15: Silencing squabbling

After a bit to eat for lunch, the group headed out to a small area to meet those annoying they had encountered yesterday. Garion wished to avoid being drawn into that, but they had agreed.

Once all five had joined their group, Drenak told them “It might be best if we used an empty room for this.”

Heading inside they discovered the first 3 classrooms were already in use. Let’s see, drug den, sex spot and gambling den. Ooh, a dung grubler doing a drunken striptease while losing! Wait . . . this soon after class?

. . . Had they even attended class, or were they still going from the night before?

Anyway, they found another room and they sat down in their three groups.

Drenak told them “Your fighting and its cause is nothing new. I have seen it thousands of time. This is why I try to avoid politics and getting followers. I can’t stand this crap!”

From his tone of voice he was more than done with this garbage already.

Facing the groups he told them “What is happening to you is but part of a cycle that repeats over.

“What happens is the Deities of a world have a focus for their faith, but are worried about other Deities move in on the sub-Domains, or they want to expand the ones they have control over. Each of the Deities has a focus for their followers, but what about the parts of their Domains that are not of their focus? What about the Justice who teaches people to seek justice via the law or stopping evil as it happens? What about those who seek vengeance and wish to murder the ones who greatly wronged them? The God of Justice opposes cold blooded murder, even for Justice, expressly if it is fuel by hate. To make a Demi-god of that Domain means to claim influence over it, which would go against his teachings. However, if one of his children started killing evil people like that? Well, it was their choice. Ooh, someone starts raising Revants to kill those who wronged them? Still that ones choice. The fact it takes followers away from the Gods of Hate, Murder and Undeath is officially just chance.

“Other Deities have their own children with their own minor Domains to compete against the children of others and weaken the other Deities.

“They kill each other, and the ruling Deities tend to favor it, for as the lesser fight each other, it means they are too busy to oppose them. And if they get into a fight with another Pantheon, they have plenty of battle fodder that can take away niche groups in the other side’s worshipper base.”

The look of revulsion and disgust on his face showed his view of it.

“I have lost hundreds of siblings to this crap already! Yeah, HUNDREDS! I am over 9000 years old and the most horrible things I have found about all this is how those in the know accept it so easily as just business!”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The Godlings were stunned! They tried to speak, but could not even articulate a single word between them.

After Drenak stared at them for a bit he growled out, “Now, down to business with you specifically.

“Deities of doors and windows are technically both Deities of portals, but have very minor overlap with doors that double as windows, doors with windows, and possibly peepholes.

“However both of them, when they open, can have locks. It is to be expected of them. Thus conflict with the god of locks.

“Gates may be considered a type of door that is outside. Thus strong conflict between them.

“Then Secret entrances. These often have hidden doors or bypasses normal doors. One is competition, and the other opposes the use of the doors.

“Would this basically sum up what you are fighting over?”

A minute later they managed to respond. He had it right. The God of doors was a child of a Deity of buildings, and a Deity of portals. The Goddess of Windows was actually his twin sister.

The God of Gates was a child of a God of boundaries. Locks was a child of a Deity of obstacles. Hidden Entrances was a grandchild of a Deity of Passage and one of Rogues.

Drenak nodded.

“That is just how thing are right now. What normally happens is that sometimes the younger deities get directed and focused on the ruling Deities, overthrowing them as part of a massive upheaval. They all think that with the old ones out of the way they can have things better as there will be less established competition. And if some of their rivals die in the attempt, so much better for them!

“Some things happen all the time. If they fail, they get crushed as did everyone who supported them while the old gods put those who supported the established ones in better position, or in places that limit their ability to make use of the new openings.

“If it succeeds, then the old ones are killed or imprisoned, and the new Deities splinter into different facts and fight each other until things settle down.

“In each case they have more children to be used against rivals, including remains of the old order that manage to survive!”

Jane had been silent for a while and told them “Even in my world this is known. There are records of 3 different times the ruling Gods of a Pantheon were on the losing side of a war with the younger generation. However, they were still having kids to direct them to those of the older order, and those ones children. Last time the winner did not want the throne as the first overthrown supposedly cursed those who came over to be overthrown by their children as he was overthrown. The last winner forced the ruler to stop Gods messing with mortal affairs directly. The ruler was forced to agree and was bound to this agreement. That meant no more divinely born children. At least not directly, and not from that Pantheon, anyway. Considering their chief god was also the God of adultery, and was known to seduce, trick or even rape anyone, or anything, who caught his fancy, there are probably many part deities out there. Even some animals.”

Garion just shook his head. “That is pretty messed up.”

Drenak could only say “Yeah.”

The young godlings asked them “What can we do?”

Drenak sighed. “Try to enter different Patheons. Focus of the differences you have. Gates are of outside. Doors are for buildings. How about we try to think of different things?”

Speaking with them, they got an idea. Doors protect people and keep them safe. That would be the focus of that Deity, while Gate focus on boundaries and allowing passage from one place to another. Windows are for viewing, and sight. She would focus on the perception part, and maybe slip into Divination a bit latter. Locks would be focused on protection as well, but not just physical. Locks also include magical ones, including seals.

Secret Entrances would continue to serve rogues, but hiding a door does not make it less of a door. Hidden Paths would be that ones new focus.

They agreed to try. It was all within their current Domains.

After the Godlings left, Jane asked “What were their names?”

The four looked at each other. They hadn’t even bothered to ask that!