> Name: Seraphim
>
> Domain(s): Purity, Fire
>
> Species: Wyrmborn (Draconic?)
>
> Class(es): Purifier (Healing/Fire mix)
>
> Boon(s): Unclear - possibly condition resistance?
>
> Faction: Astraea
>
> Notes: Burning snake with lots of wings. If this were a text-based game this guy would type in all caps. Makes a big deal about healing, but I’m getting definite “Burn the unclean” vibes.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I walked away from the imposing figure. I'd finished interviewing the second tier of gods and it was time to head up to the third tier, which was just beneath the start of the cloud layer.
Each successive tier had more gods in it, and I had already decided I wasn’t going to interview them all. I’d already been at this for what felt like an hour, and I was itching to get on with the character creation process. There were so many interesting possibilities already.
I decided to take a minute before going up and narrow down my list a bit. Having completed the second tier, I could see a pattern emerging. The second-tier gods largely aligned themselves with the prime deities, and tended to be seated above the gods they were subservient to.
Right now, I was in Astraea’s section of the seating, and the gods here all reported to her. As much as I wasn’t a fan of some of her vassal gods, Astraea herself seemed like a decent sort. I flipped to her entry in the notebook and read it over.
> Name: Astraea
>
> Domain(s): Justice, Purity, Innocence
>
> Species(s): Starborn
>
> Class(es): Arbiter (some kind of holy judge/investigator)
>
> Boon(s): Virtue skill chain
>
> Notes: I recognize her name from Greek mythology, though I can’t recall the details. For a goddess of justice, she seems very low key, almost shy. She got more animated when talking about her arbiters, which seem to be a sort of police force? Seems very genuine and idealistic.
Astraea was one of several deities that appeared to be borrowing from mythologies I was familiar with from real life, though only two of the gods in the first tier were directly lifted from earth religions–not counting The Adversary who was clearly inspired by the Christian devil even if they weren’t supposed to be the same entity.
The other one was Odin, and when I had questioned him, he’d confirmed himself to be the same being from Norse mythology, telling me that he “was far older than this world or the last, and will outlast both.”
The second tier had more borrowed mythological figures, though many weren’t originally what I would have classified as a god–more like famous spirits. Seraphim in its original mythology was a type of angel, not a single creature, though from what I could remember the depiction was pretty accurate to the source material.
Odin had brought along some of the Aesir, though not all the ones I could recall. Some of the more famous ones like Loki and Thor were missing while less known ones like Heimdall were present. I was also pretty sure that Odin’s two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, were in the next tier up unless there were other giant raven pseudo-deities that I wasn’t aware of.
Turning my attention back to Astraea and her subordinates, I decided I wasn’t interested in pursuing any member of her faction as a patron. I liked Astraea herself, but I had no interest in being part of an inquisition. Her followers seemed split between way too self-righteous and way too naive, and it seemed like a recipe for frustration. Her domains just weren’t very interesting to me either - I didn’t want to play a healer and it seemed like there were better choices for other types of magic.
I flipped back several pages in my notebook, looking over the earlier entries. Some of these were pretty interesting.
> Name: Reign (“The Last King”, “God of Mercenaries”)
>
> Domain(s): Blood, Gold, Death
>
> Species: Undying (Vampire?)
>
> Class(es): Death Knight, Guild Assassin
>
> Boon(s): “Blood For Gold” skill (implied resurrection for money?), “Measure of a Man” skill (some sort of power up?)
>
> Notes: This guy is clearly insane, apparently his religion involves his followers trying to become powerful enough that they can fight him, and if they kill him they take up his mantle of godhood and continue the cycle.
That had been an interesting conversation, the skeletal god had basically ranted at me for several minutes, barely allowing questions.
He was the god of hired killers. His retinue of lesser gods had also been a bunch of crazy people for the most part, psychos and undead monsters, with a few practical seeming soldier types and a god of merchants providing an island of sanity amid the chaos.
I moved Reign’s faction to the end of the list; I’d rather be a healer than work for most of those guys. I hadn’t changed my mind about not playing on team evil with this character, and I figured there was a reason these guys were seated over next to The Adversary.
Speaking of that deity, I’d spoken to his subordinates as well and they were an odd lot. The god of evil had demigods of math and logic working for him, right alongside obviously demonic monstrosities with domains like “Carnage” and “Torture”–and to a one they all claimed he was a great boss that really cared about his followers.
I just shook my head; I couldn’t get a handle on this one. He was either scarily competent evil, or legitimately believed in what he was doing. I decided I couldn’t completely discount The Adversary’s subordinate gods even if I wouldn’t work for him directly. His faction was simply too varied.
Next up was one of the weirder gods I’d talked to… If I could be said to have spoken to him at all.
> Name: Limitless
>
> Domain(s): Sky, Sea & Space, Freedom, Chaos
>
> Species: Unknown
>
> Class(es): Unknown
>
> Boon(s): “Unrestrained” skill (Active skill that frees you from all restraints), “Limit Breaker” skill (Removes point limits on skills)
>
> Notes: This god is an empty stylized throne, decorated with scenes of sea, sky, and space from top to bottom. Apparently, those are all a single domain in this case? I got the impression that those words are shortcuts to explain a concept of vastness containing multitudes.
Limitless had never actually spoken to me, instead when I had approached the empty throne a confused looking young man in priestly garments had suddenly appeared next to it in a flash of light. After catching his bearings, he claimed to be a priest of “The Great God Limitless” and did his best to answer my questions about his god.
The problem was that the priest didn’t seem to understand a lot of the questions I was asking. He hadn’t been able to answer if Limitless had any species or class options, but he had understood when I asked about boons, and unlike every other god I had questioned the priest was able to tell me exactly what his skills did.
Apparently, some skills scaled in power based on how many “progression points” you invested in them, and many of these had caps on how high they could scale. One of Limitless’ skills allowed you to spend as many points as you wanted, ignoring all caps, though apparently it cost an ever-increasing number of points to do so.
I understood that this basically changed the caps from hard caps to soft caps, but the priest seemed to consider that almost sacrilege when I’d mentioned it.
Limitless’ other skill allowed you to remove any restraints on you, and this was apparently loosely defined. The priest had used it upon feeling his answers to my questions being blocked, and it had literally freed his tongue.
The priest had been a font of information, but he’d been unwilling to discuss anything not related to his god. I had pried as much information out of him as I could, hoping that it would give me an advantage.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
In the end Limitless was one of my favorite gods so far, though I found it strange that unlike every other god here he couldn’t be bothered to be physically present or speak directly with prospective followers.
Thinking about Limitless, I suddenly realized that I was sitting on a second exploit. I berated myself for not realizing it earlier, and started making my way down the stairs and over to where The Adversary was seated.
I had to hope that nobody else had reported it already. If I could get out of character creation with two bug reports under my belt, I’d almost certainly be in a great position to get a head start on the level grind.
The god animated as I approached, smiling congenially and nodding in recognition. “Infinity, good to see you again–have you reconsidered my offer?”
“No, but I think I have a second exploit to report,” I responded.
The Adversary guffawed, pulling out his notepad once again. “Another so soon? I can’t wait to hear it.”
“You know Limitless? When I went to talk with him, he just summoned a priest to talk to me instead. The priest was able to use his Unrestrained skill to speak freely to me. He told me about skills and what his boons were–things like that.”
The Adversary sighed, jotting down a note. “Of course he did, I swear that deity exists just to annoy me. All power and no brains.”
“I’ve added this one to your tally as well, but while you are here tell me, what do you think of my coworkers?” he asked.
“To be honest, Limitless is at the top of my list right now. Those skills of his sound pretty wild. Some of these guys are completely insane, including your neighbor there, and I get weird vibes from that nature goddess too–Nystral I think her name was?” I told him.
“Understandable, those who seek power above all can certainly find it in Limitless’ service, but I hope you will keep looking. For one as clever as you, Limitless is like wielding a cudgel to perform surgery. There are others here with nearly as much power but of a more subtle nature that I think you’ll find more to your liking.”
I grinned at the god, “Don’t worry, I’m still looking. Though I assume that you are referring to yourself.”
The Adversary simply winked at me even as he settled back into his idle state. I couldn’t help but like the cheeky devil god, despite his manipulative behavior.
I wandered over to sit down on the lip of the stage and continue reviewing my prospects, flipping to the first page where I’d written my notes about the god of lies.
Valera was still standing in the middle of the stage and had apparently become active at my approach. She looked down at me and asked, “Hello Infinity, have you decided on a patron?”
In my mind, several facts suddenly clicked into place with nearly audible thunks, and I spun to look at The Adversary. I found the god looking directly at me, still quite animated, his grin both knowing and pleased.
I quickly replayed the conversations I’d had with him, seeing the subtle hints and inferences clearly for the first time. My mind reeled at the implications of what I’d just realized and all the questions it led to.
I turned back to Valera, and finally responded to her question. “I suspect I have, but before I confirm my decision, could you please tell me what species, classes, and boons you offer to your followers?”
Several things happened at once. The goddess, stationed at the center of the Assembly of the Gods, on the ground floor below even the first tier of prime deities, smiled warmly at me and opened her mouth as if to speak.
At the same time, behind me rose a cacophony of sound as nearly every god on the first three tiers cried out in protest. Their words rendered incoherent by the volume of their discontent.
I watched in fascination as the previously still audience shouted, raised clenched fists, and generally made their anger known–all without ever leaving their positions in the stands. The noise was enough that the doors to System’s chamber reopened, and the elderly man walked back out to stand next to Valera, a questioning look on his face.
“Infinity asked me what benefits I provide my followers.” The goddess explained.
The old man’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you…?” He trailed off. “No, of course not.”
Taking a few steps forward, System once again spoke in his huge voice that seemed to come from everywhere.
“Peace! I shall settle this dispute. Please remain in your seats and refrain from shouting. I shall acknowledge those who wish to speak.”
The crowd began to settle down, but one figure in the front row remained standing. As silence returned, System nodded in the direction of the red robed skeleton. “Lord Reign, you may speak.”
The skeletal god stood upon the pile of gold surrounding his throne, made even taller for it. For the first time I noticed that the flowing red robe never seemed to really end–instead it split into innumerable strands that seemed to find their way into and under the piled gold, like rivulets of blood draining away out of sight.
His voice was hollow and shrill, about as pleasant to listen to as fingers on a chalkboard. Unfortunately, as I had discovered earlier, he seemed to like to hear himself talk.
“We are not to be taken for fools, Valera! Do you really expect us to believe this is some mortal whimsy? Do you expect us to accept that one of the very first supplicants to come before us would choose you? That he would cause System to be compromised? We all know how you chafe at your bonds, but this is the price you paid. To so blatantly circumvent it puts all in peril!”
For her part, Valera remained calm. “I have done no such thing, Reign. He asked me that question unprompted. I have made no effort to circumvent our agreement, and I ask System to review the holy logs and confirm it.”
System started to respond but Reign cut him off. “We all saw you speak to the boy when System was incapacitated. The logs cannot be trusted in this instance.”
At this point The Adversary unhurriedly raised his hand and waited for System to acknowledge him. When the old man nodded in his direction, the devil rose and addressed the assembly.
“If you’ll recall I was also present while System was frozen, and I can attest that Lady Valera did not address this young man at all. The only words she spoke were to me, and only to comment that he’d likely be joining my followers–a fact I quite agreed with.”
From across the hall the strange shifting god that I thought was called Althi called out, “Surely you know that we cannot take your word for such things.”
“Perhaps not, but there was yet another witness to this act–before you jump to conclusions perhaps you should ask Infinity what happened,” The Adversary responded.
I suddenly felt the weight of many eyes pressing down on me. System turned to look down at me, then motioned for me to approach. “Come on up here lad and tell us, did Valera say anything to you or in your presence while I was… occupied…?”
I climbed up on the stage, using it to buy a moment to think. I wasn’t sure if The Adversary would get in trouble if mentioned that it was his words, not Valera's, that had cued me in to the choice hidden in plain sight, so I tempered my words the same way he had and simply omitted the information while speaking the truth.
“No, he told the truth, she only said that one thing and she wasn’t even talking to me. For what it’s worth nothing she said cued me in that she was an option for being a divine patron either. The opposite, really. She made it sound like I had to choose one of you.”
This caused a murmur in the audience, and System once again held up his hands for silence.
“Given this testimony I am inclined to believe Lady Valera, however I shall review the logs and ensure that none have violated the precepts of the assembly.”
Reluctantly, the skeletal god Reign slumped back onto his throne, his hollow eye sockets still pointed at me, his glare seeming to bore through me. System had pulled a large rolled up scroll out of nowhere and appeared to be reading it, his eyes flickering back and forth rapidly. I found myself hoping that this gamble with Valera paid off as very few of the gods in the assembly seemed pleased with me.
After a moment, System looked up from his scroll and it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“Here are my findings. Lady Valera did not violate the precepts. In fact, the only one who has done so is Lord Limitless, though not intentionally. I see that the exploit that allowed this breach was already reported by our friend Infinity here, and that a fix has been implemented by The Lord Adversary’s daemons. Some of you I see are doing your best to skirt the rules, but no others are in violation of them yet.”
I was pretty sure System had been looking right at The Adversary when he said that last bit, but the devil seemed completely unconcerned. The way System had said it made it sound like Limitless had been responsible for the leaked information, and the god didn’t seem to be present to deny it or didn’t care to. I wasn’t sure if this was intentional on System’s part, but I wasn’t about to correct the assumption.
This seemed to satisfy the majority of the deities, and I could see them returning to their semi-present idle states one after the other. Some of the other prime deities still appeared discontented, and Reign let loose one last barb at Valera before returning to stasis. His tone dripped with sarcasm.
“Congratulations are in order then I suppose, enjoy your victory while it lasts.”
Soon enough the only active figures in the amphitheater were System, Valera and me. System sighed and turned to Valera. “I’ll stay and observe directly if you don’t mind. Best to head off any further accusations before they have a chance to begin.”
“Of course. I welcome your company as always,” the goddess replied, turning to look at me once more.
I spoke first, but not to Valera. Instead, I asked the question that had been burning in the back of my mind the past few minutes, ever since System had reappeared on the stage.
“What about you, can you be a patron? What do you offer your followers?”
Both System and Valera let out surprised laughs at this audacity, but my hopes were crushed a moment later.
“I’m afraid I’m not a god,” said System. “My powers are granted by the full assembly, but I am not among their number. It’s my role to enact the will of the assembly impartially and without reservation, but I have no say in what that entails.”
Valera finally answered the question that had caused all this fuss, but not in the way I was expecting.
“You have correctly devised that I can serve as a divine patron–a fact that I cannot divulge unprompted. Unfortunately, even if asked I cannot reveal any details about what my patronage entails, only that it is allowed. The choice to become my follower must be made blind, and only when finalized will I be able to say more.”
“Why all these restrictions on you? I think I’ve figured out that you’re somehow in your own tier here on the stage, and the closer to the stage floor the more powerful you are supposed to be. Why is the most powerful god here also the most restricted?”
Valera pinched her lips and said nothing, but System replied, “She can’t answer those questions unless you become her follower. Nor is it my place to do so. None here could speak of it even if they wished to, for we are all equally bound to obey the precepts. Once you leave this place, that information will be available to you no matter which god you choose as a patron.”
I let out a frustrated sigh, but I already knew that I couldn't pass this up. The Adversary had, for some unknown reason, dropped exactly enough hints to reveal a hidden option, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to resist taking it.
I suspected that there were other hidden options here as well–the clouds covering everything above the third tier had to be there for a reason. The question was why? What did The Adversary gain by sending Valera a follower? I had to know, and I wasn’t going to find out here.
“Alright, yes, I’d like to be your follower Valera, if you’ll have me.”
The goddess’ smile became positively radiant.