We had plenty of people to test the mini-Dungeons, as I called them. Configuring the Dungeon Core was easy, considered I did that in another life. The soul Bit placed in this Core was a mimic and as long as I let it have some treasure, it was happy to oblige.
That freed me from one shift in our combat training schedule and I dedicated it to crafting. The first thing I explained to the dwarves was that I had a few million monster corpses in my item box that could be smelted for metals. I brought one of the monster hunters with me for the demonstration
"This is what the minotaurs call 'claw-fiends'. The red carapace yields iron, the blue part some metal they call blue-iron, and the rest contains a good amount of copper. Demon-Slayer Brother Karraduk here will guide me through the process of dismantling one."
Long story short, I needed to break the carapace, scrape the corrupted flesh, then put the hard outer shell in a diluted alchemical bath for a few hours to soften the outer layer. The flesh and organs were utterly useless because of the demonic corrupted blood and its only purpose was to unlock the resistance Perk, as announced.
That didn't stop me from testing. As I set as many vats with carapace baths as the Shadow Workshop would let me, I used {Property Prospection VII} on the organs and flesh to see if I could come up with something. Most of them came up with nothing, but I unlocked two new materials from the heart and liver of the demons. One was a precursor catalyst for a Potion of Corrupted Blood Resistance, the other was a poison that corrupted the target's blood. I buried the nasty stuff but we worked on a process to distill the resistance potion from the demon hearts.
> You gained 3 points of Alchemist Proficiency.
>
> You created the recipe for Potion of Corrupted Blood Resistance. You gained 2 bonus points of Alchemist Proficiency.
>
> You gained 4 points of Dismantler Proficiency.
>
> You gained 32 points of Miner Proficiency.
These were the fruits of three days of work in my off-shift. Miner had a lot of Fast-Growth left, and it showed. It was time to pick my Abilities. While the dwarves learned how to smelt claw-fiend carcasses from Karraduk, I joined Baritono and Helter in the castle smithy.
"Ah, Haru! Glad you joined us! What brings Your Majesty here?" Baritono greeted me and was immediately elbowed by Helger.
"You're making my daughter uncomfortable, you fool!" He grumbled. "Lass, welcome. Wanna hammer some metal? Maybe smelt a dwarf? As hard as this one's head is," he wrapped an arm around Baritono's neck, "I think we can get an ingot or two outta it."
"Nah. He's not worth it," I gently pulled the two men apart. "I think I need to pick a few Abilities in my [Miner] and [Metalsmith] Professions, father. With all the revolution and counter-revolution and killing armies at our doorstep happening one after the other, we never got back to it."
Proficiencies without Abilities were boring little shits, just like the Skills in old versions. Worse, because they didn't have a baseline bonus. Something to complain to the Administrators. A raw proficiency by itself should have a baseline ability. Like the damage and accuracy bonuses of the former weapon Skills. Having to spend an Ability on that sounded dumb.
"What's your Proficiency level looking like?"
I pulled the info and told them.
Miner (*) [167 / 233]. Select 11 Abilities.
Metalsmith (*) [130 / 228]. Select 8 Abilities.
"That's a tad higher than we expected," Baritono confessed. "Some of the lads work for years to reach your levels."
Helger slapped his friend, "But they don't have the growth ratios you do, so don't let it get over your head. Let's pick your Abilities then. Mining is all about finding ore and extracting ore. You already have {Survey Resources} under [Cartographer]. While it is slow, it covers a decent amount of ground and you have other abilities to find ore. Let's focus all of your Abilities on getting the most out of your ore vein.
> * Gem Node I: Gemstones you mine are (Proficiency/10)% bigger.
> * Gem Node II: [...] (Proficiency/7)% bigger.
> * Gem Node III: [...] (Proficiency/4)% bigger.
> * Geode Shards: Gemstones you mine have (Proficiency/5)% better quality.
> * Metal Yield: Resources you process for metal yields (Proficiency/5)% more.
> * Slag Melter: You lose (Proficiency/5)% less metal to slag.
> * Motherlode: Ore you extract contains (Proficiency/5)% more useful materials.
> * Odd Vein: Ore you extract contains (Proficiency/5)% more secondary metals.
> * Precious Vein: Ore you extract contains (Proficiency/5)% more precious metals.
> * Nine Pound Hammer: You mine (Proficiency/5)% faster.
> * Sixteen Tons: You extract (Proficiency/5)% more ore.
I recognized some of these Abilities' names. Bless your soul, Merle Travis. But if that doesn't prove the System came from Earth just like me and those crappy Gods, nothing would.
> Onto [Metalsmith].
>
> * Keep'em Hot: Metal cools (Proficiency/5)% slower.
> * Precision Hammering: Crafting speed increases by (Proficiency/4)%.
> * Hammer'em Flaws: Metal has (Proficiency/5)% fewer flaws.
> * Durability: Increase by (Proficiency/5)%.
> * Wear Resistance: Items take (Proficiency/5)% less damage.
> * Tenacity: Increase by (Proficiency/5)%.
> * Hardness: Increase by (Proficiency/5)%.
> * Corrosion Resistance: Reduce item damage from acid and the onset of rust by (Proficiency/5)%.
The Abilities relied heavily on the Proficiency's context. For example, {Precision Hammering}. It increased crafting speed only for metal articles that were crafted with a hammer, like when forging a sword. The resistances wouldn't make an item indestructible at 500 Proficiency, because these were capped at 75%. But having a weapon that could endure four times more punishment was more than four times as valuable.
I was eager to put my new Abilities to the test. I used my free shift to work with Helger and Baritono at the smithy while batches of demon carapace were processed and smelted in the {Shadow Workshop}. It didn't put a dent in the number of demon corpses I had. Unless I upscaled my processing power, I'd look at centuries of dismantling and processing demons. And all I needed to get more was to pay a visit to that place again.
On the eve of my priest recruitment, several things happened at once. The first batch of metal extracted from the demons finished. I got about seventy kilograms of iron, two hundred of copper, and fifteen of a blue-ish metal. I didn't trust {Appraise} for this. I conducted a series of tests to determine its nature. It was a magic-rich alloy similar to steel. It was magnetic and almost as good as gold for enchanting. I cut a small piece and ate it. {Chemical Awareness} gave me the run-down on this material.
> 50% iron
>
> 5% Chromium
>
> 5% Cobalt
>
> 15% Titanium
>
> 5% Silver
>
> 5% Gold
>
> 15% Carbonium.
The "Carbonium" was heavy and densely packed with mana. It was very hard to digest and quickly decayed once the magic was absorbed.
> You took 1 HP of radiation damage.
>
> You took 1 HP of radiation damage.
>
> You took 1 HP of radiation damage.
>
> You took 1 HP of radiation damage.
>
> You took 1 HP of radiation damage.
>
> [...]
I ended up with a huge indigestion, some radiation damage that was artificially dampened by the System, and silicon. That was freaking insane. To go from carbon to silicon, radioactive decay had to add eight protons to the nucleus, not counting the ones gone from alpha emissions but these lighter atoms seldom emitted alpha radiation, it was mostly beta electrons, free neutrons, and gamma radiation. Just how heavy was this "Carbonium"? I needed to do in-depth research on this blue iron alloy. Smelting the demons netted me enough Proficiency for another Ability. It also unlocked a special Ability that required working with mana-rich ores, which the demon corpse counted as. Don't ask me why.
> Miner (*) [183 / 233]. Select 1 Ability.
>
> * Mana-Lode: Increase the odds of finding mana-rich materials by (Proficiency)%.
This one worked on the percentile, so while it looked great, it didn't do much. If I had, say, a 0.1% chance of finding mana-rich ores in a given vein, it increased that to 0.28%. Better than nothing, but still too little.
Grinding for Exp finally gave results. I reached the next level.
> You reached Half-Dvergar Half-Zenko-Kitsune level 20
>
> You gained 1 Attribute point.
>
> You gained 1 Endurance, 1 Willpower, and 1 Magic.
>
> You gained 2 rank 3 species Perks.
>
> Ultimate Surpasser granted you 1 Attribute Points
>
> You reached Grandmaster Crafter level 20
>
> You gained 1 Endurance, 1 Magic, and 1 Luck.
>
> You gained 1 rank 3 Class Perks.
>
> Ultimate Surpasser granted you 1 Attribute Points.
> You gained the Perks,
>
> * Apprentice Shadow Workshop (ultra-rare): Your shadow workshop can be used by another person with the same Proficiency with no bonus.
> * Shrine Maiden (very rare): While in the area protected by your Shrine Guardian Perk, your magic lasts 100% longer (increasing the time to pay maintenance costs) and is 50% harder to dispel.
> * Ranging Defender (ultra-rare): You still gain the benefits of Shrine Guardian outside of your guarded grounds, up to a distance of 100*Soul meters from the previous limit.
You ranked up. Your unallocated Exp was divided by 100,000,000. <-- I needed 1.06 trillion for the next level.
> Your species ranked up into Half-Svartálfar Half-Kyuubi (Ultra-Rare, rank 4)
>
> Due to your Royal status, you gain +1 to all Attributes.
>
> Your progression is:
>
> 1 Attribute point at every level.
>
> 1 Endurance, Strength every even level.
>
> 1 Luck, Faith every odd level
>
> 1 Mind, Dexterity, Ego, and Willpower alternating every level.
>
> Nothing, then 1 Charisma, Soul, and Magic alternating every level.
>
> 13 HP and 10 Energy per level.
>
> 1 Perk every even level and another Perk at levels 10 and 20.
> Your Class ranked up into Sage Crafter (5-fused, Ultra-Rare++, rank 3).
>
> Due to your Royal status, you gain +1 to all Attributes.
>
> Your progression is:
>
> 1 Strength, Willpower every odd level.
>
> 1 Endurance, Magic every even level.
>
> 1 Willpower, Dexterity, Mind, and Luck, alternating every level.
>
> 1 Perk every even level
>
> 10 HP and 8 Energy per level.
>
> This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
>
> You gained 2 technical proficiencies.
Damn, two proficiencies. That was a lot. The Attribute progression was the crappiest ever. It didn't change by a single digit. But who cared about it? Proficiencies! I allocated one right away.
> Dismantler [ 151 / 260 ]. Select 5 Abilities.
>
> * Batch Processing I: You can process (Proficiency/20) extra corpses with the same resources and time.
> * Batch Processing II: [...] (Proficiency/15) extra [...]
> * Greater Yield: For non-unique items, increase amount harvested by (Proficiency/10)%
> * Quick Processing: You dismantle (Proficiency/4)% faster.
> * Hardened: Increase durability of harvested materials by (Proficiency/5)%
All my other proficiencies gained a few points because I leveled up. Despite gaining Proficiency about four times as fast as other people, I still gained levels comparatively much faster.
Appraiser (*) [254]
Blades [ 269 ]
Clubs [60]
Spear [ 279 / 326 ]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Heave IV: Thrust your spear at an enemy in front of you, dealing (1.5*Proficiency)% extra damage. You cannot attack for 0.5 seconds afterward.
* Impale: Thrust [...] (2*Proficiency)% extra damage. Enemy is staggered for 0.1 seconds.
Combat Technique [233 / 279]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Break the Line: You can charge a group of enemies. If your attack hits, split the damage between them and scatter all enemies in (Proficiency/20) meters by 1 meter for every 50 points of (Your Strength+Proficiency).
* Bloodlust: When you are raging, enemies with line of sight to you lose (Proficiency/10)% Accuracy.
War Technique (**) [162]. Select 1 Ability.
* Rallying Muse: Add (Proficiency/10)% to Evasion, Attack, damage, and Morale if troops have line of sight of your performance.
Wild Warrior [302].
Martial Arts [194].
Physical Mastery [ 603 ]
Mobility [ 303 / 352 ]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Aerial Fighter: Add (Proficiency/30) base damage to all physical attacks if you are flying.
* Slippery Evasion: Add (Proficiency/10)% Evasion if you have more movement rate than your enemy.
Furtivity [ 655 / 665 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Dimensional Pilferer (Ultimate): You can steal items from dimensional storages. Increase (Proficiency/100) Dexterity and Magic.
Mental Mastery [ 618 / 621 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Spiritual Enlightenment (Ultimate): Increase Ego and Soul by (Proficiency/100). Increase base SP by (Proficiency/10). Add (Proficiency/5) to all checks to resist spiritual attacks.
Spellcaster (**) [ 699 / 713 ].
Assassination [179 / 258]
Leadership [ 325 / 333 ]. Select 2 Abilities.
* Inspiring Presence II: Up to (Proficiency) combatants under your command gain (Proficiency/80) Dexterity, Endurance, and Willpower.
* Inspiring Presence III: Up to (2*Proficiency) combatants under your command gain (Proficiency/70) Dexterity, Endurance, Mind, and Willpower.
Physician (*) [174].
Alchemist (*) [ 341 ].
Jeweler (*) [308 / 308]
Enchanter [ 522 / 532 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Sacrificial Enchantment: You can permanently sacrifice (500 - Proficiency/2) points of any resource to add 1 enchantment point.
Cartographer [ 289 / 319 ]. Select 3 Abilities.
* Topography: You can detect and draw topographical information with (Proficiency/5)% accuracy.
* Survey Resources II: After a day of analysis, you can determine the presence and nature of resources in an area of (Proficiency/15) hectares and the underground to a depth of (5*Proficiency) meters below (and above, if underground) the survey point.
* Survey Resources III: After a day of analysis, you can determine the presence and nature of resources in a radius of (Proficiency) meters and the underground to a depth of (10*Proficiency) meters below (and above, if underground) the survey point.
Diplomat[ 477 / 493 ]. Select 3 Abilities.
* Diplomatic Immunity V: If the other party becomes hostile, you suffer neither damage nor effects from their attacks for (Proficiency/15) seconds. This protection ends if you attack.
* Diplomatic Immunity VI: [...] (Proficiency/10) seconds. This protection ends if you attack.
* Consular Immunity: Add (Proficiency/5) to all Charisma tests to avoid an unfair criminal charge on a foreign country.
Silkweaver (*) [162].
Musician [281]
Baker [ 159 ].
> Level 160
>
> Strength*: 101+23 (124) / 130 - Dexterity*: 93+37 (130) / 130 - Endurance*: 106+24 (130) / 130
>
> Mind*: 103+36 (139) / 130 - Willpower*: 101+43 (144) / 130 - Charisma*: 106+24 (130) / 130
>
> Magic*: 106+49 (155) / 130 - Faith: 5+10 (15) / 130
>
> Ego*: 106+38 (144) / 130 - Luck*: 91+34 (125) / 130 - Soul*: 98+42 (140) / 130
>
> HP 169.025.798 (2.823.746 HP/s)
>
> Energy 142.460.627 (247.327 E/min)
At the end of the day, as I prepared to rest, I felt several dozen werewolf and lycan souls floating my way. They were dressed as warriors. No, not my way. They were being guided by what I could only describe as angels toward Pandora, which was firmly ensconced behind my solar plexus.
"Halt! What are these souls?" I asked the clearly intelligent angels.
One of them handed the souls he was herding my way to another and approached. "I'm sorry, Your Divinity. We were instructed by the System to bring these dead souls to you, their Goddess."
"And you are?"
He bowed and spoke softly, "Just a servant of the Divine, my Mistress."
I could sense a faint whiff of Divinity from them. "And you guide the stray souls to their deities, is that so?"
"Affirmative. May we fulfill our duties?"
"This is the first time seeing one of you."
"You are a recent addition to the Pantheon, Mistress [Matriarch]. Only the deities can see us."
I didn't think it was a good time to try and explain to them my precarious situation.
"Well, you brought them to me. I already took hold of them with my {Soul Shepherd} Perk. You may leave if nothing else binds you here."
He exchanged glances with the other angels and they nodded. "Then we take our leave. Farewell, Goddess."
I recognized the warriors. They were from Theirian, the werewolf nation Silverstreak helped create. The Empire was on the warpath, and the werewolf were excellent soldiers.
It didn't concern me much, soldiers dying for their liege was par for the course. They were weary from the war and I let them go into Pandora's afterlife. I sensed a huge spike of Divinity as their Status was processed and re-absorbed by the System. That was the dire truth of the relationship between deities and the people. They existed to grow, gain levels, accumulate Exp, and be then stripped of it to convert that energy into Divinity and feed the Gods.
The Gods did spend some of that Divinity blessing and helping their people but It wasn't a zero-sum game. No. The Gods gained much more than they invested. With the monster souls, the passive Faith income, and these warriors' souls, Pandora was already halfway back to the Divinity levels from before ascension.
Well, not much to do. Maybe I could increase the blessings I gave my people, but that would require priests.
Time to go to the surface and see what Vanagon got for me.
----------------------------------------
I reached the castle through the Ethereal and asked Salia to let Vanagon know I was here.
"His Excellency told me to guide you to the outer courtyard. The candidates for the priesthood are already there," she fidgeted a bit as she delivered her line.
"Is something wrong, Salia?" Her tail poked the front of her skirt. "You have served me well, Salia. Speak your mind."
She dropped to her knees and gave me the puppy eyes. "[Matriarch], I want to be a priestess too!" Combined with the wagging tail and the lowered ears, it was super effective.
I placed a hand between my non-existent breasts and pulled Pandora out. With the golden orb on one hand and the other on the girl's forehead. I imagined Divinity pouring through from the former to the latter. A prompt appeared.
> You have no special priesthood benefits set.
>
> Pick Priesthood Perks.
>
> Rank 0: none
>
> Rank 1: none
>
> Rank 2: none
>
> Rank 3: none
>
> Rank 4: none
>
> Total cost: 10,000 GP per priest.
I played a bit with the interface, pulling Perks from a massive list. The cost kept changing as I filled all the slots.
> Rank 0: Mental Mastery Proficiency (ultra rare) and Physical Mastery Proficiency (very rare)
>
> Rank 1: Animal Affinity (rare)
>
> Rank 2: Animal Magic Affinity (rare)
>
> Rank 3: Spin Silk (rare)
>
> Rank 4: Extra path and Path fusion (rare)
>
> Total cost: 185,000 GP per priest.
That was rather expensive. I changed the rank zero benefit to a choice between the two Perks and the cost dropped by 50k. I fiddled a bit and discovered that [Rare] Perks cost 10k, [Very Rare] 25k, and [Ultra-Rare], 50k. Double if the Perk wasn't Transient, like the masteries.
Then I remembered Marisol gained free Perks only as a sign-up bonus. I was spoiling my priesthood, but to grant perks out of this standard progression, it cost ten times more per priest.
> Rank 0: Animal Affinity (rare)
>
> Rank 1: Spin Silk (rare) and Animal Magic Affinity (rare)
>
> Rank 2: N/A
>
> Rank 3: N/A
>
> Rank 4: N/A
>
> Total cost: 40,000 GP per priest.
There was no advantage in delaying the Perks. They cost the same and the priest leveled up without them. 40k was splurging but I wasn't in the Divinity-hoarding business the Pantheon was. Were they preparing for a long winter? I had no idea.
Back to the present. I placed my hand on the wolf-kin girl and poured Divinity. Forty thousand. Pandora could only anoint a hundred priests. These would need to range far and wide, to convert the flock and repay the investment.
In Yznerian, Faith was a business.
I felt something "click" into place mentally. It was as if I could sense the wolf-kin girl, her mood, and even have a hint of what she was thinking.
"I got the Class! Praise the Matriarch!"
There was a small but noticeable trickle of Faith from her to Pandora. It was far from repaying what I invested in her.
"Good, what did you get?" I asked as I {Appraised} her.
> [Pope] Salia - Level 102 High Priestess of the Kin Matriarch.
>
> Faith: 63.
>
> Mood: Exulting.
>
> Recent Prayer: Health for her brother.
She became the pope. Even her level went up like crazy. Damn. I also found out I could bring up her {Appraise} info anytime.
"I think you can heal your brother by yourself now," I said as I pulled her back on her feet and hugged her.
Salia froze, then hugged me back. "By your grace, [Matriarch]!"
Her faith score ticked up by 3 points. Damn, what a cheat.
With my [Pope]'s hand firmly clasped, I almost left the room to go to the courtyard when I looked at the wolf-kin still wearing a maid uniform. Not a french anime one. A practical but stylish and sober brown wool dress with a white-ish apron, no-frills.
"This won't do. You need a habit worthy of my [Pope]."
I stretched my fingers and from each tip, a strand of living silk came out. Using a subordinate Tabard as a base, I incorporated some unfinished jewels and cut gems as I went, creating my Holy Symbol.
A disk in the center, made of gold for the [Pope] but it could be wood, with two slightly curved triangles on top to resemble animal ears. A flame at the crest represented the divine spark and my kitsune flames. I put a yin-yang symbol at the bottom because I felt like it was right. Following a burst of inspiration, I slashed around the center of the disk with my claws, creating three lightning bolts. These were our willingness to unleash the inner beast and fight for our people. I inserted a pearl and a polished black opal for the yin yang disk "eyes" as well as a cut Core in the center of the flame. Then I enchanted the whole thing.
The Matriarch [https://i.imgur.com/ZlgwzXm.png]
> Matriarch's Pope Ceremonial Dress - Level 0
>
> Price: Hidden
>
> Materials: Hidden
>
> Perks: Hidden
>
> MP: 100
>
> Generates 5 MP per hour.
>
> Soulbound to the Pope of the Matriarch faith.
>
> Adapts to fit the wearer's body.
>
> Self-repairs using wearer's excess MP or SP regeneration. If damaged, drains MP from the wearer to repair immediately.
>
> +10 to All Standard seven Attributes
>
> +20 to Faith
>
> +30 to Base MP
>
> Creates a barrier that reduces an attack's base damage by 100. Drains 50 MP from the wearer per attack.
>
> If worn by anyone not sworn to the Kin Matriarch, drains 1 year of lifespan per second until the wearer dies. The dress gains the full Exp of the kill.
With my {Royal Exp Tithe}, I quickly gained Exp to level up the Robe a bit. It picked a few Perks.
* Expanded MP pool: Add 50 MP per level.
* Extra MP generation: Generates (Level) MP/h.
* Divine Awareness: Wearer adds Fatih to Mind to check for threats.
I helped her change into her new habit and we went outside. I shifted into my were-jaguar form.
A crowd of Kin, Eleons, and silk-folk waited for us. I could see some humans, elves, and dwarves too. Vanagon started to say something but his voice drowned under the clamor of the crowd. Some of them cried some of them prostrated themselves. I felt their prayers and faith flowing into Pandora.
"Allow me, [Matriarch]," Salia gently held my shoulder and walked forward. "People of Windemere. The Matriarch is among us!"
Cheers. Salia's Faith score went up by another point.
"The [Matriarch] anointed me, a maid, her [Pope]. She is a caring mother that loves all of us, her children, equally. This is her third advent here in Windemere. Once she was a [King] clad in shining armor, who rose us from the dead and gave us bodies made of her own silk. Twice she was a liberator and a knight, releasing us from the cursed collars and giving us a home to call ours. And now she descended as one of us, to bring our dwarven brothers back to Windemere, to weave bonds of friendship with the other Gods, to crush our enemies at our gates."
The crowd roared. Where did that timid wolf-kin girl go? It wasn't an act. Her Faith went up by another two points. Could it be an effect of this Attribute so unknown to me?
"Today, she called you here. To wear her colors, to become pack leaders of her Kin. To spread her Word and Faith to the world. Those of you that accept this calling will need to travel the world. Suffer indignation. Many are those that hate our Goddess for what she is. Many are her enemies but many are her allies. Should you find yourselves in trouble, call upon her. She'll come in her mighty Ice Train to deliver us from harm."
I wanted to become intangible and sink through the floor.
Salia started to anoint the priests. Some of them wore subordinate Tabards and I could see a few of the ones waiting in line carving blocks of wood in the shape of my symbol.
As each new priest took its toll out of Pandora's Divinity, they would kneel before me and pray. I could see the content of the prayers on their {Appraise} window and I could pull it even without having them in my line of sight.
By the time Salia finished ordaining everyone, Pandora was running on fumes of Divinity. All the energy gathered from the dead Werewolves and Lycans that died two continents away for the sake of a power-hungry Empire was gone. But the passive income from these new priests was huge.
"A word if you please, [Matriarch]?" My [Pope] asked me.
I could feel that she was brimming with Faith for me. It could be intoxicating nectar if I embraced it. I could see others falling for its alluring promises of power. But I was powerful enough. Hadn't I killed two Gods already? Here on the surface as a mortal, I was almost untouchable by them. I could see all of them pushing me to become a deity like them, then I'd be held by the same rules as they. But as it was now, things were too comfortable. My mortal form could be destroyed but the System would give me a new one. Pandora was indestructible because it was but a Wisp and Core. An elementary Divine particle, indivisible.
"I want to thank you all for taking this step. As [Pope] Salia said, your road will be one with many tribulations. Our enemies tried to destroy Windemere many times, pulling us apart. We not only survived but grew stronger with that. But we can't let the pain of the past burden our hearts. We cannot close ourselves behind our walls. Out there, our Kin and friends struggle for a living, suffering indignity and prejudice. Go forth and spread to the far corners of the world. Find my missing children and tell them that the [Matriarch] watches over them. Let not yourselves fall to rage and despair."
I spent the whole day talking to the priests, sharing stories, getting to know each of them. Since their souls would come to me once they died, I collected a lock of hair from each one of them and tied the hair around a wooden slate with their name and species. Once the soul came to me, I would have all I needed to use {Last Chance} on them.
Another advantage of being a mortal and delegate the Divinity to Pandora. The Gods didn't reincarnate their dead priests. Mine would just bounce back and rejoin the battle.