These Pheoan soldiers have killed people; people from this town, some of my worshipers, and who knows if any where spared based on age. It was all it took for me to keep the rage I felt inside me because I knew it was wrong, that revenge isn't what I should want. Anger was justified, even fury, but acting out in violence would make me no better than the enemy.

It really was fortunate I arrived as soon as I did though as the battle hadn't reached far into the town. The destruction could have been worse. The fires still raged in the town and I knew there were dead and dying in there that needed my magical healing. I'm not some babysitter so just standing here watching the enemy as they gathered wasn't going to work. I'll make a pen for them and then fix the town first.

"None of you move."

After commanding the soldiers I closed my eyes and imagined a nice small stone wall around the enemy army, a small circle pen of sorts with a wall no higher than five feet. Then using a small amount of mana I pushed my mind into it earth and lifted my arms into the air. The magical energy forced the stone underground to rise up in the shape I had decided around the enemy. There were gasps of shock and awe as the ground rumbled and the stone burst forth, leaving a rounded wall to pen in the enemy troops with a small opening facing the town to act as a sort of gate.

Thankfully due to my magic practice these sorts of things didn't take up as much mana as they used too. There was also thanks needed for how many people worshiped me now, as that both increased my total mana pool as well as the speed it replenished.

I glared down at the people in the stone pen and spoke sternly to them, not only filling their minds with fear of me but also helping me vent some of my frustration.

"You all will sit tight in here and not try to escape. All the friends of yours that are on the way will join you in this little pen. If anyone tries to escape. Well they might just die."

Using my left hand I run my finger across my neck in motion like a slicing blade. I then turn and walk to the village.

"Stay snug."

No sooner had I turned around and took steps towards the village did two of the Pheoan men jump up and start climbing over the wall. It made sense of course, they felt their options were to flee or die. Their mistake was thinking that with my back turned that I was unaware of what they were doing. Even though I couldn't sense them the same way I could my worshipers they did still show up on my readout map due to the belief they had in me. Something no one could deny when in my presence.

Without even turning around I used a bit of magic to spawn vines underneath them. The vines leapt up and latched around their necks then withdrew into the ground again. Death wasn't the intended result of course, though I wasn't exactly being gentle with them either. The movement twisted the two men off the wall and as their body hit the ground with a thud they grasped as their necks in a panic. I didn't release the vines. They tightened around their necks, not choking them but holding them firm. This display hammered in the futility of escaping me and perhaps put the idea that rousing my anger any further wasn't a good idea. I then stepped back over the wall of the town without saying a word to the trapped soldiers or even giving them a single look. My message was sent.

There was a bit of panic in the people of the town as I stepped back over the wall but they seemed to be resigned to whatever fate was in store for them at this point. I looked around the gate and saw people laying down on the ground. There was blood everywhere and many of them had terrible wounds. My left hand covered my mouth as I looked at the horrific sight, my heart lurching in my chest as I did my best to contain my emotions.

Ever so carefully I crouched down and gently reached out with my left hand, removing it from my mouth to bring my index finger out to gently touch one of the men laying on the ground. Dead. There was no life inside him. The one laying next to him was still breathing. I gently touched his chest and healed him. This was horrific. War was horrific.

The man was clearly a guard of the town and when he was healed he instantly sat up coughing out blood. It would have been stuck in his throat as my magic had fully healed him of course. He then looked up at me crouching over him and screamed in fear.

"It's alright." I said softly. "Go and help others."

With that I stood up once again to my full height and spoke out over the town.

"Bring the wounded to the gate so I can heal them. The top priority now is that and putting out the fires. I'm taking care of the big ones so just focus on the small ones."

My voice reached everyone in the town and though I was talking to no one in particular the commanding presence I imposed did much to help maintain order. In times of crisis people looked to authority figures to lead them. Who better than a goddess to take up that role?

With my orders given I then walked over to one of the town homes that was on fire. It was pretty bad and un-salvageable. It needed to be destroyed to stop the fire spreading to other buildings. I was about to smash it to pieces when I realized there might be people still inside. Closing my eyes my magical vision did in fact pick up a pair of people on the upper floor. Damn.

There were people on the street at my feet trying to fight the fire still. They backed up as I crouched down over them and then backed away from me in fear. No matter.

Gritting my teeth I steeled myself for what I about to do. Rolling up my sleeve I simply kept my eyes closed and plunged my arm into the inferno. With my goddess vision it was simple to aim my hand towards the people. They must have been quite surprised to see a giant hand reach through the flames and grasp around them. The fire was hot for me but didn't burn me, something that they weren't so lucky to have going for them.

My skin protected their bodies as I pulled my arm out of the burning building. Once they were out I gently lowered my hand to the ground away from the building and opened it on its side, carefully letting them slide off onto the ground. It was a woman and a man who were probably husband and wife. They had light burns on them and collapsed to the ground in awe when they saw me looming over them.

"What in the hells?" the man asked.

I stood back up and gave them a quick glance. "Focus on your survival." I replied. "Oh and sorry about your house."

With that I lifted hands into the air and made them into fists. It was time for a one girl demolition crew. Gritting my teeth I brought my fists down onto the roof of the building, smashing it with great force and making it collapse in on itself. I smashed it again and again, then when it was low enough I began stomping on it with my massive boots. In a matter of seconds the entire thing was merely a pile of flaming rubble.

There was no time to think about how my actions were being perceived by the locals, this was about saving the rest of the town. Crouching down again I scooped up great handfuls of earth and began smothering the fire with it. For someone my size it was basically a campfire and easily extinguished. Once it was done I stood up and waved the billowing smoke out of my face as I examined my handiwork.

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It was time to move on to the next house.

"Look about below!" I called out.

With these narrow streets filled with people and various rubble it wasn't easy to find places to step. At this point though I didn't care what I stepped on as long as it wasn't a living person or a body the grimly thought in my mind reminded me. My huge feet made short work of anything underneath them be it cart or crate. Nothing but splinters or ground up dust was left in my boot prints.

Thankfully at this point it was very obvious to the people of the town that I was on their side. There was no resistance or panicking when I went about my business. There were several large fires that I put out in the same way I had the first. By the end of it only the small fires were left which would be taken care of by the townsfolk.

Well now that's done I think to myself. Now its back to the wounded for my healing.

Turning back to the gate of the town I can see people are already being gathered around the gate, no doubt many of them close to death. The little stone corral I had built for the Pheoan soldiers was also getting new arrivals. Good. My imposing form and actions had gotten them to obey me as well.

"G-Goddess?" came a woman's voice from below me.

I looked down and saw a woman standing there with a crying baby in her arms. Her hair and skin were covered in soot and her cheeks were stained with tears.

"A-Are you truly a goddess?" she asked.

"Yes I am." I replied with a smile. "Your goddess."

It was a lot to take in for these people I realized. They probably knew all the horror stories about goddesses like the villagers did. Well this goddess was going to prove those stories wrong.

Leaving the woman to her child I walked back over to the gate, stepping very carefully now as there were many people gathering there. Sometimes I had to wait for a group of people to clear of the way before my foot could step down. Just holding it in the air above them was enough to get them to dash out of its shadow and I only had to tell people to move once.

Once I was at the gate I crouched down over a small gathering of people. There were other wounded people on the ground all around and I began touching them and healing their injuries.

"Just keep bringing the wounded here." I instructed the people. "And yes that includes the enemy soldiers. Don't make me angry by ignoring my commands."

My stern look was enough to get the message across. There was clear anger in their eyes at the thought of me healing their enemy but they weren't about to disobey me.

So passed at least the next half hour. The townsfolk and guards kept bringing me the wounded for me to heal and as they were healed they were either sent to work helping or if they were an enemy sent out to the stone corral. The humans all looked on in joyful bewilderment as my simple touch could close even the most grievous of wounds. There was no saving the dead of course and several times I had to choke back tears as I saw the bodies brought before me. I had to stay strong for them and hide my emotions no matter how much my heart bled. I'm pretty sure the townsfolk could tell I was in emotional distress over this and didn't question me about it.

Once the healing was all done I turned my attention back to the stone wall outside the town. Thankfully there were no more escapes attempts from the corral and the ones I had sent out to gather their companions were actually bringing them back to be contained. It was time to deal with them in earnest.

I looked at a town guard by my feet. "Who's in charge here by the way?"

He looked shocked to be spoken to by me and stammered and stuttered.

"I mean who's in charge of the town." I clarified

"Hernan Ulbe." He finally spat out. "He's the duke overseeing the town."

"Good. Bring him to me outside the gates please. Its safe now and my command is non-negotiable."

"Yes maam!" he replied with a salute.

"Yes goddess." I said with a glace down at him.

He gulped nervously. "Yes goddess!"

No matter how nice of a goddess I was it was important people remember to address me correctly. Half the power someone holds comes from how they are perceived by others. The little man ran off towards the castle in the center of town as I stood up once again and brushed myself off.

"If any more wounded are brought over tend to them the best you can. If I have time for it I'll heal more later."

The people seemed to understand and some vocalized their confirmation. It's not like my entire day can be spent just healing people. Dependence on my powers would only lead to problems for humans. They still have to care for themselves most of the time.

With my work done in the healing area I stepped over to the wall and over it, stomping back over to the enemy army who were now mostly all gathered in my stone pen. There were maybe a hundred of fifty of them which meant they had suffered some significant losses. I put my hands on my hips and made no effort to appear less intimidating as I stood over them all in their little jail cell.

"So. Ready to hear what's going to happen to you?"

There were murmurs and the air of fear still hung over them like a cloud. The man in the fancier looking armor stood up and walked towards the opening of the wall and closer to me. He then fell to his knees and looked up into the sky at me.

"Please goddess have mercy upon us. I know the stories of old. Please give us mercy we beg of you."

Many of the men followed suit and bowed to me to beg for mercy, some of them refused to beg for their lives, and still others seemed to not care either way. No one could blame them for feeling so defeated or defiant when faced with a real goddess.

"You're the leader then?" I asked the man.

"Yes goddess." he replied.

"What's your name?"

"Daven Kinde." He said with a bow.

"Well then Daven" I said crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm going to tell you how this is gunna go. Your little army killed people of this town, killed my worshipers. I don't think I need to explain how bad this makes you look in my eyes."

Daven hung his head in despair. "No goddess."

I continued. "Luckily for you and your men I'm not like the goddesses of old you may of heard about. I'm going to provide for you something called justice, your actions being what gives you either mercy or judgment. Do you all understand?"

The men gathered in the corral looked up at me with a faint glint of hope in their eyes.

"What sort of justice?" Daven asked solemnly.

"Goddesses and humans have different morals, have different laws." I said putting my arms to my hips again. "I'm going to first judge you by my father's law and then you shall be judged by the law of humans."

The confusion on the face of those gathered was clear. Because my voice was easily heard in the town as well I could hear confusion from the townsfolk as well.

"You are all my prisoners right now. The justice I will dispense is as follows: those soldiers that have killed someone from the town, anyone from the town, will be turned over to the local lord of Celuduun and face whatever judgment awaits them. Those soldiers who haven't killed are free to go home to their own kingdom and families. At least so long as they flee for the boarder with haste and stop for nothing."

As the gasps of surprise and confusion rise up from the soldiers I lean over them to block out the light of the morning sun.

"The goddess of light and knowledge has spoken."

I then stand back up and bring my left hand up to my chin as they try to figure out if I was serious or not.

"Now you might think you can get away with lying to me about if you have killed or not. I would suggest against trying my patience. Honesty is honor even if it leads to your death. I will not have you lying to me and mocking my kindness, nor shall I have you fighting among yourselves and trying to turn each other in or pin blame on others. You shall all on an individual basis proclaim which camp you sit in. Those that have killed will come to the front of the corral and those that have not will stay at the back. Do not keep me waiting."

The conflict in the minds of these men and women was clear to see on their faces. Death surely awaited them if they were handed over to their enemies but the fear of lying to me was also too great to lie to me. At least that was my thought process. Its not like I could actually read their minds.

To my great relief my bluff paid off. About half of those gathered walked up to the front of the corral and identified themselves as killers in this battle. Their heads were hung low and the soul crushing hopelessness on their faces was too much for my heart to bear. I wiped a tear from my eye before it could be noticed. As a goddess my heart would need to be strong because these kinds of decisions were going to get more common and more difficult. All I could do is pray to my father that my heart never hardens.

"Very well." I said once they were done moving around. "All of you stay here while I go finalize things with the duke of this town. Let it be known that I'm proud of you for your decision."

The captain Daven was among those gathered at the front of the corral, his head hung low. This was what I had to do. Not only would it be abhorrent to allow them to get away with their murders according to my own morals, but the people of the town demanded justice as well. At least this way it wouldn't be me killing a bunch of people, they would be judged by humans to see if death awaited them. Knowing how civilizations of this tech level worked though death was almost guaranteed.

With a deep sigh I turned and walked back to the town and my conversation with the duke.