Elneruin the [Archeologist] could almost feel the pain inside of his old bones as he stared at the shattered pieces of Ancient Dwemmer pottery that could be found all over the ruins of the Forbidden Palace. They were now being gathered by his team one fragment at a time, so it would take quite a lot of time and effort for all of the pieces to be puzzled back together.
Of course, the main Palace building had completely disappeared from the face of the earth, with only a giant crater remaining in its place. The recent inexplicable explosion had absolutely obliterated everything near its epicenter, vaporizing any-and-all artifacts that had existed inside of the Palace together with all of the humanoid inhabitants.
Fortunately, the rest of the adjacent buildings had only been leveled to the ground by the air blast instead of simply being turned into ashes, so the old High-Elf and his archaeological team of excavators still had many objects that they could recuperate from the leftover rubble.
They had been called by the leftover Imperial Houses of the three Empires to help dig up the ruins of the Old Forbidden City, since there were quite a lot of valuable items still remaining within the confines of the obliterated city.
Only a team of real professionals would know how to properly evaluate all of the findings and recover whatever had survived, so only specialized staff members like [Archaeologists] or [Treasure Hunters] could be used for the reclamation effort instead of just a bunch of workers.
There were just too many treasures lying around, so the Imperials could not simply drag some of their peasants or household troops over here and dig up the place, since those laymen would not know how to properly handle anything that they found and would cause a lot of precious items to become destroyed in the recovery process. It is why Elneruin and his team had been called upon to dig up the ruins, as they were the most “famous” team of Archeologists active in the East.
When he had first heard about the job, Elneruin had immediately jumped at the opportunity, because after that whole fiasco 20 years ago at the Blue Mountain of Books Sect which had damaged his perfect reputation and discovery streak, a job like this which required no actual exploration or investment of resources could be considered a Godsent gift for the pockets of the entire team.
They only needed to dig up and then bag-and-tag all of the items that they could find, which really wasn't that hard of an effort compared to crawling through the insides of an entire mountain or a Dungeon as a wild gamble.
But once he had personally arrived down here at the site of the explosion, he had indeed felt a huge pain inside of his heart as he had surveyed the entire devastation. Such an ungodly loss of life and valuables!
The Forbidden City had basically been a very well known hoarding site for a large number of special treasures that had been gathered by the greedy Imperials from all over the world across thousands of years. Essentially, it could have been considered a city-wide museum in its own right, but unfortunately, it had now been totally smashed to bits by the horrible blast.
Some items had fared better than other ones, because stuff like weapons and armors or solid-stone statue busts were not things that could be so easily destroyed even though they had been twisted, chipped and damaged, but other items like ornate pottery or paintings and canvases had all been smashed to bits or shredded into tiny little pieces. Some had even caught fire and had turned to ashes, forever being lost to history.
And since the old Forbidden City had been packed quite densely with such items of value, at any moment you could not even take a few steps in any direction without stumbling upon the remnants of some incredibly valuable piece of art or rare artifact.
Of course, this setup had been causing the hearts of all of the present Archaeologists to bleed profoundly, because they were all unfortunate enough to know exactly how precious all of the rare obliterated items had truly been.
Just as Elneruin was trying to puzzle together the remains of a 2000-year-old Imperial embroidery depicting drunken Dragons having an orgy, one of his assistants ran inside of his open-tent while panting.
"Master! You should come and see this! We have found something very unusual right at the center of the blast! We were cleaning up the place of any cumbersome earthly debris when we stumbled upon something that looks like some old gigantic enchanted stones, and the wall is even glowing with runic magic whenever we try to touch it. It looks incredibly ancient and nobody knows what to make of it."
"Old, you say? Exactly how old are we talking about? Honey, come along, we have something new to look at!" The old Elf got up from his chair and then ran out of the tent together with his assistant and his wife, who was also an expert Archaeologist.
"I can't really say, but if I had to guesstimate, pre-Dwemmer by a few thousand years. I can't even recognize most of the glowing runes when they light up, nor any of the languages, so I don’t know!"
"That old? Why the hell is such a thing lying beneath the ruins of the blasted Imperial Palace? What did those damned Imperials fail to warn us about?"
"Actually, considering how thick the Earth layer is on top of these glowing stones, I don't think that even the Imperials knew that it was down here in the first place." Maghda, the Old Elf's wife, began to analyze the site of the strange ruins while brushing away most of the excess Earth with her Geomancy immediately as they arrived in the middle of the blast-pit. "I think that they simply built the entire Imperial Palace on top of the old ruins without even knowing that they even existed. It's only after the blast dislodged an immense amount of earth that these glowing stones got revealed."
"So...how ancient are these things in the end, Master? Do either of you recognize any of the symbols?" The assistant couldn't help but ask while wiping away his sweat.
"Oh...very, very old." Elneruin replied as he began to gloss over the entire protruding magic stone wall section with his monocle."A minimum of 6000 years...no...more likely around 10000 years old, if I am correct about some of these runes."
"Wow...then…"
"Yes indeed… We might have hit the jackpot! Ladies and gentlemen, instead of this entire expedition being a simple artifact recovery job, it seems that it has now turned into an authentic Archaeological research site."
"Oh, honey! How exciting!"
"Yes, my love! This might be our true chance at redeeming our Household name! The Scraperton House may yet regain its former glory! Call everybody that’s not too busy, and tell them to get their arses down here and start digging! I want every brush and spatula clearing away the dirt from this place!"
"Yes, Master! Immediately!" The assistant ran off.
>>
Two days later, the whole team had dug up the entire area, revealing a giant dome of about 20 meters in diameter. The thing had been completely built out of some stupidly-expensive magic stone and it had been rune-enchanted until there wasn’t even a single spot available on any of the rock faces without some sort of a glowing symbol.
While most weapons and armors would not even leave a scratch on the surface, it would take some rather large siege weapons entire weeks of continuous fire to dislodge even a single brick out of the magically-enhanced structure, so whoever had built the damn thing in the first place had created it to last for many, many years.
But the blast which had destroyed the whole Forbidden City had been powerful enough that it had knocked away a few of the stones that made up the top portion of the dome and had left a gash in the whole structure which was now wide enough for a skinny person to squeeze through. Staring down through the gap, only darkness could be seen below.
"Master...are you sure you want to go down there by yourself?" The jittery assistant could not help but ask.
"I’m NOT going alone. Maghda is going to accompany me since she’s also slim enough to fit through the hole. Between the two of us, we should be pretty safe, since we’re both High-Level people."
"Yes, Master, but...I can’t help but having this bad feeling inside of my gut...So...please be careful! I don’t know what the team would do without you!"
"I will! When have you ever seen me take an old ruin lightly? I know that death could lurk around every corner, but how can we call ourselves the best [Archeologist] team in the East if we tremble in front of such things? Maghda, my love, are you ready? Grab the rope and let’s go!"
"Yes, honey, I’m all strapped in." Maghda replied.
"Ok, now start lowering us both to the ruins below, my dear assistant!"
"Yes, Master! Alright, you lazy lot, put your backs into it and tug on that rope properly!" The assistant yelled at the rest of the men that were holding onto the rope.
>>
Once the two Elf Archeologists got lowered into the old ruin, they immediately lit up their personal magic illumination circlets, so they were both giving off a mild yellow light that banished the darkness in all directions.
"BRR! COLD! Why did the ambient temperature suddenly drop so much! I can even see the vapors of my breath!" Maghda complained.
"I think it’s intentional...here...see? It looks like a temperature control formation."
"Ugh...indeed...But for what?"
"We’ll find out as we go in deeper...it does not look like there's anything of significance on this floor."
"Well...after you."
"Hmph...What happened to Ladies First?"
"Not when traps could exist at every step! Now move it. Use one of your earth-golems as a front-scout and as a trap-bait. There’s plenty of fallen dirt around to use as the base material."
"Yes, my love. [Animate Lesser Earth Golem]!"
*RRRummbllle*Dirt and stone coalesce*
"Aw...how cute...you made it with a pair of testicles again! Was that really necessary? Ornaments like that only cost more mana to summon!"
"That may be true, but since the poor guy is scouting ahead, he must have the balls to do his job properly!"
"Hah...you still have not gotten rid of that silly habit of treating your earth golems like your pets? You know just as well as I do that they are only temporary magic constructs and that they can’t feel anything."
"Ah...such a harsh woman...You’ll hurt the sentiments of Mr. Cojones Jr. nr. 10577!"
Just as the little earth golem took a few steps down the hallway, it then triggered some sort of a mechanism that began to scream out with a horrible grinding noise.
*Krkrkrkr*Klong* *SLAM*
Immediately, a gigantic block of stone slid from one side of the hallway and then squashed the little earth golem until it became only thick as a sheet of paper, before retreating back into place.
"Auch...Ok, so deadly traps confirmed. Think you can handle those, love?"
"Pfhah! A mere child’s play! They don’t call me the “Formation Goddess” for no reason! [Telekinesis], [Remote Control], [Alter Runescript], [Disable Rune]!"
"Nobody actually calls you that in our group, you know..." The old Elf could only mumble under his breath.
"Ok...try again...see if it still works."
"[Animate Lesser Earth Golem]!"
*Krkrkrkr*SLAM*SLAM*
"NOO, not you too, Mister Cojones Jr. nr 10578!"
"Ugh, honey...I hope you brought food inside your space ring, because we’re going to be down here for a while...these runes are quite complex…"
>>
6 hours later and 200 extra dead Cojones golems, the two Elves finally managed to reach the innermost part of the whole building, which had turned out to be a very tall tower that grew wider and wider the more they approached the base and had basically been like a Mini-Dungeon all on its own.
While no monsters had been found inside of the tower, the number of traps that the two Elves had encountered everywhere had been quite absurd. Also, all of the furniture and scrolls that had once been all over the tower had all been turned into dust by the merciless passing of time, as all organic matter had slowly decomposed over thousands of years, so nothing was recoverable on that front.
Fortunately, the [Archeologists] both had the [Treasure Hunter] and [Tomb Raider] subclasses which allowed them to use certain items specifically designed to counter all of the traps, so they had managed to successfully disarm or bypass each and every problem so far.
Still, the enclosed room with the poisonous gas or the lightning-emitting hallway had been some of the more hazardous encounters that they had ever encountered in their entire lives, and it had taken every ounce of the old Elves’ ingenuity to get past those contraptions.
It was quite fortunate that Elneruin had been smart enough to carry an Orb of Fresh Air in his ring that had sucked out all of the poisonous fumes, otherwise they would have been choked to death.
But with all of the obstacles removed, the two were now finding themselves in front of two giant doors that basically had a huge amount of danger warnings written in some ancient language all over their surface.
"Only those who are…pure of...kidney...spleen...bladder? No...that’s wrong...pure of...Heart may enter...Hmm…"
"Pfah! Another one of those? If “purity of heart” was a real selection criterion, then 99.99% of all humanoids would fail to enter, since everybody in the world is a selfish asshole ever since they are born!"
"I know...I wasn’t taking it seriously...I was just trying to figure out what was being said on the door."
"Ok...get the golem to push it open then. Even though I sense no traps, it’s safer to just let the critter do it."
"Sure...Stand back, love."
*Creeeeek*Heavy stone door slide*
"Hmm...why is this door placed in such an awkward spot? It’s almost like the original architects were trying to prevent anybody that entered to see what… (*GULP)...OOH...what lies in the...middle...OH...WOW!"
"WOW indeed…!"
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Once the two old Elves finally entered the central room that lay at the bottom of the tower, they stumbled upon an otherworldly sight. Above a very large pool of crystal-clear water that was literally glowing blue from all of the accumulated magic that almost hummed inside of it, a gigantic red crystal hovered in mid-air, seemingly suspended there by some invisible threads as it kept spinning around its own vertical axis. The whole thing looked like an immense diamond-shaped blood-ruby of an irregular shape, looking more like a raw piece of gem rather than a polished end-product.
Once the two got closer, it became obvious that the whole gigantic crystal was in truth composed of a very large amount of smaller crystals that had been all stuck together.
All of the smaller crystals were almost identical in size while also being shaped like tiny little soul-gems, and they were all emitting a strange red light that made the whole gigantic crystal look like it had been dunked in fresh blood.
Unfortunately, right at the top of the whole crystal, a very large crack could now be seen, and from the crack, from time to time, one of those tiny little red crystals that made up the entire gigantic object would fall away and hit the water below then dissolve into raw energy.
"Dear Gods in Heavens above...What is this thing? And look at that crack? Could this object be the hidden culprit behind the explosion of the Forbidden City?"
"I doubt it...This does not seem like that sort of an item. Plus, if this object had been the actual cause of the detonation, it would have been at the epicenter of the explosion, rather than BELOW the whole thing. I think that it is more likely that this entire mountain got built to protect this particular item, instead of the other way around. This entire place stinks of ancient Geomancy."
*Splash*Splash*Splash* The lesser earth golem immediately proceeded to go inside of the magic pool to check if it was safe to enter.
"UGH!"
"What’s wrong?"
"My golem’s summoning duration has suddenly gone up from 30 minutes to an indeterminate number. It’s almost like this particular little Cojones has now become a permanent summon!"
"Hmm? It must be the magic water...it may be fueling its internal energy reserves. Take the thing out of there and check again."
"One second…"
*Splash*Splash*Splash*Splash*
"Oh...Sadan’s balls! Now it shows 1005 years, 5 months, 30 minutes, and 12 seconds before it expires…"
"Wow...now that’s quite something..."
"Indeed...I wonder what will happen if..."*Splash* The old Elf suddenly placed into the glowing pool the tip of one of his feet.
"BE CAREFUL!"
"It’s ok...nothing’s happened so far...it just feels a little bit tingly from all of the magic that’s running through the pool. Also, my Mana is recovering at an insane rate!"
"Honey! Your face…and your hair...! You are growing younger with each passing moment! What the hell is going on?"
"Oh...Really...O...WOW...Indeed...how marvelous! The old Elf stared at his wrinkly old hands which were now visibly turning young again and then regaining their skin elasticity."HAH! Then...this must be the Mythical Spring of Eternal Youth, said to turn back the aging of anybody who touches its waters! I think that the shards which are falling down from the giant crystal over there are imbuing the waters down here with such astounding magic properties! Look! Whenever one of those small crystals falls away from the main one, they immediately dissolve into the waters below and then power it up!
"This is absolutely magnificent! You realize what this item is, don't you? This is the Heart of the Earthmother itself! An item of unfathomable power thought to exist only in the Myths of Creation, the manifestation of the Mother's Heart into the world of mortals! Here...join me…"
"EEEP!" *Splash*Splash*
"Ah...such an amazing effect...you’re growing younger with each passing second...you’re almost as beautiful as the day I met you!"
"This...this is really the Heart of the Earthmother...isn't it?" Magda stuttered while gazing at the giant floating crystal with a complicated look that was now pasted upon her face.
"YES, IT IS! OH...such a wonderful discovery! We’ll surely regain our House’s name and honor with this finding for sure!" The old Elf giggled while he began touching the gigantic red crystal with his youthful hands.
*STAB*
"HIC!...AAA...AAAAA...what...what hit me...did I miss a trap or something? MAGGIE, RUN AWAY! NO...YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" The old Elf began to shout while staring at the glowing green dagger that was now sticking out of his side.
"S...sorry honey, but this information is just too valuable to leak out..." Said Maghda with tears in her eyes while still clutching the pommel of the dagger. "I'm doing this for our children and the future of our house...please forgive me!"
"AAARGH! You! You bitch! You stabbed me! Treacherous venomous hag! I should have abandoned you 45 years ago! I should have left you to rot in the hands of those slavers!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! *STAB* But this is bigger than both of us... Nobody else but the Qin Emperor himself must know about the existence of the Heart! Only Emperor Hongmu will be able to unite all of the three Empires under his banner and get rid of the Ancient Evil!"
"WHAT? You foolish Old Crone! How deep has your family managed to brainwash you? All of your relatives have been kissing the Qin Imperial's asses their entire lives, yet you have no idea what a truly evil man you are serving! The Blood Brotherhood has indeed warned me about the appearance of random idiots like you, yet I did not see the snake right beneath my nose! Don’t assume that I’ve lived for more than 500 years without learning a thing or two! RAAARGH!" The Elf plucked the dagger right out of his bleeding wound. "[Greater Heal] [Panacea]...FUCK...Why isn’t my healing working...YOU...YOU MUSTY OLD TWAT! You used the EVERTOXIN on the dagger! You’re the one that stole it in the first place! You’re negating my healing! BITCH! DIE!"
The old Elf turned the dagger around, then charged his wife with it.
*Stab*Stab*
"You! You stabbed me! AAAAAAAA!"
"You withered old gash! You stabbed me first! Die!"
"Cretin! You will ruin everything!"
"No, you will!"
*Stab*
"[Earthspear]!"
*Shklong*
"[Crushing Earthfist]!"
*Crackle*
"Huff...you...fucking…"
"Eat...dirt...you…little…"
*Slap*
*Stomp*
*Stab*
*Strangle*
"For the Emperor!"
"For the Brotherhood!"
>>
In the end, both Elves now lay dead in the Pool of Eternal Youth, as their blood began to seep away and then taint red all of the pure glowing water. But just as both of the elves were about to draw their last breath, a strange crimson spider made out of coagulated blood and a red-stained paper crane both somehow managed to make their ways out of the Heart Chamber and out of the tower, then head in different directions towards the Han and the Qin Empires independently.
Also, deep in the Chamber, a strange little Earth Golemn with tiny little balls between his legs was now suddenly finding itself a lot more aware of his own existence, as all of the blood from the Elves began mingling with the water then soaking up inside of his earthly frame.
━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━
Up in the Nine Heavens, on the larger moon of Pangerra.
The moment that both the blood spider and the folded paper crane managed to get out of the Heart Chamber then started heading towards the Han and the Qin Empires respectively, Morgan decided that it was about time to call a general meeting of the staff.
Therefore, all of the Angels and all of the Gods up in the Nine Heavens suddenly found their minds being pulled away out of their bodies and then deposited into a grand meeting room the size of an entire stadium. In the middle of the entire edifice, Morgan Aadmin now sat upon a floating golden throne and was using his Greek-like God persona to address the crowds.
"My dear employees and long time visitors. I have pulled you all down here to announce that we have crossed a pivotal point in one of the world-altering quests that were available across the world.
"The Heart of the Mother has been discovered, and all of the three Empires are going to soon find out about it. Of course, because there are some Players involved in the whole narrative, we don't know for sure how long it is going to take until the Quest gets completed, but the durability of the Heart itself has already been set upon a path of no return and it is going to cause the object to shatter eventually. The intervention of the Players is only going to delay or hasten that occurrence.
"But as the Heart is going to get destroyed, it means that the entire planet is going to migrate from the end-period of the Beta Stage One and move onto the early phases of the Beta Stage Two period, the Open Beta Test.
"What this means for everybody down here is that most of your hired-hand contracts are going to expire, and unless our company is going to contact you specifically for the continuation of our collaboration, then you are going to be given the free severance package which we have agreed upon when you came over here in the first place, and then you will be let go.
"That means that most of you are going to get a partial memory wipe and then you are going to be sent down onto the planet as a Fallen Angel of the newly-playable Celestial Race or alternatively, if you so desire, as a Demon or Devil of the newly-playable Fiend Race, and you are going to be given all of the privileges that a “Guest Player” would receive until you encounter a new permanent death.
"After that, our collaboration will permanently end, and your Soul Terminals are going to be set loose and allowed to return to the Omniverse.
"Of course, you are free to purchase any extra modules and options for your own gameplay experience, but those are going to come out of your own pocket if you want them attached.
"Also, you need to bear in mind that there will be a bunch of new Races that are going to get unlocked once the Stage ends so there is going to be a certain amount of overlap with the new Players who are going to come over here during the Second Stage of the Beta. You are not going to be the only people playing the new races.
"As far as the “Gods” positions are concerned, I would like to first thank each and every one of you for being here with us ever since the early stages of the Alpha, and for helping our company build up this entire planet-resort.
"It is sad indeed that I will have to see all of you get removed from your lofty God positions, but you all knew that this was going to happen sooner or later when you first accepted the job.
"Each “Major God” position is going to be shattered down into smaller pieces which are going to be called “Aspects”, and the new influx of Players is going to be allowed to challenge you old farts for those Aspects of your Heavenly Powers.
"Of course, I'm not going to make it easy for either of you or the Players, but I can guarantee that the tests for any sort of Godhood are going to be extremely fair.
"When (and if) you will lose a Minor Aspect of your powers to one of the new Players, then the newcomer will become a “Minor God” in charge of that certain Aspect.
"Once they will ascend to Minor Godship, they will also become eligible to challenge you Big-Shots for your Major God position, and if you also lose your Dominating Aspect to any of them, then they will outright replace you.
"Of course, included in your severance package there is the option of becoming an Archangel once you lose your Major God position to a Player and then remain over here in the Heavens as a member of the staff.
"Or alternatively, you are also given the free choice of going down onto the planet and joining the ranks of the new Players, with all of the optional starter modules that you may desire being given to you freely by our company for your many years of service.
"And considering that you are going to be awarded the same options as all of the other remote Players, you would even have the slim chance of fighting your way back to your former Godly position if you somehow proved to be more skilled than the new Players who have previously dethroned you.
"I also realize that some of your own Champions have been working hard at completing some of these world-changing sorts of quests, and I can assure you that their efforts are not going to be simply get wasted, but rather that their current narratives are going to be modified slightly so that they will all converge towards the same point of conflict on the map and then participate together in the Beta Stage-One’s Final Event.
"Therefore, we have created the few new betting pools in which everybody can participate:
"First, you will be able to bet on which Champion or Player is going to be the first one to complete the world-quest.
"Second, you will be able to bet on which Champion or Player is going to be left alive once the conflict is over.
"Thirdly, you will be able to bet on which one of the Major Gods is going to be the first one to lose an Aspect once the new wave of Players arrives.
"Pff...Hah! Isn't that one obvious? 200000 KP that Rosetta is going to lose her Chastity aspect first!"
"Fuck you, Zhar! You're still holding a grudge that I dumped you a few hundred years ago?" The Goddess of Passions yelled back at the God of Chance. "You should be careful, you have the least amount of Aspects under you out of everybody! Maybe we should make a Fourth betting pool, for who is going to be the first Major God to lose his Dominating Aspect!"
"Approved! And now...added." Morgan acknowledged the idea while fiddling with some of his menus.
"B...but what about my ongoing side projects... I had so many research items going on at the same time... It would be a shame to see all of them go to waste..." Szigonia, the shy little Goddess of Knowledge stuttered.
"Aye, the same goes for my building projects! I still have three major cities and 100 dungeons in the works!" Grundwulf, the stumpy but buff God of Crafting and the husband to the Goddess of Knowledge came to support her inquiry.
"Ulfi, Ziggy, rest assured that all your projects are going to be continued by whoever is going to inherit your position, even if you are both stupid enough to lose it in the first place. Still, it would be wise for both of you to prepare for such an eventuality."
"So, how exactly are the new Players going to be pitted against our minor Aspects? I mean, I don't mean to brag, but I don't think any of them would be able to defeat me in a One vs One match in any of my Aspects, even if our stats, attributes, and skills were all on an equal footing!" Bellingerr, the God of Conflicts couldn't help but ask while flexing his muscles and waving his sword around.
"Aaand there he goes, bragging again...Morgan, you should make sure that one of those Minor Aspects of his is going to be the God of Narcissism, instead of that particular Aspect going to Rosetta." Holbris, the God of Purity, could not help but roll his giant eye that had become the major symbol of his own religion.
"Hah...you're the one to talk? You are both just some self-loving pompous assholes!" Jeezdrassil, the treant God of Growth couldn't help but exclaim while sipping on a virtual Slurpee through a straw.
"Hey, hey, hey, seriously now guys, aren't any of you bothered that we are going to get kicked from our positions? Unlike the rest of you, I worked my ass off to get to my God position!" Vantt, the Goddess of Speed couldn't help but complain.
"Yeah, I know it sucks, but didn't you hear Morgan? Any amount of power that you will lose is going to be your fault, at least if you will suck more than the newcomers at your very own job." Bhalta, the Goddess of Flows added to the discussion. "You had thousands of years of practice time where you could have gotten really good at managing each and every one of your Aspects, so if you are going to lose any of them, you only have yourself to blame for that occurrence."
"Ok...hold on a second, Morgan. You say that the competitions to gain any of the minor Aspects are going to be totally “fair”, but for some of us that have darker Aspects under our jurisdictions, the notion of playing fair would be absolutely ridiculous. How do you expect people like thieves, murderers, assassins, and politicians to play fair?" Dai-Maoh Sadan, the God of the Underworld also inquired about his own problem. "Especially when you are going to release a bunch of Demons onto the surface!"
"Oh, don't worry about that, for such dark Aspects, the competition is going to be about who is going to be able to screw the other guy over the most, or cause the largest number of victims or property damage, instead of being a direct confrontation of either martial skills or wits, like the other competitions for the more “honest” Aspects are going to be.”
"By the way Sadan, your twin bro Sanda sends his regards. He says that you're getting coal again this year as well and that you should kiss his jolly-old red fatass." Jeezdrassil hijacked the discussion with the Demon Lord.
"Grr...Sanda can go screw his Reindeer up the nose. Last year I might have hired a bunch of discount-priced Grinches that behaved pathetically, but this year I upgraded my Grinch Horde to a premium package and I got them all trained and leveled up, so I'm gonna ruin Jeezmass for sure!"
"Why do you have to try and ruin my birthday each and every year in the first place? Also, stop calling them Grinches! They are just a bunch of Orc, Troll, and Goblin mercenaries that dress up funny!" Jeezdrassil couldn't help but protest!
"Well, they are all green and mean, so I called them Grinches. And as far as your birthday is concerned, why did you let Sanda pick his gift-delivery day as the exact same date when you were born?"
"Because we were trying to emulate Earth’s Christmas by doing so...who knew that so many cultural differences would crop up over time...I mean, I don’t think anyone planned for the holiday to be a yearly wartime period against invading snow golems and angry Grinches. It was supposed to be peaceful..."
"You know, Jeez, for someone who has his main body stuck down on the planet and is permanently in touch with his followers, you sure suck profoundly at understanding the minds of the mortals beneath you. People are just a bunch of greedy and prejudiced little bastards, so of course that the whole holiday degenerated into a yearly conflict." Sadan couldn't help but snicker.
"Or maybe I simply choose not to be such a negative Nancy like yourself. While you always see the glass half empty, I always see it half full." Jeezdrassil kept sucking down on his Mesa-Dew cup that never seemed to go below half.
>>
Somewhere on the other side of the room, Ellos the Sun God could not help but facepalm himself at all of the other bickering Gods as he began whispering to Morgan.
"I have no idea how you manage to put up with those numbskulls on a regular basis. I have been in their presence for barely half an hour and I already feel like I'm getting a headache. I'm just glad that such “exquisite” meetings like this one do not occur very often, or I would have quit my position as a God a long time ago."
"Well then, rejoice, you won't have to hold onto that seat for too long. By my estimations, once the new Players arrive, it's going to take from a minimum of 2 years to a maximum of 5 to get rid of the entire Pantheon. While all of them think that they are a bunch of Big-Shots because they have never been defeated so far, it's going to be quite amusing to watch them all get curb-stomped by the newcomers. They aren't nearly as skilled as they think they are."
"That fast? I don't think any of the Gods are simply going to roll over and let some nobodies take over their positions, myself included. They will have to prove themselves to be truly worthy of the position, so I think that the overall number of people that are going to be actually qualified to vie for the positions is going to be abysmally small."
"Sure, it's going to take the best of the best among all of the newcomers, the cream of the crop, but statistically speaking, I think it is inevitable that a few bright spots are going to show up in the end."
"True enough. Then, I'm hoping for the best in that regard. By the way, what are you going to do about Ghaya the Earthmother and Gholl the Unborn, the God of Death? Are their aspects going to be up for grabs as well? I mean, those two aren't real Gods in the first place, they are just some masks for the System and the Soul reincarnation cycle."
"Their Minor Aspects yes, but the Major ones are going to be inaccessible because they are generally required for the stability of the whole System. We really can't afford to have any Players messing around with the reincarnation network."