As soon as Apachui had finished speaking, gods all around the chamber began disappearing in extravagant blazes of light, barely concealing roiling emotions beneath their glamorous façade. None wanted to lose face before the Conclave by declaring this for what it was - impossible. Taluan calls mortals fickle, I thought with a hint of amusement hidden far better than my siblings had managed to. This announcement had not been a surprise to me; Apachuil had treated me as a confidant before calling this Conclave, knowing how close I had been to our father. He thinks there must be something special about me, for why else would I have been so endearing to Tlamanuanil, the most powerful being in existence?

Myself, I am not so convinced. More likely Tlamanuanil had preferred spending time with one of his few siblings displaying very little hubris. Even now, I think I am the only god who truly remembers Tlamanuanil's teachings: the pursuit of truth and love for all beings. We were so obsessed with rivalling our father's prowess with the art of creation that we found ourselves being consumed by the very emotions we decried as mortal, beneath us. For the time being, greed and vanity had not split us apart. We were still bound together by our rites of secrecy, of loyalty to the cause.

I tore myself from troubling thoughts and directed my attention back at the gathering. Six gods remained, including Apachuil and myself. The gods who had stood out to me from the start - creators of unrivalled skill, excluding the 'reforger'. They looked like they had no intention of going anywhere. I felt distinctly uncomfortable beneath those cavernous arches, unsure whether I should turn and flee into the all-encompassing void. However, my loyalty was to Apachuil and the future of Tlamanuanil's universe. And to myself, of course. I had not entirely escaped the hubris which plagued my other siblings.

'What is the meaning of this? You did not tell us that this was what you were planning!' Nahua's voice was outwardly calm, but I sensed clear undertones of rage and betrayal. Mastering her emotions had never been her forte. Perhaps that was why she focused on destruction rather than creation.

Harithi looked unimpressed by the vehemence of Nahua's outburst, but said more passively, 'My sister is right. We were told nothing of this.'

'We must stick together, brother,' Taluan added. 'We are stronger together. Stronger than the masses.'

'We are stronger,' agreed Aikinilisti, glancing at his sister. Taluan shot him an unreadable look, and he returned it swiftly. Aikinilisti was a fool if he thought he could manipulate Taluan; she was smart enough to counter his manipulation and fiercely opposed his selfishness. Stronger together represented her views well, and Aikinilisti was a detriment to that.

Wisely, I remained silent. I could tell Apachuil was set on his path. I could only hope he knew how he was to achieve it.

Apachuil considered his siblings gravely for a moment, then sat back on his crystal throne. 'Yes, I did not tell you. Why? If word spread of such an ambitious project, there would doubtless be dissent. If this dissent was allowed to fester in the hearts of the Sons and Daughters, I would be unable to inform them of my plans without their ill conceived judgements hindering their ability to consider my words.'

'Do you not trust us, then?' Nahua demanded angrily.

'Of course I trust you, sister. I trust every god, every Son or Daughter of Tlamanuanil. We are beyond such things as dishonesty and wild emotion. We are strong in our knowledge and our ability to wield our knowledge benevolently, with the application of logic and thoroughness. We stand for order, not chaos.' Nahua grimaced and fell silent, probably taking that as some sort of insult. I knew that Apachuil did not intend it as such, more a gentle reprimand. He believed that age would grant Nahua self control. He was ultimately very wrong indeed.

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'Now, we must get onto more pressing matters.' Everyone looked surprised; they assumed that they had stayed of their own volition, out of a desire to reason with Apachuil. They were unaware, but the leader of the Conclave had known what they would do long before they would do it. Tlamanuanil's children were, if nothing else, forever predictable. Change does not come often to gods' psyches, but when it does the god themselves can transform radically. In this age of serenity and unity, change was unheard of. It was clear that the most powerful of the Conclave would stay behind in an attempt to assert themselves over Apachuil, for one reason or another. Apachuil had foreseen this, and manoeuvred them precisely where he wanted them.

'As you may know, securing our hold over the collapsing plains was not executed in an entirely... reproducible way.' That reminder of Apachuil's superior courage and dedication was enough to shut his siblings up. 'Some of you will have noticed that I was absent during the creation of many worlds, only appearing occasionally to oversee a few important creations. During my solitude, I have been working on a solution: a vessel to replace my body, one suitable to hold vast reserves of power for the construction and maintaining of planes. An ocean of energy, easily accessible at will, with no side effects for the wielder.

'I have crafted a vessel of gargantuan proportions, existing in the heart of the void, knitted together from the fabric of reality. The decaying properties of its location will have no effect on it, for it is in an entirely different dimension. It is untouchable, except by us. This vessel will enable us to craft this new world and forge the race of beings which will manage our worlds in our absence. It will enable us to create so much life.' Apachuil's passion was clear on his noble features, in his outstretched arms, and his glistening eyes. His expression flickered and was once more smooth and calculated.

'Of course, it will require you to replenish it with power.'

The shock on my siblings' faces was rapidly replaced by outrage.

'You want us to share our power? You want us to give up our power? The masses can contribute to this. Let them drain each other bare,' snarled Aikinilisti. For once, no one looked shocked at the chaotic emotion being displayed.

'This is madness, Apachuil!' Nahua exclaimed, a dark aura surrounding her. The essence of destruction. This was more disconcerting to the others, but they tried to ignore it.

Taluan looked concerned and doubtful. For all of her talk of standing together, she would not have wanted this. No one would. Harithi's unblemished face was openly conflicted, and the initial outrage was draining from it. He was the first to realise what this meant.

'If we do not go ahead with this, who will offer up their body as a vessel next time we need it?' I did not realise I had spoken aloud until five sets of eyes turned to stare at me. Unbridled hate resonated in two of them. Apachuil regarded me approvingly then drew everyone's attention away from me, to my relief. Never had I experienced such raw emotion coming from other gods. Well, once before. But I will not think of that. Apachuil's siblings were truly unbalanced by what was being suggested to them, and he knew it.

'Calm yourselves, brothers and sisters, calm yourselves. There will obviously be fail-safes built into the vessel, and the Conclave will control who wields what power. For the first stages of the construction of Venarith, we six will provide the energy for the vessel. Later, when we can be sure it is functioning efficiently and all arguments can be eliminated, I will reveal it to the rest of the Conclave, and then the rest of the gods.'

'Venarith?' Taluan inquired.

'That is what our new creation will be named. The world of Venarith. The Venarinthine people will be the first of the human race. So, are we agreed?'

Apachuil took the heavy silence as a yes, and stood for the second time. Without waiting to see if he said anything else, my brothers and sisters vanished in blinding infernos, until only Apachuil and I remained.

'You have done a good thing, brother,' I managed to say, before my nerve failed me and I fell backwards into emerald mist, leaving Apachuil's plane behind.