INTERLUDE 5
“Another emergency meeting?” SUPREME asked in annoyance. “Why are you all insisting on making this competition so difficult?”
GOBUS roiled and seethed. Her gaseous body communicating what she thought of the accusations present in their adjudicator’s tone. “It’s not me. Its MAKROS and FAMES acting beyond the rules. In this case they tore them up, bathed them in demonic fire and then punted the ashes into a black hole.”
“That’s dramatic and unhelpful language.” MAKROS radiated amusement. “And for the record, I did nothing of the kind. I just directed my champion’s rewards for winning the trial to where they would do me the most good. Unlike how you soft GOD’s work, my people are not granted the right of self-determination. She does not get a say if I don’t wish it and despite the theatrics I didn’t break a single rule.”
“You also cheated in the trial itself.” DEUS observed. “The stunt with the wing was not unnoticed.”
“What stunt? I saw a wasteful underpowered use of a divine intervention. The fabric of reality was hardly altered by it.”
“But where did the intervention come from? And why?” DEUS interrupted. “Its presence, at that critical moment is suspect. You certainly didn’t have one to spare.”
“I didn’t intervene. That was all FAMES, and I formally object to his meddling. Luckily it was minor, or my language might be more severe. It was just the slightest change to the static coefficient of friction over an area no larger than a dragon’s talons.”
“You lie. Without that, your champion would have died.” GOBUS interrupted. “And given the divine nature of the trial, and its undisputed importance, that induced action had a larger impact than a single intervention is allowed to have.”
“You robbed other competitors of ranking points, experience and lootable material with your actions.” DEUS said.
“I’m wounded.” MAKROS replied, amused. “You would have my champion cut up and sold for parts. You would have your species eat the flesh of another sapient and her scales shaped into armour. Sister, surely that crosses into the realm of evil for ones of their mortality. Would you truly do that to them?”
“I would and they should receive the materials they would have gained, if not for your dodgy actions.”
FAMES scoffed. “No, this is farcical. I will not stay silent while my brother is unfairly maligned. Was this ridiculous emergency meeting really called because two of you objected to small scale physics alterations?”
“Three,” WADOR interrupted. “I agreed that this was required.”
“Seriously, we’re here because some of you were annoyed at me for changing friction slightly? It seems like a massive over reaction. Did the intervention directly hurt any of your people? It didn’t. So, I don’t see why this would be a problem.”
Deus stared the two culpable GODs down. “We are here to object to the final outcome and the series of illegal steps used to get there.”
“The intervention was used to unfairly claim the trial reward…” GOBUS started.
“Why would you care?” MAKROS interrupted. “Your champion was not harmed by my dragon grabbing the first-place reward.”
“It’s the principal,” GOBUS growled. “And what you did after. Custom demands that the trial challengers heal themselves. It is how it has always been done. The GODs are not allowed to intervene! That tradition is sacrosanct. If they are mortally injured, then they die in the rewards room. We have never been able to choose rewards on their behalf to save them. It is a hard rule that has cost me thousands of people in the past.”
“And I have lost hundreds of thousands.” DEUS agreed. “The restriction is one that is beyond challenge.”
“Bah, I dispute that,” MAKROS responded dismissively. “It was not a rule only a tradition. Flouting a convention no matter old might be considered rude but hardly worth an emergency meeting.”
“I disagree,” SUPREME interrupted his voice harsh. “And you should have known better… While this custom is not technically a rule that’s been written anywhere. This is a tradition we’ve held for a long time. It’s inviolable. It’s greater than a mere law. I will not condone it being broken.” The GOD paused and studied the divine being across from him and then snorted, sounding amused despite everything. “In fact, looking at you I can see that you understood exactly what you were doing. As much as you protest, all your actions were designed to force this meeting.”
“And to witness my fellow gods, my friends, blustering amusingly in disbelief.”
“A dangerous game MAKROS,” SUPREME observed.
“Very,” DEUS agreed. “And now we need to deal with the consequences of your actions. The dragon’s nominal victory in the race must be voided. MAKROS I’m sure will claim it was merely a slight change to friction, but the real-world after-effects are more than that. It effectively turned her loss into a win. That outcome has to be reversed. That has deprived my people of points. A divine intervention is not supposed to have that level of power.”
“I did this.” FAMES interrupted. “And I reject the inference that I did something wrong. MAKROS’s later actions may be suspect, but mine were above board. I wanted the friction to change just to see the chaos that it would cause. It was a minor twist and no worse than what SANATORES did with his so-called curse.”
“It that’s a problem, then let’s remove it. It was always against my wishes.” DEUS stated firmly. “The intentions of its application might have been positive, but it interferes with Tom’s growth.”
“So you say,” FAMES interrupted. “But I’m sure what I did was against MAKROS wishes as well. He is almost assuredly furious at me for interfering with one of his champions.”
“That I am, that I am,” MAKROS agreed with absolutely no attempt to make it sound convincing.
“The divine intervention needs to be stricken,” Deus insisted. “Even MAKROS agrees it was inappropriate.”
“I didn’t say that,” MAKROS argued. “FAMES has a right to do those experiments. It’s done and the impact on me is not large enough for me to try to get it changed.”
“It was a misuse of the ability,” DEUS continued, ignoring her fellow GOD. “They were intended for communication and not to have this level of influence.”
“Request denied,” SUPREME said, sounding tired.
“Why would you make that ruling?” she asked in disbelief.
“It broke no norms. In terms of the power expended it was minor. Given that divine interventions have been used in the past to warn of life ending threats, obfuscate individuals from scrying to prevent them being killed by those tracking I didn’t think playing with friction was particularly significant.”
“It changed the results of a cornerstone trial for this competition.”
“DEUS, I understand your annoyance, but FAMES actions are within the rules. If MAKROS had been the one to intervene, you might have had a case. Not a good one and I would have almost certainly still ruled against you. But you would have had one. As it is nope. The intervention was legal.”
“The action was at MAKROS’s directions.”
“Officially, it wasn’t. Just like with Tom’s curse.”
“I had nothing to do with that. And I would’ve voted for it to be removed.”
“Since Tom’s dead, this is hardly a productive conversation. Furthermore,” SUPREME continued, ignoring her. “You could have countered the intervention in real time if you so wished rather than relying on a meeting like this to address it.”
“So you’re ruling the intervention was legal, but the healing of the dragon was not?” DEUS said cautiously. “She remains dead, and the intervention robs my people of some rewards.”
“That is correct.”
“Then this meeting can be closed.” DEUS said. “Continuing serves no purpose.”
“That doesn’t have to be the case.” MAKROS interjected quickly. “We are all GODs here. There is nothing stopping us from finding a mutually agreeable solution.”
“And the reason why MAKROS forced the need for this meeting is revealed.” SUPREME said, laughing.
“Let it go MAKROS. No one is giving you back your most powerful toy.” DEUS told him. “You have lost.”
“DEUS why the hostility? I said deal, not give. We can make an agreement to allow the healing to occur in a sanctioned manner.”
“No. I’m not going to allow that to happen,” SUPREME interrupted. “She is dead. GODs are not allowed to intervene with a mortally wounded person in a reward room.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that.” MAKROS said hurriedly. “You have already made it clear that the rule will not change. No, instead I was about to suggest a deal to allow trial rewards to be directed at reviving those who have died. Think of it, Deus, you can let all of your precious humans live again.”
“I will not support that.” Deus said. “She is dead, and her points must disappear with her.”
“We can do a grand agreement.” MAKROS continued unperturbed. “Pretend that everyone went in with a god shield. All of your little humans would survive and WADOR’s and GOBUS’s champions as well. We can all prosper.”
GOBUS flashed his confusion. “Why would any of us agree with that? It favours you severely.”
“No, not like you think. If the god’s shield is triggered, then they forfeit all of their rewards. It means the trial becomes a disaster for me. My champion walks away with nothing and has wasted months of her time. While some of my competitors have grown and become more powerful.”
“No, I will never vote for that.” Deus said.
“SUPREME she’s being unreasonable. You can change the requirements to six votes rather than seven.”
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The arbiter of the entire competition thought for a moment. “No. The rules of the trial were set before it started. It was explicitly stated that god shields were not going to be used. Given that, a unanimous vote will be needed to alter the conditions.”
“Then we can do a tweak, instead,” MAKROS suggested. “Adding a new category which would allow reward points to be used to revive anyone who died in the trial.”
DEUS went to speak, but the other GOD focused before she could. Information flowed between him and SUPREME and DEUS’s interjection stopped like it had never begun.
SUPREME had granted MAKROS the right not to be interrupted.
“Such a change is bending not breaking any rules. I would have thought a simple majority should be sufficient to approve it and the same individuals could at the same time allow the GODs to spend any earned points on behalf of their champions. Shall we vote.”
Four nos rang out with FAMES unsurprisingly voting with MAKROS.
DEUS regarded SANATORES. “You betray life by taking this path. Many more will die from this action than you will save. Granting a revival to the dragon is a mistake against life itself.”
“My vote stands.”
MAKROS was almost boiling with sudden confidence. “Then I need to convince just one more of you to vote for me. It seems you have lost DEUS. You are welcome to withdraw your resistance to the grand bargain. I will still support that. We can all walk away without any of our champions dying.”
“Why would you offer that? If you think you have the votes to win with this approach? Why aren’t you pressing the advantage?”
MAKROS didn’t respond.
DEUS let her body swirl in intricate patterns as she examined him. “I see. You are unsure if you can get this new proposal through, and you believe that being seen to be reasonable will improve those chances. I understand the self-interest. Generosity costs you nothing. You are the primary beneficiary of both of these plans by so much it is ridiculous. The cost of offering me something is so miniscule against the benefit you stand to get that it makes sense to be magnanimous.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, to what MAKROS?”
“You can work that out yourself. The god shield change do you accept?”
“No.”
“Then my next offer goes to GOBUS. You know that my and FAMES champions finished first and second, respectively. If you agree to this plan, our combined points will be used first to revive my dragon and then next your champion. There will be left over rewards after that, and I would propose they are gifted to the humans and wador but locked for resurrection only. Actually, the overflow can go to the wador, providing they agree to put their small amount into the mix. With the overflow after that going to the humans… That means the only species that can get actual prizes are the humans… and only then if they’re willing to leave their companions dead.”
GOBUS looked thoughtful. “You would have your allies on this issue. Both FAMES and SANATORES obtain nothing? And DEUS almost as little.”
“For the sake of getting your agreement, yes.”
“GOBUS you can’t seriously be considering this.” DEUS interrupted. “You get a penny, and he gets a thousand.”
“It’s a penny I would not otherwise receive,” GOBUS answered. “But no. The offer is not sufficiently valuable for me to accept.”
“You understand if you decline that I will offer a similar bribe to WADOR and DEUS next.”
“They and INNECTIS will not change their minds.” GOBUS replied. “My formal answer remains no. You are not offering enough.”
MAKROS paused clearly surprised by the refusal. “Then I will throw in a favour as well. A truce between my people and yours for the duration of the competition.”
“That’s going too far.” DEUS snapped. “SUPREME, this is getting beyond ridiculous. You have to intercede.”
“Agreed,” WADOR said. “I raise that MAKROS be sanctioned for that offer.”
“Seconded,” DEUS chimed in.
“Friends do favours for friends.” MAKROS said innocently. “I wasn’t…”
“You were,” SUPREME interrupted. “The proposed deal was a step too far. You may not provide it, and I’ve placed a mark against you.”
MAKROS did not seem to be too concerned by that outcome. “Fine. I will guarantee that she won’t go after your people. I will make it clear to her and her alone leaving your race in peace was a condition of her revival. FAMES and I will also grant you a major favour. Is that acceptable SUPREME?”
“It is.”
“That sounds like a lot., but it’s not enough for me to change my vote.” GOBUS told him.
“If you agree,” FAMES interceded. “I will use my people’s rewards in the third trial to revive your champion there. It means instead of you having lost two of your three strongest you would have instead suffered no losses.”
“Unacceptable.” DEUS said, but there was no conviction in her voice. “He can’t offer that can he?”
SUPREME shrugged unconcerned. “If the changes proposed go through as they have flagged, then there is no reason that can’t occur.”
DEUS turned to GOBUS. “Please don’t accept. This is a false bargain. He is still getting far more out of this than you are.”
“It gives your people a better chance of getting third.” MAKROS pointed out. “It’s not false. It’s a real tangible value for you and only provides you with benefits.”
“At the cost of potentially locking the dragons into first and the misery and destruction that will go with that.”
“And GOBUS,” MAKROS continued, ignoring DEUS. “This is your last opportunity. You won’t get a better offer and if you refuse, then I’ll give equivalent terms to the others and one of them will say yes. I’ll get what I want, and you would have lost two of your three strongest assets for nothing.”
“We won’t accept that offer.” DEUS said with confidence. “Will we WADOR?
The other GOD was conspicuously silent and GOBUS noticed that lack of assent.
“Fine, I agree.” GOBUS stated and turned to DEUS. “You could have agreed to the god shields and everyone would have been happy. MAKROS gave you that choice. You losing was because of your own stubbornness.”
“It was a false bargain.” She said. “And you’ve made a mistake. I can’t stress the future cost associated with letting her live. It’s a catastrophic blunder.”
“It was in my interest. Two champions revived, two major favours, and the dragon cannot seek revenge. It was a good deal for me.”
“But at what cost?” DEUS drew back, signalling her annoyance and that she didn’t want to talk to them anymore. “If this travesty of a process is complete, let us end this.”
“It is done,” MAKROS said smugly. “We are agreed.”
“No, it’s not done.” SUPREME interjected.
“It is, done,” GOBUS and DEUS said almost simultaneously.
“End this farce,” DEUS continued.
“No, not until I give it my rubber stamp.” SUPREME shot DEUS a glare. “And aren’t you changing your tune quickly.”
“The majority has spoken.” GOBUS said simply. “I won’t change my vote.”
“To prevent future arbiter interference, I will consider voting to maintain the original agreement.” DEUS supported him.
“Same,” Wador agreed.
“Funny that.” SUPREME glowered at the two of them. “It’s almost like the three of you agreed on how to game this in advance.”
None of them disagreed with that accusation.
. a rumble of noise to show his annoyance, SUPREME turned his attention back to the other side. Those three would not support him. “MAKROS are you sure about this? I’m happy to void the previous vote.”
“The vote stands.”
“Are you sure? I mean, this is a gamble by you. If you proceed with a basic majority vote, then I will have to give them full compensation.”
“Of course I know the rules! But ensuring she lives is worth it.”
“And that compensation might be used to erode your position. They know your play, your cards are visible on the table and because they have the information, they can you use the bonus resources to directly counter you.”
Lightning crackled warningly in MAKROS. “The votes been carried. Don’t overstep the bounds of your authority. You’re an arbiter, you don’t get to dispute a collective decision.”
“No, but I have a right to question and I will do so. Don’t you think it’s suspicious that DEUS suddenly switched to supporting this outcome?”
MAKROS stared intently at the GOD, questioning him. “She is fickle and manipulative. I’ve learnt not to look too closely at her actions due to her propensity to mislead.”
“Brother, I beg you to reconsider this.” SUPREME’s frustration was almost boiling over. “This is an intervention. As an arbiter, doing my job, I need to caution you. I know you’ve saved a lot for this competition. I know you’ve invested the savings from dozens of previous ones, taking losses to shore up your reserves. I know you have a large war chest. But if a devourer gets established within a universe, you cut off the universe and abandon it to its fate. You don’t keep investing in it.”
MAKROS laughed. “Devourer? My situation is not so dire. I will win this.”
“I’m worried about a break.” Silence deadened at that pronouncement and the tension in the room ramped up many fold. The very air crackled with so much energy that magical items crackled into existence where air currents met and then were torn apart just as quickly. “I’m worried about a break.” SUPREME repeated.
“Me. You’re worried about me.” MAKROS said, sounding shocked.
However, from the colouring of everyone present, no one was willing to dispute the assessment. Even FAMES appeared to acknowledge the truth of the statement.
“I’m not going to break.”
SUPREME stared sadly at him. “You are at risk. You’ve put half your savings into this already and you’re going to have to counter whatever ploy DEUS and WADOR turn their compensation too, which will soak up more. Then if anything goes wrong, you’ll lose and if that happens, you’ll break. Look around you. All of your brothers and sisters agree.”
“It’s a moot point. My war chest will guarantee me a win.”
“Brother, how much of your accumulated stockpile did you lose in this competition trial gamble? We’re less than a year in and you’re already haemorrhaging resources. Yes, you’ve reversed the direct failure, but at what cost? What is Deus going to do with her extra freedom?”
“Humans are weak. What could they possibly do?”
“Enough that I need to make this intervention,” SUPREME told him in a tone that if he was human, would also correspond to pulling out his hair. “You have to understand what I’m saying. None of us were surprised by you making your run in this particular competition. We expected it. This competition was an energised one, and you had record reserves. We knew what was coming. Everyone but DEUS prepared a species that can survive and potentially flourish even if they get a low rank in the competition. They all knew and pretty much conceded to you and fames. They gave up a chance to create a pillar species to give their sponsored races a chance. All but DEUS she ended up with humans. Weak but weird. A very strange choice which has an unprecedented ability set. Pre-competition, they were viewed as a nothing entry, but they possessed an innate ability that has nullified our forecasts accuracy. We now know they are a threat. She is not playing the same safe game as the rest of us. DEUS is not playing the safe game! Can’t you conquer your rage for a moment and consider why?”
“Are you as the arbiter telling me she’s invested external resources into this competition?”
“You know I can’t confirm that. Assume what you will.”
“I will assume not then.”
“Then you’re an idiot.”
“Is that confirmation?”
“No. As I already said, I can’t disclose that information even through a guessing game.”
“So, what you’re giving me is speculation? You want me to roll over and show my belly? To give up, despite what I’ve invested in this. To surrender out of what? Fear?”
“You risk a break and this is not a competition for you to gamble everything on. The human species variability makes the risk too high. Nothing is worth you dying.”
“But your assumption rests on the ludicrous idea I can lose. This is called a competition, but it’s not one. My win is already guaranteed.”
“And if you fail, you’ll break.”
“SUPREME you overstep your role.” DEUS interrupted.
“I’m not doing this as part of my role. I do not want to see one of us break!”
“I will win.”
“See!” DEUS said smugly. “There’s no need for your intervention. He will win!”
“DEUS you can’t be doing this.”
She glanced at him, her expression sad. “I won’t say I don’t understand your emotions. Because I definitely do. But sometimes the greater good is a pathway lined with glass. And it doesn’t matter because humans deserve a chance of a future and as always I’ll do everything I can to make my people a future.”
“You’d sacrifice a brother.”
“Sometimes the path to greater good is lined with glass.”
“DEUS you can’t speak like that.”
“SUPREME the die is cast. He won’t yield, and nothing you can say will convince me to sacrifice humans. If you want to be proactive, get the others to give humans a path that ensures second place, and then I’ll work on your agenda.”
“They won’t do that.”
“Because they feel the same way about the greater good.”
“I’m begging you all. This is a potential break.”
The storm clouds that were DEUS’ body constricted, indicating that the discussion was closed. No one else raised their voice in support, either.
SUPREME shifted his focus. “MAKROS please I beg you, listen to what she didn’t say. She has a plan to beat you even with the resource you’re investing.”
“I only hear desperation. A bluff to make me surrender. Her normal trickery.”
“This is ridiculous. Someone, anyone, I beg you to help me knock sense into him.”
“There is nothing you can do.” SANATORES interrupted. “Look at him. He has made up his mind. Despite the risk of a break. He believes he is guaranteed to win. That is why he is in danger. We are powerless to change things.”
Past history hung in the air with the healer’s words. It was possible FAMES and INNECTIS did not understand because they were younger, but the older ones did.
SUPREME hesitated. Then sighed. “Well, I guess the meeting is over.
“There is one other thing,” FAMES interrupted. He shot DEUS a smug triumphal look. “I have reviewed the memories of my champion’s death and Tom had a skill he had no rights to possess. I demand knowledge of why?”
“You may not have it.” SUPREME said simply. “I was informed of it, and it was obtained legally.”
“Was it a hidden title? And if so, what on Existentia could he have done to get it?”
“FAMES, if it is a hidden title, it has that status for a reason. I’m not about to share details of it with you.”
“I understand.” FAMES sounded smug. “But we are all aware of its presence, if not its capabilities and name. His revival costs must reflect the value of the title.”
There was a pause, and then SUPREME indicated his assent.
The meeting broke apart.