As the gods assembled all took keen observation of each other looking for any hint as to the cause of the meeting. The gods were, by and large with a couple exceptions, self contained forces that stuck to their own realms of influence. This meant considerable alarm was felt by all when Agarmin; the god of knowledge and those who seek it; had called an emergency meeting of all 13 members of the pantheon. Their concern was palpable, and though they had no way of knowing so, very much warranted.
The room they were in was not what anyone would picture for the meeting hall of the gods. Made of plain stone with no adornments or flair of any kind. The table and chairs are also as plain and functional as possible; cushions for the seats being the only allowed extravagance. When the times were dire enough that this room was needed there could be only work, and it had been shaped as a reminder of that fact.
When his 12 peers were present and seated Agarmin entered the chamber and walked to the head of the table. He felt almost as anxious about taking his spot there as he was about the news he had to impart. Afterall there was no permanent leader of the Pantheon. The job and the chains of its power went to whoever was best suited at the moment. That it should be him in this dark hour made him sympathize just a little with the mortals they were bound to guide and protect.
Upon arrival at the head of the table he spoke without any of his usual verbosity or ostentatiousness. “I ask humbly that I be allowed to speak without interruption. Questions will be answered after I am finished.”
After his opening statement he took a moment to gauge the room. Mighty Penvar, God of War, looked the most alarmed. Penvar was his friend and knew him well enough to read far more than the words he’d said. The others were in various states with Ganov, God of Death and the afterlife, seeming bored.
His speech continued, “About one solar year ago I started to receive interference on my testing equipment. I was somewhat alarmed and considered calling this meeting then and there. I wish on my own name I had done so.” This pause was not the work of affectation and delivery. It was the weight of guilt that held him for a moment.
“The interference was coming from audio waves originating from a then unknown source. My alarm came from the fact that the mortals on Basrem do not have the capacity for such transmissions, and I would recognize any of you. I set out to find the source. Never could I have foreseen what awaited me.”
Despite his request for silence Penvar asked with a dread in his voice no mortal could have imagined. “Was it the enemy, old friend?” Mere mention of the enemy caused even Ganov to turn with fear.
“Not exactly Penvar. This is why I asked for no interruptions.” With a weary sigh he continued his tale. “My first step was analyzing the transmissions themselves. I discovered that they were in fact intact messages in a large number of different languages. I did not recognize a single one of them.” This pause was intentional, meant to let the impact of this revelation settle upon them.
“Without knowledge of the languages nor any context clues to try and work from the messages were left a dead end. Next I followed the transmissions to their point of origin. What I discovered there left me completely and utterly baffled. I found nothing. The transmissions just came to be in the vacuum of space and traveled unimpeded. It made absolutely no sense, and I should have gathered all of you for a second opinion. My pride would not let me.
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I brought every instrument in my arsenal to the problem and after three solar month’s I finally got a usable reading. Detailed analysis revealed that the origin was not in fact that point in space; it was a parallel universe to our own. I was far too excited with what I had found to look into what it means.
The borders between this dimension and that one had somehow thinned enough to let these transmissions through. This is not in and of itself cause for concern. The pocket was relatively small and only let through nonsubstantive things like audio waves. The concern was when the waves started also coming from another spot, and this hole was bigger. Big enough to let me travel to the other side.”
At this the entire pantheon erupted in a multitude of different emotions, reactions and shouting. For a god to leave their realm was an unthinkable action. So many things could go wrong. Leorna, goddess of beauty and love, was the one to restore order. With a wave of her impossibly beautiful hand a wave of power washed over all.
“Let him finish or leave. We are the Pantheon, not gossiping fish wives spreading tales like their husbands throw nets!” She asserted loudly. Looking at Agarmin she waved in the universal motion for him to continue.
"Yes I entered the other universe knowing the risks. I had to see what was causing these breakdowns between our realms. First howeverI took the time to trace the waves back to their true origin. A planet called Terra though most call it earth. It is populated by a sentient species called humans, and though they have no magic they have technology far surpassing any found on Basrem.
I admit I found them so fascinating that I spent far too long observing them. By watching them speak as they lived their lives I was able to finally piece together their languages. By the time I finally turned back to my purpose, and studied the holes it was too late. My curiosity has doomed them all.” At this admission he began to weep the despair his heart had felt since he’d finally figured out the puzzle.
“This is where the enemy enters the picture Penvar. As you know the enemy is a rival pantheon that sought to kill us and usurp our reign over Besram. After a catastrophic struggle we managed to force some of them into a prison of Veln’s making believing that they were sealed for all eternity.The rest fled back to their home realm. What we never accounted for was the damage done by their initial entry.”
“We fixed the entry from their home realm yes, but the boundaries between our other dimensional neighbors also took damage. Damage that has been building for millenia, and now it is too late. The border between our realm and Earth’s was always the thinnest as they are our closest neighbors. In fact if you calculate the position of Besram and Earth in their respective realms you will find an exact match to within 4 miles. That is the terrible truth I have come to tell you here today.”
“The border is failing and cannot be saved. It is too late for that. We might have had a small chance when the rift was first detected, but that is long gone. When the border fails the universes will merge into one universe and anything in the same location will be destroyed. Even for the gods two things cannot be in the same place at the same time. Besram and Earth are going to destroy each other and everything on them”
The silence that fell after he finished was almost deafening. This couldn’t be happening. Finally Avrina, goddess of nature, stood.
“There is always a path forward and we will not rest until it is found Agarmin. Suggestions anyone?”
For hours upon days they put forward suggestions and plans only for them to be dashed upon realities’ cruel blade. No one could find a way to save the planets. Just when all hope was fading Ganov stepped forward and suggested a plan that would otherwise be unthinkable.
The plan came to this. If the planets could not be saved then they would instead take the souls of all when the time came. The gods would build a new realm capable of holding them, and when the world was ready bring the mortals back. It was the hardest choice any of them had ever made, but they could find no other path.