Here in the city of Vinedenne the people were busy with their daily lives and unaware of who walked among them. The sun had passed its peak and was already halfway finished with its decline. The warmth in the air still lingered and made one happy to be indoors and out of its harsh light. The wind was still blowing in gentle gusts and kept the fresh hot air circulating throughout the buildings. Change was coming to this humble city, change that would alter the course of history.

Timothy stood confidently behind his goddess in the large room, his usual timid attitude slowly waning the longer he spent around the ruler of his worship. Goddess Jenna had always dragged him from here to there on her seemingly random flights of fancy, though today there was a great and frightening purpose to their visit here.

Here they were at the university in the capital of Voorhaul, a great place of learning for the entire province. The education of course was reserved for the rich, the only people who could afford the great cost of both time and learning materials. Books were the major cost factor, something the goddess had already been taking significant lengths in altering.

She stood with the heads of education in this large meeting room discussing the future of education in the province as well as the kingdom as a whole. Of course she was on a stool to help her tiny frame reach the same height as the men standing. Her current size being an extremely tiny limitation of her true form was something that constantly put people off guard Timothy included.

Another topic of discussion was the education of men and women to be sent out into the world to become teachers for the poor. The plans were for a veritable army of educators, some of which were to be trained by the goddess herself. There was already a small group of them she taught already she had explained and the process could take an entire year or more by her estimation.

Thus and so the conversation labored on, at points becoming something too much for Timothy to even comprehend. Even these educated men were at times confused by the things the goddess said and she'd have to stop and explain concepts to them. Truly she lived up to her title as goddess of knowledge. Of course light as well, something she got angry about whenever forgotten.

Eventually however the conversation came to an end and Timothy was freed from his abstract torment. There were points he felt like the bright sun had been shining on his mind and melted it into runny mud. The discussion had taken hours and the sun was settled low in the sky. It would be dusk soon.

Jenna was standing on the floor now and had just finished saying her goodbyes to the scholars. She then walked up to him and smiled while looking up at his face.

"Sorry that took so long little Timmy. I hope you didn't die of boredom."

Timothy tried to smile back but it was clear he was exhausted. He rubbed his arms some in a bit of fidgeting.

"Yes goddess. I mean no goddess I didn't. It was just so much to understand."

She took his right hand in her own and gave it a pat.

"There there. Its not your fault society failed you as a young child in the education department. I'm going to be fixing that for future generations." She released his hand and smiled again. "And don't worry! Its never too late to learn!"

This reassurance made him feel a bit better. If the goddess of knowledge said something was true it had to be. Even his goddess was learning new things about this world and its people on a regular basis. Some would question if she actually was the goddess she claimed due to this. However as she passionately explained to those doubters is that learning is an active and continuous process. Even the goddess of knowledge can't know literally everything. For if she ever ran out of new things to learn that would mean there were no new things left in the world.

Timothy's stomach suddenly made gurgling noises and he put his hands on his belly immediately. His face flushed with embarrassment. It had been a long day of discussions and he was famished.

Jenna giggled and turned on her heels.

"Don't worry about it little guy! Sometimes I forget humans need to eat unlike me. Quarely is having us over to have dinner today remember? You'll get to eat all the good food you want at the castle!"

She then began walking away while gesturing with her left hand.

"Come on then."

Without hesitation he started walking behind her. At this he trusted her completely and followed her wherever she led him. There were people who mocked him for this of course and he understood he was in a privileged position as the high priest. Perhaps that blinded him to the true dangers of pledging his whole life to her but at this point there was no going back. Besides she had earned the respect and worship he gave her. People followed other humans for less.

They exited the university and came out into the cobblestone street. There wasn't much activity out here at this time of day and it left the city feeling empty. Here waiting for them was a carriage drawn by two fine horses meant to take them to the castle and their dinner with the local lord. The lord's aide Danifein was standing by.

The young man nodded as they approached and bowed to the goddess.

"Greetings highly exalted goddess. Thank you for accepting my lord's invitation tonight."

Jenna chuckled to herself and flashed the aide a grin.

"I mean I sort of invited myself but yeah, he's welcome! Come on Timothy."

Timothy gave a curt bow as he passed by Danifein.

"T-Thank you for your service sir!"

The young man simply stood to attention and nodded.

"Its my pleasure to serve. I'm proud to serve Lord Quarely."

With the pleasantries out of the way Timothy then climbed into the carriage alongside the child goddess. The seating was cushioned with pillows and the windows had fancy drapes to cover them and keep out the light if so desired. Jenna was sitting on the front side of the carriage so he seated himself on the opposite side.

The carriage started up almost as soon as they sat down, Danifein having joined the driver outside. Riding in one of the lord's carriages would ensure the trip over to the castle took less than half an hour, though the ride was still a bit bumpy on the cobblestone streets.

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Jenna was leaning over on the armrest, her head propped up with her left hand. She seemed deep in thought, something that was common after she had meetings. Whatever she was thinking about was far beyond mere mortals and it was best not to disturb her. Her eyes stared blankly out into the passing city-scape.

Timothy was thus left to his own thoughts. He had meet Quarely before but never had a chance to really talk to him. Of course as the lord of a province he was automatically far above a commoner boy in terms of social standing. Or that's how it would normally be if not for his status as the high priest of the goddess, something that even Timothy constantly forgot about. It gave him a unique position of social power that he'd never dreamed of having growing up. He might even be an equal to Quarely.

Something that was a great source of confusion for him however was Jenna's attitude towards Lord Quarely. She was well known at this point for having a particular ire towards those in power and the rich. Yet this specific lord was not only someone she didn't despise but actively seemed to like. Even in the few interactions he'd seen between the two of them the goddess seemed to behave almost like a friend around this man. What made him so special? It confounded understanding.

Eventually the carriage arrived at the castle through the great gate and they were both let out into the courtyard. The young aide Danifein of course escorted them into the castle as was his duty. Together they all walked up the steps and through the main doors.

Danifein seemed so at ease around the goddess, or perhaps he just hid his nerves better than most did. In fact something Timothy noticed that seemed strange was that all the servants of this castle seemed oddly comfortable around Jenna. They greeted her with smiles and bows while she returned with pleasant greetings. The entire atmosphere here was so drastically different than other places they'd been together.

As they walked through the decorated halls of the castle Jenna made small talk with Danifein.

"Oh! I heard the oldest son is gunna be at dinner today. I've only met him once before in passing. What'ya know about him you're willing to spill the beans on?"

Danifein tilted his head slightly in obvious confusion, though his face was hidden as he walked in front of them.

"Spill the beans? I'm afraid I don't understand goddess. I'm sorry."

Jenna let out a small sigh. She was always using phrases no one understood.

"It means tell in detail. You know like spilling something on the ground: it all comes rushing out."

This made the young man nod in understanding before he spoke again.

"I understand. Well I'm afraid there's not much to tell. He's very much like his father in his passionate expression. His sense of duty is strong and he can be very pragmatic. This sometimes causes him to error however as he lacks much understanding in the ways of statecraft. You didn't hear that from me though."

Jenna crossed her arms across her chest and giggled to herself.

"Don't worry your secret's safe with me! A young fiery heir out to change the world huh? I think I'll like him!"

Timothy took this chance to speak up and ask the burning question that's plagued him for so long. If he didn't get it out now his curiosity would cause him to surely die.

"Goddess Jenna..."

While they walked Jenna tilted her head to the side to look at him.

"Yeah Timtim?"

Now it was too late to back out. He'd have to ask his question. He swallowed his fear and held his hands close to his sides.

"W-Why don't you hate Quarely and his family like you do all the other nobility?"

He winced expecting anger or punishment for asking something like this. But it never came. Instead Jenna simply looked up at his face and looked him right in the eye. It was like she was staring into his soul and he had to look away.

"I don't hate them." She replied. "Well actually I sort of do." She then turned and looked down as she walked. "You see I really don't like evil people, in fact I hate them. You've heard me say this before but you've forgotten which is fine. The rich and those in power are just generally more likely to be evil scumbags. Quarely is one of those rare few who isn't corrupted by his power. He cares a lot about his people and that makes me like him."

She looked back up at him. "Does that answer your question?"

Timothy marveled at her response. Having her approval was something men could only dream of. This lord Quarely truly had to be something more exceptional that he could imagine to get her to actually like him.

He nodded and kept his eyes facing forward.

"Yes goddess. Thank you!"

They had been walking only a few minutes before they reached the main foyer of the castle. This was the room that directly attached to the dining room where they'd be having dinner. The room had a large fireplace and several fanciful couches and chairs for sitting on. There was a huge rug on the stone floor and plentiful sconces to light the place. On the walls were decorations such as animal heads, paintings, and small tapestries.

Timothy could already smell delicious things in the kitchen somewhere. This made his stomach grumble again and he tried to pretend it hadn't as their hosts stood up from their seats. The lord Quarely Mettlelin was of course the most important one but he was joined by two others.

The first was his wife Belieal: a strong woman with silvery white hair that flowed past her shoulders and piercing light green eyes. She held herself with great poise and seemed quite confident in herself. Her dress was simple in form and color in a manner one wouldn't expect from a lady.

The other person was the young man of perhaps eighteen. He has neck length silvery blue hair and emerald eyes that seemed filled with purpose. His outfit was like his fathers: well pressed pants and shirts with a vest worn over. When he saw the little girl in the room his face turned to one of extreme discomfort and perhaps even fear.

Quarely smiled and opened his arms in a warm gesture as his guests appeared. He took a few steps their direction.

"Welcome Goddess Jenna! Welcome to you too Timothy. It's been a while since I've seen either of you."

Jenna nodded and smiled with her lips, her arms to her sides.

"Yeah. Thanks for having us over Quarely."

The man then turned and gestured to his wife and son.

"This is my wife Belieal who you've of course met goddess, though your high priest hasn't. Then this is my eldest son Jeris. I hope you'll see in him the potential like you do me."

Both wife and son bowed down on their knee to Jenna and remained there for a few moments.

Belieal was first to speak.

"It's a pleasure to have you in my home great goddess. Thank you for blessing us with your presence."

The son Jeris was next to speak, his voice somewhat shaky as he was clearly not as good at hiding his emotions like his mother.

"G-Great goddess its a p-pleasure to meet you! I've heard many t-things about you from my father!"

Jenna had her arms crossed across her stomach and was smiling deviously. She did seem to get enjoyment seeing people cower before her. Not that she left them in that state for long if she deemed them good people.

"Yeah you're welcome!" she replied with a little giggle. "It's nice to finally meet you Jeris. You don't have to cower in fear of me though. Stand up and relax will you? I'm not going to smush you."

With her permission both of the mother and son stood up. They took deep breaths and seemed to relax greatly, at least to the point they weren't shaking in their shoes. There was still some nervousness in their body language however which was expected as they hadn't spent much time around Jenna at all.

Jeris smiled weakly and looked down at Jenna from where he stood.

"My father has told me that you're a fair and generous goddess. I only know about goddesses from history and..." he paused. "Well its terrifying to meet one to be honest your greatness. Please forgive me for my fear."

Jenna removed her arms from her stomach and nodded knowingly.

"Yeah I get that."

It was Quarely who spoke up next. He stepped back towards the couches and gestured towards them.

"Why don't we all sit down and have a nice talk? It'll be a short while until the food is ready. My family isn't used to speaking with the divine so please understand. Even I get nervous around you goddess, you know that."

"Sounds good to me" Jenna replied. "And don't worry about it. I can be scary."

Both Jenna and Timothy took the invitation and went to sit down with the family. Timothy felt a bit awkward sitting on the same couch as his goddess but she had given him a look as if she wanted him next to her. He should be used to it by now he thought.

The conversation began with quite mundane things like the weather and the journey into the city. However it quickly changed to the schools and teachers Jenna was currently planning which she spoke about energetically. They also talked about Quarely's family and Timothy's life as a high priest. Thus they spent the time while waiting for dinner to be finished quite pleasurably. This would be an evening Timothy remembered for the rest of his life.