The bright sun of the morning was flooding into the castle through the myriad of windows, its gray light almost increasing the level of gloom in the stony rooms. This increase in the number of daylight hours however signaled that spring was almost here and lifted the hearts of all those who saw it this morning. Such was the case with the lord of this province of Voorhaul, that being the middle aged man Quarely Mettlelin.

Quarely had just been woken up by the gray light that peeked in around the curtains, the increase in daylight meaning an increase of busyness to his days. A sigh escaped him as he rose up from his giant bed and walked over to the large window that was the room's main source of light. Slowly with his right hand he pulled back the curtain enough to see outside and into the city below.

The light was almost blinding at first until his eyes adjusted to it. Once they had he was able to look out and over Vinedenne, the city he called his home. With the sun up the common folk would already be beginning their days and he had no excuse not to begin his. There would be much to do regarding the goddess Jenna's schools, the copious amounts of paperwork falling to him as she hated it dreadfully. Not that he thought a goddess should have to do paperwork of course, but he did find it frustrating to be given so much extra work.

At first he like many other affluent people thought it a terrible idea to educate the masses, though with a great deal of passionate explanation from his goddess he saw the value in it. Not that he could have argued with a divine being in the end regardless. Maybe it was something to do with her age or her portfolio of knowledge but that goddess was very excitable when teaching was involved.

With the light flooding the room from even a small parting of the curtains there came a shifting on the bed behind him. His beautiful wife Belieal had begun to wake up. She was around his age in her early forties and was not generally up at this time like her overly work focused husband.

“Is it morning already dear?” Belieal asked sitting up in the bed and rubbing her eyes.

Quarely let the curtains close fully again and sighed as he turned around.

“I'm afraid so.” He replied. “I'm sorry for waking you. Please get more rest if you need it.”

Belieal lay back down and let out a exasperated sigh.

“The spring is almost here. Life will be so much busier then.”

“Most certainly.” Quarely replied walking back over to the bed.

He bent over and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead before standing up again.

“I'll see you later in the morning dear. There is much to do.”

Leaving his wife to finish her sleep the lord walked over to the other half of the room and stopped before the large wardrobe. He opened it and began taking out the day's clothes to begin dressing himself. While in the middle of this however there came a sudden commotion outside his chamber's doors which he could hear all the way from the connecting room. Something had startled the posted guard and the lord was about to rush over when a loud knock came a rapping on the door. Then a very childlike and chiming voice came to his ears.

“Knock knock! Guess who!”

It was Goddess Jenna. That voice was unmistakable.

From the bed Belieal let out a groan and her voice was full of frustration in her half awake state.

“Ugh why now? What is that girl's problem?”

Quarely cleared his throat and tried not to think about the implications of Jenna hearing that comment. He kept his voice somewhat low as he replied to his wife.

“Now don't talk about the goddess that way dear. I know she can be a bit much but please remember who she is.” He then called out towards the door. “I'll be right there!”

Quickly he threw on a large robe and promptly walked into the main room of the chamber and to the door in a little less than a full hurry. Once he was there he opened the door and spoke in a calm of a voice as he could muster, his heart beating a mite quickly just due to the surprise of such a visit.

“Yes Goddess Jenna?” He said while the door opened.

Jenna was standing directly in front of the door in her usual disregard for personal space, not that she meant anything of it though. Her eyes were strangely dull this morning which was quite odd for the usual excitable young goddess. There was something off about her entire demeanor.

Off to the right side was the usual guard who was standing there a bit awkwardly, as would anyone with a literal goddess right there in front of you. However the most confusing part was that standing behind Jenna was some strange young man who appeared to be a soldier. He was wearing armor with the coat of arms of Pheoa on it. Yet he wasn't bound by rope or any type of shackles. He also looked quite afraid at the moment and was clearly trying to avoid physical constant with everything and everyone around him. There was a look of reverence in his eyes when he glanced down at Jenna however which was only further strangeness.

Quarely cleared his throat and looked down to Jenna.

“Are you alright goddess?” He asked with genuine concern.

Jenna immediately became annoyed and flipped her long golden hair with her left hair. Her eyes looked off to the side for a moment.

“I'm fine.” She then looked back up at Quarely. There was a serious intensity to her eyes that was actually frightening. “We need to talk. Like its important.”

Quarely nodded and glanced up at the soldier behind her.

“I assume it has something to do with this young man?”

Jenna's eyes widened. “Yes.”

Seeing the urgency in the expressions of the goddess made Quarely get a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Whatever news she was wanting to discuss with him so urgently it couldn't be good. He stood up straight and tried to appear dignified despite being only in a robe and small-clothes at the moment.

“Of course goddess.” He said. “Please allow me a moment to dress properly. I'll meet you in the balcony if its alright?”

Jenna seemed satisfied with that and nodded. She appeared quite solemn and didn't even urge him to hurry up when replying.

“Ok Quarely. I'll see you there.” She then turned to the soldier. “Come on.”

The young man nervously obeyed and followed behind Jenna as she started walking down the hallway towards the large balcony that was situated thirty or so feet away.

With them gone for the moment Quarely let out a sigh of relief and closed the door again. He put his right hand to his heart and felt it was beating quickly, the twisted feeling in his gut still there. What was happening that could cause even the bright and sunny Jenna to become so gloomy? It was something to do with the northern kingdom no doubt. But what?

These thoughts and concerns swirled about his mind as he went back to his wardrobe and got dressed in his usual garb in quite the hurry. Not only did he want to avoid making a goddess wait he also needed to find out what the situation was to ease his own fears.

From the bed Belieal groaned.

“What did the goddess want?” She asked.

Quarely was just pulling his collared shirt over his head and adjusted it on his body.

“I'm not sure.” He replied. “You shouldn't worry about it for the time being.”

With his wife thus soothed by empty words he finished dressing within a couple minutes and hurried to the door once again. Then after last minute morning preparations he opened the door and left his chambers, giving a nod to the posted guard before speed-walking down to the balcony.

This balcony was rather large, about the size of a small room, and served as a meeting place for just such occasions. When a formal meeting in the offical meeting chambers was too slow to set up or the guest wanted a more private discussion this rather plain place was perfect. It had several potted plants that grew on the sill and a simple but stately table of thin stone in the middle. There were six chairs around it and upon arriving Jenna and the young man were already seated in two next to each other.

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Quarely gave another respectful bow to Jenna before stepping over and seating himself in the chair directly opposite of the odd pair.

“I suppose refreshments shan't be necessary?” He said in a lighthearted tone.

Much to his dismay the normally jovial goddess who would have joked back at him simply stared at him with that intense stare from before. He had seen this look on her before and it only was when she was extremely focused on something. It was the epitome of bad omens.

Seeing the light joke fall upon a silent audience Quarely cleared his throat with his right hand to his mouth before starting again.

“I suppose we should get right down to it. Please explain to me the meaning of this man here with you goddess.”

Jenna sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyebrows furrowing into a frown. She seemed to be ignoring the young man.

“Well I wont beat around the bush. Pheoa seems to have declared war on us.” She nodded to the soldier. “This guy is an officer in their army and claims their king sent him to attack one of my towns.”

She then leaned forward and her eyes narrowed dangerously which filled Quarely's heart with actual fear and he had to avert his gaze.

“An attack that took place last night.” Jenna continued. “And resulted in the deaths of several of my worshipers.”

Quarely's heart dropped in his chest. So it was war after all. The very war that he had feared for the last several years had finally come to fruition. An endless parade of questions and fears flooded through his mind making him unable to think clearly. Sensing this Jenna seemed to lighten up and sat back in her chair again, her eyes softening.

“Don't have a panic attack Quarely.” Jenna said. “I already took care of the attackers.” She looked to the side. “In a somewhat regrettable way.”

Struggling to find words Quarely started to stammer somewhat as he spoke.

“But s-surely Pheoa would not be so foolish to attack a kingdom with an actual goddess?”

Jenna's arms dropped away from her chest and went to her lap where her hands gripped her knees. There was a flare of anger in her expression and voice as she spoke again.

“Well they did damn it!” She snapped with her left hand waving around. “Those fucks just ran in killing whoever they could get their hands on!”

The impact of her outburst on the humans around her made Jenna's eyes widen as she saw the looks of fear in their eyes. This being especially true for the young man beside her. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down, her hands lowering to rest on the table in front of her as she began relaxing herself. As she did so her expression changed into one of great sorrow.

“Sorry.” She said in a calm voice. “It's just...”

It would be at this moment that Quarely would normally reach out and take the hands of the woman in question into his own to help them relax, though even with his close relationship with Jenna he was hesitant to do so to a goddess. He did however want to reassure her and so he pushed aside his own fears for the future and smiled faintly.

“I understand witnessing such things would be difficult.” He said in a kind tone. “I am sure the people of that town were thankful that you arrived and saved them, of that I have no doubt.”

Jenna huffed in exasperation and turned her head to the side in some manner of pout. Her arms also crossed across her chest.

“Yeah.”

Seeing as he was once again the adult in the conversation and understanding the stress this all must have caused on the young goddess Quarely tried to stay positive and changed the subject.

“So why is this young man here with you? He is clearly a member of the enemy. Is he a prisoner?”

This seemed to distract Jenna from whatever thoughts were going through her head and she lightened up slightly. She sat forward again and put her hands on the table again.

“He's actually a worshiper of mine.” She replied. “I know, seems crazy. His name is Delliur and he's one of the survivors-” She cleared her throat. “From the enemy force.”

The mention of survivors clearly meant there had been fatalities. Quarely was more troubled from this new than he cared to admit. He had always imagined a goddess would kill if necessary and he had heard of Jenna killing once before. But it just seemed so unlike her it was hard to imagine being reality. It did however prove once again that she was an extremely powerful being that would defend her people by force like any lord or king would. Quarely himself had made such difficult decisions in times of conflict that resulted in the deaths of many.

This soldier from Pheoa being a worshiper of Jenna however was extremely fascinating. How or why did that happen?

“Fascinating.” Quarely almost whispered as he stroked his chin.

While this conversation was going on the young man Delliur was quite still and quiet. He seemed to feel he was doomed to some unseemly fate, however his apparent faith in Jenna was keeping him from full despair. Whatever had led to his capture it certainly would have been dramatic knowing Jenna and his life was most certainly at the mercy of both her and one of his enemy's lords. Such thoughts were sure to be going through his mind.

Jenna folded her hands on the table and turned her head to look at this young soldier.

“Well he's here now and he's my prisoner.” Jenna said matter of factually. “I'll be giving him over to your care once we're done here and I expect him to be treated well.”

Quarely nodded. “Of course.”

Jenna then looked Delliur up and down.

“But first he's going to tell us everything he knows about these war plans his king has.” She glanced over to Quarely. “I wanted her here for it which is why I came here first.”

“I appreciate it goddess.” Quarely replied. “Though you did not have to do such a thing for me.”

Jenna ignored that last part and focused her attention on the young man.

“Well go on then. No one's gunna hurt you. And if you're worried about this being seen as some betrayal that will get you killed back home you're free to live here from now on.” She shrugged. “You're one of my worshipers after all.”

Delliur was still clearly nervous but seemed to become slightly relaxed when he heard these words from Jenna. He tried to sit up straighter in his chair as he spoke.

“W-Well I'm not r-really anyone special in the military.” He said stammering as he found his words. “I don't even know why I was chosen for this suicide mission.” His eyes glanced between the two sitting with him and he wasn't sure where to look. “All I know is that we were one of several armies sent out to attack this kingdom in order to test the goddess's reaction.”

Jenna sat there silently with her arms crossed over her chest, her expression unreadable as she listened.

He gulped looking at Jenna and then looked down at his lap before continuing. “Anyway the king has some kind of weapon supposedly able to kill a goddess.” He then got very scared and held out his arms in surrender. “I swear I don't know anything else about it! Please believe me!”

Quarely sat there in stunned silence. This was all unprecedented and he was not even sure what their next step would be. He decided it was best to wait to see how Jenna reacted to these revelations.

Shockingly Jenna did not have much of a reaction at all, her face remaining somewhat emotionless, though her eyes were quite sharp. The young goddess looked over Delliur for several moments before dropped her arms to her lap and letting out a long and deep sigh, her head shaking as she looked down at the table. After seemingly clearing her head she looked over at Quarely, her expression one of sadness mixed with the embers of anger.

“I'll deal with these attacks.” She stated firmly.

Quarely couldn't help but gulp as she looked at him with such a fierce expression but he couldn't blame her. An attack on the citizens of Celeduun was an attack on her worshipers. Being a lord himself he could relate to the feelings of indignation she was having over her people being in danger.

“What about this weapon?” Quarely asked just a bit timidly.

Jenna scoffed and threw back her head in dismissal, standing to her feet and pushing the chair out behind her.

“I'll deal with this so called weapon too.” She replied. Then looking at Quarely. “Though you should have old man Ferherlyn look into it anyway.”

Quarely stood up himself and bowed to the goddess.

“Yes my goddess!” He quickly replied. “I'll have him start his investigation this very morning!”

Jenna nodded in approval and dropped her arms to her sides, her left going to her hip.

“I'll leave my prisoner to you. See you around.” She then smiled faintly. “And thanks for coming to this talk.”

Quarely stood back upright. “It's an honor truly. Thank you for having me.”

After hearing this last reply Jenna opened a glowing and swirling golden portal of light and stepped into it. Its strange symbols flicked as it snapped shut and removing the goddess from view. Now the two humans were left alone on the balcony in the chill morning sun.

Quarely lifted his right hand to his mouth and cleared his throat again. He then turned to the soldier and quickly nodded his head.

“Well now that the goddess is gone I suppose this leaves you to me. I promise that as she said you shall be treated fairly and not left to rot in a dungeon cell.” He looked down at the young man's hands. “While she felt no need to bind you with her great power I'm afraid I shall have to. I trust you have no issues with that?”

Delliur stood up finally and put his hands out in front of him with his wrists together. He looked down at the floor with his head hung low, the feeling of helplessness returning now that the overwhelming fear of death had been removed. He was defeated and still quite worried clearly.

“No sir.” He replied. “Do what you will.”

Quarely nodded. “Good.”

Quarely then walked off the balcony and into the hallway where the guard was still standing close by. He motioned to the guard to come closer and then gestured to Delliur.

“Please bind this man's hands and take him down to the holding cells. He's to be treated well and not abused in any way.” He waited for the guard to nod and give confirmation before continuing. “And send me one of the squires. I'll have people to send for this morning for very important discussions.”

The guard walked over and grasped Delliur's wrists.

“Yes my lord.”

Quarely then stood by and watched as the guard took the young man and led him away into the castle. How similar that boy was to him in his younger days. Though he was never sent into a kingdom to attack a goddess he had been in a battle or two before taking office as a lord. How much would his life have changed if there had been an actual goddess around on the battlefield back then? How much different would this young man's life have been if Jenna had not been here?

These thoughts could quickly lead into troublesome imaginations and Quarely shook his head to clear his mind. Right now he had to focus on the situation at hand: war with Pheoa. It was clear that it was localized to only his province for now, though that could change in the future. His previous morning plans were now replaced with the need for a war council. Ferherlyn and Judge were the first two that came to mind and were who he would speak to first. Then he would write up his report to the king.

With worrisome thoughts and a heavy heart Quarely walked back into his chambers to prepare for the day ahead.