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“Ah, welcome.”
Akira, Nakai, and Saho entered into what could only be described as a greeting room, at the far side of which was an odd. . . thing standing at a lectern beside a large door.
The thing (for lack of a better descriptor) looked like someone grabbed half of a horse’s skeleton, a quarter of a still-living chimpanzee, and a third of a dolphin’s rotting corpse and mashed them into a boulder until the result resembled something almost presentable.
It glanced at a large book sitting on the lectern using what looked to be at least four mismatched eyes.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please enjoy the celebration.”
The door behind it opened with a light click, and they were ushered through by the thing before the door shut behind them.
The celebration was already in full swing when they arrived, despite it only being a few minutes at most since its beginning.
The room itself was gorgeous. An impossibly huge area reminded Akira of an enclosed, windowed tavern, with a large number of tables set everywhere, holding refreshments and games. The bar appeared to be managing itself, with drinks being poured and glasses being cleaned by the thin air. Multicolored lights shone from the ceiling, and ambient music sounded throughout. The universe shone brightly outside the windows on one side, while on the other there was a deep and gaping nothingness.
A fair proportion of the guests Akira could identify as gods, her touch radiating from them easily despite their disguises. The others (likely demons) felt almost empty– like they were missing something vital in their very being.
“My lady,” Nakai began. “what exactly is our plan—“
“A plan you say?” An unfamiliar voice piped in. The speaker, a demon wearing a forest green garment, had an airy, smooth, and almost immaterial voice. Their words weren’t in any language Akira recognized, but somehow the meaning was still discernible. “If you’re going to scheme,” it continued, “I’d recommend joining them.”
The demon gestured with a scarflike tendril that emerged from a fold in the cloth toward one side of the room, where a decently large group comprised of a fairly even split of gods and not-gods appeared to be playing a strategy-based game. It was hard to tell who was winning, but it looked to be fairly lighthearted if the laughs (and strange sounds that could have been laughs) were anything to go by.
Nakai did not respond, evidently shocked into silence by the sudden appearance of the demon.
“Oh. My sincere apologies for interrupting. I’ll be on my way.” The demon bowed slightly, and floated away, towards the group it had pointed towards, humming a strange tune.
Nakai shook their head and then continued. “My lady, what exactly is our plan here?”
Akira glanced around the room.
In one corner, an enormous humanoid demon that towered above every other guest sat cross-legged near another group, appearing to be conversing deeply with two gods (Kaito and Mei if Akira was correct) alongside another, smaller, demon wearing a red and gold robe.
Kaito and Mei’s daughter was speaking to another not too far away from them, seemingly unperturbed by what was very clearly a demon given its disproportionally top-heavy stature, five glowing eyes, and six long arms.
Gods were scattered throughout the room and interacting with demons freely. The letter had evidently scared all in attendance into adopting a temporary peace, but Akira was not so foolish to believe that it would last. Perhaps she was being pessimistic, but it was more than likely that tensions would rise, and eventually a guest would snap and forget the rule.
She did not know if the Dark One would intervene or not, but she certainly would not allow such a thing to happen if she could help it.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Keep things orderly,” Akira said. ”And. . . maybe have some fun.”
Saho and Nakai nodded and moved away. Saho moved toward the table the demon had pointed toward, and Nakai toward another group, nearer to the edge of the enormous room.
Akira, after a moment’s thought, started for the refreshments. The bar looked particularly lively.
she wasn’t about to turn down a good drink.
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The words emanating from the conversation Nakai approached gradually became more understandable the closer they got.
Before, it sounded like half the conversation was being held by a hive of wasps and two wolves bleeding out, but closing the distance made the strange, almost disgusting noises suddenly gain meaning.
The discussion seemed to mainly concern the mechanics of divine ascension, presumably as the guests attempted to figure out how orcs managed to conjure a god from belief without anyone figuring out that they had begun to worship a being (presumably) separate from the Dark One.
There appeared to be two separate groups, one of which argued in the specifics of how it happened, while the other pored through several large tomes that were assumedly about the topic at hand, occasionally giving information they had uncovered to the arguers. Now and then, an arguer would ask a researcher a question, which would be replied by a moment of page-turning, followed by an answer.
After a few moments of watching and contemplating, Nakai decided. They picked up one of the tomes that the researchers had placed on a nearby table and began leafing through it.
Their only acknowledgment was a glance and nod from the participants, which Nakai returned.
Time passed quickly with new information being continually added to the growing discussion, and Nakai had scarcely felt so understood.
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As Saho approached the table, the conversation became more understandable.
At a distance, the words were garbled, like half the people in the group were speaking in different languages, words being mixed and meanings being lost. Up close though, even though it was clear that multiple languages were being used, he felt like he could perfectly understand what was being said, even if the words themselves meant nothing to his ears, like the voice of the floating demon that had spoken before.
A glance from one of the players– a god he believed– had Saho being dealt a hand of cards and a seat. Just like the languages, Saho seemed to find himself instinctually knowing the basics of the game, even though the cards themselves were not something he had ever seen before, much less played.
“The fall of the beastkin royalty of Akyse was rather saddening I suppose,” a white-cloaked humanoid demon continued, their sharp voice clear as they placed down a card. “But I believe that the reaction to it was worse.”
A nearby god hummed in agreement. “Very much so. Even despite the population loss, it wasn’t as though they had lost a part of their personhood. Now they need to recover their status as well as their population.”
“I do not foresee such happening soon.” Another god said. Though their face was covered in wrapped fabric, it seemed to contort in displeasure and anger. “They have been set back a great deal. Even though so little time has passed, it could take hundreds of years for recovery. Even more so for orcs, goblins, and skaven.”
The table seemed to agree, although some seemed somewhat tentative.
“It’s a shame interaction is so highly controlled.” The first god mused, placing a card on the table. ”The restrictions are for a good reason, I understand, but they allow for this kind of injustice.”
“Injustice to be punished given time,” spat the wrapped god. “I can scarcely wait. . .”
“One must wonder why the rules even exist,” a demon interjected. “Why be granted the power to change things if the cost of that power is the inability to use it?”
“I think the point is that the gods must guide mortals rather than rule them.” Heads turned to Saho at his words. “If gods control the affairs of mortals outright, why have mortals at all?”
“Perhaps,” the floating cloaked demon that had interrupted Nakai said. “Though I would not mind having a mortal to guide during my mission. It gets lonely being alone.”
Many of the demons at the table laughed softly, but Saho felt both himself and some of the other gods tense. A mission. What possible mission could a demon have where it would be completely isolated?
“All games are meant to be played, my friend,” the white-cloaked demon tittered at a god who had yet to play their turn. “One cannot expect it to play itself.”
“How wise,” the floating demon hummed, something new in its voice. “Though I would argue there is an exemption for games played in the dark.”
Most demons again broke into quiet laughter, while some gods chuckled nervously at the joke. A small number of the guests at the table seemed to straighten as if suddenly seeing each other for the first time.
“It is most refreshing,” began an enormous, black-cloaked demon with blade-like limbs. “To be among others who think alike.”
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