spurn my request, Rovhana, I will do what I must to protect myself.”

   Rovhana, silent with eyes closed, flustered the wind.

   “You must do this for me as well as yourself,” added Ludin. “You will find it on an island to the east, off the coast of the town mortals call Wealdstone.”

   She understood. His weakening would weaken her as well. Ludin would need to reserve his energy, leaving her with nothing. She dissipated without another word and the clouds floated off on the warm afternoon breeze.

    Ludin’s form melted back into the sea. The froth and chop subsided into long rounded swells. Rovhana knew what she must do, but it did not have to be by her hands alone. She refused to even consider approaching Ulfgrim directly and instead would seek out an intermediary. Mortals would do her bidding or they would perish trying.

   Rovhana felt the threads that tethered her to her most dedicated of followers like a spider with a web that spread across the world. Narrowing her focus to the eastern coastal waters, she swam through the thoughts of her clerics. A devout follower would not be able to do the job on their own. She required someone ambivalent to the gods in order to hide her influence from Ulfgrim. Someone pragmatic enough to make sacrifices and driven enough to follow through. Someone with weaknesses that she could exploit, wind up like jack-in-the-box until they burst, releasing all their rage on her foe and fight it to the death or die trying.

   The skies began to darken and crackle with lighting. Sheets of rain fell like curtains swaying in a breeze. The ocean warmed and released its heat, a sign of Ludin's approval. The air blew fiercely, encircling the darkness, forming a vortex as large as a nation. Rovhana had found her champion and moved swiftly towards her ship.