Being a goddess means having many responsibilities just like being a lord or king does. However being in such positions of power come with perks as well, one of prominence being the acquisition of a champion. While kings and lords are expected to fight in wars to some extent there are battles seen as below them. For such conflicts is it customary for there to be a champion that defends the honor of their liege.

Even though a goddess having such a thing sounds quite absurd it was in fact quite common for gods to have their champions from the world I came from. The more common vernacular for them would be the words "hero" or "paladin." Someone who has taken an oath to fight in the world for the cause of their deity, normally on behalf of said deity who otherwise doesn't act in the world.

Goddesses exist in the world and can act in it with no problem sure, but there are still places they can't go to themselves due to the limitation on only moving where their worshipers are. I've technically found a loophole there where only one worshiper is needed, thus making this aspect mute. However having a human face in the form of a champion is still a beneficial thing.

It actually wasn't even my idea to get me a champion. It was the king's, or should I say his advisor's, idea. Perhaps it was to try to gain favor with me, or maybe it was to have a more human element with which to interact with. Likely someone more on their level who might be able to be intimidated or bribed. Though of course that wasn't a guarantee.

Regardless of their plans behind the scenes the one out in the open was the holding of a festival to find a champion for me. This would take the form as a jousting tournament, as many medieval societies decided such things in that way. It was a method to find someone who was good at combat and were rich enough to maintain things like horses are armor. This all also guaranteeing the person was of higher class and therefore hopefully good in diplomatic matters as well, though that varied greatly person to person.

Of course I found out about it long before the king sent a delegate to The Grand Temple of the Sisterhood, though it did come as a surprise to me. The having a champion thing was something I hadn't even thought about, probably because of everything else on my mind. However I wasn't against it and didn't make any moves until the official invitation came. Of course I accepted.

All of the preparations for the tournament were left to the king and his humans, it wasn't my place to involve myself in a party being thrown for me after all. I mean not that I wanted to anyway. For the most part I am a lazy goddess. There was also plenty of other more important things for me to do.

The tournament took only a week to prepare and was setup outside the kingdom's capital city of Norlov in the open plains. The main jousting area was a cleared patch of land that was divided by a wooden fence and surrounded by a wooden fence. Then the grandstands surrounded that in which spectators sat. The royal family and other esteemed guests sat in a large tower of sorts that was about as tall as the highest seats.

Plenty of flags and banners flew all around the place, catching in the wind and making distinct flapping sounds as they whipped about. They overlooked the rest of the festival grounds which included things like a pit for an open brawl and many vendor stands. There were food vendors, people selling knickknacks, and places that sold weapons too. With jousting being the main focus there was also a few places that dealt in horses and their breeding.

On the day of the tournament I arrived at my goddess size, walking up to the place with thundering steps in order to make a grand entrance. One must have showmanship when it comes to being important, or in my case being large and in charge. After my initial arrival I did change back to my human size however.

It was a beautiful fall morning with only a slight wind to ruffle the flags. The temperature wasn't too hot or too cold, with the morning mists fading away into bright and slightly warm sunshine. Reading about and seeing such festivities in books or movies was one thing but actually being there in person was on a whole new level. The whole place was alive with activity and seemed to be a good boost for the citizen's morale as a whole.

Timothy sadly was not able to attend. I needed someone to keep watch over the temple as such festivities were a prime opportunity for someone to cause trouble there like theft. His new fairy friend Salferia was also not going to mix well with something like a jousting tournament and I wanted to keep her far away from large groups of people. Thankfully both of them got along just fine with each other despite my initial concern. The people at the temple also seemed to like the fairy girl a lot too.

Right now I was walking down the main broadway of the vendor stands, alone and not particularity trying to blend in or anything. For the most part people kept a wide berth from me though there were people who came up to offer their praise or petition for help. I did some miracle working and prayer answering when it arose, not like I had any reason not to. Honestly anyone who was willing to walk up to me and ask me directly was brave or desperate enough to deserve instant miracles.

The children were very bold in their approach to me and I was almost constantly bombarded by them as I walked around. They wanted to play or have me grant silly wishes, all requests I had to firmly deny for both their sake and the world's. Of course I would still give them a pat on the head or a little sweet, even when they were taller than me.

My current goal was to reach the melee pit, something I could easily get to instantaneously but wanted to walk the old fashioned way for the experience. This was I could take in all the sights and sounds, not to mention the smells of delicious food that wafted up my nostrils. There was also a band playing somewhere nearby, the flutes and drums causing my hips to sway subconsciously to the rhythm.

Soon I came out of the row of tents and into a more central area of the fairgrounds, the looming stands of the jousting arena just to the right of me. There in front of me was a large dirt patch that had been fenced off with simple railing. This was the melee pit: just a simple enclosure for men to rolls around in the dirt half naked and beat the ever-loving shit out of each other.

For fun! Cause why not? There was even a prize of a new set of armor, something of great value that even a poorer person could win through strength and skill. Thus there was never a short supply of entrants for this brutal free for all, though of course killing was not allowed. There were armed judges posted to prevent things from getting too out of hand.

I walked up to the melee pit and noticed there were already a dozen or so men gathered around in addition to the judges. They were preparing themselves in various ways like stretches and practice sparring. No one seemed to notice me beyond side glances as they probably just saw me as another child at the moment. In this day and age there was nothing wrong with a little girl witnessing some brutal violence.

When I reached the edge of the pit I leaned on on the fencing so I could look around while relaxing. At this point one of the judges walked over and looked down at me with a frown.

"Hey there little girl. Can't have you that close to the fence. You might fall in."

I looked up at him and smiled pleasantly.

"Oh I'm not worried good sir."

He clearly didn't know who I was and seemed to be worried about my safety genuinely.

"Sorry girl but rules is rules. You'll have to step away else I'll pick you up myself."

With a playful sigh and roll of my eyes I stood back up and walked away from the fence. Instead I'd go check out the men preparing themselves. On the way around the fence however another judge walked over and stopped in front of me.

"Sorry little miss" he said smiling. "That one's here from far away. Duty is quite important to him and he didn't mean you any harm."

I looked up at him and tucked my hands into my vest.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"You must not be from around here either if you don't recognize me."

He chuckled a bit nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'll admit you have me pegged little lady. My name is Broan I'm from far to the south and don't know a lick about the nobility in the capital. I apologize for my ignorance."

"Oh?" I responded with curiosity. "Where in the south?"

He returned his hands to his sides and his expression brightened up. It seemed he was excited to share about himself to perceived nobility.

"I'm from the province of Rellabellum. Its to the south-west of the kingdom and shares its boarder with Keghvra. There's not really much of a hometown for me, seeing as I'm a bit of a vagabond. But please! Enough about me, you haven't told me your name young lady."

"Jenna" I responded with a smile. "I'm kind of a big deal." I then winked. "So you're like a knight-errant then?"

Broan nodded and looked down in disappointment.

"I'm afraid so. Its embarrassing to admit. That's why I'm here at the capital: to make a little coin. I'd love to enter the melee for that fancy armor but I'm afraid I wouldn't stand a chance."

After giving him another look over I could see his armor was mostly leather and chain mail. Not a piece of plate on him. I also gave a better look at his face too. His hair was cut short and a lovely shade of olive and his eyes were lavender. He was maybe in his early twenties and stood average in height for a man his age.

I dropped my arms and put one hand on my hip.

"Tell you what Sir Broan. After this tournament go to The Grand Temple of the Sisterhood. They'll have use for you there and you can get steady employment. Just tell them Jenna sent you and they'll be tripping over themselves to take you in."

This seemed to make Broan's expression simply light up with happiness and hope. He gave me a deep bow.

"Thank you Lady Jenna! I'll go there immediately after my work here is done! Thank you so much for your kindness!"

I shrugged. "Don't worry bout it."

After our exchange I started walking away from him and towards the preparing men again. Before I could get very far however one of the particularity tall and muscular ones pointed at me and shouted.

"Hey you! I want to fight!"

This man started stomping over in my direction with a grim look on his face. He appeared to be in his thirties and had very short black hair and deep green eyes. The other men stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the commotion. Some of them went pale at the sight of me which meant they clearly recognized me for who I was.

Broan for his part innocently stepped out in front of me and held out his hand to the approaching beast of a man.

"See here man! How dare you look at this little lady with such a look! Much less state intent to fight?"

This newcomer stopped in front of Broan and started cracking his knuckles as he grinned down at the shorter man with almost insane glee.

"She don't need you steppin for for her swine knight. I was speakin to her not you."

I had tucked my hands back into my vest and rolled back and forth on my heels a few times.

"Now now. That's not a nice way to talk to my new friend. Apologize."

The man instantly made a small bow to Broan before standing up again.

"I-I'm sorry good sir. I didn't mean no offense..."

At this point Broan turned to look down at me with great awe and admiration.

"Goodness! I had no idea you held such sway at the capital!"

I took one of my hands out of my vest to wave the knight aside before tucking it away again.

"Step aside. I'll handle this."

With a nod Broan stepped aside. Now there was nothing between me and this absolute monster of a man who was looming over me with that crazed excitement. He pointed down at me with a wild grin.

"I want to fight you!"

Well this quite unexpected. He's either insane for saying this because he knows who I am or because he's trying to fight a little girl of nobility. I decided to hear him out just because this was fascinating.

I looked up at him, my expression unchanging from its flat boredom.

"You know I'm the goddess right? You want to fight me?"

At this point the rest of the onlookers had either gathered nearby to witness what would happen next or had dismissed themselves to flee far away from this crazy man. Broan was taken back and quite confused himself.

"What does he mean? The goddess I've been hearing about?"

The man spoiling for a fight grinned wider down at me and punched his hands together.

"Yeah I saw you walk up here. Hard to miss a little girl that big. I want to fight you!"

Now even I was shocked and surprised. Like what in the world?

"Ok..." I said looking over at the spectators and then back up at him. "So why exactly do you want to fight me? Like you know there's no chance to win right?"

He nodded and got down on his knees, bowing before me on the ground.

"I know great goddess! But just seeing you here! I want to test my might against a goddess! See how far man can rise in strength! Please grant me my prayer oh goddess!"

Broan stepped over towards the man and had his hand on his sword.

"Please step back. This man is clearly mad. I'll-"

I whipped out my right hand to stop him, my gaze still on this man.

"I'll fight you. What's your name?"

The man looked up with his eyes practically sparkling.

"Eigil! My name is Eigil! Thank you!"

Broan looked at him and then to me. There was a hint of fear in his eyes.

"A-Are you serious? Is he serious? Y-You're the goddess?"

My hands dropped to my hips and I smiled smugly.

"Yeah I'm the goddess. Now come on Eigil."

With my hands still on my hips I walked past him and around the fence into the melee arena. The elated Eigil stood up and followed after me with heavy steps. He really was a certified beefcake. Everyone else just wandered over almost in a daze to spectate not really knowing what to expect. Broan especially still was wrestling with this revelation and if he should believe it or not.

Once I was standing a fair distance into the dirt area I put stopped. Then I turned to face my opponent and put out my arms to my sides.

"Your move. Here's the fight you always wanted."

Eigil looked at me with a bit of confusion, the nerves seeming to get to him now. He didn't look like he knew exactly how to go about this and was just readying himself for his first strike. After several moments however he made his move, lunging forward and bringing a full power swing with his right fist.

I could see he clearly wasn't pulling any punches. I was a goddess after all. Maybe I'd let him feel like he had a chance?

With one quick movement I lifted my left hand across my chest and caught his fist, stopping his punch gently as to not break his arm. This didn't seem to surprise him as he immediately brought around his left hand to swing right at my head. I countered that by ducking which let the punch swish the air above me.

Not missing a beat Eigil let out a roar and pulled his left arm back to himself, pulling back to free his right hand and make another attack. He was however somewhat surprised when he wasn't able to move at all. His feel simply dug into the dirt as he attempted to back away, my grip on his right hand too strong to even allow him to move.

I smiled smugly and reached out with my right hand to grip his arm. Then with great care I slid my left foot forward and swung the burly man over my head. Of course I was being as gentle as possible, only using enough force to lift him, using my shoulder to help by pushing off his chest.

In almost the blink of an eye Eigil had moved over my head and to my other side. He landed in the dirt with a loud thud and a pained groan. At this point I had let my hands slip off his arm and stood over his head with a playful smile.

"I win!" I exclaimed in a childish voice.

Everyone watching looked on with a mixture of disappointment and relief. No one seemed to expect him to win but some of them might have been worried about me going crazy or something and causing collateral damage. They also probably wanted to see something exciting and this fight had not been. Broan was just standing there slack jaw.

Eigil grunted and pushed himself over and then up onto his knees. Even like this his head was still higher than mine which just showed what a mountain of a man he was. The look on his face was quite joyful and he seemed to be practically beaming.

"I don't know what I really expected. Thanks goddess for fightin me."

He seemed to be taking this quite well which got him points with me. I smiled back and reached out my left hand, giving him a light punch in the chest with my fist.

"Yeah no problem. Looks like we both went easy on each other eh?"

Of course we both knew that wasn't true, but my comment seemed to almost bring tears to his eyes. Tears of joy of course. He stood up and raised his hands to the other men watching. His voice was loud and boisterous as he roared.

"Did you see that men? I fought a goddess and lived! What do you think of that?"

The other men were actually a little hyped up from seeing the fight, but the high levels of testosterone that permeated the air also likely played a part. Some of them even called out their want to give it a go one of one with me.

I started walking out of the arena and held up my left hand.

"I won't be fighting anyone else. Ya'll will have plenty of violence during the actual melee."

There were some cries of disappointment and the spectators began dispersing. Several of them ran out to give their congratulations to Eigil. Many a bro-hug were given and it looked like a bunch of guys at a gym celebrating some new benchmark. Wholesome actually.

As I exited the fenced off area Broan didn't move any closer. He seemed to be keeping his distance and was looking at me with a new sense of fear. Hopefully this wouldn't discourage him from going to work at the temple. I was about to say something when a teenage boy ran up to me from the row of tents.

"Oh good!" he said as he came to a stop to catch his breath. "There you are!"

I put my hands on my hips and looked him over. He looked like an ordinary teenager with pretty basic clothing. He did have a hat on that had the crest of the royal family though, with a fancy feather sticking out the top. What did he want?

After catching his breath he stood back up again and then gave me a quick bow.

"Great Goddess Jenna! I'm a courier for the royal family. I've been sent to bring you to the jousting arena. The tournament begins soon and you're expected in the seating!"

Of course. Responsibility rears its ugly head.

"Yeah yeah" I sighed. "I'll come with you. Lead the way."